New Forest
If you haven't been to a museum in years for fear of drab venues and broken pots in glass cases, 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. Whether you're into heritage, art, science, maritime, or wildlife, you're bound to find something right up your street.
The featured museums in the counties of South East England demonstrate the sheer variety of interest on offer and a more detailed list of museums in South East England can be located through the map at the bottom of this page.
The South East is home to two brilliant Dockyards: Portsmouth Historic Dockyard in Hampshire and The Historic Dockyard Chatham in Kent. Discover 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.
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.
Many of Britain’s best-loved authors lived in the South East and found the region inspirational for their work. Explore the Jane Austen's House in Hampshire, the house where Jane Austen wrote some of her famous novels, and visit the many locations in Kent that tell of the life and works of Charles Dickens.
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: 122
, currently showing 1 to 20.
Museum
Wallingford
Wallingford Museum is a colourful, delightfully intimate and family friendly local history museum, housed on two floors of this medieval oak-beamed building in the heart of Wallingford in Oxfordshire.
Historic Site
London
One of the world’s most famous ships, Cutty Sark tea clipper has been beautifully restored and is full of fun and exciting things to see and do.
Museum
Uckfield
Historic farm on A275, 1 mile south of Danehill near the Bluebell Railway and Sheffield Park Garden. Fishing, museum, nature trail and tea rooms.
Castle / Fort
Southsea, Portsmouth
Southsea Castle is to remain closed until further notice following the latest official guidelines surrounding COVID-19 (Coronavirus)
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.
Event Venue
HM Naval Base, Portsmouth
Action Stations is a high-tech, interactive indoor attraction housed in Boathouse 6. The boathouse itself was built between 1845 and 1848, and features a unique series of physical challenges, simulators and technological experiments, which put…
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
Paddock Wood
A collection of well-preserved Victorian oast houses, home to the Hop Story Museum and the famous grey and black shire horses. 'Decades experience,' Indoor adventure playground and nature trail.
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.
Museum
Portsmouth
Portsmouth Museum and Art Gallery is now open!
Museum
Maidstone
Maidstone Museum and Bentlif Art Gallery is an exceptional regional museum housed in the gorgeous Chillington Manor, an Elizabethan manor house.
Museum
DEAL
Kent MOMI is a not-for-profit museum that explores the deep history of the moving image — from the days of candle-lit magic lantern performances and hand-painted slides, through Victorian visual experimentation, to the heyday of the cinema.
Museum
Hemel Hempstead
Frogmore Paper Mill is the world’s oldest mechanised paper mill, the birthplace of paper’s industrial revolution. Now operated by a conservation charity, Frogmore is both a working paper mill and a heritage visitor experience.
Historic Ship
HM Naval Base, Portsmouth
HMS M.33 is not only the sole remaining British veteran of the bloody Dardanelles Campaign of 1915-1916, but also of the Russian Civil War which followed. The ship is one of just three British warships from World War I still in existence.
Museum
Portsmouth
See the home where the eminent Victorian author was born - and view some of his personal possessions.
Museums & Galleries
Eastleigh
Take a tour through Eastleigh's past and discover what life was like in the 1930s; displays include recreations of a local engine driver's home.
Museum
Ashford
Lashenden Air Warfare Museum is on a World War II advanced landing ground used by the Royal Canadian Air Force in 1943 with Spitfires and the United States 9th Air Force in 1944 with P51 Mustangs. It is the only advanced landing ground still in…
Museum
Alton
Historic house and garden, home of Gilbert White, author of 'The Natural History of Selborne'. Exhibition on Frank Oates, explorer and Capt Lawrence Oates of Antarctic fame.
Arts Centre
Winchester
A vibrant and versatile gallery space hosting a changing programme of exhibits to celebrate the best of Winchester's thriving arts and heritage scene.
© Visit South East England 2020. All Rights Reserved
.png){kind=icon}
.png){kind=icon}
