Jason Farago explores London's cultural revival in 2026, a decade after Brexit strained the capital's creative institutions. New leadership at the British Museum, National Theater, and Royal Opera House has energized storied venues, while the National Gallery unveiled a major new wing. This year also brings a new Museum of London in the historic meat market and a Victoria & Albert Museum satellite in the city's Olympic eastern stretches.

Farago's five essential stops include Kenwood House, home to Rembrandt's remarkable "Self-Portrait With Two Circles" from the late 1660s, featuring the master's signature geometric perfection against a drab ecru backdrop. At the V&A, 17th-century tortoiseshell combs inscribed "IAMAICA 1673" showcase the oceanic movement of people and materials in the early modern era. Eltham Palace offers Art Deco luxury colliding with Tudor history, including a leather map of southeast London in what was once Virginia Courtauld's boudoir.

The critic's final picks—the newly accessible drawing office at Sir John Soane's Museum and the Hunterian Museum—demonstrate that London's formidable cultural history retains vitality despite challenges since the Brexit referendum. The city's art institutions are reclaiming their prominence, transforming uncertainty into creative momentum.