World War II codebreaking
You'll find some of the most engaging, fun and educational museums in the UK here in South East England. Whether you're looking to discover more about the stars or cars, dinosaurs or boats, country or town life, there is a museum here for you. You'll find many free museums, making them a great addition to a budget-busting day out that doesn't break the bank. So if you haven't been to a museum in years, you may be interested to hear that museums in England have been transported into the 21st century.
Prepare yourself for a surprise as the South East has some of the most fun museums in England, with hundreds across the region. In place of stuffy rooms and wardens shushing for quiet, you'll find inspirational and interactive spaces with engaging and accessible exhibits from retro cars to animatronics, the chance to journey to the stars and the worlds beyond, get hands-on with history and walk in the footsteps of famous characters in history. Whether you're into heritage, art, science, maritime, or wildlife, you're bound to find something right up your street.
The featured museums are located in the counties of South East England and demonstrate the sheer variety of interest on offer. A more detailed list can be located through the map at the bottom of this page.
Car enthusiasts won’t want to miss the world-famous National Motor Museum at Beaulieu in Hampshire’s New Forest. See one of the largest car collections held by any of the museums in England, with 250 cars of every age including land speed record-breakers Golden Arrow and Bluebird. Whisk your way along to Milestones Museum, Basingstoke, where you can see an array of vintage vehicles including Hampshire's three big manufacturers.
Hampshire Cultural Trust are guardians of 2.5 million objects that relate to Hampshire’s rich and internationally important cultural heritage. Managing 23 attractions across Hampshire, including the brand new 878 AD which opened in the autumn of 2022 in Winchester, and the recently refurbished Gosport Museum and Art Gallery where you'll find museums and art galleries that explore Vikings, Victorians, Natural Sciences, Archaeology and much more.
The South East is also home to world-famous Bodleian Libraries, Oxford. Not a museum in the traditional form, but the libraries are the oldest in Europe, and are the 2nd largest in the UK, only second to the British Library. Together, they hold over 13 million printed items and today offer the chance to visit and explore them, marvel at their exquisite architecture and dive into their fascinating history with a guided tour.
The D-Day Story and the LCT7074 landing craft, Portsmouth, is the only museum in the UK dedicated to the Allied Invasion in June 1944. Whilst Portsmouth Historic Dockyard is home to not only the world famous Mary Rose but also HMS Victory, Admiral Lord Nelson's flagship. Discover Portsmouth's rich maritime history onboard some of the most famous war ships in British Naval history and find out what life was like for sailors in years gone by.
Use the 'Map View' button below to find museums near you in South East England including dozens of local museums showcasing their town's proud history. Check individual listings to see which museums are open today.
Number of results: 91
, currently showing 41 to 60.
Museum
Sandwich
Museum telling the story of Sandwich from early medieval times. There are many illustrative panels relating to the town’s history with artefacts dating back to the early 13th century.
Heritage / Visitor Centre
New Milton
Forest Arts Centre is the leading venue for live arts events in the New Forest. A former military drill hall in New Milton, it has a 146 capacity air-conditioned theatre, dance studio, workshop room and licensed café-bar with gallery space.
Arts Centre
Aylesbury
Offering over 70 weekly arts and crafts workshops, live comedy, music and theatre as well as exhibitions and demonstrations, Queens Park Arts Centre and Limelight Theatre has something for everyone.
Museum
Dover
The collection traces the history of the Princess of Wales’s Royal Regiment through four and a quarter centuries of service to the Crown.
Museum
Oxford
History of the city and university. Discover the cities earliest residents, medieval crafts, civil war stories, famous literary connections and the growth of a modern city.
Museums & Galleries
Lymington
St. Barbe Museum explores the unique history of Lymington and the New Forest Coast. Take a journey and discover the people, places and events that have made the New Forest coast unique with our up-to-date interactive museum displays. Experience some…
Museum
Brighton
Brighton Museum & Art Gallery is located in the Royal Pavilion garden, at the heart of the city’s cultural quarter.
Museum
Reading
The Museum of English Rural Life (The MERL) is England’s most extensive museum dedicated to farming, food, craft, rural life and countryside issues.
Museum
Alton
Jane Austen’s House in Chawton, Hampshire is the picturesque country cottage where Jane Austen lived. It is the most treasured Austen site in the world. It was here that Jane’s genius flourished and where she wrote, revised and had published all her…
Historic House / Palace
Milton Keynes
Once Britain’s Best Kept Secret, today Bletchley Park is a heritage site and vibrant tourist attraction. Open daily, visitors can explore some of the iconic WW2 Codebreaking Huts and Blocks and marvel at the astonishing achievements of the…
Museums & Galleries
Aldershot
Housed in the only surviving brick-built barrack blocks left in Aldershot, Aldershot Military Museum tells the story of daily life for both soldier and civilian in the town since 1854.
Museum
Bexhill-on-Sea
It’s curious, it’s quirky, it’s packed to the rafters with diverse objects with a surprise in every cabinet and around every corner.
Museum
Portsmouth
The D-Day Story is the only museum in the UK dedicated to the Allied Invasion in June 1944. It tells the unique personal stories behind this epic event. Also, home to the new fully restored only surviving D-Day Landing Craft LCT 7074, which is…
Historic Site
Chatham
The Historic Dockyard Chatham is a unique, award winning maritime heritage destination with a fantastic range of attractions, iconic buildings and historic ships to explore, PLUS a fabulous programme of touring exhibitions at No.1 Smithery.
Museums & Galleries
Andover
Housed in a Georgian town house built in the 1750s, Andover Museum tells the story of the town and its surrounding area from prehistoric times to the present day.
Museum
Hove
Hove Museum is one of the most family friendly and accessible museums in the south east. It also houses one of the finest craft collections in the country.
Museum
GREAT MISSENDEN
The Roald Dahl Museum and Story Centre, in Great Missenden is where Roald Dahl (1916-1990) lived and wrote many of his well-loved books. This great little award-winning Museum, aimed at 6 to 12 year olds and their families, has fun galleries.
Museum
Fareham
An elegant 18thC building with a Victorian-style public garden at the rear. Displays tell the story of Fareham, using models, graphics and objects with a varied temporary exhibition gallery.
Museum
Gillingham
There is something for all the family. Zulu War items, Boer War, World Wars I and II, planes, trains, tanks, bridges, bombs, 25 galleries.
Gallery
London
The Royal Mews is an important branch of the Lord Chamberlain's Office and provides road transport for The Queen and members of the Royal Family by both horse-drawn carriage and motor car.
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