Because sometimes the best thing in a museum is the thing you can take home.
There was a time when museum gift shops were fairly predictable. A few postcards, a novelty pencil, a tea towel featuring a famous painting and perhaps a rather expensive rubber.
Not anymore.
London’s museum shops have quietly become some of the most interesting places to shop in the city. Part design store, part bookshop, part treasure trove of weird and wonderful objects, the best ones are carefully curated spaces that reflect the personality of their museums.
You can buy everything from architectural models and anatomical oven gloves to vintage Underground posters, handcrafted ceramics and dinosaur jewellery.
And the best bit? You often don’t even need to visit the exhibition to enjoy the shop.
For anyone interested in art, design, craft, fashion, history or simply buying something a little less predictable than another scented candle, here are 15 London museum shops worth seeking out.
1. Victoria and Albert Museum (V&A) – South Kensington
Best for: Fashion, textiles, jewellery and beautiful design
The V&A is practically the spiritual home of the museum gift shop. With a collection spanning thousands of years of art, fashion and decorative design, the retail offering has an almost unfair amount of inspiration to draw from.
Expect beautiful scarves, unusual jewellery, patterned textiles, art prints, stationery, books and home accessories. The shop is particularly good at taking historic patterns and objects and turning them into something contemporary and desirable.
It’s the sort of place where you pop in for a postcard and leave seriously considering a piece of statement jewellery.
Why we love it: It makes art and design history feel relevant, wearable and useful.
Location: South Kensington, SW7
2. V&A East Museum – Stratford
Best for: Contemporary London culture, emerging makers and unexpected collaborations
One of the newest additions to London’s museum-shopping scene, V&A East Museum opened in April 2026 in Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park.
Its retail approach has a strong connection to East London’s creativity, with products reflecting music, fashion, craft and contemporary culture.
Look out for original jewellery, ceramics, bold graphic prints, independent designers and merchandise connected to the museum’s exhibitions. Collaborations with local makers give the range a distinctly East London personality.
This is less about reproducing famous paintings on mugs and more about celebrating the people making interesting things right now.
Why we love it: A museum shop that feels connected to London’s current creative scene rather than just its past.
Location: Stratford, E20
3. Design Museum – Kensington
Best for: Clever objects, contemporary design and gifts for creatives
If you’ve ever admired an extremely well-designed object and thought, ‘I don’t actually need this, but I absolutely want it’, the Design Museum shop understands you.
The shelves are filled with thoughtfully designed homeware, stationery, unusual gadgets, architectural objects, books, prints and accessories.
There is a strong emphasis on both established designers and emerging creative talent. Even the most ordinary objects can become surprisingly interesting when someone has reconsidered their shape, materials or function.
Why we love it: It’s a reminder that good design doesn’t have to be serious. It can be playful, clever and occasionally completely unnecessary.
Location: Kensington High Street, W8
Explore the Design Museum Shops
4. Tate Modern – Bankside
Best for: Contemporary art, graphic prints and arty accessories
Tate Modern is a heavyweight when it comes to museum retail, with several shops offering slightly different selections.
Expect exhibition catalogues, colourful prints, contemporary art books, graphic T-shirts, jewellery, stationery and artist collaborations.
The Turbine Hall Shop is especially good for illustrated children’s books and gifts, while the Terrace Shop has a substantial collection of modern art and culture books.
It’s also a brilliant place for a distinctive gift that doesn’t immediately scream ‘tourist souvenir’.
Why we love it: The perfect combination of serious art appreciation and gloriously unserious shopping.
Location: Bankside, SE1
5. London Transport Museum – Covent Garden
Best for: Vintage graphics, typography and London nostalgia
This might be one of London’s most visually satisfying gift shops.
The London Transport Museum has access to an extraordinary design heritage, from historic Underground posters and classic roundel graphics to those unmistakable patterned seat fabrics known as moquette.
You’ll find cushions, bags, clothing, stationery, posters, books and miniature buses and trains.
For graphic designers, transport enthusiasts and lovers of retro London, it’s dangerously tempting.
Better still, you can visit the shop without paying to enter the museum.
Why we love it: It celebrates one of London’s greatest contributions to everyday design: its transport identity.
Location: Covent Garden, WC2
Explore the London Transport Museum Shop
6. Museum of the Home – Hoxton
Best for: Independent makers, homeware and local creativity
A Goodordering neighbourhood favourite.
The Museum of the Home explores how ordinary people have lived, decorated and organised their domestic spaces over time. Its shop follows the same theme, celebrating the everyday objects that make a house a home.
Look out for ceramics, textiles, stationery, books, jewellery, craft items and useful decorative pieces. The museum works with local and sustainable suppliers, making it a particularly interesting destination for discovering smaller designers.
It’s a refreshing alternative to the identikit gift shop.
Why we love it: Its focus on local makers, craft and everyday domestic design feels very East London.
Location: Kingsland Road, Hoxton, E2
Explore the Museum of the Home Shop
7. Wellcome Collection – Euston
Best for: Medical curiosities and wonderfully weird gifts
If your ideal gift shop is somewhere between a science laboratory, an art gallery and a cabinet of curiosities, this one’s for you.
The Wellcome Collection shop takes inspiration from medicine, the human body, health and scientific discovery.
Think anatomical illustrations, skeleton-themed accessories, unusual stationery, cuddly microbes and chocolate body parts. There are also fascinating books exploring the human experience from scientific, historical and artistic perspectives.
It’s clever, slightly strange and has an excellent sense of humour.
Why we love it: Where else can you buy a ribcage bag or a skeleton-hand oven glove and feel that you’re making a culturally enriching purchase?
Location: Euston Road, NW1
Explore the Wellcome Collection Shop
8. British Museum – Bloomsbury
Best for: Historical replicas, ancient civilisations and unusual souvenirs
The British Museum’s shops are like miniature versions of the museum itself, bringing together objects and ideas from cultures across the world.
There are reproductions of ancient sculptures, historical jewellery, replicas, illustrated books, stationery and gifts inspired by centuries of art and craftsmanship.
The dedicated bookshop is worth exploring too, particularly if your interests include archaeology, ancient history or world cultures.
Why we love it: It’s possible to leave with an Egyptian-inspired ornament, a classical sculpture replica or a book about a civilisation you knew almost nothing about an hour earlier.
Location: Great Russell Street, WC1
9. Garden Museum – Lambeth
Best for: Gardening tools, botanical gifts and beautiful practical objects
Housed in a former church beside Lambeth Palace, the Garden Museum has a shop that’s an absolute treat for plant enthusiasts and lovers of useful design.
There are proper gardening tools, Japanese-style Hori-Hori trowels, snips, secateurs, plant misters, pots, vases, botanical cards, books and garden-inspired gifts.
What’s especially appealing is that many of the objects are genuinely useful rather than simply decorative.
You can even visit the shop for free via the café entrance.
Why we love it: It’s one of those rare gift shops where buying a practical tool feels like a luxurious design experience.
Location: Lambeth Palace Road, SE1
Explore the Garden Museum Shop
10. Sir John Soane’s Museum – Holborn
Best for: Architecture, historical maps and eccentric interiors
Sir John Soane’s Museum is one of London’s strangest and most wonderful small museums, housed in the former home of the celebrated architect and obsessive collector.
Its shop reflects that eccentric personality.
Expect architectural drawings, historical map reproductions, books, prints, stationery and objects inspired by Soane’s extraordinary interiors and collections.
Particularly lovely are the reproductions of old maps and architectural illustrations.
Why we love it: It has the atmosphere of an old-fashioned collector’s cabinet, where almost every object has an interesting story attached.
Location: Lincoln’s Inn Fields, WC2
11. Horniman Museum and Gardens – Forest Hill
Best for: Natural history, curious creatures and family gifts
The Horniman is a wonderfully eccentric South London institution, famous for its eclectic collections, musical instruments, natural history and much-loved walrus.
Its shop captures that playful personality with books, toys, animal-inspired merchandise, clothing, homeware, cards and gifts linked to the museum’s collections.
There are also products by artists and makers, along with Horniman-branded clothing featuring some of its best-loved creatures.
Why we love it: It has that slightly chaotic, old-school museum charm, but with contemporary gifts you might actually want to wear or use.
Location: Forest Hill, SE23
12. British Library – King’s Cross
Best for: Books, literary gifts and beautiful stationery
Not technically a museum in name, but absolutely deserving of a place on this list.
The British Library’s shop is a paradise for anyone who still gets excited about a lovely notebook, an unusual bookmark or a beautifully illustrated book.
You’ll find literary-themed accessories, maps, prints, puzzles, stationery, special editions and gifts inspired by writers, manuscripts and the Library’s enormous collection.
Fans of Shakespeare, Jane Austen, Sherlock Holmes and classic British literature will have plenty to browse.
Why we love it: It’s a place that celebrates books as both things to read and beautiful objects in their own right.
Location: Euston Road, NW1
Explore the British Library Shop
13. The Postal Museum – Clerkenwell
Best for: Vintage postal graphics, stationery and retro British design
Who knew the humble postal service could inspire such a good gift shop?
The Postal Museum takes the everyday design of letters, stamps, envelopes, postboxes and postal transport and turns it into a surprisingly appealing collection of gifts.
Expect stationery, postcards, books, enamel pins, prints, jewellery, toys and items inspired by London’s historic underground Mail Rail.
There’s something especially charming about a shop devoted to an analogue world of handwritten letters and beautifully designed stamps.
Why we love it: An excellent reminder that some of the best graphic design has always been found on ordinary, functional things.
Location: Phoenix Place, WC1
Explore the Postal Museum Shop
14. Natural History Museum – South Kensington
Best for: Dinosaurs, natural-world illustrations and gifts for curious minds
Few museum shops are quite as joyful as the Natural History Museum’s.
Of course, there are dinosaurs. Lots of dinosaurs. But beyond the prehistoric toys and novelty presents, there’s a lovely selection of nature-inspired homeware, fashion, prints, puzzles and books.
The museum has several retail spaces, including the Central Shop, the Earth Hall Shop and a dedicated Dino Store.
The Earth Hall Shop is particularly worth exploring if you’re more interested in elegant natural-history-inspired objects than another plastic T. rex.
Why we love it: A good mix of fun, education and nature-inspired design, with an emphasis on more sustainable materials.
Location: South Kensington, SW7
Explore the Natural History Museum Shops
15. National Portrait Gallery – Trafalgar Square
Best for: Artist collaborations, contemporary jewellery and quirky homeware
The National Portrait Gallery’s shop is a wonderful example of how museum retail has moved beyond the traditional postcard and fridge magnet.
Alongside art books, portraits and exhibition merchandise, you’ll find jewellery, accessories, artist collaborations, ceramics and distinctive homeware.
The gallery has worked with independent makers on some playful collections, including portrait-inspired egg cups and artist-designed pieces.
There’s a nice balance between traditional portraiture and contemporary interpretations of what a portrait can be.
Why we love it: It proves that a museum shop can be both culturally interesting and genuinely fashionable.
Location: St Martin’s Place, WC2
Explore the National Portrait Gallery Shop
Why museum shops have become London’s best little design stores
What makes the best museum shops different from ordinary shops is their starting point.
Instead of simply asking what’s fashionable or likely to sell, they begin with a collection, an idea, a story or an object. The products that follow often have a little more character and meaning.
They’re also increasingly places where artists, designers, independent makers and small creative businesses can find an audience.
And there’s another bonus. In many cases, money spent in a museum shop helps fund exhibitions, conservation, education and the wider work of the institution.
Not a bad justification for buying yet another notebook you definitely don’t need.
A final thought from Goodordering
At Goodordering, we’re big believers that everyday objects can be practical, playful and full of personality. It’s why we love a good museum shop.
From a beautifully designed cycling bag to a souvenir pencil sharpener shaped like a dinosaur, there’s something rather wonderful about objects that make ordinary life a little more interesting.
So next time you’re wandering around London, consider making the museum shop your destination rather than your exit.
You might just find your new favourite shop hiding inside your favourite museum.
