London Transport Museum explores the heritage of London and its transport system over the last 200 years.
The Transport Museum in the heart of Covent Garden has 12 galleries, a few exhibitions, and many activities that bring out fascinating travel stories of Londoners in the last two centuries.
Visitors see the beautifully restored world’s first underground steam engine, electric trains, classic London buses, trams, iconic posters of the transport department, and a lot more.
This article covers everything you must know before booking London Transport Museum tickets.
Top London Transport Museum Tickets
# London Transport Museum tickets
# Transport Museum + Postal Museum
# Transport Museum + River Cruise
Table of contents
- What to expect at Transport Museum in London
- Where to book tickets
- How do online tickets work
- London Transport Museum ticket prices
- London Transport Museum tickets
- How to reach London Transport Museum
- Opening hours of London Transport Museum
- Best time to visit London Transport Museum
- What to see at Transport Museum of London
- All Aboard Play Zone
- Map of London Transport Museum
- Food and drinks at Transport Museum
- FAQs about the London Transport Museum
What to expect at Transport Museum in London
The museum has several galleries and exhibitions that showcase the history of London’s transport system, such as:
- The power of posters
- London’s Transport Design Heritage
- Legacies: London Transport’s Caribbean Workforce
There are also interactive exhibits in the Future Engineers gallery that allow visitors to test their STEM skills and solve transport problems.
See the vibrant poster displays in the design gallery on the ground floor.
All Aboard is a dedicated play zone within the museum for children under seven years. Little ones will love All Aboard, allowing them to explore, play, and learn in this engaging space.
Test your engineering skills in the Future Engineers gallery on the ground floor.
Drive or fix a modern tube train, experience the latest ticket technology, and even plan a happy city in the interactive exhibit.
See the horses on the top floor, which played a crucial role in London’s transport history.
At the All Aboard area on Level 1, board a half-bus.
You can drive this unique exhibit and experience what it’s like to be behind the wheel of a London bus.
Explore the newly refurbished London’s Transport at War Gallery.
Discover how transport was vital during the First and Second World Wars and even experience sheltering during those challenging times.
Where to book tickets
You can book London Transport Museum tickets online or at the venue.
Online ticket prices tend to be cheaper than tickets at the venue.
When you buy online, you can avoid the long queues at the attraction’s ticket counters.
When you book early, you also get your preferred time slot.
Because some attractions sell a limited number of tickets, during peak days they may sell out. Booking early helps avoid last-minute disappointments.
How do online tickets work
Go to the London Transport Museum ticket booking page, select the preferred date, time slot, and number of tickets, and buy the tickets immediately.
Once you purchase the tickets, they get delivered to your email address.
There is no need to get printouts of the ticket.
You can show the e-ticket on your smartphone when you visit the attraction.
London Transport Museum ticket prices
The tickets for the London Transport Museum cost £24 for visitors over 18 years old.
Children up to 17 years can get in for free, but you must book a free child ticket for their entry.
London Transport Museum tickets
This London Transport Museum ticket gives you access to all the attractions’ galleries, exhibitions, and activities.
Access to All Aboard Play Zone, where younger kids take on the roles of conductors, mechanics, or drivers on interactive vehicles, is also included in this ticket.
The London Transport Museum tickets are also considered annual passes, which entitle you to visit the attraction as often as you like throughout the next 12 months from the date of purchase.
With this ticket, you can get a 15% discount in the gift shop.
There are various time slots every hour, from 10 am to 5 pm.
Ticket Prices
Adult Ticket (18+ years): £24
Child Ticket (up to 17 years): Free
Combo Tickets
Visitors looking for deals on family-friendly attractions prefer combo tickets such as Transport Museum + Postal Museum or Transport Museum + River Cruise because of the 10% discount they can score.
How to reach London Transport Museum
The Transport Museum of London is located North of the River Thames, close to Waterloo Bridge and King’s College London.
The Courtauld Gallery Art Museum is only a short distance from the Transport Museum.
Address: London WC2E 7BB, United Kingdom. Get Directions
You can reach the London Transport Museum by bus, train, or car.
By Bus
It is better to take public transport to the museum.
Bus routes RV1, 9, 11, 13, 15, 23, and 139 can get you closer to the museum.
You can get off at bus stops at Strand or Aldwych.
Underground Stations
The Transport Museum has five Underground stations nearby – Covent Garden (four mins walk), Leicester Square (seven mins walk), Holborn (11 mins walk), Charing Cross (five mins walk), and Embankment (nine mins walk).
Train Station
The closest rail stations to the museum are Charing Cross, a seven-minute walk from the museum, and Waterloo station, which is 16 minutes away.
By Car
If you’re traveling by car, turn on your Google Maps and get started.
Only a limited number of parking spaces are available near the Transport Museum.
At £4.90 per hour, with a maximum stay of around four hours, they also tend to be costly.
Opening hours of London Transport Museum
London Transport Museum is open every day from 10 am to 6 pm.
The last entry to the Transport Museum London is at 5 pm.
The Lower Deck Cafe, the museum’s restaurant, is open during weekends and school holidays only from 10.30 am to 4 pm.
The Canteen, which is open to the public and museum visitors, operates from 10 am to 5 pm.
How long does the tour take
Most visitors spend 2.5 hours exploring the London Transport Museum.
If you stop at one of the two cafes for re-energizing, you will need half an hour more.
Best time to visit London Transport Museum
The best time to visit London Transport Museum is when they open at 10 am.
If you can’t make it in the morning, the next best time is 3 pm.
You get to avoid the crowd and still have three hours to explore the museum before it closes at 6 pm.
What to see at Transport Museum of London
London Transport Museum showcases the heritage of London and its transport system through many galleries and exhibitions.
Here’s a list of what to expect during your visit.
Hidden London exhibition
In this exhibition, you visit an ‘abandoned’ underground tube station and discover its secrets.
These old and forgotten parts of the Tube network have incredible stories you will love – especially the one about the Plessey aircraft underground factory.
Around 2,000 members, primarily women, worked in the two 4 km (2.5 miles) long tunnels (the underground factory!) during World War II.
Permanent Galleries
The Transport Museum has 12 permanent galleries, listed below –
- 19th Century London and Victorian Transport
- World’s first Underground
- The growth of London
- Digging Deeper
- Formation of London Transport
- On the Surface 1900-1945
- London by Design
- London’s transport at war
- Future Engineers
- On the Surface 1945 to today
- Untangling the Tracks
- Poster Parade
All these galleries take the visitor through the transformation of London’s transportation system.
Must-see exhibits
- A sedan chair from 1780, London’s first licensed public transport
- Shillibeer’s original vehicle – a horse-drawn omnibus from 1881
- The original tube map designed by Harry Beck
- A wooden Metropolitan Railway’s Bogie Stock Coach from 1900
- The first underground steam-powered engine
- London Transport posters designed by artists such as Graham Sutherland, Abram Games, Ivon Hitchens, etc.
- AEC Routemaster, the iconic red double-decker bus that plied in London from 1954 till 2005.
- Early Underground Bullseye
- B-Type, the first successful mass-produced motor bus
All Aboard Play Zone
All Aboard on the ground floor and level 1 of the museum is a play zone for kids up to seven years of age.
Kids can enjoy playing on an interactive fleet of mini vehicles at the All Aboard family play zone.
They can become bus drivers, drive real buses, or dress up as mechanics, riverboat captains, station announcers, drivers, etc.
The museum also has a Baby DLR area dedicated to babies.
Map of London Transport Museum
London Transport Museum at Covent Garden is a massive place, so it is better to look at the museum’s layout before your visit.
Carrying the map of the Transport Museum is even more necessary if you are traveling with kids.
When you know where the must-see exhibits are displayed, you won’t get exhausted while looking for them.
Besides the highlights, the London Transport Museum’s map will also help you find visitor services such as cafes, washrooms, Family Play Zone, etc.
You can download the floor plan or get them from the museum’s entrance.
Food and drinks at Transport Museum
The Transport Museum at Covent Garden has three places to eat and drink – the Canteen, the Lower Deck Cafe, and the picnic area.
Canteen
The Canteen is open to the public as well as museum visitors.
Canteen is the cafe bar offering hot and cold drinks, sandwiches, soups, homemade cakes, etc.
The cafe also has family-friendly facilities such as high chairs and baby changing units.
Hours: 10 am to 5 pm
Lower Deck Cafe
Lower Deck Cafe is on the ground floor of the museum and is open only to London Transport Museum ticket holders.
It is the ideal place to relax for a bit between your museum galleries tour.
The Lower Deck Cafe offers English homemade gelato, frozen yogurt, milkshakes, sandwiches, snacks, and hot and cold drinks.
Hours: 10.30 am to 4 pm
Picnic Area
The Transport Museum’s picnic area is on the ground floor near the Lower Deck Cafe.
Visitors can eat their packed lunches in this small indoor picnic area.
FAQs about the London Transport Museum
Here are some frequently asked questions about the Historical Transport Museum in London.
All tickets to the London Transport Museum are also considered as annual passes. It means you get unlimited daytime entry to the museum for the whole year from the purchase date.
Yes, the museum has many family-friendly exhibits and activities, including a play zone for children up to 7 years. There are interactive displays and hands-on experiences that make it ideal for families.
Yes, there is a free cloakroom facility at the museum. You can leave your coats and bags there.
The museum is committed to being accessible to all. They provide facilities and services for disabled visitors, including wheelchair access, accessible restrooms, and sensory spaces. However, some vehicles may not be friendly because of their historic nature.
No, the ticket only includes guaranteed admission to the museum and its galleries.
Yes, the museum has a canteen, which is the cafe and bar located within the museum. It offers a variety of hot meals, sandwiches, soups, homemade cakes, and hot and cold drinks. You can find more information above.
Photography for personal use is generally permitted in the museum. However, restrictions may apply in certain sections. Tripods and selfie sticks are prohibited.
Sources
# Ltmuseum.co.uk
# Wikipedia.org
# Visitlondon.com
# Coventgarden.london
The travel specialists at TheBetterVacation.com use only high-quality sources while researching & writing their articles. We make every attempt to keep our content current, reliable and trustworthy.
Popular attractions in London