Wellcome Collection
Free museum and library about health, medicine and what it means to be human, with quirky objects.
Last updated: 22 October 2026
Photo: David Samuel, User:Hellodavey1902 · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia
- Type
- Museum
- Area
- Bloomsbury & Camden
- Opening hours
- Daily 10:00–18:00
- Price
- Free
- Time needed
- 60 min
- Official website
- wellcomecollection.org/visit-us
What to expect
The Wellcome Collection grew out of the collection of Sir Henry Wellcome, who gathered objects relating to health and medicine around the world. It opened to the public in 2007 in the Wellcome Building at 183 Euston Road and reopened with extra public spaces in 2015. It is free to enter.
Its permanent galleries have included Being Human, which opened in 2019 and looks at what it means to be human today, designed with disabled artists and activists. There are changing exhibitions, a refurbished Reading Room, a library, a café and a bookshop. Euston Square and Euston are the closest stations. Most people spend an hour or two.
Don't miss
- The Being Human gallery
- The Reading Room
- Changing exhibitions on health and medicine
- The library collections
Tips for your visit
- It is free, so a short visit costs nothing.
- Check the website for the current exhibitions before you go.
- The Reading Room is a quiet place to sit.
Getting there from Trafalgar Square
🚇 15 min by Tube (line Northern (Charing Cross branch) or Piccadilly: Charing Cross / Leicester Square → Euston / Russell Square) · 2.6 km · 33 min walk
Where to eat nearby
- Hare & Tortoise (Asian · £ · Bloomsbury & Camden) · 🚶 12 min walk
Breakfast nearby
- Store Street Espresso (Coffee bar · ££ · Bloomsbury & Camden) · 🚶 11 min walk
- Fabrique Bakery, Goodge Street (Bakery · ££ · West End) · 🚶 13 min walk
Other sights nearby
- The British Library · Landmark · 🚶 0.8 km · 10 min walk
- The British Museum · Museum · 🚶 1.2 km · 15 min walk
- Soho & Chinatown · Neighbourhood · 🚇 10 min by Tube (line Northern or Piccadilly: Leicester Square / Covent Garden → Tottenham Court Road / Russell Square) · 1.6 km · 20 min walk
Add Wellcome Collection to your plan → Build a day around it with walking times and restaurants.