Unless you are a truly devoted fan of the Sir Arthur Conan Doyle stories and you don’t mind waiting in a long line, I would skip this particular “museum.” Seeing as how Holmes and Watson are literary characters, it is more accurate to call it a historic house with a twist than a museum. I also thought the admission fee was too high for what you get because once you are inside the whole museum only takes maybe 30 minutes to walk through.
That being said, for people who are well versed in Holmesian lore, there are some replica objects like a bust of Napolean from The Adventure of the Six Napoleons as well as some weapons used in the fictional murder cases scattered throughout the house, but the printing on the labels is really small and difficult to read. The top floor is also inhabited by wax figures of some of the most notable characters from the stories like Irene Adler and the King of Bohemia from A Scandal in Bohemia. I thought this was a nice touch, especially because Holmes himself was saved from an assassination attempt in one of Doyle’s tales due to a waxwork replica sitting by the window that was mistaken for the great detective in the flesh.
When my travel zine, Steam Tour: An American Steampunk in London, comes out in 2015, you can get some helpful tips about visiting this site. For now, I hope you enjoy my pictures.
Phoebe Darqueling 
My son was in London a couple of months ago and visited this museum. I think he shared your view of it. I think he enjoyed more going to St. Bart’s Hospital and scoping out the locations where Sherlock “jumped” from the roof and all the Sherlock-related messages scrawled below.
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Reblogged this on Cogpunk Steamscribe and commented:
For the Fans of Sherlock Holmes.
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As a Sherlock tragic, you photos make me want to visit this attraction, even if you don’t think it is worth the price.
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There is a new exhibit at the Museum of London called Sherlock Holmes: The Man Who Never Lived and Will Never Die that looks really cool. It opened in October after I had already left London so I didn’t get a chance to see it, but you might want to check that out 🙂 If you do go to the museum on Baker Street, I would recommend going on a weekday and arriving in the morning.
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I believe that it’s been at least a dozen years since I’ve been in London, but the Museum was one of my stops. Madame Tussaud’s, too. It’s just down the road from Baker Street, yes?
I don’t recall it being crowded or expensive at the time. Rose-colored goggles, perhaps? I appreciated its attention to detail; its clutter was cozy to me. The mannequins didn’t do as much for me as they should have, but that’s my fault. I confess that I hadn’t read the ACD stories and had only dabbled in TV and cinema adaptations. But I liked the fact that someone had “made” a 221 B Baker Street and simply had to see it. Then bought stuff across the street at a Sherlock Holmes shop unaffiliated with the museum.
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I didn’t get a chance to see Madame Tussaud’s in London. I had just been to the NYC location in May so I thought my energy would be better spent elsewhere, but it is near the museum. I agree, I loved the cluttered tableaus, I think they just let in too many people at a time to a very small space so it was hard to really enjoy them. The gift shop did used to be across the street back when it opened in 1990, but now you can’t see the museum without pushing through the gift shop melee to buy your tickets. Thanks for reading 🙂
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