Imperial War Museum London

A visiter absolument, il y en a pour tous les goûts : studieux, vous apprécierez les commentaires des affichettes ou de l'audio-guide, les plus jeunes adorerons les tanks et les avions, et surtout le children's war qui montre la vision que les petits anglais ont eu de la guerre. Etonnant de découvrir l'implication de tous les pays du Commonwelth dans les 2 guerres mondiales. Cafétéria très agréable. Et cerise sur le gâteau, cet immense musée est gratuit.

This museum is amazing. I wish we had budgeted more time because we simply browsed in three hours and hadly put a dent in the first two floors. If you are in to military history, plan to spend the day. If the topic is mildly interesting to you, I would plan at least 4 hours to see the floors. We also visited the Ian Flemming collection special exhibit, which we also found fascinating (we're Bond fans though). Admission is free, but the special exhibits have entrance fees, but I also gladly donated to the museum on the way out.

This museum was the high point of my visit to London. The exhibits are extensive, attractively presented and well documented. They of course concentrate on the British experience, so my fellow Americans may leave wondering how the Brits defeated the Axis with so little help from her Allied associates! My favorite exhibit was the room displaying the Victoria and George Cross recipients. No one with a heart or functioning gonads will fail to be moved by the stories told there.

Allow at least a half day for a reasonably thorough visit. I spent the morning there, followed by lunch and a couple of pints at a nearby pub, then an afternoon of snooker at Kings Cross Snooker Club. That was a day well spent!

My fondest memory of the Imperial War Museum: I was standing next to an elderly British couple viewing a mockup of Little Boy, the atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima. The lady kissed her fingertips, then leaned over and touched them to Little Boy, as if to say, "Bless you, Little Boy, for helping end the war."