The Sherlock Holmes Museum in London, England

The Sherlock Holmes Museum

Location: London, England, United Kingdom
Address: 221b Baker St, Marylebone,
London NW1 6XE, UK
Admission: Adult £15 Tickets
Child Tickets £10 (under 16 years)
Hours: 9:30am – 5:30pm daily,
except Christmas
Nearest Tube Station: Baker Street Station
Handicap Accessible: No

The Sherlock Holmes Museum in London, England is dedicated to all iterations of Sherlock Holmes, but primarily the original writings by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. The interior is accessible by stairs, and takes guests up into the 221b Baker Street flat that Dr. Watson and Sherlock Holmes would have shared between the years 1881-1904. Even those who aren’t fans of the famous detective and his army doctor “partner in solving crime” will enjoy the incredible attention to detail, the enigmatic ambience, and the fascinating history of the building itself.

My husband Robin has always been a huge mystery fan, and one of the first books he ever read was Sherlock Holmes (he has about a dozen different copies from various prints, including an extremely rare second printing of the original Sherlock Holmes novel), so there was no question about whether or not we would visit the museum here during our time in London. I enjoyed the books, the movies starring Robert Downy Jr. and the BBC version with Benedict Cumberbatch, so it was fun to see how all variations of the story were represented here in some way.

Getting to The Sherlock Holmes Museum is as easy as taking the tube, that is, the underground subway system that serves nearly all of London, to the Baker Street station. From the station, exit onto Marylebone Rd and walk west until you reach Baker Street (less than a two minute walk). Turn right onto Baker Street and the museum will be on the left, right next to The Beetles gift shop. There are also lots of signs outside the Baker St. Station, so even if you’re a bit directionally challenged as I am, you’ll have no trouble finding it.

Purchase tickets inside the gift shop next door to the museum before hopping in the queue for the museum, as you will need to present tickets once you reach the front of the line, and if you don’t have them, like the people in front of us in line, you will be made to exit the line, buy them, then re-queue. Tickets around $20 per adult, and the funds go to staffing and maintaining the building. We only had to wait about 30 minutes total to get inside, which was a very short wait considering how busy it was right when it opened on a Tuesday.

Small groups of no more than 10 people are guided up the stairs into the floors of the house, and the main rooms, replicas of Dr. Watson’s room, Sherlock Holmes’ room, their study, and a few other rooms mentioned in the books are represented in fascinating detail. If you’re as avid a fan as my husband is, you will notice many details, clues, and memorabilia from various Sherlock Holmes cases. Everything inside the museum is authentic from the time period of the books, and the exquisite vintage books, decor, and furniture were beautiful even from a purely aesthetic standpoint. It truly felt as though we’d stepped inside.

Roughly 7-10 minutes were spent by the tour guide giving us a rundown of each room, its contents, and their historical and literary significance. We were then allowed to wonder the floors at our leisure for as long as we’d like. The other rooms contain various period clothing, books, décor, and more memorabilia from the books, movies, and the world of Sherlock Holmes.

After exiting the museum portion of the building, we headed back to the gift shop where we’d purchased our tickets to browse. The movies and TV shows starring Benedict Cumberbatch and Martin Freeman are much more heavily emphasized within the gift shop than they are in the museum, so fans of any version of the story will find something to enjoy here. Puzzles, riddle books, copies of the books and movies, and even related toys or objects mentioned within the series are available for purchase. We weren’t allowed to take any photographs inside the gift shop, but if you don’t have the time to spend at the museum, I recommend at least stopping by the beautifully outfitted gift shop full of unique and intriguing souvenirs.

Robin absolutely loved the museum and had a wonderful time, and as a more casual fan of the stories, I greatly enjoyed it too. Whether you’re a super fan of the series, or a curious museum enthusiast, The Sherlock Holmes Museum is well worth visiting.