Half a million years of human history and the world’s biggest collection of Raphael drawings: why Oxford’s Ashmolean Museum is a must-visit this year

When it comes to museums, we’re unbelievably lucky in the UK. Want to get steamy? There’s the National Railway Museum in York. Feeling a little crabby? Cheer yourself up at the Crab Museum in Margate (the sight of a clawed crustacean clutching a truncheon and wearing a little police helmet should do the trick every time).

That’s why we’ve compiled a list of the 20 best museums in the UK in 2026, making it easier for you to get your culture fix and whittle down the options in a crowded field. (As an aside, our guide is focused on museums outside of the capital, as London’s must-visits have a guide all of their own. When there’s this much good stuff to see, you need to lay down some ground rules.)

In any case, today we’d like to draw particular attention to the Ashmolean in Oxford. Set across five floors, it covers half a million years of history. That’s a lot to sort through, so it makes sense that its curators have taken a non-chronological approach to the presentation. Standout exhibits include the 9,000-year-old Jericho Skull and the Anglo-Saxon Alfred Jewel, as well as the ancient Egyptian Shrine of Taharqa and a death mask of Oliver Cromwell.

In-keeping with its eclectic and non-stuffy approach – impressive, given that its beautiful building dates back to the 19th century and it’s the oldest public museum in Britain – the Ashmolean is also partly an art gallery, featuring modern art from Picasso, Barbara Hepworth, Francis Bacon and Matisse. For the more traditionally minded, da Vinci and Michelangelo make appearances, too, as does the world’s largest collection of Raphael drawings. 

Unbelievably, the Ashmolean is free to enter. We might take that for granted, given that it’s often the case in the UK, but free entry is pretty remarkable when you really stop and think about it. At this point we should perhaps remind you that Time Out writer Ralph Jones once dubbed the Ashmolean ‘undoubtedly one of the finest museums in the world’.

The Ashmolean’s renovation – which was completed more than 15 years ago – helped it to achieve this feat, as it meant the museum doubled its size. The café’s full of delicious treats and the gift shop’s a banger too. What more could you want?

On top of all that, you needn’t even work hard to squeeze in a visit: if you’re already visiting Oxford, it’s smack-bang in the middle of town. So, there are no excuses for missing this exquisite gem in the UK’s museum crown.

The 20 best museums in the UK 2026.

Interest piqued? Here are the 10 best museums in Oxford right now.