Hi, i'm going to London for the day in a couple of weeks and as i haven't been to most of the galleries and museums in a long time, i thought i'd take a visit to one.

What would be your favourite and why?

All are great but my favorite since I stay in the area is the Victoria & Albert. I pop in several times during my trip & over the years have not been to every nook & cranny yet. They don't call it London's attic for nothing!

If I could only go to one museum on a short visit, I'd not worry about a favorite and instead look into current special exhibitions, and choose the one that interested me most.

there are many museum lists for London, but the following briefly describes each museum, and better yet, offers a click to each one so you can see what exhbits are on currently and for the near future.

http://www.londontourist.org/art.html

I've not gotten to see the Tate Modern, so if I went back, I'd want to see it.

That said, I'd return to V&A in a heartbeat.

Depends mostly on what sorts of things you want to see:

quirky - Sir John Soane's

off the beaten path but REALLY interesting - the Geffrye

amazing bldg - Tate Modern

lots (and lots) of Turners - Tate Britain

variety/decorative Arts - V&A

anything and everything plus the Great Court - British Museum

combine w/ a shopping trip - the Wallace Collection

overwhelming art - the National Gallery

following up on janisj...

Royal Academy of Arts: another good museum combined with shopping

Somerset House: not so crowded, impressionist/post-impressionist collection at Courtauld Institute, exquisite silver and amazing Italian miniature mosaics at Gilbert collection

great for history buffs: Imperial War Museum, Museum of London, British Library

great for kids: London Transport Museum, Science Museum, Natural History Museum.

Contemporary crafts: Design Museum

classic townhouse: Apsley House

Favorite = V&A.

My new favorite- V&A- alittle of everything and a lot of some things.

My daughters'-British Museum. The Rosetta Stone and the Elgin marbles are just something amazing to have seen.

National Gallery, for the paingtings. I try to stay at hotels around Tarlfalgar Square every time, so I could drop in daily.

my favorite:

the Portrait Gallery .

Love seeing all the familiar ( and less familiar ) faces painted by the great artists.
Every year there is a competition ; the work by the winner and the participants is displayed ( always a delight).