Free collection or a paid exhibition?
The permanent collection displays are free and need no booking. Tate's FAQ says Tate Modern is "free to enter for everyone", and general entry needs no free ticket or timed slot: you can walk in at any time during opening hours.
You need a ticket only for temporary exhibitions. Three were on at Tate Modern on 29 October 2026:
| Exhibition | Until | Standard | Concession | Where |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Frida: The Making of an Icon | 3 January 2027 | £25 | Available, amount not listed | Natalie Bell Building, Level 3 |
| Ana Mendieta | 17 January 2027 | £18 | £17 | Blavatnik Building, Level 2 |
| Julio Le Parc | 3 May 2027 | £15 | £13 | Blavatnik Building, Level 4 |
Prices come from each exhibition page: Frida, Ana Mendieta and Julio Le Parc. The Frida and Mendieta pages both offer an optional £5 smartphone audio guide when you book; it plays on your own phone, so bring headphones.
If you want all three, an adult pays £58. On a short visit, choose by what closes first: Frida ends on Sunday 3 January, two weeks before Mendieta, while Le Parc runs into spring.
Who pays less
Tate's FAQ sets out the discounts that apply to exhibitions at Tate Modern:
- Children under 12 with a family: free.
- Children aged 12–18 with a family: £5 per exhibition.
- Aged 16–25: £5 tickets through Tate Collective, a free online scheme; you sign up and log in to book, and proof of age is checked at entry.
- Concessions: students with valid ID, UK teachers with valid ID and disabled visitors. A disabled visitor can have one complimentary companion ticket.
- Tate Members: free, with no need to book; just show the card.
For a family of two adults with children aged 10 and 14, Frida costs £55: two adults at £25, the 14-year-old at £5 and the 10-year-old free.
Booking and time slots
The Frida page recommends booking in advance. All exhibition tickets have 15-minute entry slots, and you can book online on the day if there is space; tickets are also sold in the gallery. Ticket desks close 45 minutes before the gallery closes.
You cannot enter before the time on your ticket, and once you leave an exhibition you cannot go back in. If Frida is full on your date, check the following days online, or use the time for the free collection and one of the other two exhibitions.
Opening hours and closures
- Sunday to Thursday: 10:00–18:00.
- Friday and Saturday: 10:00–21:00.
- Closed: 24, 25 and 26 December. Tate's FAQ says all Tate galleries are open year-round apart from these three days.
The collection displays page gives last entry as 30 minutes before closing. For exhibitions, the FAQ says last entry is normally one hour before the gallery closes. Tate's visual story pages give simpler 10:00–18:00 hours; the Friday and Saturday late hours appear on the FAQ, the collection page and the Frida page, so plan with those.
Over the holidays, Tate Modern is shut from Thursday 24 December to Saturday 26 December and reopens on Sunday 27 December. None of the official pages mentions a New Year's Day closure; Tate's FAQ lists only the three December dates, so check before a 1 January visit.
On a Friday or Saturday evening, the last exhibition entry is normally around 20:00, which gives you the afternoon for something else on Bankside.
Bags, lockers and security
Bags are checked on arrival. Tate's collection page says bags and items larger than cabin size, 55 × 40 × 20 cm, are not allowed in the building. The cloakroom on Level 0 of the Natalie Bell Building has closed.
Instead, the visual story lists paid lockers on Level 0 of the Blavatnik Building, rented for the whole day:
| Locker | Size | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Standard | 36 × 30 × 43 cm | £4 |
| Large | 44 × 36 × 42 cm | £6 |
| Jumbo | 58 × 44 × 66 cm | £8 |
The lockers do not take cash and are free for Members. Anything bigger than a cabin bag will not get past the door, so leave a suitcase first; our guide to luggage storage in London compares the options.
Getting there and entrances
Tate Modern is on Bankside, London SE1 9TG, facing the River Thames. Tate names two stations:
- Southwark: Jubilee line, per TfL's station page, which lists lifts among the facilities and mini ramps for the gap to the train.
- Blackfriars: District and Circle lines on TfL's station page, which also offers mini ramps on request.
There are two main entrances. The Turbine Hall entrance, reached from the river side, is on a downhill slope with automatic doors. The Blavatnik Building entrance is at the back on Sumner Street, up a sloped path beside the curved wall; use it if you are heading straight to the lockers or to the Mendieta or Le Parc exhibitions.
How long to allow and what is nearby
Tate does not publish a suggested visit time. One exhibition plus a few collection floors makes a comfortable half day; on a Friday or Saturday you can start in the afternoon and stay into the evening. Tate says the gallery is quietest at the start and end of the day.
Shakespeare's Globe is a short walk along Bankside, and St Paul's Cathedral is across the river. If you want a second free collection on the same trip, the National Gallery on Trafalgar Square opens until 21:00 on Fridays.
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