The collections include sculpture, furniture, jewellery, ceramics, glass, textiles, fashion, photography and architecture. They span around 5,000 years, so a single visit can take you through objects from very different cultures and eras.
At the V&A, the building itself is a big part of the visit. The museum wasn't designed in one go by a single architect. Instead, it has grown over more than 170 years, and Victorian architecture, the monumental early 20th-century main façade and the modern Exhibition Road Quarter, completed in 2017, all meet here.
The V&A is close to the Natural History Museum and the Science Museum. The Royal Albert Hall is nearby, and Kensington Gardens and Hyde Park are a short walk away.
History of the V&A
The V&A's history is closely tied to the Great Exhibition of 1851. The Crystal Palace, built in Hyde Park, brought together achievements in industry, technology, craft and design from Britain and around the world.
The exhibition made a profit, and the money was used to buy land in South Kensington. Museums, colleges, and other cultural buildings began to rise there, aiming to bring art, science, education, and industry closer together. The area later gained the informal nickname Albertopolis, after Prince Albert.
The V&A's predecessor, the Museum of Manufactures, opened in 1852 at Marlborough House. It moved to Somerset House later the same year, and in 1857 to South Kensington, where it became the South Kensington Museum.
The idea behind the museum went beyond collecting precious objects. In 19th-century Britain, design education was seen as a way to improve the quality of manufactured goods. Under Henry Cole, the collections were meant to serve designers and manufacturers while also being open to the general public. Visitors could compare materials, techniques and design solutions, and study examples considered both good and bad. From the start, the museum was linked to both art education and practical design.
The South Kensington Museum's collections originally covered both art and science. The science collections became the separate Science Museum in 1909.
In 1899, Queen Victoria laid the foundation stone of a new wing. At the same time, the South Kensington Museum was renamed the Victoria and Albert Museum after the Queen and her husband, Prince Albert, who died in 1861.
Aston Webb's Cromwell Road building was completed in 1909. Its grand façade and main entrance gave the museum, expanded piece by piece over decades, a more unified face.
Architecture and the building
The V&A isn't the work of a single architect. Its different parts were built at different times, so you can trace several stages of the building, from Victorian construction to contemporary architecture.
Henry Cole and the architect Francis Fowke shaped the museum's 19th-century development. The building makes prominent use of terracotta, ceramics, mosaics and other decorative materials. Later architects and designers added to it.
The rich decoration served the same purpose as the collections. The museum spaces themselves, not just the objects, were meant to offer examples of design and craftsmanship. The architecture, ornament, and materials weren’t just a backdrop for the displays: the building itself was part of design education. You can see this in the decorative staircases, mosaics, ceramic surfaces and historic refreshment rooms.
So at the V&A, it's worth looking away from the display cases now and then. The floors, ceilings, columns, arches and doorways are full of details that are easy to miss.
Aston Webb’s monumental façade dominates the Cromwell Road side. Because of its historic and architectural importance, the main building is Grade I listed, the highest level of protection for buildings in Britain.
Exhibition Road Quarter
In 2017, the museum completed one of the most significant modern changes in its history. The Exhibition Road Quarter, designed by AL_A, the practice led by Amanda Levete, opened the museum up much more visibly towards Exhibition Road.
The Exhibition Road Courtyard is paved with thousands of porcelain tiles. Beneath it lies the large Sainsbury Gallery, used for temporary exhibitions.
The open, modern courtyard deliberately contrasts with the 19th-century buildings around it. It's also a good spot for seeing the museum's older architecture from a new angle.
What to see at the V&A
The V&A is too big to see everything in one visit. On a first visit, it's easier to pick a few named highlights and add one or two collections that match your own interests.
Cast Courts
The Cast Courts are among the V&A's most impressive spaces. Their towering halls are filled with large plaster casts of European sculpture and architectural details.
Collecting plaster casts wasn't unique to the V&A in the 19th century. Art schools, museums and academies across Europe used them because casts let people study art and architecture without travelling to the originals. The South Kensington Museum was part of this international network and helped promote the exchange of casts between countries. The Cast Courts grew out of this broader idea of bringing major works together in one place to be compared and studied.
Highlights include the full-size cast of Michelangelo’s David and the large casts of Trajan's Column.
The Cast Courts help explain why reproductions mattered so much in the V&A's early work. The museum's job wasn't only to preserve original objects. It was meant to let artists, students, designers and the wider public compare forms, materials and art from different periods. Plaster casts were a practical way to do that when seeing great works of art in their original locations was out of reach for most people.
Raphael Cartoons
The Raphael Court displays the seven surviving Raphael Cartoons. Raphael and his workshop created these large designs in the 1510s for tapestries Pope Leo X commissioned for the Sistine Chapel. The cartoons belong to the Royal Collection and have been on long-term loan to the V&A since 1865. Their scale is best appreciated from across the room. Up close, you can study the details and see how images meant as the basis for tapestries were composed.
Jewellery Gallery
The William and Judith Bollinger Gallery displays more than 3,000 jewels, from ancient times to the present day. The collection traces how jewellery-making techniques, materials and styles have changed over the centuries.
The Jewellery Gallery is in Room 91 and is a good choice if you want to focus on just a few parts of the collection.
British Galleries and the Great Bed of Ware
The British Galleries cover British art and design across several centuries. On display are furniture, textiles, sculpture, ceramics and historic interiors.
One of the best-known objects is the Great Bed of Ware, made around 1590. This exceptionally large oak bed was famous in its own time and even appears in literature: Shakespeare mentions it in Twelfth Night.
Tipu's Tiger
Tipu's Tiger is one of the museum's most unusual objects. The late 18th-century mechanical wooden tiger belonged to Tipu Sultan, ruler of Mysore in southern India. It shows a tiger attacking a European man. Its internal mechanism and small organ pipes make sounds when operated. The object is also linked to the wars between Britain and Mysore and to Tipu Sultan's use of tiger imagery.
Ardabil Carpet
The Ardabil Carpet in the Jameel Gallery dates to 16th-century Iran (1539–40). At its centre is a striking medallion surrounded by extremely detailed ornament. It is one of the most famous surviving Persian carpets of the Safavid period and one of the most important works of Islamic art at the V&A.
Photography Centre
If you're interested in photography, the Photography Centre is one of the museum's largest spaces devoted to a single subject. Spread across seven galleries, it traces the development of photography from its earliest days to the present. Alongside photographs, it displays photobooks, cameras and material on photographic techniques.
What about the V&A fashion collection?
The V&A is famous for its fashion collection, but the Fashion Gallery itself, Room 40, is currently closed for redevelopment. It is due to reopen in autumn 2028.
Fashion lovers don't have to miss out entirely. Individual fashion pieces are still on display in galleries around the museum, and the V&A has put together a Contemporary Fashion trail to help you find them.
V&A Café and the historic refreshment rooms
At the V&A, you can include a coffee break in your visit.
The Gamble, Poynter and Morris Rooms, part of the Main Café, date from the 19th century. They were among the museum's earliest visitor facilities, when a restaurant inside a museum was still a novel idea. The historic refreshment rooms are worth seeing even if you don't stop to eat.
The rooms are strikingly different from one another. In the Gamble Room, the eye is drawn to the decorative ceramic surfaces and columns. The Poynter Room has its own bold pattern.
The Morris Room, originally known as the Green Dining Room, is linked to William Morris's early work. Philip Webb and Edward Burne-Jones were also involved in its design. Its plant motifs, colours and medieval influences anticipate the style Morris later became known for.
In warmer months, the John Madejski Garden at the heart of the museum is another place to take a break. It has a large oval pool, and the Garden Café opens seasonally.
The museum also has three shops: the Main Shop, the Fashion Shop and the Exhibition Road Quarter Shop.
V&A exhibitions, workshops and events
Alongside the permanent collections, the V&A runs temporary exhibitions. Topics often cover art, design, fashion, photography, architecture or popular culture.
Entry to the permanent collections is free, and you don't need a ticket for a regular visit. Major temporary exhibitions are usually paid, so book tickets in advance for the most popular ones.
The V&A also runs talks, tours, courses and workshops. The programme changes, so check the museum's website for current events before you go.
How long to spend at the V&A
Allow around two to three hours for a first visit. That's enough time to see the Cast Courts and the Raphael Cartoons, plus a few galleries that interest you. If your visit includes a temporary exhibition and a break in the historic café, set aside around half a day.
Don't try to see everything at once. The V&A is a museum you can return to, focusing on jewellery, photography, ceramics, textiles, or interiors on different visits.
To avoid the busiest times, arrive on a weekday morning close to opening time. The museum itself says opening time and the end of the day are usually quieter.
Getting there and practical tips
The nearest Underground station is South Kensington, served by the District, Circle and Piccadilly lines.
From the station, an underground pedestrian tunnel takes you to the V&A in around four minutes. The tunnel avoids crossing busy roads, but the route has steps and isn't suitable for wheelchair users.
The museum has three entrances. The main Cromwell Road entrance and the Exhibition Road entrance are at street level and step-free. The third entrance is from the pedestrian tunnel.
You can visit the permanent collections without booking. For paid exhibitions, book tickets in advance.
Bags may be checked at the entrance. Wheeled suitcases and bags larger than 56 × 45 × 21 cm aren't allowed in the galleries and must be left in the cloakroom.
The V&A usually stays open later on Fridays, though not all galleries stay open as late. Check the exact times before your visit.
The V&A is also a good rainy-day option, with enough to see in the huge building for several hours.
What to combine with a V&A visit
The V&A's location makes it easy to combine with other sights in South Kensington. The Natural History Museum and the Science Museum are right next door. Seeing all three big museums properly in one day is a lot, so it usually makes more sense to choose one or two. Walk up Exhibition Road to the Royal Albert Hall, then into Kensington Gardens or Hyde Park.
If you want to spend a whole day in the area, South Kensington has plenty of cafés, restaurants, and museums.
Other V&A museums in London
When people talk about the Victoria and Albert Museum, they usually mean the main museum in South Kensington, but the V&A also has other sites in London.
V&A East Museum
V&A East Museum opened on 18 April 2026 in Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park in Stratford.
The new museum presents the V&A's collections from a different angle to the historic South Kensington museum. Its displays bring together design, fashion, art, architecture and performance. Entry to the permanent galleries is free.
V&A East Storehouse
V&A East Storehouse opened to the public on 31 May 2025, also in Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park. It is a collection store, research space, and public museum all at once. The building holds more than 250,000 objects, around 350,000 books and over 1,000 archives. Much of the collection is on view in open storage. Through the Order an Object service, you can also book a chance to see a specific object from the store up close.
Young V&A
Young V&A in Bethnal Green reopened in 2023 after a major redevelopment. The museum is designed especially for children, young people and families. Alongside traditional displays, it features hands-on elements built around play and creativity.
If you're in London with young children, Young V&A may be a more approachable choice than the large V&A in South Kensington.
The V&A also has a museum outside London: V&A Dundee in Scotland.
