London Museum's Smithfield Site to Open 28 November with Free Permanent Galleries

The London Museum, formerly known as the Museum of London, will open its doors at a new Smithfield site on Saturday 28 November 2026. The museum brings together several historic buildings around a collection of over seven million objects, with the permanent galleries housed in old railway catacombs beneath the venue. Entry to those galleries will remain free, as at the previous site, which closed in 2022. The museum will also open late on Fridays and Saturdays to attract wider audiences.

Visitors can explore the 1880s General Market buildings, designed by architect Horace Jones — also responsible for Tower Bridge — while the 1960s Poultry Building, notable for one of London's largest hyperbolic parabola roofs, is set to open separately in 2028. Along Farringdon Street, restored shop-fronts will give the area a village atmosphere.

The permanent collection includes the Lord Mayor's Coach, Banksy's Piranhas artwork, Charles I's execution vest, Emmeline Pankhurst's hunger strike medal, the Whitechapel Fatberg, and Anna Pavlova's Dying Swan dress. The Cheapside Hoard and Roman-period archaeological finds from beneath the Bloomberg building will also feature.

The inaugural programme centres on London's food scene, curated by guest editors. A daily events space called 'Our Time' will draw on partners including fabric nightclub, Morley's chicken shop, Punchdrunk Enrichment and Hive Curates.

Mayor of London Sir Sadiq Khan hailed the museum — which he called the largest city museum anywhere — as "proof that our city is the cultural capital of the world." The opening falls almost exactly 50 years after the original Museum of London first opened in December 1976.