HMS Belfast is a magnet for kids of all ages. This large, light cruiser – launched in 1938 – served in WWII, helping to sink the Nazi battleship Sand shelling the Normandy coast on D-Day, and in the Korean War. Its 6-inch guns could bombard a target 12 miles distant. Displays offer great insight into what life on board was like, in peacetime and during military engagements. Excellent audio guides, included in the admission fee, feature anecdotes from former crew members.


Lonely Planet's must-see attractions

Nearby attractions

1. Hay's Galleria

0.11 MILES

This beautiful shopping arcade was an enclosed dock in the 19th century. The wharf handled all sorts of goods, although perishable foodstuff was the main…

2. City Hall

0.17 MILES

Home to the Mayor of London, the bulbous glass-clad City Hall was designed by Foster and Partners and opened in 2002. Visitor access is limited to the…

3. All Hallows by the Tower

0.21 MILES

The oldest church in the City, All Hallows has been a place of worship since 675 CE. It was spared in the Great Fire, but much of today's building is from…

4. Gibbon's Rent

0.21 MILES

Buried between soaring blocks of flats, this tiny alley has been transformed by locals into a secret garden lined with potted plants. A small wooden…

5. St Dunstan in the East

0.22 MILES

Bombed to bits in the Blitz, the atmospheric ruins of 12th-century St Dunstan's have been left to the elements, resulting in a beautifully sombre public…

6. Tower of London

0.25 MILES

Few parts of the UK are as steeped in history or as impregnated with legend and superstition as the titanic stonework of the Tower of London. Not only is…

7. Shard

0.26 MILES

Puncturing the skies above London, the dramatic splinter-like form of the Shard has become an icon of the city and is one of the tallest buildings in…

8. Tower Bridge

0.28 MILES

It doesn't matter from where you first glimpse Tower Bridge, with two neo-Gothic towers rising gracefully from either side of the Thames: London's…