Museum of London Docklands

Excellent museum in a 200 year old warehouse about ten minutes walk from Canary Wharf Underground Station.

The museum explores the long history of London as a port through stories of trade, migration and commerce. Among other things, the museum's exhibits cover: how the warehouses operated; the slave and sugar trade; merchants, sailors and pirates; the Docklands during the second world war; and the ups and downs of the docks culminating in their closure and their redevelopment.

The museum has a good cafe and caters for all ages with an interactive space for children up to 8.

Very friendly and helpful staff. Well worth a visit.

Amazing museum, especially for being free entry! Three very large floors of exhibits about the Docklands with tons of artifacts, multimedia storytelling, and in-depth context on everything. I could have easily spent a whole day here, so I limited myself to “only” two hours.

I've just visited this museum today and it went ABOVE AND BEYOND any of my expectations! The history trail starts on floor 3 and as you read, watch, and explore, you make your way down to the ground floor. The explanations about the history of the London docklands are excellent, my compliments to the curators of this incredible museum. It touches on everything about London's naval history, from the discovery of the Indies to the slave trade of the British Empire, all the way to World War II. Well worth a read in order to understand the history and learn from it. The museum is also full of fun facts and infographics for kids so that it's not just a boring museum (I spotted loads of cheeky toy mice around the exhibits) and there are activities and pamphlets that make it interactive. I also loved the reconstruction of a market near the docklands, it's so immersive and beautiful, it feels like a jump back in time.
There's a coffee shop on the ground level for any snacking you need, as it takes at least 2 hours to go through (if you want to read).
The building is a beautiful warehouse and even the history of that is explained in the beginning.
It's free so that's a +1 in my book, and I didn't need to book at all, you can just walk in and look around.

Was here many years ago but it is much improved. Plenty to see and do for children and adults. It is spread over4 floors and we thoroughly did the top 2. Back soon for the other half.

Amazing visit to this museum. We didn’t allow enough time for our visit as we did not realise how great this place would be. Allow at least a couple of hours to wander this very unique and interesting museum. First class exhibits and information throughout the museum. Great location too with plenty of bars and restaurants nearby.

Went to visit the museum and found a special "Fashion City" Exhibition was available for a small charge, so while sat having a coffee I went.online and booked two tickets as the price online is less than if you buy while there. The tickets appeared attached to email within the minute. Lockers for coats and bags are available for a non returnable £1 so if you want to use them make sure you've a pound coin handy. The exhibition itself was very well laid out and interesting, with plenty of exhibits to complement the information. Now, we'll have to revisit to see the actual Docklands part of the museum which I'm also looking forward to and which is free entry, though donations are welcome. Plenty of places nearby for lunch/dinner too. Docklands is easily a days-worth of visiting time if you like to just stroll.

Lifts to all floors, everything starts at top level and works down which I think is brilliant. Not too expensive food wise, due to the age of the building toilets on upper level were out of service but got a few on ground level. A good level for kids to make a bridge, lay bricks and masses of history some terrible (slavery) some outstanding. Well worth the visit.

Loved it! It was worth the train ride to East London. Small, yet packed with great detailed exhibits and history. Great for the kids too if you happen to visit on the weekends, they normally have an event they can participate in.

Frankly, I wasn't expecting much from this museum. Just went for a walk but I was fairly surprised with the interesting history of the docklands. The entrance is free. The display of history, the replicas of streets etc are fantastic!

There is a playgroup for children. 40 minutes for £3. I recommend making an early reservation.

I visited the Museum of London Docklands for the first time, and it was amazing! The museum is full of fascinating information about the local history, such as the development of the Isle of Dogs, Canary Wharf and the London Docklands area.
The staff were kind and welcoming. I was pleasantly surprised by how big the museum is, and there's so much to explore. I highly recommend it to anyone who loves history or just wants to have a great time.

Okay! You don't need tickets to get in, only if you want to go to the soft play area. It's a lovely museum and my kids LOVED! There is so much to do in such a small soft play, but the session is not too busy. By the way SUPER RECOMMEND for neurodiverse children, honestly.

Mudlarks is fabulous- one of the best play areas I've come across for under 5s. It's better than the Science Museum! However I would have paid more for a longer play session - can't really argue at £5/kid, but maybe offer a whole hour for more? My toddler loved it and was sad to leave!

Really excellent history of London Docklands. Learned a lot - fascinating information about the slave trade. Video on the bombing of the docks during the 2nd World War and related exhibition really good.

Really enjoyed this free museum. it had excellent exhibits. hands on things for children to do. Great historical exhibition and information on slavery.

Wonderful museum that walks you through the history of the Docklands. Free of admission. You can easily spend half a day here as there is so much to see and delve into. I particularly enjoyed the reconstruction of a Docklands worker's home, you can sit down and imagine what it must have been like to live there and come home after a long day working the docks.

Can highly recommend for people of all ages and backgrounds and history buffs in particular. Warning that the slave trade exhibit may be upsetting, but thought provoking. We should all think about how racism affects our daily lives and strive to be better people, and the golden rule as always - treat others as we would want to be treated ourselves.

An excellent and really eye-opening experience into the development of Isle of Dogs / Canary Wharf and London Docklands area. A thoroughly interesting and impressive Museum across 3 floors with interactive elements and really knowledgeable staff.

We joined one of the talks on the afternoon we visited, and Andrew the guide, who spoke for 15-20 about the South Sea Whaling Trade in London was superb, really clearly spoken and very engaging to listen too. High recommend trying to catch one of the short talks.

Great accessibility measures around the museum - lifts, braille signs, and fold-out portable chairs that were greatly appreciated.

The museum is brilliantly curated and flowed really nicely from one subject to the other. Highly recommend, and as already mentioned, a really impressive, interesting and eye-opening experience into London Docklands’ history.

Lots of reading, nice museum, give yourself a couple of hours. I attended one of the talks on how Londoners sheltered from bombing raids in WWII this was excellent, its amazing, you think you have a reasonable grasp of something and find so many holes in your knowledge. The staff all seemed very engaged and enthusiastic.

Very vibrant interesting museum. Great location, in centre of west India docks. Weather spoons next door has interesting pics to as well as being in original building

The Fashion City exhibition was fantastic. It was so well thought out and the clothes and objects selected told such great stories. Absolutely loved it!