V&A East Storehouse: 7 Reasons to Visit London’s Best New Museum

Opened on May 31, 2025, V&A East Storehouse has instantly become one of London’s must-see museums. With four levels, and with a total floor area spanning more than 30 basketball courts patched together, the sheer scale alone is worth the entry fee (or the lack thereof – more on that below). Occupying part of the former London 2012 Olympics Media Centre in the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, the warehouse-style space is designed to give unprecedented access to the V&A’s mind-boggling collection of art, artefacts and historic objects. But with so many museums to choose from in England’s culture-stuffed capital, why should V&A East Storehouse be at the top of your list? Well, let us explain…

1. Entry is free

In 2001, the UK Government implemented a policy to grant free admission to the country’s publicly owned museums. The V&A East Storehouse is just one of more than 100 museums in London that guarantee free entry to anyone – UK residents and visitors alike. Donations are gratefully accepted – either in cash or via contactless bank cards – but entirely voluntary.

You don’t need to pre-book a slot, just turn up and you’ll be free to explore the museum at your own pace. If you want a little more guidance, there’s a Visitor Experience team on hand to answer any questions you have about the museum.

Entry times to V&A Storehouse:

Daily: 10.00 – 18.00
Thursday and Saturday: 10.00 – 22.00

How to get to V&A East Storehouse:

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2. Explore over half a million exhibits

V&A East Storehouse is a one-of-a-kind when it comes to the breadth and depth of its collection. It’s a purpose-built home for over 250,000 objects, 350,000 library books and 1,000 archives from the V&A’s collections. The central, light and airy Weston Collections Hall encompasses three levels, each housing towering storage racks of artefacts – this is less Aladdin’s Cave, rather an aircraft hangar of curiosities. At the ends of each of these racks are over 100 mini curated displays, each of which have a unique QR code which you can scan to learn more about the object presented.

The displays range from the miniscule (such as pins used to secure a 17th Century ruff) to the massive – including a whole, intact office interior (The Kauffman Office) created by legendary architect Frank Lloyd-Wright. Want to know how the curators of the museum managed to get such an outlandish exhibit in place in one piece? On the 3rd level you can watch the museum’s conservators at work in the conservation studio via a glass overlook balcony and live feed screen.

Conservators in the conservation studio visible from the conservation overlook. Photo credit: David Parry/PA Media Assignments.

3. You can get up close and personal with priceless artefacts

Whatever you’re into – from film to fashion – you can get up close and personal with your object of choice with the museum’s first-of-its-kind Order an Object service. All you need to do is book ahead of your visit, and when you arrive for your time slot a member of the museum’s Collections Access team will be on hand to show you how to interact with the object safely.

Order an Object appointment at V&A East Storehouse. Photo credit: David Parry/PA Media Assignments.

4. The building is an architectural masterpiece

The architecture firm behind V&A East Storehouse, Diller Scofidio+Renfro, wanted to create a space that would “turn storage inside out”. They said about their design “visitors will be invited on a behind-the-scenes journey that uncovers and demonstrates how and why objects are collected, how they are cared for, conserved and researched and how they help make sense of our past, present and future as part of exhibitions and public programmes.”

To do this, they created a central hall that feels light-filled, with translucent glass walkways, white metal shelf stacks and a glass ceiling and floors that allow each object to be seen from multiple angles. While the architecture is beautiful in its monochromatic simplicity, it manages to fade into the background too, allowing the exhibits themselves to rightfully take centre stage. Walking around the airy interior is a pleasure in itself, before you even get to the exhibits themselves.

Visitors in the central Weston Collections Hall at V&A East Storehouse. Photo credit: David Parry/PA Media Assignments.

5. There are live events

As well as the free-to-explore permanent collection, V&A East Storehouse also has a regularly updated calendar of live events – from hands-on experiences, to talks and micro-residencies. Explore upcoming events and book ahead of your visit here.

6. Music superfans will be in heaven

The V&A is primarily known for its collection of art, design and fashion – and V&A East Storehouse adds music to the catalogue. Fans of London’s music scene – past and present – will be excited to explore the Storehouse’s collection of objects, media and archives relating to music, including the David Bowie archive, which occupies a dedicated section of the Study Centre. The archives of Glastonbury Festival and Talawa Theatre Company are held in Storehouse, as are instruments and items from pioneering British contemporary musicians such as PJ Harvey, The Who and The Rolling Stones.

Items from the David Bowie Archive are prepared. Photo credit: David Parry/PA Media Assignments.

7. The e5 Storehouse café is a cut above

Serving breakfast, lunch, and dinner on two evenings each week, e5 Storehouse offers a fresh, seasonal menu that includes pastries, hearty breakfasts, sandwiches, and salads—with options available for vegan and gluten-free diets. The menu will evolve with the seasons, highlighting the best of what’s available. In addition to its café offerings, e5 Storehouse also operates as a neighbourhood bakery, featuring a selection of e5’s most loved loaves, alongside house-made granola, jams, and coffee beans roasted by Poplar Bakehouse.