A ticket to the Foundling Museum lasts a year. Not a day and not a timed slot: twelve months from the date you buy it, for as many visits as you like.
That changes how to think about the price. £14.50 (or £13.50 if you book online) is middling for a single visit to a London museum, but as a year’s pass it is probably the cheapest thing in Bloomsbury. Go once for the Hogarths and the Court Room, then come back in the spring for whatever has replaced the exhibition.
Who gets in free
More groups than at any comparable museum, and a couple that are rarely published anywhere. Anyone aged 21 or under walks in free. So do care-experienced people, which suits a museum built on the story of the Foundling Hospital, where abandoned children were taken in from 1739. Selected government benefits claimants are free as well, along with National Art Pass holders (the whole ticket, not the usual half price), Historic Houses members, ICOM and Museums Association members, one access companion for each disabled visitor, and the museum’s own members. Several of those need ID or proof of membership on arrival.
If you’re claiming benefits, our guide to London days out on Universal Credit puts this next to the other schemes in the city.
What everyone else pays
Adults pay £14.50, or £13.50 booked online. Students aged 22 and over and disabled visitors pay £13 (£12 online), and Camden residents and workers pay £13 with proof of address or employer. The student rate starts at 22 for a simple reason: everyone under 22 is already free, so an undergraduate pays nothing at all.
Booking ahead online saves a pound, and the ticket covers the collection and the current exhibition. Groups of eight or more book separately.
Some rooms close while the museum stays open
This is the thing worth checking before you travel. The museum publishes a list of amended dates, and the awkward ones close part of the building rather than all of it. When we looked on 6 October the upcoming entries were the Court Room closed on 15 October, the whole museum closing at noon on 31 October, at 4pm on 5 November and at 1pm on 14 November, the First Floor closed on 19 and 25 November, and a full closure from 24 to 28 December and on 1 January.
The Court Room is the rococo room most people come for, so a day when it’s shut can be a wasted trip even though your ticket is perfectly valid. The museum is upfront that galleries “may need to close at short notice for operational reasons”. It will offer an alternative date or a refund only when the whole building is shut, so a partial closure doesn’t count. Since the ticket lasts a year you can simply come back.
When it’s open
Closed Mondays. Tuesday to Saturday it’s open 10am to 5pm, and on Sundays it opens an hour later, at 11am, which catches people planning a lazy morning there.
What it actually is
The museum tells the story of the Foundling Hospital, Britain’s first children’s charity and, as it happens, its first public art gallery. Thomas Coram founded it, and Hogarth and Handel both gave it their support. There are more than 275 years of London history in the building, from everyday crockery to contemporary sculpture. The museum highlights Hogarth’s Moses Brought Before Pharaoh’s Daughter, and the Court Room is the showpiece. There’s an online shop too, with the proceeds going back into the museum.
Getting there
The Foundling Museum is at 40 Brunswick Square, London WC1N 1AZ (020 7841 3600). Russell Square is a four minute walk, and King’s Cross St Pancras and Euston are both about ten. That makes it a good option for an hour before a train, and the Wellcome Collection is within walking distance, so the two combine easily.
If you only take one thing from this page: buy the ticket once and use it all year.
Foundling Museum
- Address
- 40 Brunswick Square, London WC1N 1AZ
- Nearest
- Russell Square a 4 minute walk, with King’s Cross St Pancras and Euston both about 10 minutes
- Hours
- Closed Monday. Tuesday to Saturday 10am to 5pm, Sunday 11am to 5pm. The museum publishes amended dates, some closing only the First Floor or the Court Room while the rest stays open
- Booking
- Online in advance saves 1 pound, or buy at the door. Groups of 8 or more book separately. Proof of eligibility or membership is shown on arrival
- Price
- Adult 14.50 pounds or 13.50 booked online, student aged 22 and over 13.00 or 12 online, disabled visitor 13.00 or 12 online, Camden resident or worker 13.00. Free for anyone 21 and under, care-experienced individuals, selected government benefits claimants, National Art Pass holders, Historic Houses members, ICOM and Museums Association members, access companions and museum members. Every ticket is valid for a year
- Standing
- The museum of the Foundling Hospital, Britain’s first children’s charity and first public art gallery, founded by Thomas Coram and supported by Hogarth and Handel, with the rococo Court Room as its set piece
How to get in
Every ticket is valid for a whole year from purchase, so a 14.50 pound adult ticket is effectively an annual pass. The free list runs to eight categories and includes care-experienced individuals and selected government benefits claimants, and National Art Pass holders enter free rather than at half price. The student rate applies only from age 22 because everyone 21 and under is already free. The museum publishes amended dates on which the First Floor or the Court Room closes while the building stays open, and a refund or alternative date is offered only for full closures. Sunday opens at 11am rather than 10am.
Where to go next
The Wellcome Collection is a few streets west and free, and the British Museum is the other Bloomsbury institution.
Days out on Universal Credit covers the benefits routes, and free museums covers what never charges.
Questions we get asked
How long is a Foundling Museum ticket valid?
A whole year from the date of purchase, with unlimited return visits. The museum states this plainly, which makes the £14.50 adult ticket, or £13.50 booked online, an annual pass rather than a single admission. Some separately ticketed events are excluded.
Who gets free entry to the Foundling Museum?
Eight categories: anyone aged 21 and under, care-experienced individuals, selected government benefits claimants, National Art Pass holders, Historic Houses members, ICOM and Museums Association members, one access companion per disabled visitor, and museum members. Proof of membership or ID is shown on arrival for several of these. Note that a National Art Pass gives free entry here rather than the half price it earns at most London venues.
How much is the Foundling Museum?
£14.50 for an adult, or £13.50 booked online in advance. Students aged 22 and over and disabled visitors pay £13, or £12 online, and Camden residents or workers pay £13 with proof of address or employer. Anyone 21 and under goes free, which is why the student rate starts at 22. Every ticket is valid for a year.
What are the Foundling Museum's opening hours?
Closed Monday, Tuesday to Saturday 10am to 5pm, and Sunday 11am to 5pm, so Sunday opens an hour later than the rest of the week. The museum also publishes a list of amended dates, some of which close the First Floor or the Court Room while the rest of the building stays open, so check your date before travelling.
Can parts of the Foundling Museum be closed?
Yes, and the museum publishes which days. Several listed dates close the First Floor or the Court Room, the rococo room most visitors come to see, while the museum itself stays open and tickets remain valid. A refund or alternative date is only offered for a full closure. Since every ticket lasts a year, a wasted trip can be made good by returning at no extra cost.
Is the Foundling Museum free for care-experienced people?
Yes, free, listed on the price list without an application process. Given that the museum tells the story of the Foundling Hospital, which took in abandoned children from 1739, it is the most fitting free admission policy of any London museum. Selected government benefits claimants also go free.
Written by Robert J Wills, no. 392 in the guide.
Last checked 6 October 2026 against the venues' own published information. Nobody pays to appear here and we take no bookings.
