London does autumn rather well. The tourists thin out, the coats come back, and suddenly the museums start rolling out exhibitions designed to make us abandon any sensible plans for the afternoon.
This year is particularly good. From a 1,000-year-old piece of history making an extraordinary homecoming to Renoir, Schiaparelli and a glorious wallow in the 1990s, these are five exhibitions worth booking a trip to London around.
The Bayeux Tapestry
British Museum
10 September 2026 – 11 July 2027
This is the big one.
Nearly 1,000 years after it was made, the Bayeux Tapestry has returned to England for the first time. Stretching roughly 70 metres, this extraordinary embroidered account of the Norman Conquest tells the story leading up to the Battle of Hastings in 1066… complete with kings, horses, ships, battles, questionable behaviour and one extremely badly behaved comet.
Believed to have been commissioned by a Norman patron but probably embroidered in England, it is both artwork and medieval newsreel.
The British Museum expects it to be one of the most popular exhibitions in its history. Translation: book ahead.
Renoir and Love
National Gallery
3 October 2026 – 31 January 2027
If medieval warfare isn’t romantic enough for you, head across town for Renoir.
The National Gallery’s major exhibition brings together around 45 paintings exploring love, flirtation, friendship, family and the decidedly more appealing side of Parisian life.
The star is Bal au Moulin de la Galette, Renoir’s wonderful swirl of dancing, drinking and dappled sunlight in Montmartre. On loan from the Musée d’Orsay, it is being shown in Britain for the first time in decades.
Advance sales have already broken National Gallery records, so apparently London is in the mood for romance.
Van Eyck: The Portraits
National Gallery
21 November 2026 – 11 April 2027
Those mesmerising faces that stare back at us from Jan van Eyck’s paintings are being brought together for the first exhibition devoted entirely to his portraits.
There are some extraordinary reunions, including the National Gallery’s famous Arnolfini Portrait displayed alongside another portrait believed to show the same sitter.
Even more intriguing is Van Eyck’s possible self-portrait hanging beside his portrait of his wife Margaret. Six centuries later, they are having a family reunion in Trafalgar Square.
Schiaparelli: Fashion Becomes Art
V&A
Until 15 November 2026
Elsa Schiaparelli never believed fashion needed to behave itself.
The Italian-born Paris couturier collaborated with Salvador Dalí, embraced Surrealism and produced everything from lobster dresses to shoe-shaped hats. Her shocking pink alone deserves its own exhibition.
The V&A looks at Schiaparelli’s wonderfully eccentric world and her influence on the house today. Expect fashion, art, fantasy and the sort of clothes that make a little black dress look positively apologetic.
This one closes in November, so don’t procrastinate.
The 90s: Art and Fashion
Tate Britain
8 October 2026 – 14 February 2027
Finally, something for those of us who remember the 1990s rather than studying them in history class.
Tate Britain revisits the decade when British art and fashion became loud, provocative and internationally cool.
It was the era of Young British Artists, Britpop, supermodels and designers who turned London into one enormous creative laboratory. For anyone who actually lived through it, there may also be the slightly alarming realisation that our youth now qualifies for a museum exhibition.
Go for the art. Stay for the nostalgia. Try not to calculate how long ago 1996 actually was.