RAF Museum and more: what to see in Barnet
383K visitors came to Kensington Palace in 2015. We list 10 places to visit inside Barnet’s built-up area and 91 within 5 km of its edge. On the list: 37 museums, 24 attractions and 14 art galleries, among others. Of these, 4 are looked after: 3 by the National Trust and 1 by English Heritage. Set 11 km out, British Museum makes a day trip.
The first to see in Barnet
The rest of the best known are 3 museums and 2 art galleries.
MuseumRAF Museumin town
MuseumFrancis Skaryna Belarusian Library and Museumin townArt galleryArt galleryMuseum of Domestic Design and Architecturein town
MuseumBarnet Museumin town
Art galleryThe Noble Sage Art Galleryin townMuseumMuseumThe Abbey Arts Centrein townEach has a page of its own: what it is, who runs it, the weather month by month and what else is near it.
The lie of the land
The list reaches out to Bushey Museum, 12 km away.
The dashed line is Barnet’s built-up area; orange marks its middle (where most people live). Numbers match the list below. © OpenStreetMap contributors · ONS built-up area 2022
What there is to see
Count 51 museums or galleries and 24 other attractions.
Green: inside Barnet. Grey: within 5 km of its edge.
4 places are cared for: 3 by the National Trust and 1 by English Heritage (Kenwood House, 2 Willow Road, Fenton House and Morven Park).
The whole list for Barnet
First the 10 in town, then the 91 within 5 km of its edge.
Museum of Domestic Design and Architecture
Museum and archive in the United Kingdom.
11
12Kensington Palace
Royal residence set in Kensington Gardens, London, England, UK.
13
14
15
16Freud Museum London
Historic house museum in London, England, United Kingdom.
17
18
19
20
St George's Cathedral
Church in Albany Street, St Pancras, in the London Borough of Camden.
Saint Sophia Cathedral, London
Greek Orthodox cathedral in London.
Keats House
Writer's house museum in Keats Grove, Hampstead, London Borough of Camden, England, UK.
Burgh House and Hampstead Museum
Local museum in Camden, London, England, United Kingdom.
Bhaktivedanta Manor
Hindu temple, formerly a country house, in Hertfordshire, England, UK.
Greek Orthodox Cathedral of St Andrew the Apostle
Church building in Kentish Town, London Borough of Camden, England, UK.
St Mary's Greek Orthodox Church
Church in London Borough of Haringey, United Kingdom.
Elstree and Borehamwood Museum
Museum in Borehamwood, Hertfordshire, United Kingdom.
Trent Park House of Secrets
Country house in Enfield, London, England, UK.
The Museum of Philatelic History
Museum in London, England, United Kingdom.
The 10 inside Barnet come first, best known first; then the places within 5 km, close and well known first. Churches and listed buildings are on the History page, not here.
639 listed buildings and 1 scheduled monument are on Barnet’s History page → · Parks, footpaths and green space in Barnet →
Day trips from Barnet
Most famous of the 11 is British Museum, 11 km from the centre.
Big drawMuseumBritish Museum11 km southeast · 5.8M visitors a year (2023)
Historic houseBuckingham Palace13 km south
Cathedral · English HeritageWestminster Abbey13 km southeast
Big drawCastleTower of London14 km southeast · 2.7M visitors a year (2016)
AttractionElizabeth Tower13 km southeast
Big drawArt galleryNational Gallery12 km southeast · 709K visitors a year (2021)
AttractionLondon Eye13 km southeast
CathedralSt Paul's Cathedral13 km southeast
Big drawMuseumVictoria and Albert Museum13 km south · 858K visitors a year (2021)
Big drawArt galleryTate Modern13 km southeast · 1.2M visitors a year (2021)
Big drawMuseumNatural History Museum13 km south · 1.6M visitors a year (2021)Places well known beyond Barnet (Wikipedia articles in several languages, published visitor counts, or a National Trust, English Heritage or Cadw property), close and famous first. Distances are straight lines from the middle of the town.
Good to know in Barnet
What are the main attractions in Barnet?
The best known inside Barnet’s built-up area are RAF Museum, Francis Skaryna Belarusian Library and Museum, Museum of Domestic Design and Architecture and Barnet Museum. In all, 10 places to visit are mapped inside the town, and 91 more within 5 km.
Does Barnet have a museum?
51 museums and galleries are in or within 5 km of Barnet: RAF Museum, Francis Skaryna Belarusian Library and Museum, Museum of Domestic Design and Architecture and Barnet Museum.
Is there a National Trust or English Heritage property near Barnet?
Yes. In or within 5 km of Barnet, 4 places are cared for: 3 by the National Trust and 1 by English Heritage (Kenwood House, 2 Willow Road, Fenton House and Morven Park).
What are the best-known days out near Barnet?
Within 40 km: British Museum (11 km), Buckingham Palace (13 km), Westminster Abbey (13 km), Tower of London (14 km).
Where are Barnet’s historic buildings listed?
Barnet has 639 listed buildings, 2 of them Grade I. They are on its History page, from Historic England’s list, not repeated here.
How is this list made?
From OpenStreetMap (museums, galleries, zoos, theme parks and attractions, castles, forts and abbeys, and historic houses and gardens that are open to visitors) and Wikidata (what each place is, who runs it, its website and visitor counts). A place counts for Barnet when it is inside the ONS 2022 built-up area, and as nearby within 5 km of its edge. Opening times and prices are not shown: check the official site.
Places: OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors, Open Database Licence) and Wikidata (CC0), placed in the ONS 2022 built-up area (Open Government Licence v3.0). Visitor counts are the latest Wikidata gives, with their year.
Photos: each place’s Wikidata image, from Wikimedia Commons under the licence below (our copy, resized).
Photo credits (48)
- RAF Museum: Panhard, CC BY 2.5, Wikimedia Commons
- Francis Skaryna Belarusian Library and Museum: Aleksandrs Čaičics, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Barnet Museum: Lucas Kendall, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
- The Noble Sage Art Gallery: Mark Hillary from São Paulo, Brazil, CC BY 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Madame Tussauds: Citizen59, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Kensington Palace: Steve Cadman from London, U.K., CC BY-SA 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Kenwood House: Jim Osley, CC BY-SA 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
- London Zoo: heena_mistry, CC BY 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Kensington Gardens: Diliff, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Freud Museum London: Rup11, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Sherlock Holmes Museum: Jordan 1972, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- The Wallace Collection: Peter Clarke, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Arsenal Museum: Gael13011, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Bruce Castle: The wub, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Finsbury Park: Hjuk at en.wikipedia, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
- 2 Willow Road: Steve Cadman from London, U.K., CC BY-SA 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
- St George's Cathedral: JohnArmagh, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Saint Sophia Cathedral, London: Ricardalovesmonuments, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Keats House: Cj1340, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Wrotham Park: British Library HMNTS 10349.ppp.21., Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- The Jewish Museum: Graham Hale, CC BY-SA 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Connaught Square: Mike Quinn, CC BY-SA 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Ben Uri: Benuricw, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Burgh House and Hampstead Museum: ceridwen, CC BY-SA 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Bhaktivedanta Manor: Ilya Mauter, CC BY-SA 2.5, Wikimedia Commons
- Greek Orthodox Cathedral of St Andrew the Apostle: JohnArmagh, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
- St Mary's Greek Orthodox Church: Philafrenzy, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Hilfield Castle: John Goodall, CC BY-SA 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Lisson Gallery: Ewan Munro from London, UK, CC BY-SA 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Royal Academy of Music Museum: Museumworker, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Museum of Brands: Museum of Brands, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
- The Brown Collection: Justinakiskyte, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Piano Nobile: C20Brit, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Bushey Museum: Richard Kelly, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Trent Park House of Secrets: Poliphilo, CC0, Wikimedia Commons
- Kyoto Garden: Piotr Zarobkiewicz, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Potters Bar Museum: Graham Hale, CC BY-SA 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
- British Museum: Ham, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Buckingham Palace: Diliff, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Westminster Abbey: Σπάρτακος, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Tower of London: Bob Collowan, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Elizabeth Tower: Christian David, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
- National Gallery: Diego Delso, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
- London Eye: Christian David, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
- St Paul's Cathedral: Mark Fosh, CC BY 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Victoria and Albert Museum: Diliff, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Tate Modern: Christine Matthews, CC BY-SA 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Natural History Museum: Christine Matthews, CC BY-SA 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
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