How to get the best out of a visit to Victoria & Albert Museum?

#londontraveltip London has some of the best museums in the world, and what’s more is that most of them are even free-of-charge, which totally defies the saying “free lunch is not good”. That includes V&A museum. I personally might even rank it above British Museum in terms of the touring experience. Here’s a few pieces of advice I’d give to people who plans on a visit to V&A: 1) Make sure to have minimally 2.5hours for the museum. In fact I spent around that and still had a huge chunk of the area left unexplored. If you’re into both artwork and architecture of the building, you’ll likely need more time. 2) Take the free map at the entrance, and DO read. So you have an idea of how large the entire exhibition is, and how the art works are categorised. It would help a lot to manage your time (else you’d be like me). 3) Set a theme for your visit if you’re not new to art museum. Because most of the big art museums like V&A have almost everything, if you’re going in without a theme, it could feel like reading an encyclopaedia—especially an encyclopaedia that you’ve read elsewhere (coz most of the other major museums also arrange their exhibition in chronological orders). Setting a theme can make a visit more specific and less general, thus more insightful. 4) Join a handling session. Book a free “Hands On” session (check the website—often tied to exhibitions like Future World). You might touch a 17th-century textile or a ceramic shard. It’s a rare chance to feel history, not just see it, and understand material choices up close. 5) If possible, keep another two hours for another must-go museum, Natural History Museum, which is right across the road. If you don’t do that, another trip to/fro city centre usually takes around 1.5hr minimum, which is kinda wasteful for a precious trip to London—unless you have plenty of time in London. 🕰️Business Hours: 10:00 AM to 5:45 PM daily (or 10pm on Friday)