Looking for the best London exhibitions to see right now? From blockbuster museum shows to lesser-known gallery gems, London’s cultural scene is constantly changing. This regularly updated guide to the best London exhibitions in October 2026 helps you decide what to see and where to go.
Table of Contents
Top 5 London Exhibitions Right Now
My favourite London exhibitions at the moment.
- Queen Elizabeth: Her Life in Style at the King’s Gallery
- Bayeux Tapestry at the British Museum
- Henry Moore: Monmental Nature at Kew Gardens
- Painting the French Riviera at the Royal Academy
- Renoir and Love at the National Gallery
Best London Art Exhibitions October 2026
Barbican
Robert Ryman: The Real Thing 9 October 2026 – 28 February 2027
Robert Ryman believed that the best way to appreciate a painting was in person. Head to the Barbican to discover his work and see if you like it.
- Barbican Art Gallery, Silk Street, EC2Y 8DS
- Open: Daily 10am – 7pm
- Admission: Robert Ryman £20.50
British Library
Agatha Christie: A World of Mystery Friday 30 October 2026 – Sunday 20 June 2027
All things Agatha Christie including her Remington typewriter and the recreation of an Orient Express carriage. Be sure not to miss the excellent, bookish, British Library shop on the way out.
- British Library, 96 Euston Road, London, NW1 2DB
- Friday 30 October 2026 – Sunday 20 June 2027
- Admission: £20/25
British Museum
Bayeux Tapestry until 11 July 2027
If you have tickets for the Bayeux Tapestry, congratuations. If not, sign up to the British Museum mailing list or join become a member to get the earliest possible notification of when the next tranche of tickets goes on sale. Whilst you wait, why not head to Reading Museum to see their excellent reproduction for free, just hop on the Elizabeth Line and Reading is at the western end.
Korea 1 October 2026 – 31 January 2027
Not one but two unmissable exhibitions at the British Museum this autumn. Korea celebrates 2,000 years of Korean creativity from 300 BC right up to the present day.
- British Museum, Great Russell Street, WC1B 3DG
- Open: Daily 10am -5pm (8.30pm on Friday)
- Admission: Bayeux Tapestry £33, Korea £14
- Members free and Art Fund discounts
Courtauld Gallery
Salman Toor: Someone Like You 2 October 2026 – 10 January 2027
First European solo exhibition of Salman Toor’s work, most never seen in the UK before. A chance to discover someone new.
Modern Painting from the Courtauld and Reuben Collections 18 September – mid 2027
Works by Cézanne, Modigliani, Léger, Picasso and Magritte amongst many others from both the Courtauld and the Reuben collections.
- Courtauld Gallery, Somerset House, WC2R 0RN
- Open: Daily 10am – 6pm
- Admission: £18 includes the whole collection
Design Museum
Es Devlin: Other Worlds 2 October 2026 – 4 April 2027
Es Devlin designer, sculptor, artist, set designer, is a creative powerhouse. Can’t wait to see this retrospective especially the 30 year desk with insights into the creation of stage sets for Beyonce, art works and so much more.
- Design Museum, High Street Kensington
- Open: Daily 10am – 6pm (until 9pm Friday and Saturday)
- Admission: Es Devlin £21
- Members free
Dulwich Picture Gallery
Hokusai: Thirty Six views of Mount Fuji 20 October 2026 – 17 January 2027
Exactly what it says on the tin. 36 views of Mount Fuji including the iconic Under the Wave.
- Dulwich Picure Gallery, Gallery Road, SE21 7AD
- Open: Tuesday – Sunday 10am – 5pm
- Admission: £21.50 includes general gallery admission
Fashion and Textile Museum
Ossie Clark + Ceilia Birtwell 2 October 2026 – 11 April 2027
Ossie Clark and Celia Birtwell were a fashion powerhouse. He designed fabulous frocks and she designed delicious fabrics for them.
- Fashion and Textile Museum, 83 Bermondsey Street, SE1 3XF
- Open: Tuesday – Saturday 11am – 6pm
- Admission: £12.65, Art card holders half price
Francis Crick Institute
We Go Way Back until 2 July 2027
Find out how DNA not only shapes who we are but how ground breaking research is affecting the way we treat disease.
- Francis Crick Institute, 1 Midland Rd, NW1 1AT
- Admission: Free
Hayward Gallery
Anish Kapoor until 18 October 2026
Major retrospective from the man who gave us Sky Mirrors and the Orbit in the Olympic Park.
- Hayward Gallery, Southbank Centre, SE1 8XX
- Open: Tuesday – Friday 10am – 6pm 8pm on Saturday
- Admission: £22
Kew Gardens
Henry Moore: Monumental Nature until 31 January 2027
Henry Moore sculptures set amid Kew Gardens, one to visit several times to see sculptures as the seasons change.
- Kew Gardens, TW9 3AE
- Open: Weekdays 10am – 7pm, Weekends until 8pm
- Admission: Adult £22 online, £25 at gate
- Exhibitions included in entrance to the gardens
- Kew members free
King’s Gallery
Queen Elizabeth II: Her Life In Style until 18 April 2027
Quite simply the largest ever display of clothes and jewellery worn by the late Queen. We are promised her christening gown, wedding dress, and coronation dress. Along side more workaday outfits. There will letters to designers and sketches. A fashion treasure trove.
- King’s Gallery, Buckingham Palace, SW1A IAA
- Open: Daily 10am – 5pm
- Admission: £22 Booking essential
National Gallery
Renoir and Love at the National Gallery 3 October 2026 – 31 January 2027
Another big loan from France. Renoir’s Bal au Moulin de la Galette is making the journey from the Musee d”Orsay to be seen in the UK for the first time.
- National Gallery, Trafalgar Square, WC2N 5DN
- Open: Daily 11am – 6pm (Friday until 9pm)
- Admission: Monet £20/£25, Waldmüller Free
- Members free and Art Fund members half price.
National Portrait Gallery
Tim Walker’s Fairyland: Love and Legends 9 October 2026 – 7 February 2027
Queer identity, love and community explored through the lens of Tim Walker
- National Portrait Gallery, St Martin’s Place WC2H 0HE
- Open: Daily 10.30am – 6pm until 9pm on Friday and Saturday
- Admission: £23/25
- Members free, Art Fund half price, over 60s half price on Mondays, Pay what you can on Saturday evening, tickets released on Friday for the next week.
Natural History Museum
Jurassic Oceans : Monsters of the Deep until 3 January 2027
Meet the dinosaurs that swam in pre-historic oceans.
- Natural History Museum, Cromwell Rd, SW7 5BD
- Open: Daily 10am – 6pm
- Admission: £15/£17.50
Pitzhanger Manor
Clare Woods: Garden Without Seasons until 8 November 2026
Big, flower inspired works from Clare Woods at John Soane’s country house.
- Pitzhanger Manor, Mattock Lane, Ealing W5 5EQ
- Open: Thursday – Sunday 11am – 7pm
- Admission: Adults £14
- Ealing residents pay-what-you-can on first Thursday evenings and Sunday mornings, Art Pass holders get a discount
Regents Park
Frieze Sculpture 16 September – 1 November
One corner of Regents Park plays host to the work of 11 international sculptors this autumn.
- Regents Park
- Daylight
- Free to visit
Royal Academy
Painting the French Riviera 2 October 2026 – 31 January 2027
How Marc Chagall, Picasso, Matisse, Cézanne and Renoir many more artists were dazzled by the light on the Cote d’Azure in the 19th and early 20th centuries.
Richard Dadd: Beyond Bedlam until 25 October 2026
It all started so well for Richard Dadd. He was a scholar at the Royal Academy Schools, his art well thought off. He set off on a trip across the Eastern Mediterranean. On his return he began to experience delusions and ended up murdering his father. The rest of his life was spent in secure mental institutions. He never stopped painting. Beyond Bedlam showcases his extraordinary, mainly Fairy based work.
- Royal Academy, Burlington House, Piccadilly, W1J 0BD
- Open: Tuesday – Sunday 10am – 6pm
- Admission: Richard Dadd £15, French Riviera £24/26
- Members free, art fund cardholders discount
Postal Museum
Jolly Postman until January 2027
Original artwork from The Jolly Postman by Janet and Allan Allberg. A trip down memory lane remembering both the book and the countless happy hours reading and re-reading it to the baby Cultural Wednesday twins.
- Postal Museum, 15 – 20 Phoenix Place, WC1X 0DA
- Open: Tuesday – Sunday 10am – 5pm
- Admission: £18.50
Science Museum
Becoming America: How Science Shaped a Nation 23 October 2027 – 25 April 2027
250 years since the Declaration of Independence how science shaped the United States of America.
- Science Museum, Exhibition Road, SW7 2DD
- Open: Daily 10am – 6pm
- Admission: Free
Serpentine Gallery
Amar Kanwar until 31 January 2027
Retrospective of three decades film and video work created by Anwar Kanwar at Serpentine North
- Serpentine Gallery, West Carriage Drive
- Open: Tuesday – Sunday 10am – 6pm
- Admission: Free
Tate Britain
The 90s: Art and Fashion 8 October 2026 – 14 February 2027
Edward Enninful curates the 90s. Expect Corinne Day, images of Kate Moss, artwork by Sarah Lucas and Yinka Shonibare and clothes by Vivienne Westwood and much, much more.
- Tate Britain, Millbank SW1P 4RG
- Open: Daily 10am – 6pm
- Admission: The 90s £22
- Members free, art fund card holders discount
Tate Modern
Julio Le Parc: Light. Colour. Action. until 3 May 2027
Retrospective over a 50 year career creating shimmering sculptures, immersive light works and interactive sound art. £15
Frida: The Making of an Icon until 3 January 2027
30 works by Frida Kahlo and many more by artists inspired by her.
Ana Mendieta until 17 January 2027
I confess that Ana Mendita is new to me. That maybe because she mainly created ephemeral earth-body artworks and died in 1985.
Light and Magic: The Birth of Art Photography 14 October 2026 – 21 February 2027
How the new fangled science of photography became a tool for artists.
- Tate Modern, Bankside SE1 9TG
- Open: Daily 10am – 6pm
- Frida £25, Julio le Parc £15, Ana Mendieta £18, Photography £20
- Members free
University College London
Two Centuries Here
University College London, London’s oldest University is 200 years old this year. To mark the occasion Two Centuries Here spread across various venues in the University including the Grant Museum of Zoology and the Petrie Museum.
- Octogon, Gower Street
- until 20 February 2027
- Admission: Free
V&A
Schiaperelli: Fashion Becomes Art until 8 November 2026
Elsa Schiaparelli not only created groundbreaking, beautiful clothes, she was also at the centre of an artistic network and a great entrepreneur. Frocks, shoes, jewellery and artwork, it should be a feast.
Freddie Mercury | Splendid Things 24 October 2026 – 17 January 2027
Freddie Mercury would have been 80 this year. To celebrate the V&A has eight outfits from across his career dotted around its fabulous galleries.
- Victoria and Albert Museum, Cromwell Road, SW7 2RL
- Open: Daily 10am – 5.45pm until 10pm on Fridays
- Admission: Schiaparelli £28/£30, Freddie free
- Members free
V&A East
The Music is Black: A British Story until 3 January 2027
First exhibition in the brand new V&A East is devoted to 125 years of black music making in the UK. Costumes, music, lyrics, instruments and, of course, music.
- V&A East,107 Carpenters Rd E20 2AR
- Open: Daily 10am – 6pm
- Admission: £22.50 weekdays, £24.50 weekends
Wallace Collection
Winston Churchill: The Painter until 29 November 2026
Winston Churchill not as politician or revered leader but as an accomplished artist.
Wallace Collection at War until 25 October 2026
When World War II broke out the treasures of the Wallace Collection were evacuated for the duration. Instead of standing empty the building became the stage for some cultural diplomacy. Artists Aid Russia gathered 900 works by living artists and put them on show in Hertford House. Proceeds from the exhibition went to Clementine Churchill’s First Aid fund.
- Wallace Collection, Hertford House, Manchester Square W1U 3BN
- Open: Daily 10am – 5pm
- Admission: free, Winston Churchill £18
Wellcome Collection
The Coming of Age until 29 November 2026
One in ten children born today are expected to live to beyond 100 years old. The Coming of Age looks at how we treat people of different ages and what we can expect as we get older. Art works and artefacts explore what it is to age.
- Wellcome Collection, Euston Road, NW1 2BE
- Open: Daily 10am – 6pm
- Admission: Free
Whitechapel Gallery
Cecilia Vicuña: Living Threads 7 October 2026 – 14 February 2027
Cecilia Vicuña is the queen of textile installations. Thick ropes of material hang down.
- Whitechapel Gallery, 77-82 Whitechapel High St E1 7QX
- Open: Tuesday – Sunday 11am – 6pm, until 9pm on Thursday
- Admission: £16.50
Young V&A
Inside Aardman: Wallace & Gromit and Friends until 15 November 2026
Celebrate 50 years of Aardman. From Morph to Shaun the Sheep via Wallace and Gromit.
- Young V&A, Cambridge Heath Road, E2 9PA
- Open: Daily 10am – 5.45pm
- Admission: £12.50
Whilst I am out and about stopping for refreshment at an excellent London Museum Cafés is always a pleasure. Membership or Friendship of galleries and museums will often get you into the exhibitions for free as often as you like. Take a look at my guide to London Museum Membership for a full run down. Exiting through the gift shop is always a pleasure, take a look at my guide to London’s Museum Shops. Should you fancy a visit to a famous house, I have a handy guide to London’s Historic Houses.
