Museum of London

London today has been totally shaped by its history - for those of you who want more than the shops and the clubs - for those of you who travel in order to understand and relate, the Museum of London is a great introduction to this fantastic city.

Along with a bunch of other museums in the UK, this one is free. It is easily accessible from Barbican, St Pauls or Moorgate tubes and heaps of buses - be aware that you need to access the museum (which stands in the centre of a very busy roundabout!) by a pedestrian walk - there are stairs and lifts from Aldersgate Street, London Wall or St Martins-le-Grand.

In common with many other city museums today, this one seeks to 'walk you through' the life of the city - starting with "London before London", a look at how life developed along the Thames Valley from pre-history until the Romans. The next obvious step is "Roman London" - and what a city they built! Although most Roman remains are still buried beneath the silt of the Thames and the rubbish of the centuries, at the Museum of London they have skillfully recreated a picture of how it might have been - supported by some truly magnificent finds.

Of course, eventually, the Romans left and London, along with the rest of Britain, plunged into a time of uncertainty and conflict - Anglo-Saxon settlement, Viking raids and...utlimately...the Norman Conquest all changed the city in various ways. Alongside these London remained and grew as a major trading port of medieval times - building on their Roman beginnings to forge the basis of the centre of trade that London still is today. All of these stories are told in the museum, taking us through to the time of the Tudors.

The museum has regular 'temporary' exhibitions - the one running now (until 2009) tells the story of the Great Fire (1666) and its dramatic impact on the city.

Although some of the galleries in the museum are closed for refurbishment (Stuarts and after), the story of London is one I believe will open your eyes to the London many people miss - this museum is the place to get that fundamental understanding. I commend it to all visitors.

Information about opening hours etc. can be found on the museum's website www.museumoflondon.org.uk

I found the museum poorly laid out and the information a bit general. Also, 1/2 is closed for renovations, which might be part of hte reason it was so poorly laid out.