Visiting the Three “Main” Museums in London
As my final weeks in London approached, my parents have been using technology to interrogate me about my experiences studying abroad in London. More than what I was learning, they were into the experiences that were unique to this country. Although they have been in Europe before, it seemed like they missed out on a lot of the things that I was able to experience, studying and living in London for a month. While I was showing off the pictures that I took when I visited the Tower Bridge, the Shard, the Buckingham Palace, and more, my dad asked me a question, “Have you been to the DaeYoung Museum?” Thinking that DaeYoung meant Natural History in Korea, which was not, I confidently said, “Yes!” Showing him a picture from the Natural History Museum, I was proud that I have exploited my free time very efficiently. However, my dad stopped me and told me that the Natural History Museum is not the DaeYoung Museum.
After telling him that I will Google the museum and get back to him, I hung up and took out my laptop, searching, “DaeYoung, London”. Going through the search results, I found out that DaeYoung Museum was, in fact, the British Museum. Surfing on Google for few more minutes, I found a Korean blog saying that there are three main museums that people NEED to go to when they visit London, which are: the Museum of London, the National Gallery, and the British Museum. Realizing that I have not been to all three of the so-called “main” museums, I immediately took out my phone to plan that weekend to see all three museums. Going through my schedule, I was devastated because the upcoming Saturday was already fully booked for a conference set up by the Dialogue program; I am not saying that I did not appreciate the conference as it was one of the best things that I have done in London this whole Dialogue trip.
The next day, I woke up to my annoying alarm and left to get on the tube to my classroom. After a long discussion about the reading assignment, my professor made a very welcoming announcement that classes for Friday would be shifted to Thursday, giving us a free day on Friday, which I used to visit the three “main” museums of London.
- The Museum of London
The Museum of London, located in London Wall, London, is, literally, a museum of the city of London. From the prehistoric era to the present days, the museum looks like a three-dimensional timeline of London. Walking pass security, I found a group of people surrounding the museum’s tour guide at the entrance of the first gallery. Joining the group, I thought the timing could not have been better. Walking around the museum, I have realized how old the city of London is and how much it has developed over time. Although this museum was the smallest out of all the museums I have visited in London, I would say it indeed is a must-visit museum in the city of London.
- The National Gallery
The National Gallery is an art museum located in Trafalgar Square, London. Even before I stepped into the museums, I was mesmerized by how amazing the buildings of the museum and the Trafalgar Square was. Passing through security, again, I grabbed the museums map and headed straight to the galleries. After about 20 minutes of wandering around, I realized that I will never be able to see all the art pieces in this museum and decided to search which pieces are the ones that I need to see in the National Gallery. With an article titled “Top ten must-see artworks in the National Gallery” on my phone, I started scavenger hunting the pieces that were in the article. From with Sunflowers by Vincent van Gogh to Bathers at Asnières by Georges-Pierre Seurat, I was able to see artworks by one of the greatest painters in the history; I had near death experienced trying to get a picture of Irises by Monet as one huge group of tourists, who were trying to see the same artwork, squeezed me from both sides. Finding all ten of the artworks took me almost three hours as the museum not only was big but also was set up like a huge maze. Although I am not an art person or necessarily enjoy wandering around galleries, I would say the National Gallery is one of the places that people must visit in London.
- The British Museum
The British Museum, located in Bloomsbury, London, is an institution with more than 8 million works, mainly dedicated to art, culture, and human history. When I entered the museum, I thought I entered a village that is inside a building. With a high ceiling and white theme, the museum seemed very open and free. Seeing how big the museum is, I, again, searched for the must-see artifacts in the British Museums. However, I found a page in the museum map that has a list of the most popular and important artifacts in the museums while Google was still loading. I went on another scavenger hunt and was able to see things that I read about but never seen before in real life; although, I was a little disappointed seeing how small Rosetta Stone really was. After finding all the artifacts that were listed on the map, I decided to wander around the museums. After spending good three hours in the museum, I thought that if I walk more, my legs might shatter into pieces. If you want to see artifacts that you have read about but have never seen before, the British Museum is the place to visit.
All of the three museums are free for admission, but to enter special or event exhibitions, you may need to pay extra to get in. Scrolling through the photos I took at the museum, I realized how much I would have missed if I did not call my parents.
