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The Ashmolean Museum of Art and Archaeology, Oxford

The Ashmolean is by far the oldest entry on our list of the best museums in the UK outside London, with its first building founded in 1683. This makes it the country’s oldest public museum.

The University of Oxford’s museum of art and archaeology holds a large, wide-ranging collection spanning from 8000 BCE to the present day.

These significant collections include Pre-Raphaelite paintings, majolica pottery, and English silver. It also holds a strong collection of Greek and Minoan pottery and antiquities from Ancient Egypt and Sudan.

Works on show continue to the present day, for example, a temporary exhibition from the humanoid AI robot artist, Ai-Da.

Speaking to blooloop in 2016, as the institution opened new galleries of 19th-century art, the museum's director Dr Alexander Sturgis said:

"It’s often been described as a collection of collections. It’s got these pockets of huge significance and depth in terms of collections. But because the collection is so various, people have special relationships, often with particular parts of the museum."

In 2023, the Ashmolean decided to remove the Sackler family name from its buildings, galleries and job titles. The changes follow accusations that the family has profited from the US opioid crisis.

In 2025, it reported reaching the one-million-annual-visitor mark for the first time in 16 years.

Beamish Museum, County Durham

Founded in 1972, Beamish was one of the pioneers of the open-air museum concept. Its creator, Dr Frank Atkinson, was inspired by visits to Scandinavian folk museums in the early 1950s.

He wanted to create an open-air museum in the same style to bring the history of the North East to life.

In 2021, Beamish received a Capital Kickstart Fund award of £975,500 from the £1.57bn Culture Recovery Fund. The funding supports the museum's Remaking Beamish project, its largest development to date.

Samantha Shotton, COO at Beamish, told blooloop: "It’s very exciting. It’s been a decade-long project. With help from everybody who buys a National Lottery ticket, the National Heritage Lottery Fund contributed over £10 million.

"So, it became a £20 million project. We have delivered around 21 different exhibits through that, which is fantastic. We’ve done a little bit of everything."

Remaking Beamish was completed in 2024. It expanded the 1820s area and added a 1950s farm and town with houses, shops, a café, and a playground, as well as a recreated cinema, a toy shop, and tavern.

Old miners’ homes have also become a centre for people living with dementia and older people. Immersive accommodation opened in 2025.

The Beatles Story, Liverpool

Liverpool's The Beatles Story, on the Royal Albert Dock, tells the story of the beloved band and explores its connection with the city.

Guests can enjoy recreations of locations and scenes that played a key part in the band's journey. These include the Casbah Coffee Club, Mathew Street, The Cavern Club and Abbey Road Studios, among others.

The museum also exhibits captivating Beatles artefacts, such as John Lennon's glasses and George Harrison's first guitar.

The Beatles Story attracts an international audience and also offers multimedia 'Living History' guides with every ticket purchased. These are available in 12 different languages.

As one of the UK's best museums outside of London, it has won numerous awards in recent years.

It received the Liverpool City Region Tourism Awards 'People’s Choice’ award in both 2017 and 2018, ‘Individual Attraction of the Year’ at the UKInbound’s Annual Awards for Excellence 2022, and ‘Best UK Museum’ at Tiqets’ Remarkable Venue Awards 2024.

In 2026, it was awarded gold in the International Tourism Award category at the VisitEngland Awards for Excellence.

Big Pit National Coal Museum, Blaenavon

Before its closure in 1980, Big Pit was a working coal mine for a century. It then reopened as a visitor attraction, the Big Pit National Coal Museum, in 1983.

The attraction is part of the Blaenavon Industrial Landscape, a World Heritage Site, and is run by Amgueddfa Cymru – Museum Wales.

After undergoing a redevelopment in 2004, it was awarded the prestigious £100,000 Gulbenkian Prize, now known as the Museum of the Year award.

In its mission to preserve the Welsh heritage of coal mining, Big Pit offers a free-entry museum and immersive exhibits, as well as an acclaimed, paid underground tour.

In this, guests wear safety equipment and are guided through a section of the 300-foot-deep original underground workings by a real miner.

There is also a multi-media tour of a modern coal mine with a virtual miner.

In 2025, the museum announced the completion of a major decarbonisation project, which serves as a replicable model for decarbonising heritage and listed buildings in Wales while maintaining their historic character.

This project installed heat pumps in key areas, including the shop, café, conservation workshop, and waiting room, and upgraded the building fabric to enhance thermal efficiency. EV charging infrastructure was introduced for the fleet.

Also in 2025, Big Pit revealed a transformed reception and retail experience following a six-month redevelopment. This features over 200 new custom products inspired by the museum and its collection.

Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery, Birmingham

Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery is run by Birmingham Museums Trust and is home to an internationally significant collection.

This features paintings from the 14th to the 21st century, including the world's biggest collection of works by Pre-Raphaelite artist Edward Burne-Jones, as well as archaeology, metalwork, ceramics, local history, jewellery, natural history, ethnography, and industrial history.

All of its out-of-copyright artworks are available for free under a Creative Commons Zero License (CC0), and for the Occupy White Walls (OWW) project, artworks from the Trust's collections were featured in a game centring on a virtual art gallery.

“The open access thing has been great,” said former digital development manager at Birmingham Museums Trust, Linda Spurdle, of the OWW project.

"In the first six months, our images have been viewed 72 million times and downloaded half a million times. It’s an amazing reach."

In 2020, the museum embarked on a major refurbishment that included vital work to the heating, electrics, lifts and roofing. In April 2022, the museum temporarily reopened to the public during the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games.

A suite of refurbished spaces, including The Round Room gallery, Industrial Gallery, Bridge Gallery and Edwardian Tearooms, opened in 2024.

In 2025, the Birmingham Museums Trust joined forces with Equity Energies to accelerate its sustainability initiatives as it works towards its 2040 net zero commitment.

Black Country Living Museum, Dudley

The Black Country Living Museum is the largest open-air museum in the UK, covering 26 acres. Its collection of rebuilt historic buildings is located in the centre of the Black Country, 10 miles west of Birmingham.

Visitors interact with historic characters as they explore a series of reconstructed shops, pubs, and, most recently, a Victorian library. These actors help to show what it was like to live and work in one of Britain's first industrialised landscapes.

The Black Country Living Museum was also the location for parts of the hit TV show Peaky Blinders, and announced themed night-time events in 2026 to coincide with the launch of the film The Immortal Fan.

In the Forging Ahead project, the museum has recreated a 1940s to 1960s town. In 2024, it opened three new shops on its high street. Each was created with support from the Black Country community, which donated items including Airfix models, birthday cards, motorcycle helmets and rucksacks.

Speaking about the Forging Ahead project, Andrew Lovett, the museum's chief executive, said:

"It was about taking us back into living memory; that was a big thing. Until we did Forging Ahead, you had to be in your eighties to have a living memory of the later things that we’d got on site.

"I’m sitting above a motorbike shop here, and outside my window is a great row of buildings set in the 1930s. That was the latest bit. You’d have to be in your eighties-plus to remember that era. We wanted to get closer to more people’s living memory.

"We have been developing buildings, shops, and stories that go through into the forties, the fifties, and the sixties, coming a little closer to contemporary modern life, to make the joining up of dots of history a bit easier."

In 2026, Black Country Living Museum announced the expansion of its dog-friendly initiative, amid a growing trend for pet-friendly experiences in visitor attractions.

The Burrell Collection, Glasgow

The Burrell Collection includes almost 9,000 artefacts and was gifted to the city of Glasgow by Sir William Burrell and his wife, Lady Constance, in 1944.

Covering 50 countries and 6,000 years of history, from 4000 BC to the start of the 20th century, the collection includes medieval art, furniture, Islamic art and artefacts from ancient Egypt and China, as well as Impressionist works by Degas and Cézanne, modern sculpture and more.

The museum is situated in a critically acclaimed modernist building in Pollock Country Park.

In 2022, it reopened to the public following a six-year, £68 million refurbishment project, firmly placing it as one of the UK's best museums outside London.

This project increased the museum's size by 35%, with a key goal of preserving The Burrell Collection for future generations by enhancing the site’s accessibility and sustainability.

Event, Leach and BECK are among the companies that contributed to the project.

In 2023, The Burrell Collection was named the Art Fund's Museum of the Year.

The Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge

The Fitzwilliam Museum is the largest and oldest museum of the University of Cambridge, and houses over 500,000 works of art, including paintings dating from the European Renaissance to the 21st century.

Artefacts include prints and drawings, coins and medals, and ceramics, and include objects from the ancient Egyptian, Greek, Roman, and medieval periods.

The museum was founded in 1816 ‘for the increase of learning’ and is recognised worldwide as an institute of research and conservation.

In 2024, the museum reopened five of its galleries following a major rehang. The new exhibitions present a thematic view of its collections.

That same year, the museum exhibited Venus and Mars (1485) by Botticelli as part of the National Gallery's 200th birthday celebrations.

The Fitzwilliam Museum was shortlisted for the Art Fund Museum of the Year 2026.

The Hepworth Wakefield, Wakefield

Yorkshire's Hepworth Wakefield takes its name from the acclaimed English artist and sculptor, Barbara Hepworth, who was born and brought up in the city.

Situated on the historic waterfront and designed by David Chipperfield Architects, it opened in May 2011. In 2017, it was named the Art Fund's Museum of the Year.

The Hepworth Wakefield shows exhibitions of international modern and contemporary art, alongside its permanent galleries that explore Hepworth’s art and working process.

It also houses Wakefield’s collection of modern British art, formerly displayed in the original Wakefield Art Gallery.

This collection includes works by Ben Nicholson, Patrick Heron, L.S. Lowry, Barbara Hepworth and Henry Moore. Additionally, it holds work by contemporary artists including Frank Auerbach, Maggi Hambling, Anthea Hamilton, Martin Parr and Eva Rothschild.

Visitors can also enjoy the free Hepworth Wakefield Garden, created by internationally renowned landscape architect Tom Stuart-Smith. This is home to outdoor sculptures and hosts frequent events.

In 2026, Olivia Colling and Laura Smith were announced as the co-directors of the Hepworth Wakefield, succeeding founding director Simon Wallis OBE.

Jorvik Viking Centre, York

The Jorvik Viking Centre opened in 1984 and is located on the site of one of the most famous discoveries in modern archaeology. Between 1976 and 1981, archaeologists from York Archaeological Trust uncovered the houses, workshops and backyards of the Viking-age city of Jorvik as it stood nearly 1,000 years ago.

The experience transports visitors to Viking-era Britain as they explore the reconstructed streets of 10th-century York and take in its sights, sounds, and notably, smells.

"Smell conveys an atmosphere none of us has ever experienced: the York of over 1000 years ago," said Rachel Mackay.

"As the visitor travels through a recreation of Jorvik, they experience the smells of a Viking settlement; both foul and fragrant."

The Jorvik Viking Centre’s pioneering approach triggered a shift in the way cultural attractions approached the visitor experience, according to Juliana Delaney.

While at Continuum Attractions, Delaney was part of the team that developed the museum's visitor experience:

"This was a museum that never presented itself as a museum. It always was somewhere where everybody felt comfortable coming and enjoyed themselves.

"As the very best teachers know, when you enjoy your lesson, you learn so much more...Soon people were saying, ‘We want a Jorvik here’."

The Museum of Making, Derby

The Museum of Making, operated by Derby Museums, opened in May 2021 following an £18 million redevelopment of the Derby Silk Mill in the Derwent Valley Mills UNESCO World Heritage Site.

It showcases Derby's 300 years of innovation, design and manufacturing. The displays were developed by The Creative Core, which worked alongside the team at Derby Museums to design and co-produce the new museum with local communities.

The museum’s collection of over 30,000 objects is available to visitors in a visible storage approach that seeks to spark curiosity and creativity, accompanied by spaces that support the development of new skills through direct interaction with made objects.

Tony Butler, executive director of Derby Museums, said: "The Museum of Making tells the story of our industrial and creative past, but it is also a hub for modern makers through the facilities and support on offer."

The visitor experience, he adds, is "designed to encourage people to understand how things are made, think about materials and their uses, have access to skills, knowledge and equipment that might otherwise be unavailable."

In 2022, The Museum of Making was a finalist for the Art Fund Museum of the Year.

National Football Museum, Manchester

The National Football Museum cares for the world's largest collection of football objects and archives, totalling over 40,000 artefacts.

The museum opened in Manchester’s Urbis Building in 2012, following the closure of its site at Preston North End’s Deepdale ground in 2010. It continues to manage a Resource Centre in Preston.

Its exhibitions seek to tell the story of football's role in our society and harness the fun of the game to inspire visitors.

Recent initiatives, such as the launch of the Crossing The Line exhibition, focus on representing women within the sport.

The museum marks a growing number of institutions dedicated to football, with attractions for both Wrexham County Borough and Manchester City set to open in 2026.

National Galleries of Scotland

National Galleries of Scotland runs four galleries in Edinburgh, with exhibitions drawing from a world-class collection of 120,000 objects.

Alongside the collection of Scottish art, visitors can find works by masters such as Botticelli, Picasso and Van Gogh, as well as the national photography collection of over 55,000 images. Its displays of contemporary art reflect the vibrancy of Scotland's art scene today.

The National Gallery of Scotland first welcomed the public in 1859. The rapid growth of its collection led to the formation of the Scottish National Portrait Gallery and, later, to two spaces for modern art.

In 2003, an extensive redevelopment of the adjacent Royal Scottish Academy Building turned the venue into one of Europe’s premier exhibition venues.

The following year, the Gallery of Modern Art was awarded the Gulbenkian Prize, now known as the Art Fund Museum of the Year, for transformation of its outside space with Charles Jencks’ sculpture Landform Ueda.

More recently, the redevelopment of the Portrait Gallery was completed in 2011, and increased the public space by 60%.

In 2023, the ambitious new Scottish galleries opened, following an extraordinary engineering project that required work over a main railway line and excavation below a listed building.

Looking forward, National Galleries of Scotland is set to open a new £100 million venue in 2029, which will offer access to its extensive archives. Named ‘The Art Works’, the attraction will enable visitors to interact directly with the artefacts.

National Museums Liverpool

National Museums Liverpool (NML) has a history dating back over 170 years and is England’s only national museum group outside of London.

It comprises seven museums that tell stories of space travel, maritime experiences, international slavery, Victorian life, and the city's history, among others.

Highlights include Egyptian, Greek, Anglo-Saxon and Roman objects at the World Museum, pre-eminent Pre-Raphaelite painting at the Walker Art Gallery, and some of the world’s finest Wedgwood jasperware at Lady Lever Art Gallery.

NML is currently undertaking the Waterfront Transformation Project, a multi-million, 10-year development to redevelop the city’s iconic dockland, led by director Laura Pye.

This will enhance the museums in this space: the Museum of Liverpool, International Slavery Museum and Maritime Museum, and significantly develop the surrounding dock.

Under-utilised smaller buildings from the group’s vast estate will be developed to create new amenities and better tell the stories of Liverpool’s maritime history and the city’s role in the trade of enslaved African people.

Planning permission was approved in October 2024. The International Slavery Museum and Maritime Museum are closed during this work, and are expected to reopen in 2028.

Kossy Nnachetta, partner and architect at Feilden Clegg Bradley Studios, said the project "boldly addresses themes of restorative justice through space; which is fitting for the first museum in the world dedicated to the transatlantic slave trade".

Ralph Appelbaum Associates (RAA) is leading the exhibition design for both museums.

"I want NML to be Premier League," Pye told blooloop.

"I want all of our museums to be the best of the best - in terms of the work we're doing, in terms of the welcome you get when you come in, in terms of our facilities, in terms of our displays, in terms of our education work, all of those things.

"So it is about creating a group of museums, or a league of museums, that are seen as being world leaders."

Manchester Museum, Manchester

With over 4.5 million objects, Manchester Museum is the largest single-site university museum in the UK. Its collection spans archaeology, anthropology and natural history.

Owned by the University of Manchester, the museum closed to the public in August 2021 to undertake the final phase of the £15m ‘Hello Future’ transformation project. It reopened to visitors in February 2023.

According to Manchester Museum’s director, Esme Ward, the project aimed to build understanding between cultures and to work towards creating a more sustainable world.

Speaking to blooloop in 2022, Ward said:

"It used to be called the ‘Courtyard Project’ because it was focused on building a two-storey extension in the courtyard. This project is so much more than that, so we told our visitors what we were trying to do.

"We talked a lot about the values... and we asked them what we should call the project. A young lad, probably about seven or eight, said, ‘Why don’t you just call it ‘Hello, Future.’ I love it. Visitors always have the best lines. It so beautifully summarises the sense of possibility."

The National Railway Museum, York

Part of the Science Museum Group, the National Railway Museum tells the story of rail transport in the UK and its impact on society, and was named European Museum of the Year Award in 2001.

Visitors can see the national collection of historically important trains, including the Mallard, the Stirling Single, the Duchess of Hamilton and even a Japanese bullet train.

In recent years, the museum has been working towards its Vision 2025 plans to transform it into a modern, inspiring 21st-century attraction.

In 2023, Judith McNicol, then director of the National Railway Museum, told blooloop:

"I realised I could use Vision 2025 to inspire through using the past, homing in on the innovations that have changed the world as a springboard to look at what’s happening today, and the challenges of the future, particularly the sustainability credentials that the railways can deliver in terms of mass transport."

In 2022, the museum submitted a planning application for a new Central Hall between the Great Hall and Station Hall, to offer a new welcome area and additional gallery space.

The first area of the museum to undergo significant changes as part of our Vision 2025 masterplan, interactive family attraction, Wonderlab: The Bramall Gallery opened in 2023. This new space was credited with a 10% increase in museum visitors that year.

In 2025, it completed the Station Hall building, marking the museum’s biggest structural project since opening in 1975.

The same year, the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government approved a £15 million investment in the National Railway Museum’s transformative masterplan and Central Hall project in 2025.

This was followed in 2026 by £3m in additional government funding to progress the Central Hall development.

Oxford University Museum of Natural History

Predating London’s Natural History Museum by some 20 years, Oxford University Museum of Natural History opened to the public in 1860 and is home to 7 million objects.

Before it had fully opened, the museum established its importance by hosting the ‘Great Debate’, a discussion of Charles Darwin's theory of evolution by natural selection between the young biologist ( and close friend of Darwin), Thomas Huxley, and Samuel Wilberforce, Bishop of Oxford.

Today, the institution welcomes 750,000 visitors per annum and is the second-most-visited university museum in the world.

Recent exhibitions have covered critical raw materials, water equality, and entomology, among many others.

Collection highlights include the world's first scientifically described dinosaur, Megalosaurus bucklandii, and the world-famous Oxford Dodo, the only soft tissue remains of the extinct dodo.

Key projects have included HOPE for the Future, which ran from 2019 to 2022 and saw staff, volunteers, and interns restore, rehouse, and relabel all 1 million of the museum’s British insect specimens to protect and share the unique collection.

Fundraising for the initiative included an interactive online challenge with presenter Steve Backshall, titled Mystery at the Museum.

In 2026, the museum opens the final stage of ‘Life as we know it’, an extensive redisplay project. This conceptual scheme has been delivered in four phases, commencing in 2018, resulting in 47 new displays in total.

Portsmouth Historic Dockyard, Portsmouth

One of the maritime entries on our list of the best UK museums outside London is Portsmouth's Historic Dockyard. This cares for several important historical vessels, such as the Mary Rose, HMS Victory, HMS Warrior, and HMS M.33. The attraction is also home to the National Museum of the Royal Navy.

HMS Victory, Nelson's flagship at the Battle of Trafalgar, is one of the Royal Navy's most iconic warships. It is now a living museum that shows what life was like in the Georgian Navy. On its deck, a plaque marks the spot where Nelson fell.

The Mary Rose was the flagship of Henry VIII and remained on the sea floor until the raising of the remains in 1982. The state-of-the-art Mary Rose Museum reopened in 2016 following a major refurbishment, and houses the only ship of its kind on display in the world.

The museum shows around 19,000 artefacts recovered from one of the most challenging archaeological excavations of all time.

The Royal Albert Memorial Museum & Art Gallery, Exeter

The Royal Albert Memorial Museum & Art Gallery ( RAMM ) in Exeter, Devon, was established in 1868. Its varied collection includes archaeology, zoology and anthropology, as well as fine art, geology, and more.

In December 2011, it reopened after a £24 million redevelopment project. Over four years, the museum refurbished the building and completely redesigned the exhibits. This project also saw the addition of a new entrance and the construction of a purpose-built off-site collections store.

Following the transformation project, the Art Fund named RAMM the UK Museum of the Year for 2012.

"RAMM’s world-class collections and ambitious programming ensure that the museum is a place of discovery which encourages everyone to be curious, and inspires us to shape a better future," says a statement on the museum's website.

RAMM also provides a broad range of community outreach programmes. These include creative workshops, culture cafes, family activities, learning courses, discussions, object-handling sessions, and performance events, among others.

The Royal Pavilion, Brighton

Visitors to the seaside city of Brighton and Hove can't miss the Royal Pavilion, an ostentatious building close to the Palace Pier.

Built in 1823 as a seaside pleasure palace for King George IV, the historic house's style combines the grandeur of the Regency era with designs inspired by both India and China, resulting in something truly distinctive.

The Royal Pavilion became the property of the people of Brighton in June 1850. The city paid £53,000 for the former palace. However, upon taking possession, the residents found that the Pavilion had been stripped of all its furnishings, which remained the property of the Crown.

Over the next 100 years, it was used as a venue for balls and celebrations, as an early iteration of Brighton Museum, the offices of the local Mayor, and a hospital during the First World War.

Original items from the Royal Collection have gradually been returned. By the late 1960s, the building was being presented as a restored palace, but restoration work continues to the present day.

Sainsbury Centre, Norwich

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The Sainsbury Centre presents works from the eclectic collection of Sir Robert and Lady Lisa Sainsbury, in a distinctive approach that exhibits art from all geographies and time periods equally.

This offers a first-of-its-kind perspective on how art can promote cultural dialogue and exchange.

Its collection dates from prehistory through to the late 20th century. Highlights include 20th-century studio ceramics and works by Edmund De Waal, Norman Foster, Julia Blackburn, Greta Arwas, Rose Hilton, Mizutori, and Mami.

As the first-ever public work by architect Sir Norman Foster, the building seeks to connect the works, the viewer, and the landscape.

Its groundbreaking ‘Living Area’ displays objects in eye-level cases with minimal labelling, creating an intimate, almost domestic experience.

In 1991, a new wing designed by Foster + Partners opened, with further expansions following in 2006 and 2014.

In 2026, the Sainsbury Centre received a donation of £92.1m, one of the largest-ever gifts to a UK museum, from Lord David Sainsbury through his Gatsby charitable foundation.

This will be used to renovate the museum and implement a range of sustainability initiatives, in a further collaboration with Foster + Partners.

"My father always regarded his commissioning of Norman Foster to produce the Sainsbury Centre as one of the best things he ever did, and it gives me great pleasure to provide the funding to enhance its future," Sainsbury said.

Science and Industry Museum, Manchester

Like other entries on our list of the UK's best museums outside of London, this popular museum is part of the Science Museum Group.

The Science and Industry Museum aims to inspire its audiences by exploring ideas that have changed the world, from the Industrial Revolution to the present day.

As such, its setting on the site of the oldest surviving passenger railway station, in the centre of the world’s first industrial city, is significant.

The Science and Industry Museum looks to both the past and the present. Its contemporary science programme includes the biennial Manchester Science Festival, which showcases current research and also champions the area's history of innovation.

In 2019, the museum unveiled plans for a multi-million-pound restoration programme, which is currently underway. This is set to continue until 2030 when the Liverpool and Manchester Railway will mark its bicentenary.

The project will include vital restoration work, as well as the addition of new spaces including a holiday property.

"We are bringing to life the story of the site, inspiring the innovators of the future to power the next (green) industrial revolution and creating a more sustainable museum," says a statement on the museum's website.

From October 2021 to March 2022, the Science and Industry Museum hosted ‘Cancer Revolution: Science, innovation and hope’, an exhibition created with support from Cancer Research UK. This explored the scientific revolution transforming cancer care.

In 2025, it launched an open competition for an architect and lead designer for its Wonderlab gallery, going on to appoint Thiss Studio. Expected to open in late 2027, this space is designed to inspire 4- to 10-year-olds around the theme ‘you are an inventor’.

St Fagans National Museum of History, Cardiff

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Another living museum on our list of the UK's best museums outside of London, this site is operated by Amgueddfa Cymru – Museum Wales and celebrates the everyday lives of Welsh people throughout history.

Founded in 1948, St Fagans has since re-erected more than fifty original buildings from a variety of different historical periods. This includes houses, a farm, a school, a pub, a chapel and a Workmen’s Institute.

Guests can also learn about traditional crafts and activities in the site’s workshops, where craftsmen demonstrate their skills and sell their produce.

In 2018, St Fagans completed its £30 million Making History redevelopment. This involved opening new galleries, improving the visitor experience, and restoring and recreating buildings.

Following the completion of this project, it was then named as the Art Fund’s 2019 Museum of the Year.

Speaking after the announcement, Stephen Deuchar, Art Fund director, said St Fagans “lives, breathes and embodies the culture and identity of Wales...This magical place was made by the people of Wales for people everywhere.

“[It] stands as one of the most welcoming and engaging museums anywhere in the UK.”

St Fagans is currently undertaking a major redevelopment to replace the entire roof of the castle, which is expected to be complete in 2027.

Titanic Belfast, Belfast

Titanic Belfast tells the story of this iconic ship and those of its sister vessels, RMS Olympic and HMHS Britannic.

The visitor attraction is located on the site of the former Harland & Wolff shipyard in Belfast’s Maritime Mile, where the RMS Titanic was constructed from 1909 to 1912.

It has won multiple awards, including the World's Leading Tourism Attraction Award at the World Travel Awards in 2016.

Following a major renovation, Titanic Belfast reopened in March 2023 with four new themed galleries and a huge, 7.6m illuminated scale model of the RMS Titanic.

Judith Owens MBE, chief executive of Titanic Belfast, told blooloop:

"Bringing this fabulous replica Titanic model to life through light and giving visitors the chance to immerse themselves in the dreams and stories of the passengers [is] very powerful. Facts and details are fascinating, but personal stories connect emotionally.

"By combining both, the reimagined Titanic Experience focusing on the pursuit of dreams [adds] a whole new dimension to the ship that has captivated people from around the world for 111 years."

Coming soon - The Artistic Museum of Contemporary Art (AMOCA), Cardiff

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Expected to open in 2026, the Artistic Museum of Contemporary Art (AMOCA) seeks to position itself as a centre for global contemporary art and a leading platform and museum for exhibitions, talks, and symposiums.

As a cultural hub for Wales and the world, the museum will be dedicated to learning, public dialogue, and engagement with contemporary art through exhibitions, residencies, youth engagement, and outreach to underserved communities.

The space will offer a combination of temporary exhibitions and rotating displays from AMOCA's permanent collection.

Works will be shown both within gallery spaces and outdoors, and will be accompanied by digital experiences.

In 2025, the museum held its first pop-up exhibition at Cardiff’s Marble Hall, The Temple of Peace.

Titled AMOCA Dialogues: Black Voices from the Museum Collection, this exhibition foregrounded Black voices from Africa and its diaspora to celebrate artists whose contributions have historically been underrepresented in Western art institutions.

Its second pop-up, New Voices from the Museum Collection, showed in 2016 and focused on female and non-binary artists.