London’s Exhibition Season, Booked
The Bayeux Tapestry's first return to England in nearly 1,000 years anchors a strong London season. Its autumn tickets are gone, so book clients' 2027 slots now.
London’s museums have lined up a season that justifies a trip on its own, and the headline show is already a ticketing problem. The British Museum‘s Bayeux Tapestry loan has sold out its autumn dates. For advisors, the practical job is to secure timed entry first and build the itinerary around it. Here is what is on from now to spring 2027, checked against each venue’s own listings.
The one to plan around
The Bayeux Tapestry, British Museum. 10 September 2026 to 11 July 2027. The museum says this is the first time the roughly 70-metre embroidery of the Norman Conquest has returned to England since it was made nearly 1,000 years ago. It hangs in Room 30, the Sainsbury Exhibitions Gallery, with timed entry and about 40 minutes recommended. Adult tickets run £27 to £33; under-16s go free with a paying adult. September to December 2026 is sold out. Tickets for January to March 2027 go on sale on 21 October 2026, with a limit of 10 per booking. Late openings to 21:00 run Thursday to Saturday.
Autumn and winter 2026
Korea, British Museum. 1 October 2026 to 31 January 2027. Two thousand years of Korean art, drawn almost entirely from the Lee Kun-hee bequest to Korean national museums, including 23 designated National Treasures or Treasures. Adults £18 to £20. An easy pairing with the tapestry on the same day.
Renoir and Love, National Gallery. 3 October 2026 to 31 January 2027. About 40 paintings, centred on Bal du moulin de la Galette (1876), lent by the Musée d’Orsay and shown in the UK for the first time, according to the gallery. £20 off-peak (Sunday to Thursday), £25 on Fridays, Saturdays and the opening fortnight.
Van Eyck: The Portraits, National Gallery. 21 November 2026 to 11 April 2027. All nine of Jan van Eyck’s known painted portraits in one room for the first time, which the gallery calls a once-in-a-lifetime exhibition. £18, including audio guide. For serious collectors, this is the scholarly pick of the season.
Read next · Market PulseEngland's Museums Stay Free, Forever2 min →Painting the French Riviera, Royal Academy. 2 October 2026 to 31 January 2027. More than 160 works, from Monet and Cézanne to Matisse, Picasso and Yves Klein, tracing the Côte d’Azur from the 1870s to the 1960s. £24 to £26. Late openings to 21:00 on Fridays and Saturdays. The RA follows with Peggy Guggenheim in London from 21 November 2026 to 14 March 2027.
Frida: The Making of an Icon, Tate Modern. Until 3 January 2027. More than 30 works by Frida Kahlo alongside some 200 pieces by artists she influenced. £25. Tate Modern also has Light and Magic: The Birth of Art Photography (14 October 2026 to 21 February 2027).
The 90s: Art and Fashion, Tate Britain. 8 October 2026 to 14 February 2027. Followed by Vanessa Bell & Duncan Grant: Inside Bloomsbury from 12 November 2026 to 11 April 2027.
Constantinople to Istanbul: One City, Two Empires, V&A South Kensington. Opens 7 November 2026. The V&A bills it as a UK-first survey of 1,600 years of art and design from the city. £25 weekdays, £27 weekends. Schiaparelli: Fashion Becomes Art closes 15 November 2026, so clients travelling in October still have time.
The Music is Black: A British Story, V&A East Museum, Stratford. Until 10 January 2027. A headphone-led history of 125 years of Black music-making in Britain, with more than 120 tracks. £22.50 weekdays, £24.50 weekends. A good reason to get clients out to the Olympic Park.
Es Devlin: Other Worlds, Design Museum. 2 October 2026 to 4 April 2027. A retrospective of the stage designer behind the London 2012 closing ceremony, with a replica of her studio. Adults from £17.09.
Spring 2027
Monet: Painting Time, Tate Modern. 25 February to 27 June 2027. Tate Modern’s first exhibition devoted solely to Monet, staged 100 years after his death, with more than 60 paintings including 20 Water Lilies works. Expect this to sell like the tapestry.
Punk to Pop, V&A South Kensington. Opens 13 March 2027. Music and fashion from 1972 to 1985.
German Expressionism: Modern Painting 1900–1918, National Gallery. 18 March to 1 August 2027. About 50 works.
Plan it
- Book the tapestry first. Put a calendar alert on 21 October 2026 for January to March slots, then build the trip around the confirmed time.
- Use the late nights. The British Museum (Thursday to Saturday), the RA and Tate Modern (Fridays and Saturdays) stay open to 21:00, which frees daytime for other plans.
- Consider memberships. Most of these venues give members free or priority entry; for clients seeing several shows at one institution, a membership can beat buying single tickets.
- Group by area. British Museum one day; the National Gallery and the RA, a short walk apart, another; Tate Modern on Bankside; Kensington for the V&A and the Design Museum.
- Watch for: Bayeux Tapestry ticket releases beyond March 2027, and Monet booking opening at Tate.
Sources
- British Museum, The Bayeux Tapestry
- British Museum, Korea
- National Gallery, Renoir and Love
- National Gallery, Van Eyck: The Portraits
- National Gallery, exhibitions listing
- Royal Academy, Painting the French Riviera
- Royal Academy, exhibitions listing
- Tate Modern, Frida: The Making of an Icon
- Tate, what’s on
- Tate, Monet: Painting Time press release
- V&A, Constantinople to Istanbul
- V&A East, The Music is Black
- V&A, Punk to Pop
- Design Museum, Es Devlin: Other Worlds
Catherine Crowe is Pacific Market Editor at Not An Atlas, leading our Australia and New Zealand coverage from just outside Wellington, on the southern coast of New Zealand's North Island, by way of Canada. A speech-language pathologist, mother and former model, she travels the way she listens: closely, and for the story underneath. She still writes on family and wellness travel, and the long-haul logistics of both.