If theres one museum that you visit during your stay, make it the British Museum. The exhibits on display here are amoung the finest in the world. My particular favourites are the displays of Greek amphorii, the Elgin Marbles (still a source of friction between the British and Greek Governments) and the Mummys in the Egyptian Room. However, there is so much to see that you'll find favourities of your own. The recently opened Great Court is most impressive and adds to the Grandeur of the place.

Plan on spending at least 1/2 a day here. Anything less would only scrape the surface on what there is to see.

The British Museum is a behemoth of a museum, but a glorious one. Visiting the museum can be a bit overwhelming, though, unless you determine what parts of the museum you're most interested in visiting. For example, I decided to take a look at the Mildenhall Treasure and Anglo Saxon section on this visit, as in former visits I'd seen the Egyptian, Greek, Roman, and Near Eastern sections. Still, there are vast sections of the museum I've never had stamina to visit.

Some of the highlights of the museum include the Elgin Marbles, the Rosetta Stone, and an amazing collection of mummies and other Egyptian artefacts (the best outside of Egypt, in fact). There are guides to and quick tours of the museum's highlights, such as the "Highlights" tour offered three times a day (8 pounds; tickets can be purchased in the Great Court). However, you may find such a whirlwind approach almost overwhelming. My advice, therefore, is to concentrate on one section of the museum and take your time. You can even sign up for a free Eye Opener tour and concentrate on a specific collection in the museum.

The newly built Great Court, built around the former British Library Reading Room, provides a wonderful place for the weary museum goer to sit in an open, airy space and have tea or browse through the museum shops. The Reading Room itself is my favorite part of the museum, a wonderfully historic place, filled floor-to-ceiling with rare first editions.

This is one of my favourite places in London. The museum was founded in 1753 and is one of the greatest museums in the world, showing works of man from prehistoric times to present day. My favourite things here are the Rosetta Stone, the Egyptian exhibit and Lindow Man. I`m fascinated with this body that they found in a peat bog.
This museum has collected some of the most amazing relics and antiquities from the glory days of places such as Asia, Egypt, Greece and Rome, along with prehistoric and medieval Europe.
One of the more fascinating collections is the Egyptian one. In this collection resides the infamous Rosetta Stone, which finally allowed modern day man to decipher hieroglyphics. It was discovered by French soldiers in 1799.
On a more controversal note of late are the Elgin Marbles from Greece. These are 5th century BC reliefs from the Parthenon and were "acquired" by Lord Elgin in 1810. The Greeks have insisted many times that they should be returned to the people of Greece and it should be interesting to see what the outcome will be.
The Roman-Britain sections includes, among others, the aforementioned Lindow Man, thought to be the victim of ritual sacrifice and the splendid Sutton Hoo Ship. This ship was a burial ship found in Suffolk complete with an unknown king.
There are exhibits from all over the world to see and temporary exhibitions make their way to the museum as well but you will need to pay to view them.

A breathtaking collection of the now-defunct British Empire.

Half of the ancient world (Rome, Greece, Egypt) is here, most notably: the Rosetta Stone, which unlocked the mystery of Egyptian heiroglyphs; the friezes of the Parthenon in Athens; a huge assortment of Egyptian funerary work: writings, sarcophagi, and actual unwrapped mummies; another huge assortment of ancient vases and urns depicting Greek myths, legends and other stories.

The museum also has an important and extensive collection of Orient artwork.

Also free, but often crowded, this is a sight you cannot miss.

The very first time I visited the British Museum, it was being over run with students on a multitude of class field trips. At first I thought, "oh no...I heard about these kinds of days...." But because it was the first trip, I had to go anyway, after all what kind of traveler would I be if I let that type thing stop me..
Boy was I lucky....The museum was undergoing a major reconstruction period in 1999, and things were a little confused, but still beautiful.
The things I thought would make the visit uncomfortable, were the exact things that made it wonderful. The kids all over the museum, brought forth all of the wonder, all of the awe these children were experiencing for the first time as well...I got to see the Museum and through the experience, the World, through the eyes of kids and parents that were willing to take the time to explain the wonders of the world...I looked at all of the wonderous things there as one of the citizens of the world.
I remember a group of kids looking at the mummies with their teacher and one child asked her teacher while looking at an adult and child mummies grouped together in a case,
" Is that, that babies Mother? did they die together? how did they die?" I realized these types of experiences in a child's life, shape who they are and what they might become. I felt honored that I could see that part of life, as it happened.
It was an experience I will cherish forever. Take those days of travel filled with kids, as a wonderous trip back into the times of wonder. You can go back, and with the knowledge of what it really all might mean.
Living as a local can be an enlightening series of events that make your journals come to life.