The Wallace Collection

Hidden gem in London. Often passed up for other great collections, make some time to see this.

London and its free museums… I mean how lucky we are to have all this culture available (as the wifi connection too) in such a great locations.
If you are into old houses or armors, then you would love this place. They do have also a café located under a glass ceiling patio that it is worth a visit. You can spend 20 minutes or 3 hours over here so it is a perfect place to hide from the rain in style if you are in this area

Most tourists find their way to the Tate or British Museum. Many throw down a lot of money for an afternoon tea. I bring out of town friends to the Wallace Collection. It is fun to show them a former hunting lodge on what was once the outskirts of London (how time has changed). While this isn’t the place for modern art fans, the collection of weapons, sculpture, furniture, and paintings is pretty extensive. Unlike a lot of the bigger museums, the collection isn’t overwhelming and can be viewed within an hour or two. Coming back to tea, the afternoon tea is a great, affordable alternative to the higher end options in central London. The glass ceiling means that you have great light. The food is perfect for people seeking an authentic scone and tea experience.

One of the best collections around. Definitely a hidden jewel. Refreshing that something this fantastic is still free. The armor and swords are really neat. Each room is done in a different color and creates a different feel as you move around the house. An educational and relaxing afternoon! Great restaurants in the neighborhood to grab a bite after as well.

Pretty amazing armoury. And a museum which has enough to display but not too much. A lovely little greenhouse out back is good for a pot of tea. Definitely a Sunday outing

Superb. One of the great free art collections in London. I will never tire of visiting this place (It was my third time!). There is so much to see: *tons* of wonderful paintings, lot and lots of historic weapons and armor, coins, chinaware, sculptures, precious furniture. Every time you visit you will find new objects that you missed before. And it costs nothing (donation recommended!).
Conveniently located in Marylebone (a short walk from Baker Street tube station: Don’t visit Madame Toussaud’s — visit THIS place! — *and* the Royal Academy of Music Museum!), and open from 10 a.m. every day. There are audio guides and guided tours, too, and a shop that includes several publications exclusively focusing on the different aspects of The Wallace Collection. Staff are friendly and helpful.
The «courtyard» café/​restaurant is very nice, too. There are several temporary exhibits (don’t miss the –1 floor!) and special events, so check their calendar!
Just have a look at my photos. Did I mention it’s free?

Came here for afternoon tea and wasn’t impressed at all. The scenery is great with awesome lighting however the afternoon tea was overpriced and not very special.

Excellent museum and free. We went there because I had a two-​for-​one coupon for tea. Great atrium for tea and food, a little warm in the summer, but lovely. Didn’t even intend to tour the museum, but ultimately was tempted and ended up wandering around the first floor. It is quite good! I thought the collection of armor was better than at the Tower of London. No crowd at all. Really a hidden gem.

I’d never been here before… what a lot of wasted opportunities to escape from the crush of Oxford street! I loved the relaxed feeling of wandering through a grand house, admiring the gilt and excess. We spotted a few well known paintings do felt good about being educated! However, as for many art lovers, we reserved our greatest enthusiasm for the coffee and cake in the wonderful glass atrium. It was a fine interlude to our culture-​rich sightseeing.

Excellent smallish museum, totally do-​able in a half day (as long as part of that is reserved for lunch or tea in the excellent, stunning café). Well worth a visit. Reminded me (a bit) of Hillwood in DC — an individual’s eclectic collection displayed from a lifetime spent acquiring it. But this is sumptuous. Simply sumptuous. The guy was gangsta when it came to acquiring. .. things.
The Poussin (Dance to the Music of Time) is a must.

To be honest we aren’t huge fans of art but we loved the Wallace Collection for the building, the interior, the furniture, the collection of armory and the art. And it’s nestled in the middle of the Marylebone neighborhood of London. Closest Underground for us was Baker Street but the Bond Street station might be better if you are taking the Central or Jubilee lines. While it is free admission it is best to offer a £4 donation.

Great place for a weekend brunch in the glass ceilinged atrium. Book in advance. Must do for a Londoner. Great eggs Benedict.
Also, check out the Art — its a gallery after all!

What a fabulous personal collection of works in the heart of Marylebone. I happened to stumble upon it after an exhausting morning of shopping through Bond Street. This museum is worth a visit if you want to see something quintessentially aristocratic, a little bit different, but definitely impressive. A bonus point for zero crowds.
It is a historic London townhouse with 25 galleries, primarily French and Italian artists from the 18^th century. It was the former Spanish Embassy during the 1700s before being acquired by the Marquess of Hertford and then being converted into the French Embassy during the 1800s.
The ground floor holds some spectacular armories with European Medieval armour and horse armour, still intact and practically untouched! No replicas here. It is probably one of the most impressive collections of armour and weapons in London, across three galleries, down to every last bolt.
The rest of the galleries feature ridiculously colourful, opulent rooms with divans, sculptures and ceramics, 18^th century paintings (Caravaggio, Van Dyck, Rubens are some of the more recognised artists). The Former State Rooms are also worth a peek, very opulent drawing rooms where VIP would be received.
A museum that is impressive, relaxing, crowd free and easy to get to from Bond Street tube station.

One of the best personal collections I’ve ever seen in my life! Free to visit and worth an entire day in!

When I saw The Swing by Jean-​Honoré Fragonard, I asked my friend (who studied arts and works in a gallery): Is it a replica?
My friend: No this is *The* Swing
Mind Blown.
How one family’s collection could be so magnificent is beyond my imagination. Paintings, drawings, furnitures, sculptures and armory, Wallace Collection has them all. Wandering from room to room, I was more and more impressed.
There’s a café and restaurant in the central court yard, a lovely shop near the entrance. When I was there, the crowd is mostly local. There was also a group of young pupils sketching in front of a masterpiece by Van Dyke, which was adorable.
Easily walkable from Baker St and Bond St tube station and free to public, there’s no reason not to visit this gem.

Great collection of Art — a hidden little gem in Marylebone. Highly recommended, it’s free too! And a nice café area if you want a lunch spot that’s a bit quirky.

The Wallace Collection is a national museum in a historic London townhouse — there are 25 galleries that feature French 18^th century painting, furniture, porcelain, and armoury. The large Drawing Room had some beautiful furniture pieces that were created by Andre-​Charles Boulle, and seeing some of the portraits by Van Dyck in the Great Gallery was great. When I visited, there was an exhibition on Rembrandt’s etchings that was very wonderful to see.
+Van Dyck pieces

I really do wish this review was better but I was so overwhelmed by this place and had so little time to spend that it’s hard for me to truly describe the splendor. Every single room was filled with all sorts pieces, I could spend days here looking through everything. Hundreds of paintings, armor and weaponry, jewelry, various trinkets, beautiful china, furniture, everything you could imagine. It’s crazy to thing that this was a personal collection. If you’re taking a trip to London it should be high up on your list of things to see. Also the employees were pleasant and I wasn’t solicited for a donation.

Another gem of the free museums. I totally dug the Wallace Collection.
Five generations of collectors contributed to the works of art, furniture and armaments you will find here. The «townhouse» as described by Lady (Mrs. Mia?) Wallace seemed to me like a mansion that was part art gallery, part showpiece and part arsenal. The house is beautiful and there is a popular courtyard restaurant in the middle that looks like a perfect place for lunch or tea.
The top floor had most of the paintings and artwork, but it really wasn’t my thing and I breezed through it. The ground floor consisted of elaborately decorated showrooms and four rooms of weaponry. This was where I spent most of my time. The armories were quite impressive. I geeked out a bit wandering from the Oriental collection to the different European armories that spanned the ages. I loved seeing the knights on horseback and checking out all of the different collections of daggers, swords, battle axes, crossbows and rifles. Other museums, that you’ll likely pay for, have a fraction of the weapons you’ll find here.

I wish I knew more about art. How to appreciate it. How to know what’s good and what’s not. Sadly, my American education didn’t get into the classics. So while a few of the names rang bells in the back of my mind, I know there was so much more here that I didn’t appreciate.
Titan, Rembrandt, Boucher, Canaletto. These are names I recognized. Even my obtuseness still noticed some of the fantastic paintings and the sculptures were amazing works of art. And don’t forget about the stunning tables, dressers, wardrobes and chairs. Ruben’s fantastic Rainbow Landscape (a full-​on rainbow!). The classic Laughing Cavalier (painted in 1624). There’s almost an overload of wonderful works of art.
Oh, and when you’ve had enough classic portraits and landscapes, wander through the armouries. Daggers and swords, dating back to the 15^th century. Pistols designed for Louis XIV. Several full suits of armor. Fully dressed horses in armor. All sorts of amazing pieces of war machinery that simply don’t exist anywhere else.
There’s also a small gift shop with the usual trinkets and such. I nabbed a handful of postcards but they also had books, prints, even little mint cases with prints of the art.
Taking pictures is permitted, as long as you don’t use your flash. There was too much glass and too many bright windows in the armory rooms to get good images, but all the artwork rooms came out awesome!
Oh, where is all of this stuff? A two block walk from the shopping district of Oxford Street! And how much to enter? Nothing! No a single penny (though you really should donate if you can).