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Offered languages
- English
This is more than a checklist of the V&A's most famous objects. Led by a professional historian and limited to just eight guests, the tour is designed to be conversational, engaging and personal.
We'll use masterpieces and unexpected objects alike to uncover the people behind the collection: who made these objects, who used them, what they meant in their own time and why they eventually found their way into a museum.
From medieval religion and Renaissance art to Victorian design, theatre and everyday life, the tour connects objects to the wider history that produced them. You'll leave not only having seen some of the V&A's greatest treasures, but with a better understanding of this extraordinary museum and the stories it preserves.
What's Included
Meeting and pickup
Meet your guide outside the main entrance to the Victoria and Albert Museum on Cromwell Road, a short walk from South Kensington Underground station. Your guide will be waiting outside the museum. Please arrive 10 minutes before the tour begins.
The tour ends beneath Dale Chihuly's spectacular glass chandelier in the V&A's main entrance rotunda, close to the Cromwell Road exit. From here, you can continue exploring the museum independently or make your way back to South Kensington Underground station.
Itinerary
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1Victoria And Albert Museum
Discover some of the V&A's greatest treasures and unexpected stories on a journey through 2,000 years of art and design. With a professional historian as your guide, encounter the medieval Thomas Becket Casket, a Victorian shopfront rescued from Bishopsgate, the Cast Courts and the magnificent Hereford Cathedral Screen. Marvel at the Ardabil Carpet, a masterpiece of Persian art, and explore the Silver Galleries. Discover Renaissance sculpture through Giambologna's dramatic Samson Slaying a Philistine and works by Rodin. Hear the colourful history of the Great Bed of Ware and encounter Victorian theatre through Henry Irving's extraordinary devil costume. The tour culminates with Raphael's monumental Cartoons, created as designs for tapestries commissioned for the Sistine Chapel. Along the way, discover the people who made, used and collected these objects — and how they became part of one of the world's great museums. Objects seen may vary due to gallery closures or availability.
2 hours 30 minutes • Admission ticket free
Additional info
- Wheelchair accessible
- Infants and small children can ride in a pram or stroller
- Service animals allowed
- Public transportation options are available nearby
- Suitable for all physical fitness levels
- This is a walking tour and involves periods of standing while exploring the galleries. The route can be adapted where necessary to use step-free access and lifts
Tags
Cancellation Policy
For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.
Cancellation Policy
- 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.
You can cancel up to 24 hours in advance of the experience for a full refund.
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