british library reading room tour

The British Museum’s Secretive Round Reading Room Is Finally Opening To The Public

The British Museum will offer guided tours of the secretive once-library, which has allured many a visitor with its prominent central location.

Located smack bang in the Great Court of the British Museum is a curiosity that has eluded visitors for the past decade. Towering over guests, and inaccessible to the curious, the Round Reading Room is a proper enigma. What hides inside? What relics of years past are hidden within their walls? Well, now’s your chance to find out. The British Museum is offering guided tours of the space – giving bibliophiles a chance to check out the legendary archival room.

What is the Round Reading Room?

The room was once the site of the British library , before it relocated to its current home in St Pancras in 2008. It also dates back all the way to 1857! As such, it has been privy to such visitors and students ranging from Arthur Conan Doyle to Karl Marx, Oscar Wilde, Bram Stoker and even Lenin. Following the relocation of the library, the room was used as an exhibit space briefly, before finding its current role: storing the museum’s archive of books and papers and objects that trace the museum’s history.

In fact, the new tours mark the first time that the space has allowed museum-goers in since ceasing operation as an exhibition space in 2013. Yup, it’s the first time in a decade that we’re being allowed in! The room was briefly re-opened in 2018 for a series of concerts, but this didn’t provide visitors a chance to see the space in its intended role.

Touring the space

Now, the tour will only last twenty minutes, and the volunteer tour guides will be keeping a close eye on visitors – so you won’t be able to sneak off and investigate the centuries old documents. And, no, it’s not a library so you won’t be able to borrow any of the books . Nonetheless, it’s a pretty impressive sight for bookworms and history buffs alike. Do be aware, though, that no photography is permitted!

Tours run once a week , on Tuesdays currently, and kick off at 11:30am. The tours are completely free , but do require signing up ahead of time. Oh, and they only have space for 20 people in each tour group, so you’ll definitely want to give yourself plenty of time to book ahead. In fact, all of the tours for March and April are already completely sold out!

Further dates are announced each month, for the subsequent month . May tour dates will be released for booking on Tuesday, April 4 . We’re marking that in our calendar so we can see ALL THE OLD BOOKS!

Round Reading Room tour dates can be seen and booked here .

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Why Every History Lover Needs To Explore London’s British Library

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Can a library really be the most exciting place to visit in all of London? If you travel like me, the answer is a resounding yes ! The British Library is much more than a center for library and archival work. Though it may be the national library of the United Kingdom and one of the largest libraries anywhere in the world, it’s also an amazing travel destination. It’s an incredible spot that showcases British history, culture, and influence through printed material. A visit here will give you more “wow!” moments than just about any other attraction in London, and you’ll leave with a laundry list of bragging moments to tell your friends back home. But this is much more than a Can you believe what we just saw? kind of a destination. A visit to the British Library really helps you put so many elements of British history and political development into context. Suddenly, visits to other destinations like Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre , the Tower of London , or the British Museum have a greater significance when you’ve seen some of the documents which make these places what they are. 

The British Library is located next to King’s Cross railway station and St. Pancras railway station. Being situated next to a massive transportation hub is one of the reasons I’ve been popping into the British Library for more than 20 years. It’s the perfect spot to spend an hour before or after you need to catch a train. (There’s a cloakroom and locker room available, though luggage larger than carry-on size is not allowed.) Being inclined to travel frugally, I also appreciate that the main exhibition space offers free admission, though there is a fee for some special events and programs that require advanced ticketing.

The best recommendation I can offer the British Library is that the people most inclined to think that libraries are boring always seem to be the visitors who leave the most impressed. As such, if you suspect that a visit here wouldn’t really be your thing, that’s proof in my books that you’d absolutely love it. Don’t believe me? Read on…

There Are Treasures To Explore

At the British Library, exploring treasures has a double meaning, as many of their most precious works are stored in the “Treasures” room. Admission to the Treasures of the British Library room in the Sir John Ritblat Gallery is always free, and it’s open 7 days a week. For those on a non-academic visit, this is the main area you’ll want to check out. 

This part of the building is cooler and darker than other rooms in order to preserve the delicate artifacts. The contents have been described as a holy grail for history buffs and, in the British Library’s own words, it contains everything “from Magna Carta and Shakespeare to Florence Nightingale and Gandhi. Explore some of the world’s most exciting, beautiful and significant books, maps and manuscripts.”

It Helps To Pick A Theme

I have a tendency to meander around like a kid in a candy store, but a more sensible plan would be to pick a theme to avoid missing out on any historical VIPs. Then you can giddily explore to your heart’s content! The British Library describes itself as “Showcasing the greatest works from our literary, scientific, music, art and sacred texts collections.” I think that’s a good place to start. Identify which of those five topics speaks to you and dive in!

Discover The Best Of Britain

Jane Austen’s desk. Charles Dickens’ notes. Shakespeare’s First Folio. Lyrics and scribbles by John Lennon and Paul McCartney. Research diagrams from Florence Nightingale. Manuscripts from Virginia Woolf. Correspondence from Charles Ignatius Sancho. The earliest of Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales. King John’s Magna Carta. The British Library’s collection reads like a “who’s who” of the country’s most famous luminaries and achievements. If you know their name, you’ll find them here.

A copy of every book published in Britain and Ireland is automatically given to the British Library. With about three million titles added every year, the collection will soon close in on 200 million or so. Most of those writers would no doubt dream of one day making into the select few hundred artifacts that are on display to the public!

Admire International Innovators And Influencers

The British Library’s collection doesn’t just include documents from British sources. Its artifacts include notebooks and preparatory sketches from da Vinci and Michelangelo, a Gutenberg Bible, the Diamond Sutra (the world’s earliest printed book), and a map of New York dating to the 1600s. Works by Copernicus, Galileo, Mozart, and Gandhi are just a few of the prominent names you’ll instantly recognize. It also has one of the largest collections of ancient maps in the world and a huge selection of precious religious texts representing many faiths.

Don’t Miss Out On Temporary Exhibitions

There’s only so much space in the British Library, and it’s impossible to display the entire collection at any one time. That’s what makes the temporary exhibitions so interesting. When new collections are acquired or loaned, or when there’s a special anniversary or simply just a desire to celebrate a particular person or theme, you’ll find it in the temporary exhibitions. As I write this, lucky visitors can take in a tribute to James Joyce’s Ulysses and also author Angela Carter on the 30th anniversary of her death, previously unseen material from Paul McCartney’s personal archive to commemorate the release of Paul McCartney – The Lyrics: 1956 to the Present, and a celebration of 150 years of Alice in Wonderland in Through the Looking Glass, and What Alice Found There .

Free Tours, Seminars, And Resources Are Available

What’s even nicer than free admission? Free tours! At any given time, free tours may be available on particular themes, for the temporary exhibitions, or possibly for the treasures of the British Library in general. You can find the events page here . Note that some free tours might require advanced reservations, as do the free virtual experiences like curator’s talks, which are presented via Zoom.

If you can’t make it to London right away, you may still be able to enjoy a tour at the British Library. Digital tours of special exhibitions (like Elizabeth and Mary: Royal Cousins, Rival Queens ) are available for a modest fee of just a few pounds. The British Library also offers a long list of online exhibitions , from the evolution of Alice in Wonderland to the Russian Revolution. If you’ve ever wondered what exactly is the Magna Carta, this is the section you’ll want to check out! If your London trip is a few years away, this is a fun way to enjoy a little bit of travel adventure before you go.

While the British Library is known for printed works, it also has a massive catalog of sounds . You can listen to everything from interviews with Jewish survivors of the Holocaust to the sounds of British wildlife and a survey of dialects in rural areas.

You Can Study And Work Here

Just like the name suggests, the British Library is indeed a library! Should you be in London for an extended amount of time, it’s a superb place to study, write, or conduct research. You can learn more about getting a Reader pass here .

The Gift Shop Is An Essential Stop

Plenty of museums have cute gift shops, but the one at the British Library is just lovely. It’s an essential stop for anyone who loves books and music and you’ll find everything from puzzles and games to classic prints and literary-themed egg cups. Some of my past purchases include a set of Beatles-themed coasters and mini-notebooks featuring sketches of rabbits on the cover.

Pro Tip: Enjoy Classic English Fish And Chips Nearby

North Sea Fish (7 & 8 Leigh Street) is an easy 7-minute walk from the British Library. You can dine in, but a more affordable option is a visit to the takeout kiosk to the left of the entrance. A takeout order of fish and chips is usually around 10 pounds (no need to get a large – a medium piece of fish is already pretty big). There’s a public park just a few steps down the street to enjoy your meal. However, if you’re looking for a different flavor profile, the Norfolk Arms pub is right across from the North Sea and it specializes in small plates with a Spanish tapas flare and has ample vegetarian options. Don’t be surprised if you see a number of taxicabs on the street. The North Sea is one of the included local landmarks on “the Knowledge,” an extensive test that all would-be taxi drivers must memorize.

Vanessa Chiasson is an award-winning freelance writer, editor, and blogger from Canada bringing warmth and depth to travel and human interest narratives. In the industry since 2012, Vanessa coaches writers from all backgrounds, areas of focus, and experience levels on developing business strategies that support their artistic endeavors. She chronicles her cozy travel adventures at TurnipseedTravel .

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Finally, a chance to peek inside British Museum’s famous domed reading room

Lord knows what (or who) they’ve been hiding in there away from prying eyes

One of the most striking things about visiting the British Museum (apart from all the spooky bandaged mummies and  looted colonial artefacts , of course) is the moment when you exit the galleries and come out blinking into its vast, glass-covered central atrium. At the centre of this light and airy space is a beautiful domed Victorian building. But although many visitors climb its steps and hope for a glimpse inside, they ’ re usually turned away. This is the nerve centre of the museum: the archive, open only to scholars with a really good reason for dredging up the secrets of the past. 

Now, all that’s going to change. The British Museum has started to offer free tours that’ll give you a glimpse inside this storied space, with its grand central dome and its curving, book-lined walls. Originally it housed the British Library, which means that you ’ ll be walking in the footsteps of writers who studied there, including Arthur Conan Doyle, Karl Marx, Bram Stoker and even Lenin, who studied there under the pseudonym Jacob Richter, a name he used to evade the Tsarist authorities. When the British Library moved to its new purpose-built home in St Pancras in 2008, the round building was briefly used for British Museum exhibitions. But in 2013, that stopped, and the building was used to house the museum ’ s archive instead: thousands of books, papers, prints and objects that document its history since it was founded by an Act of Parliament in 1759.

The free tours will be the first time the public has been admitted in a decade. They will last for 20 minutes, and give you a chance to marvel at this 1857 building, which was constructed in segments on a cast iron framework, in an impressive feat of Victorian engineering. They probably won ’ t give you enough time to find a cursed Egyptian book, the reading of which will cast untold doom on you and your associates, but dream big! Life in this city is what you make it.

Discover more London museums with our handy guide . 

An ancient wood in south London has been saved for the public .

We’re giving away 100 tickets to the   Sony World Photography Awards   this year.

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Tickets Alert: Tours of the British Museum’s round reading room

Xtickets alert: tours of the british museum’s round reading room.

Sitting in the centre of the British Museum is a huge Round Reading Room , with a massive dome, and although long closed to the public, the museum has started offering tours.

(c) British Museum

The Reading Room was built for the British Library when it occupied the space, but when the library decamped to St Pancras and the courtyard cleared of books to create the indoor space it is today – the library reading room was also opened to the general public for only the second time in its history.

The museum put a temporary floor in to use the space for exhibitions in 2007, but that stopped in 2013 and is now used to house the museum’s archive . Sadly, that means the room has been pretty much off limits to visitors for the past decade.

Until now…

The museum is starting to offer short tours of the room that lets you go inside for the first time in a decade and see the magnificent dome and the space where some of the most famous (infamous?) writers studied. Such as Karl Marx, Lenin (who signed in under the name Jacob Richter) and novelists such as Bram Stoker and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.

The tours are free, and need to be booked in advance from here .

The tours take place on Tuesdays and start at 11.30am, lasting 20 minutes. Meet at the information desk.

New tour dates will be released monthly – and March tickets are on sale at the moment, but if March is sold out, put a note in your diary for 7th March as that’s when the April tickets will be released.

Photography is not permitted in the Round Reading Room.

(You used to be able to look down into the Reading Room from the Great Court restaurant , but they blocked off the windows for the exhibitions and they’ve been blocked off ever since, which apart from stopping people from seeing inside the reading room, killed off the “secret perk” for getting tables next to the windows for the amazing view.)

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One comment

after the British Library moved but before they decided to use it as an exhibition space, for a time it reverted to being a library. It was a great place to sit, pull a book from the shelves and read or if you were a student at UCL find yourself a space to work. The shelves were partially filled, if I remember rightly with donated books from the personal library of one of the trustees, I remember pulling a book from the shelves on early Chinese art, being amazed at some Han dynasty paintings, but time was pressing and I never finished the book, next time I said to myself, but there was no next time. Its a real shame that they couldn’t have continued using the library as a library; but I guess having a space that they could use as a revenue earning exhibition space seemed more attractive.

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Dome and stacks of British Library Round Reading Room. Photo by Alex Watson ccl

Ferne Arfin   11 March 2018

Remembering the Round Reading Room at the British Museum

The British Museum plans to reorganize its collections and displays over the next ten years and the famous Round Reading Room will feature in its plans.  What will become of it we wonder.

The British Museum plans to reorganize its collections and displays over the next ten years. Visitors to Britain’s number one visitor attraction can expect a gradual evolution of the museum’s gallery spaces, providing “more compelling and coherent stories”, according to museum managers. Perhaps that means they’ll unite the monumental Egyptian statues – now on the ground floor – with the mummies and ancient artifacts that are now several floors and a maze of corridors and galleries away.

The Round Reading Room

I’m glad to hear that the overhaul will include some serious attention to the Round Reading Room and its role in the grand scheme of things. The 19th century, Grade I listed room, with its beautiful blue, cream and gold dome and its halo of 20 arched windows, holds a special place for me and many other writers. I spent the better part of one intense and memorable summer studying there.

I’d been accepted, as a mature student, onto a famous, competitive Masters degree program. It had been decades since I’d last been in a classroom and the reading list that accompanied the offer might as well have been in Chinese for all the sense I could make of it. Writers I had barely heard of, subjects of which I’d only the slightest awareness, esoteric literary criticism, advanced semiotic studies. 

And to make matters worse, almost all the books and articles were long out of print. The only place to find them was the British Library. You can’t borrow books or journals from the British Library. You have to apply for a reader’s pass, then go there and read.

I have to admit, I felt very special on the day I got my pass. The  British Library  is not a public library in the usual sense. Members of the general public can only get a reader’s pass if they need something that is not available anywhere else. But, as a graduate student I was entitled to a pass for unlimited use of the Library for a year.

Clutching my pass, I headed for the British Museum where the British Library reading room was then located – in the freestanding, drum-shaped building that now occupies the centre of the museum’s Great Court. Some books were kept there but most were in storage facilities all over London and the southeast of England. Books had to be ordered in advance and then took up to 48 hours to be delivered to the reading room.

Entering the Round Reading Room for the first time was an intimidating experience. The dome, 140 feet in diameter and just slightly smaller than the Pantheon in Rome, hung over a whispering silence, teeming with literary spirits. The only sounds that intruded were the occasional scrape of a chair, a muffled footstep, a hint of conversation at the central desk or the hiss of pencil on paper (pens were not allowed in the Round Reading Room).

Around the walls, 25 miles of bookshelves contained thousands of reference books – most other books were miles away. Five hundred desks, arranged like spokes of a bicycle wheel, filled the space below the massive dome. Each desk had its own light, its own number and its own sound reducing blotter.

The dome… hung over a whispering silence, teeming with literary spirits.

Several full, 20-volume sets of the Oxford English Dictionary, with lecterns on which to read the huge individual books anchored the ends of some of the spokes. It may seem hard to believe but it wasn’t really that long ago when scholars had to look everything up in books. Given the inscrutable language of the academic texts I struggled through that summer, I spent a lot of time at those lecterns.

My Own Private Museum

I also spent a lot of time, exploring the British Museum’s main floor galleries in virtual isolation. You see, the Library was open later than the Museum (on late nights by as much as four hours later) and the only way into the Round Reading Room was through the Museum. So some of the galleries were always accessible.

I became a regular, visiting two or three times a week and staying as late as I could. On any given night, while waiting for books (helpers still deliver the books you order from storage and stacks right to your desk), or when needing a bit of a wake up stretch and coffee in the Museum café (which kept the same hours as the Library) I might visit the Rosetta Stone , or gaze up at the monumental pink granite head of Amenhotep III.

Along corridors 6 and 12, I lingered in the half lit galleries, studying cases full of Greek, Minoan, Mesopotamian and Phoenician jewelry and hair ornaments, (some of which made its way into my own book), game pieces, tiny gold or bronze boxes and urns for ancient ointments and salves. Sometimes a museum night guard would shadow me through the galleries at a distance; sometimes a couple of other scholars would pass on the way to café. But often I had the space all to myself.

Then it was back to work in the Library, honoured to use it in the company of distinguished ghosts – Virginia Woolf, Oscar Wilde, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, H.G.Wells, George Orwell, Arthur Rimbaud, George Bernard Shaw, Bram Stoker , Charles Dickens, Rudyard Kipling, Mahatma Gandhi and, yes, Lenin and Karl Marx, who spent 40 years writing Das Kapital in this very room.

When the new British Library opened in St. Pancras in 1997, the Round Reading Room lost its purpose and it has been locked behind closed doors, with the exception of a few special exhibitions, ever since.

Great Court of the British Museum. ©Ferne Arfin

Last summer when Hartwig Fischer, director of the British Museum, announced the reorganisation of its galleries, he said the plan was to use the room as a kind of introduction to the museum, “Rest assured,” he told  The Guardian , “the Round Reading Room is at the centre of our planning … I can promise it will look absolutely stunning.”

I hope it will be more than just a pretty face.

The Great Court of the British Museum. ©Ferne Arfin. The round drum in the centre of the Great Court conceals the Round Reading Room. The double arched windows are the giveaway.

Visitor Information

The British Museum , on Great Russell Street, London WC1B 3DG, is open every day except December 24 through 26, New Year’s Day and Good Friday. Hours are 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., and Fridays to 8:30 p.m. Admission, except for special exhibitions, is free. Nearest London Underground stations are Tottenham Court Road, Russell Square or Holborn.

The New British Library in St Pancras, 96 Euston Road, London NW1 2DB,   has several public galleries where permanent and changing displays of the library’s treasures are exhibited for free. These range from the original copy of the Magna Carta to handwritten lyrics by the Beatles. There are also special exhibitions that may be ticketed. In 2018/19, the Domesday Book, on loan from the National Archives, will be part of the Anglo Saxon Kingdoms Exhibition (from October 19, 2018 to  February 19, 2019). Tickets are available online. The exhibition is open during normal library opening hours.

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Very interesting and evocative. I never went there. Now I rather wish I had.

Thanks. Glad you liked it.

I worked in the Round Reading Room and the Library, after leaving school in 1971 ,a great place to work ,have fond memories of working there

I worked there during the last thirty years of its existence. In the summer the cream of French and American universities was gathered there. They had not a minute to waste. I had two friends with good positions in the staff. They always ensured I could get booth B11 (A decisive scene takes place there in la Marque Jaune by Edgar P Jacobs), my favourite. The catalogue at that time was a pure joy, with additions stuck in. It certainly is one of the finest reading rooms in the world . Witn the removal to Saint-Pancras the British Library certainly lost one of its prominent features

I agree. While there is no doubt the current British Library at St Pancras is efficient and has many modern services, there was a magic about working in the Round Reading Room that is gone forever, whatever they eventually do with it.

It’s actually a mistake that the reading room has been closed “ever since” the British Library moved. It was open as a public reference library from 2000 to 2007 and was called the Walter and Leonore Annenberg Centre, and anyone could come in and study. In 2005 they banned people from bringing in rucksacks in reaction to then recent terrorist incidents, which made it much less useful if you needed, say, to bring a laptop. In 2007 the reference library was removed (the museum library moved to another room, which also later closed) and that’s when it came to be used for exhibition space, and even that ended in 2013.

Thanks for that information. I was a regular user of the British Library through that period. When the round reading room ceased being used as the British Library it become, in essence, a tourist attraction. It may have been offered as a general reference library for the public but the through traffic of gawkers made it virtually useless for study and work. So even if it may have been open to view and walk through and use the reference books, it was no longer The Round Reading Room of the British Library.

Great and Interesting. I wish to see the reading room physically soon IA.

I’m afraid it has been closed for several years.

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The British Library launches unique take on the virtual tour

With 360-degree virtual tours of the UK’s major cultural venues having become highly popular during lockdown, the British Library has chosen to offer a slightly different digital experience.

Rather than trying to painstakingly replicate the true-to-life experience of wandering around an institution’s halls, the British Library Simulator is an altogether more fun variation of the online tour.

Built using the Bitsy game engine, which evokes memories of retro video games like Pac-Man and Space Invaders through its blocky aesthetic and basic colour palette, the Simulator enables users to explore a pixelated version of the British Library building in London’s St Pancras.

Constructed by Giulia Carla Rossi, the British Library’s curator of digital publications, the resource is operated – very much like a 1980s video game – using the arrow keys or letters WASD on a keyboard to navigate rooms and interact with museum staff, other visitors and objects you meet on the tour.

This project is not purely designed to increase web traffic, however. The Simulator’s launch follows work undertaken by the British Library and five other UK Legal Deposit Libraries, collecting examples of complex digital publications – including works made with Bitsy – as part of the Emerging Formats Project.

This initiative, which explores the ever-growing field of digital media and interactive storytelling, could not have been better timed – with interest in the culture sector’s digital offer never having been higher.

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A tour group in Room 33a Asia Gallery © Benedict Johnson

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Around the world in 90 minutes

Desire, love, identity: an LGBTQ tour

Eye-opener tours: 40 minutes

Spotlight: the Round Reading Room tour

Hands on desks: 11.00–16.00

Friday night spotlight tours: 20 minutes

Get to know the collection through tours, talks and Hands on desks.

Travel around the world in 90 minutes on our guided highlights tour and explore some of the Museum's most famous objects. Or discover LGBTQ themes and histories in the collection with our Desire, love, identity tour . Take a look below for more details. 

The specific content of tours and talks may change due to gallery work, exhibitions or other essential Museum activities. We are not always able to advise on this in advance.

Around the world in 90 minutes tour

Explore some of the most famous objects on display at the Museum on this guided highlights tour.

• Each tour lasts for 90 minutes and covers multiple galleries.
• Tours take place on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays at 11.30 and 14.00.
• Each tour has a capacity of 20 people.
• £14 per person.
• Recommended for adults and children aged 12+.
• Please note that the tour will visit a number of galleries on different floors and involves a considerable amount of walking.

Explore objects in the collection linked to the themes of desire, love and identity. 

• This tour focuses on LGBTQ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans and queer) themes and histories.
• Each tour lasts for around 70 minutes.
• Tours are free but booking is strongly recommended.
• Each tour has a capacity of 15 people.
• The tour visits a number of galleries on different floors and involves a considerable amount of walking.

Spotlight: the Round Reading Room

Take a brief behind-the-scenes tour of the Round Reading Room and discover how it's evolved since 1857 and the famous faces that studied there. 

• Tours take place on Tuesdays at 11.00 and 12.00.
• Each tour lasts for around 20 minutes.
• Tours are free but advanced booking is essential.
• You can book a maximum of four tickets per group.
• Please note that photography is not permitted in the Round Reading Room. 

Eye-opener tours

Join a volunteer guide on one of our free eye-opener tours bringing you closer to the collection. 

• Our free volunteer-led eye-opener tours are 40 minutes long.
• The tours are recommended for adults, though children are welcome.
• These tours are generally limited to 15 places per session, depending on the Museum location. Please arrive early at the meeting point to secure a space.
• Eye-opener tours run at different times during the day.
• The availability of tours and talks may be reduced on bank holidays – see dates of  upcoming bank holidays .
• Please be aware these tours are subject to cancellation. Please ask at the Information Desk on the day for details.

The British Museum at your fingertips

Enjoy a self-guided tour whenever and wherever with expert commentaries in five languages on 250 objects and 65 galleries.

Friday night spotlight tours

Join a volunteer guide on one of our free Friday night spotlight tours focusing on four remarkable areas of the collection.

• Our free volunteer-led Spotlight tours are 20 minutes long. 
• They take place on late opening on Fridays only.
• We offer tours between 17.00-19.00.
• The availability of tours and talks may be reduced on bank holidays – see dates of upcoming bank holidays .

Hands on desks

The Hands on desks allow visitors to handle real objects and to find out more about the collection through relaxed, informal conversations. Volunteers facilitate the object handling, encourage discussion and answer visitors' questions. The handling collection for each desk relates to the displays around it.

Sessions are free and take place daily from 11.00–16.00, subject to availability, in the galleries listed below:

Room 1  – Enlightenment 

Room 2  – Collecting the world 

Room 24  – Africa, Oceania and the Americas 

Room 49  – Ancient Europe and Roman Britain 

Room 68  – Money

Rooms 42–43  – The Islamic world

Room 33  – Asia

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Exhibitions and events

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Food and drink

Late opening on Fridays

Tsarskoe Selo, the Tsars' Village at Pushkin

Tsarskoe Selo, in the town called Pushkin near St. Petersburg , is one of the area's most impressive sights. The palace complex of Tsarskoe Selo (which means “Tsars' Village” in Russian) includes attractions that are popular draws on their own: the Catherine Palace and parks, the Alexander Palace and parks, and associated outbuildings that have been restored or renovated into exhibition spaces. The entire complex is a part of the UNESCO-protected Russian World Heritage site and will dazzle you with its beauty so completely, you'll be seeing tsars!

Sights at Tsarskoe Selo

When you visit Tsar's Village for the first time, you'll want to be aware of four broad-category sights. On a second visit to the royal complex, consider taking in some of the secondary attractions or temporary exhibitions on the grounds, most of which have separate entry fees and require time dedication.

• Catherine Palace : The Catherine Palace is one of two grand palaces at Tsarskoe Selo. Though it was built by Empress Elizabeth and named for her mother, Catherine, it was the better-known Catherine the Great who made the palace her place of summer residence, employing the work of architects and craftsmen to customize the palace to her particular tastes and requirements. Visitors to the Catherine Palace will feel Catherine the Great's presence and her love of luxury within its sumptuous rooms. The Catherine Palace wasn't used by any Russian tsar as regularly as Catherine the Great, so her influence in the palace's appearance remains. The Catherine Palace is also where visitors can see the recreated Amber Room , which glows with the careful placement of tons of many-hued Baltic Sea amber.
• Catherine Park : Visitors have plenty to feast their eyes on here; the Catherine park is much more than the name implies. The grounds include the gardens and outbuildings associated with the Catherine Palace, many of which have been renovated and can also be viewed from the inside. Take a ferry around the Great Pond or explore the park on foot while you envision Catherine the Great out on a stroll with her beloved dogs, who are buried in a special cemetery designated specifically for them.
• Alexander Park : The Alexander Park is less groomed than the Catherine Park, but given its closeness to the Alexander Palace, it isn't difficult to imagine Nicholas II's children playing here. The infamous mystic, Rasputin, was also buried in the area directly after his death, but so reviled was he that the body was disposed of after the Revolution.

Planning Your Visit to Tsarskoe Selo

Seeing Tsarskoe Selo in its entirety will take a whole day or more, so plan to arrive early and leave late, especially during the summer months when tourist numbers swell. Most guided tours are in Russian. English-language tours are subject to guide availability, and Tsarskoe Selo doesn't accept advance booking for individual visitors to the museum.

Almost every section of Tsarskoe Selo requires its own entry fee, so if you're on a budget, you'll want to have an idea of ticket prices and the complete cost of admission to all of the sights you want to see. Catherine Park and Catherine Palace tickets must be purchased together. You can buy tickets to the Alexander Palace once you're there, but the Alexander Park requires no entry fee.

Prepare to overpay for refreshments and snacks at the palace complex. Look for vendors selling popular Russian street food, such as blini, to dine on the run and save both time and money. Cafes within the palace complex give you the opportunity to rest your feet while you refuel.

To learn more about ticket prices, hours of operation, and both temporary and permanent exhibitions, visit the Tsarskoe Selo website, which can be accessed in both English and Russian languages.

Pushkin Square

• Pushkinskaya • 1 min walk
• Tverskaya • 1 min walk

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Landscape Architects & Designers in Pushkino

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• Reach out to the pro(s) you want, then share your vision to get the ball rolling.
• Request and compare quotes, then hire the Landscape Architect & Landscape Designer that perfectly fits your project and budget limits.

A landscape architect designs and plans outdoor spaces based on the client’s needs and preferences. They:

• Create detailed plans and visual representations using computer software.
• Select suitable materials and consider environmental factors like drainage and energy usage.
• Collaborate with other professionals in Pushkino and oversee landscaping project progress.

Landscape architects are typically required to be licensed in order to practice professionally.

By using the expertise of a landscape architect, clients can ensure that their outdoor spaces in Pushkino are carefully designed, functional, and visually appealing.

• Have a degree or certification in landscape design, horticulture, or a related field
• Best for smaller projects like designing a small backyard or creating a beautiful residential garden.
• Have expertise in creating personalized designs, selecting plants, and suggesting features like patios or garden beds.
• Knowledgeable about plant care, garden aesthetics, and creating functional outdoor spaces.
• Hold a professional degree in landscape architecture and are licensed to practice.
• Best for larger-scale projects like designing a large garden or dealing with challenging terrains.
• Specialize in creating master plans for big properties, integrating features like water elements, outdoor structures, and extensive plantings.
• Have a deep understanding of design principles, construction techniques, and environmental considerations.

What does a landscape architect do?

What does a landscape designer do, questions to ask prospective landscapers in pushkino, moscow oblast, russia:.

If you search for Landscape Architect near me you'll be sure to find a business that knows all about the latest trends and styles for your outdoor spaces, such as gardens, parks, or outdoor recreational areas.

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