The British Museum in London houses around eight million artifacts, making it difficult to sift out the must-sees on a first-time or short visit. This small-group tour does the work for you, with a guide to show you around some carefully curated highlights. View important pieces such as the Mummy of Katebet, Lewis Chessmen, and more, as you uncover their significance and history. Entrance to the British Museum is free.

Tour of the British Museum in London
View selected highlights of the museum, a showcase of 6,000 years of history
See treasures such as the Mummy of Katebet, the Lewis Chessmen, and the Rosetta Stone
Learn about the artifacts’ history and significance from a guide
Small group tour with maximum of eight people and choice of morning or afternoon departures
Free entrance to the museum

What's Included

Semi-Private Museum Tour
Semi-Private" Means Group Size Is Never More Than 8 Guests Maximum
Professional Tour Guide
Duration 2.5 Hours

Tour price does NOT include hotel pickup or drop-off (we recommend UBER or Taxi)
Tour price does NOT include gratuities (optional)
Tour is NOT available for those with walking disabilities or using a wheelchair
Temporary exhibitions NOT included

Meeting And Pickup

Meeting point

The British Museum
Great Russell St, London WC1B 3DG, UK
Meet your guide outside the gates of the museum by the red telephone booth situated to the left of the main gates of the museum on the sidewalk of Great Russell Street across from Starbucks.

End point

This activity ends back at the meeting point.

What To Expect

Choose your desired departure time when you book. Then, meet your guide at the British Museum in central London, along with the rest of your small group of no more than eight people in total.

Hear a brief introduction to the world-famous museum, one of the greatest repositories of world art and artifacts on the planet. This prestigious institution houses eight million items spanning 6,000 years of human history, providing an incredible window into human achievement. Treasures items such as Samurai armor and a series of prized Assyrian lion hunting reliefs dating from the 7th century BC.

Follow your guide through the rooms to see a carefully chosen selection of ancient and medieval exhibits considered to be some of the museum’s most beautiful and important. View pieces such as the Mummy of Katebet, the 12th-century Lewis Chessmen, and the Rosetta Stone; a stone slab engraved in the 2nd century BC with texts by Egyptian priests.

While you explore, gain deeper insight into the artifacts as your guide puts them in engaging historical context, sharing intriguing facts about their significance and purpose.

After exploring, your experience finishes when your guide departs.

The British Museum

Admission Ticket Free

Additional Info

Confirmation will be received at time of booking
Not wheelchair accessible
Stroller accessible
Near public transportation
Travellers should have a moderate physical fitness level

It is imperative that you provide us with guests MOBILE PHONE NUMBER (including country code)
A maximum of 8 people per tour allowed
Minimum numbers apply. This tour will not run without a minimum of 2 guests to meet requirements. In the event of this occurring, you will be offered an alternative or full refund.
Notes: British Museum and other attractions or museums in London may be subjected to occasional closures without previous warning from the museum management. When this occurs, we will provide guests with an appropriate alternative if the museum opening time is delayed more than 1h from the tour starting time. In these cases we are unable to provide refunds or discounts. Appropriate dress is required for entry into some sites on this tour. No large bags or suitcases are allowed inside the museum, only handbags or small thin bag packs are allowed through security. Due to increased security measures at many attractions some lines may form on tours with 'Skip the Line' or 'No Wait' access. Some specific rooms inside the museum are subjected to a very quiet or restricted right to speak inside, in this cases your guide will provide the information about this places before entering the specific rooms where this rule applies. Some collections may vary along the year.
This tour/activity will have a maximum of 8 travellers

Cancellation Policy

You can cancel up to 24 hours in advance of the experience for a full refund.

For a full refund, you must cancel at least 24 hours before the experience’s start time.
If you cancel less than 24 hours before the experience’s start time, the amount you paid will not be refunded.
Any changes made less than 24 hours before the experience’s start time will not be accepted.

Cut-off times are based on the experience’s local time.
This experience requires a minimum number of travellers. If it’s cancelled because the minimum isn’t met, you’ll be offered a different date/experience or a full refund.

Traveller Photos

Traveller Tips

I would recommend booking a private tour if, like me, you feel like you need some direction.

Reviews

5.0

272 reviews

Total review count and overall rating based on Viator and Tripadvisor reviews

Reviews by Viator travellers.

Showing 1-10 of 272 reviews

Great tour

Constance_R, Sept 2023

We booked a semi-private guided tour for the British museum so we could see the best of it since it is so large. Luis was a very knowledgeable guide and you could tell he really enjoyed his job and love of art! Luis was very mindful of our group and needs of the group for sitting and walking.

Great Tour!

Matthew_V, Sept 2023

We had a great experience with Becky. She was very informative and easy to understand. Highly recommend

Excellent overview of key elements of the British Museum

Douglas_H, Sept 2023

Our guide Jake provided a great overview of the key portions of the museum. He was very knowledgeable about all aspects that we viewed and was able to provide answers to all our questions. His knowledge of the museum's practices to close certain areas later in the day when they became too hot enabled us to gain access to those areas before they closed (it was very hot on the day we visited). We feel the cost of having a guide was well worth it given the extensive collections that would take days to see on our own. We have nothing negative to say about our tour.

Great evening at the museum

Armando_B, Sept 2023

We had the great experience to visit the British Museum with Jake. He was able to show us all the highlights available at a great pace and with a lot of detail and knowledge.

Great tour

Deborah_T, Sept 2023

Jamie, our guide was exceptional—knowledgeable, engaging and funny. It was easy to locate him at the beginning even tho it was very crowded. The museum was fabulous as expected. Don’t miss it. Babalyon’s small group tours are worth every penny, whoops pence.

World History in London

Charles_M, Sept 2023

Matilda was great - having a personal guide for 2.5 hours was so great to truly appreciate the.history behind the public artifacts. One of the best in the world must see museums.

Our Tour guide ,Jake was...

Sanaz_Y, Sept 2023

Our Tour guide ,Jake was amazing, I have been on many tours and by far this one was one of the best tours. Jake was very knowledgeable and fun.my husband and I really enjoyed our time and learned a lot. I highly recommend this tour specially if Jake is the guide.

History of the world in 2.5 hrs.

Melissa_M, Sept 2023

What an amazing visit. Andi, our guide, was knowledgeable. We managed to see pretty much everything without feeling rushed.

Fun, good pace, learned a ton!

Jamie_C, Aug 2023

Matilda was super engaging and fun to listen to. She had great stories to share and used her time wisely. I spent 5 hours in the British Museum on my own the week before this tour, and in 2.5 hours, she only overlapped 20 minutes of things I’d already seen. Incredible! (This wasn’t a private tour; I didn’t direct her to do this— that’s just how things worked out.) I would absolutely tour with Matilda again!

Ask for Matilda as your tour guide-you will not be disappointed😊

Mia_M, Aug 2023

Our guide. Matilda, was magnifique! So knowledgeable and kind! Patient with our many questions. Thorough, too!

Fun enlightening experience

Gary_K, Aug 2023

Jake was fantastic! He is quite knowledgeable, personable and funny. We had a great time getting to see the highlights of the museum - the stuff you don't want to miss. The personal touch makes having a guide totally worthwhile.

Wonderful tour. Loved our guide Sheldon

Anne_S, Aug 2023

Took this tour with my husband and 2 teenage daughters. Sheldon was a great tour guide. He was very friendly and knowledgeable and even mixed in some humor. Since seeing big museums can be quite overwhelming, I have come to believe that a small group tour to give me some direction is the way to go. We get to see the highlights and then have time to wander on our own if we like.

Jake is a tour guide rockstar

Rebecca_S, July 2023

Jake was fantastic! My partner and I came in from the US and throughly enjoyed. He was incredibly knowledgeable, professional and easy to understand. We highly recommend not just the tour, but Jake!

Lovely and Informative Day

Jody_W, July 2023

Our guide Luis was wonderful and patient. We ended an amazing tour with Afternoon Tea in the museum's sit down museum. It was an amazing day.

Fast paced...energizing.

Alice_U, June 2023

Very good guide-knowledgeable and well-spoken. Listening skills and responses to questions were understandable.

Friday time at 5:00pm with a tour guide - highly recommend.

Lisa_C, June 2023

Our guide was Luis. He provided a wealth of information and was very engaging with our sons (17 & 21). Great experience and truly a highlight for our trip in London.

What an experience

Kathleen_O, June 2023

And I was a very knowledgeable guide. Our favorite exhibits were the Egyptian and the Hutton. The end

Thumbs up for Jake.

Skip_E, May 2023

Jake was our guide. He was very pleasant and knowledgeable. He made sure everyone in the group could hear everything he was sharing and we all had a great time. I would recommend him.

Call Uber not a taxi

leadawn_a, May 2023

Unfortunately we got there late and never located tour guide but the museum was great he did text us the tickets

British Museum Morning Tour

Michael_K, May 2023

Although we have been to the British Museum on our own, taking a tour gave us a different perspective of the museum. Ellie our guide did an excellent job explaining in detail what she considered the important ones, and there are many.

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