The V&A’s Fashion Gallery is shut until 2028. So is the South Asia Gallery. Both notices sit on a sub-page nobody reads.
“The Fashion Gallery (Room 40) is closed to undergo a period of redevelopment and will reopen in Autumn 2028.”
“The South Asia Gallery (Rooms 41 & 47b) is closing to the public from Monday 2 March for refurbishment and will reopen in Spring 2028.”
Room 40 is the one most people come for. If you are travelling to South Kensington to see the fashion collection, it is not there, and it will not be there for most of two more years.
The others currently closed, checked on 6 October 2026:
The Korea Gallery (Room 47g), for redevelopment until December 2026.
The Toshiba Gallery of Japanese Art (Room 45), with the Urushi Now lacquer display, closed from Monday 5 October and reopening Wednesday 14 October.
The pond, closed until further notice because of the Thames Water hosepipe ban.
Free to enter, £3 to put your coat down
Admission costs nothing. The cloakroom does, per item.
£3: coats, small bags smaller than an average cabin bag, umbrellas, child scooters.
£5: cabin bags, up to 56 × 45 × 21cm.
£7: larger bags, folding bikes and adult scooters.
And the rule that forces the issue: “Luggage with wheels, and bags larger than 56 × 45 × 21cm, are not allowed in the galleries.”
So a wheeled cabin bag is not a choice. It goes in the cloakroom at £5, or you do not come in. Anyone arriving from a station with luggage should budget for it.
Cloakrooms are at both the Cromwell Road and Exhibition Road entrances, open 10.00 to 17.30 daily and 10.00 to 21.30 on Fridays.
One absolute ban worth knowing: “E-bikes, e-scooters or similar devices containing rechargeable batteries are not permitted in our cloakroom or anywhere on our premises due to the potential fire hazard.” They go in the outside bike storage or nowhere.
The Friday late is not the whole museum
The hours have two catches in one line.
Daily 10.00 to 17.45. Friday 10.00 to 22.00, “some galleries close after 17.45”.
So the Friday late opening keeps the building open for four extra hours but not every room in it. If you are coming on a Friday evening for a specific gallery, check it is one of the ones staying open.
And the one that cuts every visit short: “We begin clearing the galleries 30 minutes before closing.”
On a normal day that means you are being moved on from 17.15, not 17.45. Arriving at five gets you fifteen minutes.
Closed 24 to 26 December. No booking needed, seven days a week.
Seven miles of galleries
The V&A’s own figure, and the reason a plan helps.
“Our seven miles of inspiring galleries are waiting for you.”
At an ordinary walking pace that is over two hours of corridor before you stop at anything. The museum publishes trails and a digital map, and using one is the difference between seeing a collection and seeing a floor plan.
South Kensington station is not step-free
An access detail that sends people the wrong way.
The nearest stations are South Kensington, a 5 minute walk, and Gloucester Road, 10 minutes. Neither is step-free.
The nearest step-free stations are Knightsbridge, 0.6 miles and a 14 minute walk, and Earl’s Court, 1.2 miles.
So a step-free journey means Knightsbridge and a quarter of an hour on foot, not the station named after the museum district.
Both the Cromwell Road and Exhibition Road entrances are step-free and wheelchair accessible once you arrive.
Wheelchairs and walking sticks can be borrowed, but the form must be filled in at least 24 hours in advance. Not on the day.
Disabled visitors get discounted exhibition tickets, and a free companion or carer ticket can be added to every disabled ticket.
There are 13 accessible toilets. The nearest Changing Places toilet is at the Science Museum, which is a different building, so plan for the walk.
Checked on 6 October 2026, the museum warns that Piccadilly line upgrades throughout 2026 and 2027 may disrupt journeys.
There are now three V&As in London
Most people still think of one. There are three, and the two newest keep the longest hours.
V&A South Kensington, Cromwell Road SW7 2RL. Daily 10.00 to 17.45, Friday to 22.00.
V&A East Museum, East Bank, 107 Carpenters Road, Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, Stratford E20 2AR. Daily 10.00 to 18.00, and Thursday and Saturday 10.00 to 22.00. The V&A warns there may be a queue to get in.
V&A East Storehouse, Parkes Street, Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, Hackney Wick E20 3AX. Same hours. Shortlisted for Art Fund Museum of the Year 2026, and billed as an access-all-areas walk through the stored collection rather than a curated display.
Young V&A, Cambridge Heath Road, Bethnal Green E2 9PA. Daily 10.00 to 17.45, but galleries close from 17.00, 45 minutes before the building.
Read the hours across and the useful conclusion is this: for an evening visit, East is better than South Kensington. East runs to 10pm on two nights a week against South Kensington’s one, and nothing there closes early.
All of them are free. Some exhibitions and events carry a separate charge, and members visit those free.
Outside London there are V&A Dundee, closed on Tuesdays from January to March 2026, and the V&A Wedgwood Collection at Stoke-on-Trent, both daily 10.00 to 17.00.
What is on at East
Currently running at V&A East Museum: The Music is Black: A British Story, covering 125 years of Black music-making in Britain across four continents, which closes Sunday 10 January 2027. The New Work: Making East London season closes Sunday 18 October 2026.
There is a DJ set series, upperground, running Thursdays from 8 October to 17 December 2026.
How to plan it
Coming for fashion: do not. Room 40 is closed until Autumn 2028.
Coming for South Asia: check the date. Rooms 41 and 47b close from 2 March until Spring 2028.
Arriving with a bag on wheels: it must go in the cloakroom, at £5 or £7.
Last useful entry is 17.15, because clearing starts 30 minutes before close.
Evening visit: V&A East, open to 10pm Thursdays and Saturdays, where South Kensington’s Friday late closes some galleries at 17.45 anyway.
Step-free: Knightsbridge, not South Kensington, and allow 14 minutes.
Borrowing a wheelchair: book 24 hours ahead.
E-scooter or e-bike: leave it outside. It is banned from the premises entirely.
V&A South Kensington
- Address
- Cromwell Road, London SW7 2RL
- Nearest
- South Kensington five minutes and Gloucester Road ten, neither step-free. Step-free from Knightsbridge, 0.6 miles, or Earl’s Court, 1.2 miles
- Hours
- Daily 10.00 to 17.45. Friday 10.00 to 22.00, though some galleries close after 17.45. Galleries are cleared from 30 minutes before closing. Closed 24 to 26 December
- Booking
- No booking needed for general admission. Wheelchair and walking stick loans need a form at least 24 hours in advance
- Price
- Free. Some exhibitions and events carry a separate charge. Cloakroom 3 pounds for coats and small bags, 5 for cabin bags and 7 for larger bags, folding bikes and adult scooters
- Standing
- Seven miles of galleries of art, design and performance, free and open seven days a week, the senior museum of the V&A family
How to get in
The Fashion Gallery, Room 40, is closed for redevelopment until Autumn 2028, and the South Asia Gallery, Rooms 41 and 47b, closes from 2 March until Spring 2028. The Korea Gallery is closed until December 2026. Galleries start clearing 30 minutes before closing, so the last useful entry is 17.15 on a normal day. Luggage with wheels and any bag larger than 56 by 45 by 21cm is banned from the galleries and must go in the paid cloakroom. E-bikes, e-scooters and anything with rechargeable batteries are not permitted anywhere on the premises. The nearest Changing Places toilet is at the Science Museum.
V&A East Museum
- Address
- East Bank, 107 Carpenters Road, Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, Stratford, London E20 2AR
- Nearest
- Stratford
- Hours
- Daily 10.00 to 18.00. Thursday and Saturday 10.00 to 22.00. Closed 24 to 26 December
- Booking
- No booking needed, though the V&A warns there may be a queue to get in
- Price
- Free. Some exhibitions and events carry a separate charge, free to members
- Standing
- The newest V&A, on East Bank in the Olympic Park, with galleries and events on the people and ideas shaping global culture now
How to get in
Open until 10pm on Thursdays and Saturdays, which makes it the better evening V&A than South Kensington, whose single Friday late still closes some galleries at 17.45. Nothing here closes early. Currently showing The Music is Black: A British Story, 125 years of Black music-making in Britain, until 10 January 2027, with the upperground DJ set series on Thursdays to 17 December 2026.
V&A East Storehouse
- Address
- Parkes Street, Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, Hackney Wick, London E20 3AX
- Nearest
- Hackney Wick and Stratford
- Hours
- Daily 10.00 to 18.00. Thursday and Saturday 10.00 to 22.00. Closed 24 to 26 December
- Booking
- No booking needed for general admission
- Price
- Free. Some exhibitions and events carry a separate charge
- Standing
- An access-all-areas walk through the stored V&A collection, over half a million works across art, design, performance and fashion, rather than a curated display
How to get in
Shortlisted for Art Fund Museum of the Year 2026. The format is the point: you take your own path through the working store rather than a laid-out gallery route. Open to 10pm on Thursdays and Saturdays like the East Museum.
Young V&A
- Address
- Cambridge Heath Road, Bethnal Green, London E2 9PA
- Nearest
- Bethnal Green
- Hours
- Daily 10.00 to 17.45, but galleries close from 17.00
- Booking
- No booking needed for general admission
- Price
- Free. Some exhibitions and events carry a separate charge
- Standing
- The V&A’s museum for children and families, a space to imagine, play and design, in the former Bethnal Green Museum of Childhood building
How to get in
The galleries close from 17.00 while the building stays open to 17.45, a 45 minute gap that is wider than South Kensington’s 30 minute clearing window. Arriving after half past four gets very little.
Where to go next
London’s free museums covers the rest, and the Natural History Museum and the Science Museum are both a few minutes away on the same road.
Exhibitions in London covers what is ticketed, and Knightsbridge covers the area.
Questions we get asked
Is the V&A Fashion Gallery open?
No. Room 40, the Fashion Gallery, is closed for a period of redevelopment and the V&A states it will reopen in Autumn 2028. The South Asia Gallery, Rooms 41 and 47b, closes from Monday 2 March and reopens in Spring 2028, and the Korea Gallery, Room 47g, is closed until December 2026.
Is the V&A free?
Yes, general admission is free at all three London sites and no booking is needed. Some exhibitions and events carry a separate charge, which members attend free. The cloakroom is charged though: £3 for coats and small bags, £5 for cabin bags and £7 for larger bags, folding bikes and adult scooters.
What time does the V&A close?
South Kensington is open daily 10.00 to 17.45 and until 22.00 on Fridays, although some galleries close after 17.45 even then. Galleries are cleared from 30 minutes before closing, so the last useful entry on a normal day is about 17.15. V&A East Museum and Storehouse run daily 10.00 to 18.00 and until 22.00 on Thursdays and Saturdays.
Can you take luggage into the V&A?
Not into the galleries. Luggage with wheels, and any bag larger than 56 × 45 × 21cm, is not allowed in the galleries and must go in the cloakroom, which charges £5 for a cabin bag and £7 for anything larger. E-bikes, e-scooters and other devices with rechargeable batteries are banned from the cloakroom and from the premises entirely.
How many V&A museums are there in London?
Three: V&A South Kensington on Cromwell Road, V&A East Museum on East Bank in the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, and V&A East Storehouse at Hackney Wick, plus Young V&A in Bethnal Green. All are free. Outside London there are V&A Dundee and the V&A Wedgwood Collection in Stoke-on-Trent.
Is the V&A step-free?
The building is: both the Cromwell Road and Exhibition Road entrances are step-free and wheelchair accessible. The stations are not. South Kensington and Gloucester Road, the two nearest, have no step-free access, and the nearest step-free stations are Knightsbridge at 0.6 miles and Earl's Court at 1.2 miles. Wheelchairs and walking sticks can be borrowed with at least 24 hours notice.
Which V&A is best for an evening visit?
V&A East, either the Museum or the Storehouse, both open until 22.00 on Thursdays and Saturdays with no early gallery closures. South Kensington's Friday late runs to 22.00 but some galleries close after 17.45 regardless, so the late opening does not cover the whole museum.
Written by Robert J Wills, no. 342 in the guide.
Last checked 6 October 2026 against the venues' own published information. Nobody pays to appear here and we take no bookings.
