A Guide to the British Museum

British Museum - Great Court and stairs

It's interesting how sometimes those who do not live in a country produce some excellent guides to national institutions relating to the Arts

The New York Times Culture Pages has produced an excellent Guide to the British Museum. It includes:

• an excellent map which can be downloaded and saved to your phone
• Five Must-Sees - I wouldn't disagree with her choice of must-sees - although the choice might be considered by some to be for those with eclectic tastes
• Off the Beaten Path - Her list of lesser-known but not less-important pieces reside in five galleries - and I realised I maybe hadn't yet got round to visiting three of them!
• Unexpectedly Quiet Spots - She found all the places I like going for a spot of quiet contemplation and relief from the tribes of tourists and children. My favoruites are the drawing and print galleries in Rooms 90 and 90a and the absolutely fascinating Galleries about the Age of enlightenment in Rooms 1 and 2 which seem to be bypassed by those heading for the dead Egyptians.
• Going With Kids? - Children are ALWAYS rampant within the British Museum - either with single parents trying to occupy their offspring at weekends or on school visits during the week. However if you're going with kids I agree with the Guide it pays dividends to plan ahead and focus on doing a few things due to the sheer size of the Museum.
• Tips for visiting - Some very sound points made. I didn't know the one about making use of the back entrance on Montague Street to avoid the long lines at the front. 

You will still go through a security point, but there are always far fewer people.

The guide was written by Roslyn Sulcas grew up in South Africa, and has lived in Paris, New York and now London, where she writes about culture for the New York Times.