Tate Modern

Many visitors explore the museum independently, but taking a private guided tour means you can benefit from the expertise of an experienced art critic. Combine your tour with a visit to the nearby Tate Britain museum by hopping on the scenic Tate Boat, which runs between the two sites every 40 minutes during gallery opening times. Or, choose a London Pass and enjoy access to dozens of other London attractions in addition to the museum. Alternatively, admire the striking Tate Modern façade on a London sightseeing tour or Thames River cruise.

• Entrance to the museum is free, but donations are appreciated and ticket prices for special exhibitions vary.

• Visitor facilities include restrooms, a coat check, gift shops, a café, and a restaurant.

• Tate Modern is wheelchair accessible with lifts and ramps are available on all floors.

Tate Modern is located on the Thames River’s southern bank, opposite St. Paul’s Cathedral. The museum is easy to reach on foot, either by crossing the Millennium Bridge from the north bank or strolling along the riverfront from the Southbank entertainment district. The closest tube stations are Southwark, Mansion House, and Blackfriars. Visitors to the nearby Tate Britain museum can reach Tate Modern by cruising across Thames River on the Tate Boat.

Tate Modern is open year-round from 10am to 6pm from Sunday to Thursday and until 10pm on Friday and Saturday. The museum can get busy in summer, so plan to arrive early or opt for a weekday visit during this time. Don’t miss the spring and autumn Museums at Night festival, when the museum hosts a range of special events and parties after dark.

The museum’s vast permanent collection includes works by iconic artists such as Cézanne, Bonnard, Matisse, Picasso, Rothko, Dalí, Pollock, Warhol, and Bourgeois. The grand centerpiece of Tate Modern is the enormous Turbine Hall, where specially commissioned art installations have included headline-grabbing works such as Ai Weiwei'sSunflower Seeds and Olafur Eliasson’sThe Weather Project.

Yes. Tate Modern is free to enter, and there is no timed booking system, so you can walk in and enjoy the main collection at your leisure. Access to special exhibitions is by paid tickets for precise time slots; some free Tate Modern late-evening events are also ticketed.

That depends on the size. You can take small backpacks into Tate Modern, although you may be asked to carry them in busy exhibitions. Anything larger than 22 inches (55 centimeters) x 16 inches (40 centimeters) x 8 inches (20 centimeters) is not allowed. Waterloo Station has left luggage services.

No. Tate Modern is a large gallery with a wide entrance, and you can generally expect to enjoy the main collection without queuing. You may have to line up awaiting your timed slot for special exhibitions, however, particularly at big-ticket shows with small capacity, such as Yayoi Kusama installations.

Tuesdays and Wednesdays are generally the least busy days at Tate Modern, and the gallery is normally quietest soon after opening at 10am. Weekends, bank holiday Mondays, and Friday afternoons are usually busy, while Tate Modern Lates—occasional evening openings with special programming—are extremely popular.

Tate Modern doesn’t have a particular dress code, so you can wear pretty much what you’d wear anywhere in London, be that short-shorts and flip-flops or full business dress. The space spans around 370,000 square feet (34,500 square meters) so comfortable shoes are a wise choice.

The nearest tube station to Tate Modern is Southwark (Jubilee Line), about 650 yards (600 meters) away. Depending on where you’re traveling from, you may find other nearby tube stations more convenient: Blackfriars is on the District and Circle lines, while St. Paul’s is on the Central Line.