Sherlock Holmes museum in London: tickets, opening hours and what is inside

Few museums stand at an address from a book. The Sherlock Holmes Museum has a real address: 221B Baker Street. An adult ticket costs £19 (as of 09/2026, official museum website), and it is sold online with a time slot or at the ticket office on arrival. The museum occupies four floors of a historic house, and a visit usually takes 30-45 minutes (according to the ticketing portal).

Here you will see a Victorian apartment with items from the stories, wax figures of the characters, and a gift shop. Below we have put together prices, opening hours, directions from the Tube, and what to look out for inside. We checked all the details on the museum's official pages in September 2026.

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History of the house on Baker Street

💡 In short:

• The house at 221B Baker Street was built in 1815, and the museum opened in 1990 (according to Wikipedia).
• An adult ticket costs £19, children under 6 enter free (as of 09/2026, according to museum prices).
• The museum is open every day, with last entry half an hour before closing.
• Prices and opening hours: 09/2026, verified on the official website.

The house at 221B Baker Street was built in 1815 as a typical Georgian-style London townhouse. Before the museum, furnished rooms were rented out here: from 1860 to 1936 the building operated as a boarding house (according to the history of the house). The museum opened in 1990 and became the world's first museum dedicated to a literary character.

The house did not receive the official number 221B right away. Part of the building stands in the row of houses 237-241 on Baker Street, and the museum received the 221B plaque with permission from the Westminster city council (according to the history of the 221B address). Conan Doyle invented the address at a time when such numbering did not yet exist on the street.

The dispute over the address went on for decades. Since the 1930s, Royal Mail delivered letters to Sherlock Holmes at the neighboring Abbey National bank, which kept a dedicated secretary for this purpose (according to the chronicle of the address dispute). The matter was resolved in 2002, when the bank vacated the building, and now the correspondence goes to the museum.

Letters to Sherlock Holmes

Conan Doyle's stories were so popular that readers believed Holmes was a real person. Letters to 221B Baker Street arrived by the sack, and for many years they were received by Abbey National bank (according to the article about the museum). The bank's management had to create a position for a secretary to handle this mail.

© ell brown · CC BYPhoto: ell brown, CC BY (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/), Flickr

You can still write to Sherlock Holmes today, and the letter will reach the museum. The facade of the house features a blue commemorative plaque. It states that the private detective lived here from 1881 to 1904, although in London such plaques mark real people (according to Wikipedia).

There are many such plaques around the world, but a literary character has been honored only in London. This fact is what inspired the museum's creators to bring the detective's apartment to life.

The interior of Holmes's apartment

Holmes's apartment occupies the second floor of the house. Here you'll find the study where Holmes and Watson worked on cases for nearly a quarter of a century. The sitting room and bedroom recreate the Victorian era, and the objects in them match the descriptions from the stories. You'll see Holmes's violin, the Turkish slipper in which he kept his tobacco, and letters pinned to the mantelpiece with a penknife. Visitors are invited to sit in the detective's own armchair.

Even on the platform of Baker Street tube station, passengers are greeted by the silhouette of the detective in a cap and with a pipe. The journey to the museum begins long before you enter.

The rooms of Dr. Watson and Mrs. Hudson

One floor up are the rooms of Dr. Watson and Mrs. Hudson. In Mrs. Hudson's room stands a bronze bust of Holmes, along with his papers, a visitors' book, and letters from readers. Watson's room is filled with medical books, newspapers, photographs, and paintings from the era. The doctor's army revolver is also on display here.

© Matt Brown · CC BYPhoto: Matt Brown, CC BY (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0), Wikimedia Commons

Going up to this floor is worth it for the details alone. Many items are connected to specific cases of the detective, and without labels they are easy to miss.

What to see on the fourth floor

The fourth floor is dedicated to wax figures of the characters. Here you'll recognize the Hound of the Baskervilles, the pawnbroker Jabez Wilson, the beggar Neville St. Clair, and Holmes's greatest enemy, Professor Moriarty. Photography and video recording are allowed.

For many guests, this floor is the most interesting. The figures are highly detailed, and it's easy to imagine scenes from the stories standing next to them.

© Ilya Grigorik · CC BY-SAPhoto: Ilya Grigorik, CC BY-SA (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0), Wikimedia Commons

Gift shop

On the ground floor there is a gift shop selling pipes, caps, books, and small souvenirs inspired by the stories. A distinctive feature of the shop is a photograph of the Soviet actor Vasily Livanov, who was awarded the Order of the British Empire for his portrayal of Holmes.

© Elliott Brown from Birmingham, United Kingdom · CC BYPhoto: Elliott Brown from Birmingham, United Kingdom, CC BY (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0), Wikimedia Commons

The shop is open to everyone, and no ticket is required. This is convenient if you want to take home a souvenir or gift without visiting the exhibition rooms.

Tickets, opening hours, and how to get there

The museum is open seven days a week, and it's best to book tickets online in advance with a time slot. Key information is summarized in the table.

Baker Street station is served by the Bakerloo, Jubilee, Circle, Metropolitan and Hammersmith & City lines. From the platform to the entrance is just one minute. On weekends, arrive at opening time: by midday a line forms at the ticket office.

The sherlock holmes museum on the map

If you are planning your route in advance, open the museum on the map. The address of the house, 221B Baker Street in London, is listed according to the museum website. The point on the map helps you work out the route from your hotel or from Marylebone station.

⁉️🤔 Frequently asked questions

How much does a ticket to the Sherlock Holmes Museum cost?

An adult ticket costs £19, for students and seniors £17, children under 16 £14, and children under 6 enter free (as of 09/2026, official museum website). You can get a ticket online with a time slot or at the ticket office on the day of your visit. On weekends, online is more convenient: the line at the ticket office starts growing from the morning.

Can you take photos in the museum?

Yes, photography and video are allowed here. Visitors are also invited to sit in Holmes's armchair and take a photo as a keepsake. There are few strict restrictions, so a camera will come in handy: photograph the display cases, interiors and wax figures on the fourth floor.

How do I get to the Sherlock Holmes Museum?

The easiest way is by tube. Baker Street station is a minute away on foot, and the detective's silhouette is visible right from the platform. Buses 13, 74, 189 and 274 stop at the museum's door, and several more routes stop nearby on Marylebone Road (according to travel information).

How long does a visit take?

An average visit lasts 30-45 minutes (according to the DigiTickets portal). The rooms are small, and without stopping you will get through them faster. With children and fans of the books it usually takes about an hour, because you want to examine every floor in detail.

Can I write a letter to Sherlock Holmes?

Yes, letters addressed to 221B Baker Street really do arrive at the museum. Previously they were received by the neighboring bank, which kept a dedicated secretary for this purpose (according to the correspondence history). Today mail goes directly to the museum.

In short: what to book

The museum itself is small, but a timed ticket saves you time in high season. Arrive at opening and you will get through the rooms without a queue. Allow about an hour for your visit.

• If you want to get in without waiting: book a timed ticket in advance.
• If you are traveling with kids: choose the morning and plan an hour for all the floors.
• If you are a book fan: do not miss Watson's rooms and the wax figures on the fourth floor.

Tours and tickets for London are easy to browse on GetYourGuide, and for a hotel near Baker Street, check Trip.com.