HONEST REVIEW OF THE YOUNG V&A MUSEUM LONDON

The Young V&A Museum London (also known as The Museum of Childhood), re-opened in July 2023. We moved to London (from NYC) 6 months ago and visiting here was high on my bucket list.

I had heard mixed reviews on this London museum so we were excited to try it out for ourselves. Overall, we really enjoyed our visit, in this guide, we’ll tell you everything you need to know about visiting, so read on!

For reference, my boys were aged 4.5 years old and 16 months at the time of our first visit here.

READ ALL OUR FAMILY-FRIENDLY LONDON GUIDES:
6 GREAT LONDON MUSEUMS WITH PLAY SPACES FOR KIDS
THE BEST ONE DAY IN LONDON ITINERARY
HUGE MUSEUM BUCKET LIST
GUIDES & TIPS ON ALL THE MUSEUMS WE’VE BEEN TO

GOOD TO KNOW BEFORE YOU GO

GETTING THERE: The Young V&A is located at Cambridge Heath Rd, Bethnal Green, London E2 9PA. It is very close to Bethnal Green tube station however this is not an accessible tube station. The closest tube station is Whitechapel.

Whitechapel is a 30-minute walk and it’s not a pretty walk. You may want to opt for a bus, but I often find that a bus is just as long as walking.

The difficulty of getting there is a large factor that puts me off going back in the future.

ENTRY: It’s a free museum which is fantastic! There is no booking, you can just turn up.

When we visited, we walked straight I’m however I have heard of people having to wait up to an hour outside in busy periods.

ACCESSIBILITY: The museum is very accessible for wheelchairs and pushchairs (strollers). There is an area for pushchair parking, of course, you leave it there at your own risk but we found it easier to leave it there. Just make sure to take any valuables with you.

EATING: The Young V&A has its own cafe. There are also long benches where you can sit and eat your own food. Most of the galleries don’t allow food and drinks.

We ate at Spitalfields Market before coming here, there are lots of great options here but it is near Whitechapel Tube Station, around a 30-minute walk from the museum.

OTHER THOUGHTS/ TIPS ON THE YOUNG V&A LONDON

The museum is located in a stunning building and the inside is beautifully designed. There is quite a lot of wasted space but it looks good.

We visited on a rainy Saturday afternoon. It was surprisingly quiet and the boys could easily explore. I’m going to be honest, if it was bust, this museum would be a nightmare!

They have various things for kids to play with, however, there’s no room for many kids to use them at a time. For example, there is a large area with building blocks but there are not enough blocks to really build anything when they’re divided by multiple children. My 16-month-old was happy to stack a few and knock them down but my older one would have liked to build something more interesting!

There are lots of display cases with various toys in them, my 16-month-old loved looking at everything and generally just walking around. Again, if it was busy, I wouldn’t have been able to let him do that!

It was very hot in the museum, definitely wear layers!

Downstairs is best for younger kids. Upstairs is a paid exhibit, we didnt do this as the boys were getting tired. There is also a large, free area for crafts which is fun.