Opening Times and Tickets
We are normally open Wednesday to Sunday, 10am to 5pm (last admission 4:30). We are closed Monday and Tuesday, but remain open for bank holidays.
Entry is free. There is no need to pre-book – you can walk in on the day.
If you wish to visit as a group of eight or more, you will need to get in touch with us.
The opening times for the panels in the Picture Room are as follows:
2pm: A Rake’s Progress (north wall)
11am, 3pm and 4pm: Picture Room Recess (south wall)
Seasonal closures in December and January
The Museum will be closed on Christmas Day (Wednesday 25 December) and Boxing Day (Thursday 26 December), but will otherwise remain open in our normal Wednesday to Sunday pattern, including New Year's Day.
Every January, the Museum closes for a week, so we can carry out vital conservation work and maintenance. In 2025, the Museum will be closed from Wednesday 8 January to Sunday 12 January.
We are currently restoring our iconic A Rake’s Progress (a series of eight pictures), painted by William Hogarth. The project will take several years, concluding, we hope, around April 2027. The work is now underway, which will see each canvas treated over the course of the conservation programme. Facsimiles are being used to complete the set in the Picture Room when individual paintings are away being restored. The conservation is being carried out in response to detailed assessments of these national treasures by a number of different specialists who have identified that urgent work is required to ensure the pictures continue to delight future generations.
Ways to explore Back to top
Highlights Tour
The classic tour of the Museum, our Highlights Tour will transport you back to Regency London, taking you through Sir John Soane's extraordinary home, left as it was at the time of his death in 1837. This tour visits the Museum's main highlights and ventures into the Private Apartments.
Private Apartments tour
We provide free tours of the Private Apartments, on the second floor, on Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays. These were once the most intimate family spaces for Sir John and his wife Eliza, which have been lovingly restored to how they appeared when this unique Museum was a family home.
Our tours are led by our volunteers and start from the South Drawing Room on the first floor, at 2pm. Tours are expected to last for around 30 minutes. These free tours are not bookable in advance, and we can only take a maximum group size of eight into the Private Apartments, so we operate on a first-come first-served basis.
If you would like to join, please ask the Visitor Assistant in the South Drawing Room to note your name.
Drawing Office tour
We now offer free tours of Sir John Soane's Drawing Office, the oldest surviving example of its kind, which opened to the public for the first time in its 200-year history in May 2023.
These tours take place on Thursdays and Saturdays at 2.30pm. Tours are expected to last around 20 minutes, departing from the Library-Dining Room. These free tours are not bookable in advance, and we can only take a maximum group size of six into the Drawing Office, so we operate on a first-come first-served basis.
If you would like to join, please ask the Visitor Assistant in the Library-Dining Room, on the ground floor, to note your name.
Please note: our ability to provide both Private Apartments and Drawing Office tours is subject to staff availability. When visiting us, please check with the Museum team to confirm if that day's tour is going ahead.
Private Tours and group bookings
If you are interested in exploring the Museum outside of our normal opening hours, read more about possible private tour options.
Group visits for between 8 and 20 people are welcome, but only on particular days and must be booked in advance. Here's everything you need to know about bringing a group to the Museum.
Bloomberg Connects - your free digital guide to the Museum
Discover the stories behind the Soane Museum with our new guide on the free Bloomberg Connects app. Bloomberg Connects, a free digital guide to cultural organizations, makes it easy to access and engage with arts and culture. Unique and exclusive multimedia guides, commentary from experts, and virtual activities offer insights into exhibitions and collections.
If you are using the app whilst visiting the Museum, we ask that you wear headphones whilst playing audio and video.
Explore Soane
If you're unable to visit the Museum in person, you can still enjoy a virtual tour around several of our amazing spaces, wherever you are in the world, using Explore Soane.
Visit digital replicas of Soane's Model Room, the atmospheric Sepulchral Chamber, the famous Picture Room, and the newly-restored Drawing Office, created using the latest photogrammetry scanning technology.
Visiting Safely Back to top
We ask our visitors to follow the below guidance during their visit to the Soane.
- We request that visitors do not bring any luggage or large bags to the Museum. This includes; large rucksacks, suitcases, and bikes. As the Museum spaces are narrow and our museum objects are fragile, we will provide a clear plastic bag for any small items you’d like to carry. The dimensions of the bag are 375mm x 450mm + 75mm deep.
- Please do not touch any doors or surfaces in the Museum.
- We have restricted our visitor numbers to avoid spaces becoming crowded and for the safety of the collection itself.
Photography is permitted inside the Museum. Flash photography, filming your visit, tripods, selfie sticks, large cameras and phone calls are not permitted.
Entry to the Museum is through the original front door of No. 13. Visitors should expect to have to wait to enter some interiors and some may be visible only from behind stanchions.
Getting here Back to top
Find us at 13 Lincoln's Inn Fields, London WC2A 3BP.
By tube
Holborn (for Central and Piccadilly lines) is a short five minute walk away, while Temple (for the Circle and District lines) is 15 minutes away.
By bus
Buses 1, 59, 68, 91, 168, 171, 188, 243, 521, and X68 stop on Kingsway. Buses 8, 25, and 242 stop on High Holborn.
By bike
Sardinia Street and Portugal Street docking stations for Santander Cycles, or park your own bike at Lincoln’s Inn Fields.
By car
We are in the congestion charge zone, with a few pay-and-display parking spaces and green-badge bays in Lincoln’s Inn Fields.
Accessibility Back to top
Visitors with disabilities are very welcome. To ensure your requirements are met during your visit, contact us in advance on 020 7405 2107 or email admin@soane.org.uk.
Cloakroom and Luggage Back to top
As the Museum spaces are narrow and our museum objects are fragile, we will provide a clear plastic bag for any small items you’d like to carry. The dimensions of the bag are 375mm x 450mm + 75mm deep.
The Museum’s cloakroom is very limited and we ask that visitors do not bring any luggage to the Museum. This includes large/camping rucksacks, suitcases, and bikes. For smaller rucksacks and bags, there is a limited free cloakroom available. Neither the Museum nor its employees accept any liability for the loss of, or damage to, anything left in the cloakroom.
The website stasher shows nearby locations where you can pay a fee to leave luggage.
Prams can be left in the space outside the Museum (within our gates but outdoors). Baby slings or on-person carriers are welcome inside the Museum.
Photography and Sketching Back to top
Photography is permitted inside the Museum as long as care for the collection and Museum is respected. Flash photography, filming your visit, photo shoots, tripods, selfie sticks, large cameras, lenses, and phone calls are not permitted. Where bottlenecks build up, staff reserve the right to discourage photographing objects to ease the flow through the Museum.
Sharing your photos on Instagram or X? Tag us at @SoaneMuseum or use #PhototheSoane and you could see your work shared on our feed.
Unfortunately, we do not currently permit sketching in the Museum.
Shop Back to top
Our shop has a wide range of gift ideas to suit all ages and pockets - from bespoke jewellery and beautiful books, to exclusive products inspired by our collection. Visit during Museum opening hours or shop online. Every purchase supports the Museum.
Stay in touch Back to top
Sign up to our email newsletters, and be the first to hear about our exhibitions, programmes, and family activities, and receive news and offers from the Soane Museum Shop.
