Our home in Kew welcomes visitors to view our temporary exhibitions, use our document reading rooms, and enjoy our café and shop. The opening times of these areas can be found below.
Visitors to our document reading rooms are encouraged to book their visit in advance.
Planning your visit to MI5: Official Secrets?
Weekends can be busy, so we recommend arriving early. For a quieter experience, weekdays are a great option and on Tuesdays and Thursdays we’re open until 19:00. Perfect for an evening exploration.
List of opening times
| Building and exhibition | Café | Shop | Reading rooms | Document ordering | Car park | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mondays | Closed | Closed | Closed | Closed | Closed | Closed |
| Tuesdays | 09:00– 19:00 | 09:00– 17:00 | 10:00– 17:00 | 09:30– 19:00 | 09:30– 16:00 | 08:00– 19:30 |
| Wednesdays | 09:00– 17:00 | 09:00– 16:00 | 10:00– 17:00 | 09:30– 17:00 | 09:30– 15:30 | 08:00– 17:30 |
| Thursdays | 09:00– 19:00 | 09:00– 17:00 | 10:00– 17:00 | 09:30– 19:00 | 09:30– 16:00 | 08:00– 19:30 |
| Fridays | 09:00– 17:00 | 09:00– 16:00 | 10:00– 17:00 | 09:30– 17:00 | 09:30– 15:30 | 08:00– 17:30 |
| Saturdays | 09:00– 17:00 | 09:00– 16:00 | 10:00– 17:00 | 09:30– 17:00 | 09:30– 15:30 | 08:00– 17:30 |
| Sundays | 11:00– 16:00 | 11:00– 15:00 | 11:00– 16:00 | Closed | Closed | 10:30– 16:30 |
Bank holidays and other closure dates
We are closed every Monday, including all English bank holidays, and on 24 December. On 23 December, we close at 17:00.
Our document reading rooms are also closed on the Saturday prior to each bank holiday Monday.