Fan Museum

Explore a charming collection of fans in all shapes and sizes, dating from the 11th century right up to the present day.

Visit the Fan Museum with Go City®

• With us, there are no entry fees on the day – all you've got to do is show your pass.
• View the permanent collection on the ground floor, charting the history of fans and fan-making.
• Themed displays of fans from the collection change three times annually in the exhibition rooms upstairs.

​Admire a varied collection of decorative, functional and ceremonial fans from around the world and across the centuries at this wonderful Greenwich museum.

Set inside two lovingly restored Georgian townhouses, this magical museum’s collection of over 5,000 fans is as delightful and elegant as the buildings in which it is displayed.

Founder Hélène Alexander has dedicated her life to collecting fans and has created an intimate and homely space in which to view the collection, thanks to a sensitive restoration of the 1721 buildings and the addition of a tea room overlooking the peaceful Japanese garden.

Highlights of the collection include an extensive range of European fans from the 18th and 19th centuries, and a fan that’s nearly a thousand years old. There are paper fans, lace fans, ivory fans, Chinese fans, fans decorated with mythological beasts, fans designed by artists including Salvador Dali, George Barbier and Sylvain Le Guen, even a fan with a built-in ear trumpet!

Learn about their various uses through the ages: fans as fashion accessories, fans for advertising products, fans for keeping cool and fans as an art form.

Whether you’re the world’s biggest fan of fans, or have the merest flutter of interest, you’re sure to find plenty to admire and enjoy here.

Fan Museum highlights

Permanent collection - the ground floor galleries provide a compelling and comprehensive introduction to fans, their history and how they are made, with exhibits from all over the world

Regular exhibitions - the exhibition rooms on the upper level host up to three temporary exhibitions each year, showcasing collection highlights around a specific theme

Orangery and Japanese garden - the orangery serves afternoon teas surrounded by beautiful, intricate wall murals and offers views onto the tranquil Japanese garden

Getting in: show your pass for entry.

For more information, visit the Fan Museum website.

Fan Museum tickets help

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