Map, Opening Times & Visitor Information

Location

13 Lincoln's Inn Fields, London, WC2A 3BP

Sir John Soane's Museum is open free: Tuesday to Saturday inclusive, 10-5. Also on the first Tuesday evening of each month, 6-9 pm. Closed Sunday, Monday, Bank holidays and Christmas Eve.

We are just a short walk from Holborn Tube Station on the Central Line.

To plan your journey on public transport visit the Transport for London Journey Planner page

Visiting the Museum

Sir John Soane's Museum is open from Tuesday to Saturday, 10-5pm when admission is free*.

There is a special candlelit opening on the first Tuesday evening of each month, 6-9pm. Visitor numbers are generally high on these evenings and there is frequently a queue to enter the Museum. Tickets cannot be booked in advance; it is difficult to advise the best time to visit as it is impossible to predict visitor numbers in adavnce.

There is a Museum tour each Saturday at 11am; tickets are on sale from 10.30am and cost £5.

Group visits

The Museum welcomes visits from groups of all kinds but, in order to allow all our visitors to enjoy the Museum as we would wish, we need to ask for your co-operation in the following ways.

The Museum is open from Tuesdays to Saturdays, 10 am to 5 pm and on the first Tuesday of each month between 6 pm and 9 pm. Groups may visit whenever we are open at either 10am, 11.30am, 2pm or 3.30pm EXCEPT ON SATURDAYS AND THE FIRST TUESDAY OF THE MONTH 6-9PM. Please contact us in advance to make an appointment. This can be done in writing, by telephone, fax or email. We recommend that you give us at least four weeks notice to enable us the give you the date and the time you request. It is not usually possible for groups to visit on Wednesday or Thursday mornings as those are the times set aside for groups from primary schools under the museum's programme for Children's Education.

We can accommodate up to 20 people at any one time and any groups over this size should be divided into two or more smaller groups with separate appointments of at least one and a half hours in between. Students/schoolchildren younger than 18 must be well supervised and each group must be accompanied by at least 2 adults, preferably 3.

You may ask your own guide or lecturer to address the group on arrival at the Museum in the Library-Dining Room, but we ask you not to gather in large groups elsewhere in the Museum in order that our other visitors are not inconvenienced.

Unfortunately large bags cannot be accommodated at the Museum - we cannot allow them to be taken around the Museum and space is very limited for storage. Smaller bags may be left with the warder at the Front Door.

Entrance to the Museum is free but the Museum badly needs money and we do very much appreciate donations to our Conservation Fund. In particular, we would be grateful for a donation of £50 from each group to cover administrative costs and to assist the Museum by contributing to its limited resources.

We sincerely hope that you will enjoy your visit to the Museum.

To make a booking, please complete the online booking form or contact Julie Brock, on +44 (0) 20 7440 4263, Fax: +44 (0) 20 7831 3957, email: jbrock@soane.org.uk

Important Visitor Information

Queuing

Visitor numbers at the Museum are currently very high. Owing to the delicate nature of the building and the exposed collections it is important that we limit the number of people in the Museum at any one time. These restrictions sometimes lead to queues forming, particularly on Saturdays. To avoid queuing (waiting times can be up to 1 hour) please make your visit as early as possible (the Museum opens at 10am). We apologise in advance for any delays you may experience and for any incovenience this may cause.

Bags

Owing to the current high alert security situation, large bags or suitcases cannot be taken into the Museum. All bags may be searched as a condition of entry. We regret that large bags and suitcases cannot be accommodated in the Museum.

Unfortunately we cannot accomodate prams or pushchairs in the Musuem. They can be left in the porch by the entrance if there is space, and at the owner's risk.

Disabled Access

The Museum has limited disabled access. Wheelchair uses should telephone in advance for advice. Please contact Julie Brock on +44 (0) 20 7440 4263 or by email. For more information on disabled access click here.

Disability Equality Scheme

Late Evening Opening 2008/ 2009

The Museum is open between 6 and 9pm on the first Tuesday of each month (see list below):

Tuesday 3 June, Tuesday 1 July, Tuesday 5 August, Tuesday 2 September, Tuesday 7 October, Tuesday 4 November, Tuesday 2 December, Tuesday 6 Januray 2009

Please note the Museum is always closed on Sundays, Mondays and Bank Holidays

Where to eat locally

The is no café in the Museum but there are many good places to eat close by. There are a number of cafés and restaurants on Kingsway and High Holborn (2 minutes away) and picnics can be eaten in Lincoln's Inn Fields (one of the oldest and largest garden squares in London).

Museum staff can give directions and advice about where to eat locally

WCs

There are two WCs in basement of the Museum

Parking

There are no private parking spaces available for Museum visitors. However, a number of pay-and-display bays and disabled parking bays are located in the square. Parking control extends to Saturdays.