Free for all

London is one of the world’s capitals of culture, thanks in no small part to the wealth of top-class museums on its doorstep. And not only do many of these museums boast rich collections accrued over the centuries, but they are also free for everyone to visit.

In 2001, the government decreed that free admission would be available to all of England’s national museums. In the decade that followed, attendance grew more than 50 per cent nationwide, with even sharper rises in some of London’s best-loved institutions. With so much to choose from, however, you need to know where best to start, so here we