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Handel Hendrix House: £14.50 Tickets, Opening Hours, Christmas Closures and What to See

Handel Hendrix House is the only museum in London where you can stand in a composer's Georgian rehearsal room and, a few minutes later, in a rock star's bedroom next door. George Frideric Handel lived at 25 Brook Street in Mayfair for 36 years; Jimi Hendrix rented the top-floor flat at number 23 in 1968 and 1969. One ticket covers both homes. Here is what it costs, when it opens, what is on this winter and how to get the most from a visit.

What Handel Hendrix House is

Handel took a lease on the house in Brook Street in 1723 and lived there until he died in his bedroom on 14 April 1759, aged 74. It was here, between 22 August and 14 September 1741, that he wrote Messiah.

Two centuries later Jimi Hendrix moved into the top floor of number 23 with his girlfriend Kathy Etchingham. He gave interviews there, wrote songs and prepared for his February 1969 concerts at the Royal Albert Hall. When he learned who used to live next door, he went to the One Stop Record Shop on South Molton Street and bought Handel's Messiah and Water Music. In 1997 English Heritage put up a blue plaque at number 23; the museum says it is the only officially recognised Hendrix residence in the world.

The museum opened on 8 November 2001 on the upper floors of Handel's house. The Hendrix flat opened permanently in February 2016, and in 2023 the museum took over the ground floor too, opening the whole of Handel's house for the first time. This November marks 25 years since it first opened.

Tickets and prices

A general admission ticket gets you into both homes and any exhibitions running, along with the regular free programme of live music, talks and family activities. Prices on the museum's own site:

Book through the Handel Hendrix House visit page, which is the official seller. Third-party sites resell the same entry, sometimes with a mark-up, so it is worth checking the official price first. Evening concerts and special events are ticketed separately.

Opening hours and the Christmas closures

The house opens Wednesday to Sunday from 10:00 to 17:00, with last entry at 16:00. It is closed every Monday and Tuesday. Around the holidays the timetable changes:

• Wednesday 18 November: closed in the day for maintenance, opening in the evening only for a ticketed Jimi Session
• Sunday 20 December: last open day before Christmas
• Monday 21 to Sunday 27 December: closed
• Monday 28 to Wednesday 30 December: open 10:00 to 17:00
• Thursday 31 December: open 10:00 to 15:00, last entry 14:00
• Friday 1 January: closed
• Saturday 2 and Sunday 3 January: open 10:00 to 17:00
• Wednesday 6 January: closed
• From Thursday 7 January: normal Wednesday to Sunday hours resume

What to see inside

Handel's side is a run of restored Georgian rooms, now including the ground floor that opened in 2023, with the bedroom where he died. On the Hendrix side you see the flat where he and Kathy Etchingham lived, including the bedroom where the museum's guitarists now play, and displays on his record collection and London years. The free Bloomberg Connects app has a digital guide to both houses.

Three exhibitions are on this winter, all included in general admission:

• The Hallelujah House: Inside Handel's HQ, the 25th anniversary show, runs until 14 March 2027. Its loans include a page of Handel's handwritten score for Esther, the first oratorio written in English.
• Ronnie Wood: The Jimi Hendrix Portraits runs until 11 April 2027.
• Hendrix in London, a newer display on his time in the city.

Live music, talks and events

Music is the reason to time your visit. Twice a month the house runs "Baroque and Roll" days, with baroque music on period instruments in Handel's dining room and blues guitar in Hendrix's bedroom on the same day, included in admission. Talks run every Thursday at 14:00, and guided tours on selected Sundays at 14:00.

Ticketed evenings this season include the Jimi Sessions with Greg Coulson on 18 November, Handel's Salon on 24 November and a Christmas programme called Deck the Halls! (with boughs of Handel) on 8 and 10 December. For Messiah itself in a grander setting, the Wigmore Hall is a short walk north.

Getting there and access

Bond Street station on the Elizabeth, Central and Jubilee lines is a short walk away and has step-free access. Oxford Circus is also close. There is disabled parking on Grosvenor Street, and the museum offers step-free, level access into the building for wheelchair users. Allow about 90 minutes for both houses, longer if you stay for a performance.

The house sits between New Bond Street and Grosvenor Square, so it pairs well with a walk through Mayfair: see our Mayfair guide for where to eat nearby, or our list of museums near Oxford Circus to fill the rest of the day.

More things to do in central London on the W1 London homepage.