About Natural History Museum
The building is already half the visit: Alfred Waterhouse covered everything in terracotta, inside and out, because the material withstood the soot of Victorian London. The museum opened in 1881 and holds about 80 million specimens from the life and earth sciences, a collection that wouldn't fit into even ten visits.
In Hintze Hall, the one who greets you is Hope, a blue whale skeleton suspended from the ceiling that in 2017 took the place of Dippy, the diplodocus replica that used to do the honors. With more than 7 million visitors in 2025, it was the most visited attraction in the United Kingdom, so arrive early.
