V&A - Victoria and Albert Museum Victoria and Albert. Our queen and her wise consort, they were true lovers, a great couple and great rulers of all times. They were cousins and were like two peas in a pod. Therefore whenever you hear Victoria, Albert is there, whenever you hear the name Albert, Victoria is there. Therefore the Victoria & Albert Museum carries their soul, it’s spectacular, ostentatious, marvellous. V&A is the largest art and design museum in the world and holds over 2,3 million permanent items representing over 5 000 years of human innovation. V&A holds a great number of national collections in the UK and includes some of the best tools for the study of architecture, furniture, design, textiles, photography, sculpture, painting, gems, glass, ceramics, book arts, theatre and performance. This V&A past is a fascinating tale. It all started with a Manufacturing Museum in 1852 and it goes up to its foundation in 1899 by Queen Victoria. Today V&A have state-of-the-art galleries has continuously evolved in its collections and public interpretation of art and design. The collections in the museum span over five thousand years of artistic humanity in nearly every medium in one of Britain's finest Victorian and contemporary buildings in London. V&A’s mission is to be recognised as the world's leading museum of art, design and performance, and to enrich people's lives by promoting research, knowledge and enjoyment of the designed world to the widest possible audience and we must admit, they are very successful on that. Choices are endless in V&A. It's a different world. Just see the enamel and copper Becket Casket made in the 12th century in Limoges, France, which contained the Archbishop’s relics as well as decorative arts from the reigns of Henry Vlll to Queen Victoria for example. The modern design includes stunning works by the American glass sculptor Dale Chihuly and original artwork of the Rolling Stones. Alternatively just ask us to design an itinerary around your specific interests such as Medieval and Renaissance, Britain between 1500-1900, Europe between 1600-1815, Theatre & Performance, Behind the Scenes - Tour of the Conservation Studio, African Heritage, Designing the V&A, Modern Scandinavian Design, Oriental Art, the World’s Most Famous Carpets and Islamic Decorative Art. All is there and accessible with Tourope UK's APTG approved blue badge guides. Join us!