London's Best Free Art Galleries and Museums

2017 heralded the first-ever museum dedicated to all things vagina, female reproduction and gynaecological health. “2017!” we hear you cry, we know. Located in the Stables, in the heart of bustling Camden, you’ll find art, sculpture and a rotating series of showcases and events dedicated to all the things you wish you had been taught in school. It’s a great place to visit with your best girlfriends before heading to a Camden watering hole to toast the success of yourself or the wonderful females in your life. Recommended by local insider Alyson Parkes

This mecca for sewing enthusiasts, located in the Wimbledon Sewing Machine Warehouse, is where you’ll find a whopping 600 sewing machines dating back hundreds of years. With a much prized machine, previously owned by Queen Victoria’s eldest daughter, as well as one of the first sewing machines ever invented, an afternoon here is steeped in history. Informative talks are given to visitors by a diehard sewing fan who takes you on a journey through the notable machines. The museum is only open one Saturday a month, so make sure you time your visit right. Recommended by local insider Alyson Parkes

Ever wanted to glimpse inside the mind of Damien Hirst? You – kind of – get the chance to at Newport Street Gallery. With exhibitions showcasing art from his personal collection, it is well worth a visit, even just for the unique concept of the café, based around the artist’s 1992 work Pharmacy. Located in a quiet enclave in Vauxhall, the gallery is a former scenery-painting studio renovated to house some astonishing pieces of art from big names in the art world. And all for free. Recommended by local insider Josh Lee

Amelia Edwards was a big fan of all things Egypt, and she set up this homage to Egyptian archaeology back in 1892, naming it after the prolific excavator Flinders Petrie. The museum houses an extraordinary collection of minutiae documenting everyday life as an Egyptian. Amulets, pots, tools, jewellery, fragments of pottery and household items give incredible insight. The museum also has an impressive amount of Roman mummy portraits and pyramid texts. Recommended by local insider Huda Awan

Whitechapel Gallery is known for hosting groundbreaking thematic exhibitions and retrospectives of formidable artists such as Eduardo Paolozzi and Sarah Lucas. Originally launched to bring art and culture to the Whitechapel community, it continues to present an engaging exhibition and education programme, including the annual Whitechapel Open, which champions new artists. Over the years this space has helped introduce Jackson Pollock, Mark Rothko and Frida Kahlo to a London audience. Recommended by local insider Josh Lee

Situated in the leafy splendour of Kensington Gardens, the Serpentine presents an innovative contemporary art exhibition programme by established and emerging international artists. The first gallery opened in 1970, in a former tea house on the south side of the Serpentine lake. In 2013, the Sackler Gallery opened in a former gunpowder store with the late Zaha Hadid designing the futuristic restaurant extension. In addition to the hugely popular free exhibitions, which have included Marina Abramović’s 512 Hours and Grayson Perry’s The Most Popular Art Exhibition Ever!, are the temporary architecture pavilions staged on the Serpentine Gallery lawn every summer.

Located on the former site of the Millbank prison, Tate Britain offers one of the most comprehensive collections of historical British art from 1500 to the present day. Founded by Sir Henry Tate, of global sugar brand Tate & Lyle, the striking Neoclassical gallery boasts the world’s largest collection of works by JMW Turner as well as impressive pieces by William Hogarth, William Blake, Angelica Kauffman, John Constable, Richard Dadd, Barbara Hepworth and Henry Moore. The gallery is located on the River Thames, and you can take a scenic ride on the Tate Boat to its sister gallery, Tate Modern.

Former adman Charles Saatchi initially opened a gallery in a disused paint factory in St John’s Wood in 1985 to show off his impressive personal art collection. However, by the early ’90s, Saatchi was championing Young British Artists (YBAs) such as Damien Hirst and Tracey Emin and knew he needed extra room. His gallery can now be found in the enormous Neoclassical Duke of York’s HQ just off the Kings Road. Over the years, Saatchi’s ability to tap into the zeitgeist and spot the stars of the future means that the gallery’s free blockbuster art exhibitions are unmissable.

Just across the canal from Victoria Park, the Chisenhale Gallery made its name when it began exhibiting a range of innovative young artists in the 1990s, including Wolfgang Tillmans, Gillian Wearing and Rachel Whiteread. Keen to engage dynamic artistic practices and a diverse audience, the team at Chisenhale continue to commission and produce exhibitions by emerging talent alongside hosting ambitious educational and mentoring programmes.

The Zabludowicz Collection is housed in a former Methodist chapel and has a specific focus on emerging artists. Here, you’ll encounter progressive group shows, immersive video installations by artists like Rachel Maclean and duo Lizzie Fitch/Ryan Trecartin, and pioneering performative practices by artists such as Donna Huanca and Marvin Gaye Chetwynd.