JoeTro

Is anyone a "Friend" of the Royal Academy of Arts? I'm thinking about joining at their young person's rates, as there are three exhibitions this year I want to see, plus my parents are coming up and I can take one of them as a guest.

I'm just curious what the "Friends'" room is? It is just a bar or dining room where you pay for stuff, or is it more like an airline lounge where you get things complementary?

Thanks.

flanneruk

The Friends' room is simply a large room with comfortable chairs and daily papers. It's near a reasonable restaurant and has a small cash tea, coffee etc service.

As a quiet place in central London to sit and read the paper, it's probably worth the subscription by itself if you're not a member of a Pall Mall club. However, it does get full during very popular exhibitions and on many Saturdays.

Friends membership not only gets you and a guest into exhibitions free (and as often as you want, which means you can repeatedly pop back to catch up on bits you didn't dig into enough the first time), it also gets you in without booking (unlike the bloody Tate, which often makes its Friends book in advance).

Not only can I not imagine life in London without RA Friends' membership: I don't know anyone who isn't a member.

PatrickLondon

I'm sure you do... I was given one and I let it lapse.

caroline_edinburgh

As a non-young person it's cheaper to join the RSA (Royal Scottish Academy) which gets you into the RA too, although I don't know about young person's rates.

JoeTro

Thanks. It is 32 pounds, and considering that there are 3 exhibits I want to see, and that my parents will be coming up and also want to go, I could break even. I think I will join.