London: British Museum

Founded in 1753 as the world's first national public museum, the British Museum holds 8 million objects from every continent and era of human civilisation. Entry is free to a collection rivalled only by the Louvre.
Light floods through Norman Foster's glass Great Court; visitors pause to photograph the Rosetta Stone. Marble footsteps echo through Egyptian galleries; whispered group-tour commentary ripples between rooms.

• • Founded in 1753 — the world's first national public museum
• • Holds around 8 million objects spanning two million years of human history
• • Free admission to permanent galleries, one of the world's largest free-entry museums
• • The Great Court, designed by Norman Foster in 2000, is Europe's largest covered public square