Alternative Museums

London has plenty of large, impressive, and sometimes daunting museums that are on almost every tourists list to visit and they end up missing unique experiences that they could get somewhere else. Not everyone wants to spend their whole trip running around giant museums looking at a huge variety of collections from all over the world, and London offers numerous alternatives. There are many small, unique museums spattered around the city. A lot of these are children friendly and have activities or exhibits for the entire family.

Cartoon Museum

Located just one block away from the British Museum is the Cartoon Museum with a small (but perfectly formed) collection of comics and cartoons and a rotating list of exhibits offering something new every few months, giving visitors a reason to keep coming back again and again. This list includes Alice in Sunderland, Essay’s on Cartoonist Searle’s work, and pieces from private London clubs. From the outside the museum might look like a shop that sells batman posters and books of political cartoons but in the back there is an entire collection of famous cartoons. Whether or not you are a cartoon enthusiast, cartoons (especially political cartoons) have a long history in British culture and it is worth seeing just to get a broader grasp of life in the UK. It is also very family friendly and will definitely hold a child's attention longer than a large collection of classical art might.

The Freud Mueum

One can visit Freud's family home that he occupied after fleeing Austria during the second world war, kept intact after his daughter Anna’s death and see how Freud lived and worked in London. His office was completely preserved after his death and still contains all of his books and studies as well as the chair his patients would lie down on during his consulatation. One can peer in and see the elaborate rugs that cover the floors and look upon vast collection of books he left there. Visitors can learn all about Sigmund and Anna’s lifelong work in psychoanalysis. Even someone who may not care exactly what their dreams mean will find it interesting just for the collection of furniture and items the Freud’s brought over with them from Austria, some dating back to the 1800’s. Those who are interested in Freud’s work have the opportunity to learn more about it as this museum focuses as much on teaching about his work as it does on historical relevance.

the Chocolate museum

Located in Brixton, the Chocolate Museum not only shows you the history of the chocolate industry in the UK but looks at it from a global perspective. There is a collection of eclectic chocolate related objects that date back as far as the 18th century as well as an exhibit about slavery in the cocoa trade. One can learn about the entire history of chocolate from the bitter drink the Mayans used to consume to the candy bars we eat today. It is not just all about history here though, what separates the Chocolate Museum from the heaps of other museums in London is it is workshops. For children there is ‘drop-in’ chocolate making or even chocolate making parties if you’re looking for a unique (and delicious) way to celebrate a birthday. For adults one can also attend a chocolate making workshop, a chocolate and wine tasting or just a chocolate tasting. In December they also offer a holiday chocolate making workshop.

London has many famous old institutions where visitors can become engulfed in a multiplicity of subject matter, but for the quirky, off beat stuff just look a little closer and you can discover a fantastic variety of smaller, independent but no-less compelling exhibition that will appeal to young and old alike.