Victoria and Albert Museum

Victoria and Albert Museum
Cromwell Road
South Kensington
London
Greater London
SW7 2RL
England

Website

www.vam.ac.uk

E-mail

vanda@vam.ac.uk

Telephone

Information/Switchboard

020 7942 2000

Fax

020 7942 2266

All information is supplied by the venues or providers themselves and every effort is made to ensure it is correct. Please remember to double check opening hours with the venue concerned before making a special visit.
The V&A Courtyard
baby changing facilities icon Food icon Guided tours icon Shop icon Library icon Study area icon Hearing disability facilities icon Visual disability facilities icon Wheelchair access icon

The Victoria and Albert Museum (V&A) is the world’s greatest museum of art and design. The purpose of the Victoria and Albert Museum is to enable everyone to enjoy its collections and explore the cultures that created them; and to inspire those who shape contemporary design. All our efforts are focused upon a central purpose - the increased use of our displays, collections and expertise as resources for learning, creativity and enjoyment by audiences within and beyond the United Kingdom.

Venue Type:

Museum

Opening hours

Daily 10.00-17.45
Friday 10.00-22.00

Closed: 24-26 December

Admission charges

Admission free
There may be a charge for some special exhibitions and events

Getting there

London Underground (The Tube): The V&A is a five minute walk from South Kensington underground station (on the Piccadilly, Circle and District Line). South Kensington is a five minute tube journey from Victoria, ten minutes from Covent Garden and Leicester Square and 15 minutes from King's Cross St Pancras.

The V&A is a ten minute walk from Knightsbridge underground station (on the Piccadilly Line). Knightsbridge is a ten minute tube journey from Covent Garden and Leicester Square and 15 minutes from Kings Cross St Pancras.

Bus: Buses C1, 14, 74 and 414 stop outside the Cromwell Road entrance. The Open Tour stop outside the Museum as part of their Double Decker Bus site-seeing tour of London.

General services and facilities
  • Brochure or leaflet available with directions to museum
  • Foreign language leaflet or brochure available
  • Guided tours
  • Information point provided
  • Pre-booking service for groups
  • Online shop
  • Membership and/or Friends scheme offered
  • Toilets
  • Auditorium
  • Cafeteria
  • Refreshments
  • Restaurant
  • Shop
  • Late night openings
Children and families
  • Activities for pre-school children
  • Events and resources for children and families
  • Baby changing facilities
Disability access
  • Braille information and/or interpretation
  • Events/teaching/resources for people with disabilities
  • Induction loops in lecture theatres
  • Large print information and/or interpretation
  • Touch exhibits
  • Handling sessions
  • Toilets for disabled
  • Wheelchair access to some public areas
  • Wheelchairs available for loan
Schools services and facilities
  • Direct teaching services for schools
  • Member of staff available with responsibility for education
  • Primary school education service available
  • Printed/audio-visual information available for schools
  • Secondary school education service available
  • Education facilities available
  • Reception and lunch facilities for educational groups
Research and adult learning
  • Academic publications and resources available
  • Adult lectures and courses held
  • Teaching/resources available for HE/FE students
  • Library
  • Library with public access
  • Mail order service available
  • Research facilities for academics
  • Study facilities
Commercial and hire services
  • Facilities for private functions and events
  • Meeting room available
  • Conference facilities available

Additional info

See website for details

Victoria and Albert Museum
Cromwell Road
South Kensington
London
Greater London
SW7 2RL
England

Website

www.vam.ac.uk

E-mail

vanda@vam.ac.uk

Telephone

Information/Switchboard

020 7942 2000

Fax

020 7942 2266

All information is supplied by the venues or providers themselves and every effort is made to ensure it is correct. Please remember to double check opening hours with the venue concerned before making a special visit.

The Victoria and Albert Museum's collections span two thousand years of art in virtually every medium, from many parts of the world, and visitors to the museum encounter a treasure house of amazing and beautiful objects. The Museum was established in 1852, following the enormous success of the Great Exhibition the previous year. Its founding principle was to make works of art available to all, to educate working people and to inspire British designers and manufacturers.

The Museum's ceramics, glass, textiles, dress, silver, ironwork, jewellery, furniture, sculpture, paintings, prints and photographs now span the cultures of Europe, North America, Asia and North Africa, and date from ancient times to the present day.

Although the V&A's collections are international in their scope, they contain many particularly important British works - especially British silver, ceramics, textiles and furniture.

Part of the RIBA Trust's British Architecture Library, a Designated Collection of national importance, is on display at this museum.

The collection provides comprehensive coverage of all aspects of architecture. It is fundamental to the study of architecture in Britain and is nationally and internationally significant.

Collection details

World Cultures, Weapons and War, Toys and Hobbies, Social History, Photography, Personalities, Performing Arts, Music, Fine Art, Design, Decorative and Applied Art, Costume and Textiles, Archives, Architecture, Archaeology

Key artists and exhibits

  • The British Galleries 1500-1900 tell the story of British design from the Tudor age to the Victorian era. Fifteen completely refurbished galleries are filled with exhibits reflecting all of the top British designers of the times. The galleries are enhanced by computer interactives, objects to handle, video screens and audio programmes. Highlights include the gigantic Great Bed of Ware (mentioned in Shakespeare's Twelfth Night) and the wedding suit worn by James II. Inspirational, beautiful and unmatched in scope, the British Galleries offer an entirely new visitor experience in a stunning and innovative setting.
  • Designated Collection

Collections services

  • General guide to collections available
  • Object identification and/or written enquiry service
  • Public access available to collections information
  • Specialist publications on collections available
  • Object study facilities available (enquire in advance)

Victoria and Albert Museum
Cromwell Road
South Kensington
London
Greater London
SW7 2RL
England

Website

www.vam.ac.uk

E-mail

vanda@vam.ac.uk

Telephone

Information/Switchboard

020 7942 2000

Fax

020 7942 2266

All information is supplied by the venues or providers themselves and every effort is made to ensure it is correct. Please remember to double check opening hours with the venue concerned before making a special visit.
Events details are listed below. You may need to scroll down or click on headers to see them all. For events that don't have a specific date see the 'Resources' tab above.
Oliver Messel

Oliver Messel - Study Day

4 February 2012 *on now

Oliver Messel was one of the foremost stage and interior designers of the 20th century. Explore his work for film, theatre, interiors, and architecture. Hear talks from experts including his nephew, Thomas Messel. Includes Q&A.

When

10:30am-5:30pm

Where

V&A

Admission

£45, £34 concessions, £10 students.
To book please call 020 7942 2211.

Website

http://www.vam.ac.uk/whatson/event/1567/oliver-messel-2706/

Diana Rigg

Diana Rigg - Evening Talk

10 February 2012

Join Diana Rigg DBE, best-known for her portrayals of Emma Peel in the hugely
successful 1960s series The Avengers as she talks to critic Al Senter about her successful and varied T.V. and theatre career.

Suitable for

  • Any age
  • Family friendly

When

7-8pm

Where

V&A

Admission

£9, £6 concessions. To book please call 020 7942 2211.

Website

http://www.vam.ac.uk/whatson/event/1555/diana-rigg-2693/

Victoria and Albert Museum
Cromwell Road
South Kensington
London
Greater London
SW7 2RL
England

Website

www.vam.ac.uk

E-mail

vanda@vam.ac.uk

Telephone

Information/Switchboard

020 7942 2000

Fax

020 7942 2266

All information is supplied by the venues or providers themselves and every effort is made to ensure it is correct. Please remember to double check opening hours with the venue concerned before making a special visit.
Resources listed here may include websites, bookable tours and workshops, books, loan boxes and more. You may need to scroll down or click on headers to see them all.
Digital and online resources

Architectural Style

http://www.vam.ac.uk/vastatic/microsites/architecture/style_level1.php?id=0

Website with pictures and descriptions of a broad range of architectural styles, historical and contemporary Western, Asian and Islamic. There is also an interactive Style Quiz.

Victoria and Albert Museum
Cromwell Road
South Kensington
London
Greater London
SW7 2RL
England

Website

www.vam.ac.uk

E-mail

vanda@vam.ac.uk

Telephone

Information/Switchboard

020 7942 2000

Fax

020 7942 2266

All information is supplied by the venues or providers themselves and every effort is made to ensure it is correct. Please remember to double check opening hours with the venue concerned before making a special visit.

Getting there

London Underground (The Tube): The V&A is a five minute walk from South Kensington underground station (on the Piccadilly, Circle and District Line). South Kensington is a five minute tube journey from Victoria, ten minutes from Covent Garden and Leicester Square and 15 minutes from King's Cross St Pancras.

The V&A is a ten minute walk from Knightsbridge underground station (on the Piccadilly Line). Knightsbridge is a ten minute tube journey from Covent Garden and Leicester Square and 15 minutes from Kings Cross St Pancras.

Bus: Buses C1, 14, 74 and 414 stop outside the Cromwell Road entrance. The Open Tour stop outside the Museum as part of their Double Decker Bus site-seeing tour of London.