Naturel de Brenne

Imperial War Museum Has transformed itself from a celebration of military achievement and different ways of killing into a museum about the experience of war. Good for kids, with excellent actors doing mini-tours in costume. The new Holocaust exhibition is quite a bold step, the Blitz gallery is atmospheric and their changing exhibitions are world-class. Housed in a former lunatic asylum, which we think just about sums up militarism. Free entry.

The British Museum: Back from a substantial refit and better than ever, the best museum in the world where 4000 year old Pharoahs enjoy a busier afterlife than they planned for and where Karl Marx meets Buddha. Conveniently situated north of Covent Garden, on Great Russell Street, and just east of Oxford Street's main shopping drag. Just loads of everything you could think of, and free. The African collection is the world's largest (and the best in terms of range and quality) with over 200,000 objects, of which 600 pieces are on show to the public at any one time, though the Horniman is a very close rival. Just wander through the main galleries, and for maximum effeciency do it in several shorter trips than one big one, after all, it's free. However the much hyped special exhibitions are often boring and not worth the money and and we advise avoiding them. Saturday - Wednesday 10.00-17.30, Thursday - Friday 10.00-20.30. Free.

The Natural History & Science Museums
There's a high concentration of museums in South Kensington (well signposted from the tube) and these two are great for a rainy day. Kids love them. They celebrate the Victorian's love of Science and Nature - many of the machines that changed history are here - Britain has been the world's powerhouse of science - the Computer, the Fax, the WWW, the jet engine, the train, the television, Penicillin, the list is endless. But Tyrannosaurus Rex puts man in his place. The Natural History Museum is a beautiful building in itself - if you had to visit one museum here it's a tough decision: either the animatronic dinosaur for Jurassic Park fans, or the bells and whistles of the Science museum - better to briefly visit both as they're free.

National Maritime Museum In Britain you're never more than 60 miles from the sea. Britannia really did rule the waves and this is how she did it. Good reason to visit beautiful Greenwich. Open every day 10.00-17.00. Free.