The Victoria and Albert Museum

I suspect that my favorite "museum" will always be the Vatican Museum (I use quotes because it is so much more than a museum). But yesterday I decided that the Victoria and Albert Museum may be my second or third favorite museum. I can't decide until I get to visit the Imperial War Museum again, which unfortunately won't be possible for awhile because they're under renovation until after I leave London.

The name of the V&A refers to Queen Victoria and her husband, Prince Albert, both of whom were major supporters of the arts and sciences in Britain. The first iteration of the museum was built after the Great Exhibition of 1851, and construction of the building that stands today began in 1899. 

I love the V&A because it has both variety and quality in its exhibits. A dozen renaissance marble statues confront me as I enter the museum, then I turn a corner into a room filled with display cases of British clothing from the 16th-20th centuries, then enter a room dedicated to the Raphael Cartoons. After seeing so many different objects from various eras, I was unsurprised when I found one section featuring hundreds of keys and locks. Every exhibit was accompanied by enough information to put the objects and art into context, but not so much information that I was overwhelmed. When I grew bored of one section of the museum, it was easy to walk into a room with something entirely different. 

On top of all this, the V&A is free, and it's hard to dislike that.