Alright, one of the best things about this museum is that it's free! Great value, eh? All kidding aside, it's a great museum to see the development of London and everything in between. You literally will see everything, from prehistoric items to the Lord Mayor's coach. All are very interesting. Going on the weekend is a good idea, because the area is like a ghost town. I personally enjoyed the Tudor and Stuart era. I love this era, so to see how they lived then was very interesting. Also, you see how The Great Fire started and enveloped so much of the city. There's a little room that is darkened, and you'll see how it slowly started and then went rampant. It's a good exhibit for kids. Another great area of the museum is the Victorian section. There are little rooms, or vignets, that present everything from a barber to a pharmacy. You will feel like you are part of that era. Also, you can take pictures in this area, so click away. Lastly, the Roman room is fantastic. I truly enjoyed that one. You feel like you really are in Roman times. There are Roman walls (including one outside) and tiles that are just spectacular. But to look at marble statues from the Temple of Mithras is just awesome! You look at it and think "some Roman looked at this and admired its beauty, just like me." One of the last things to see is the Lord Mayor's Coach. It was built in 1757 and as glided with gold as it can be! This is just as spectacular as the Royal Coach used for crowning the monarchs, another great picture for the scrapbook. We took the Tube from the Barbican stop. The museum is right down the road from it.

It's fitting that London is blessed with the world largest, most comprehensive, and altogether finest city museum. Even though over a millennium's worth of exhibitions (the "Medieval Galleries" covering AD 410-1558) won't reopen until Autumn 2005, the other exhibitions more than make up for this lacuna. There's something here for every age group and level of knowledge, from the delightfully ornate Lord Mayor's Coach to disturbing wax models depicting diseases rampant in 19th-century London's vast underclass.

For all this breadth, however, you can get a reasonable sense of London's past, from pre-history to 1914, when the museum's collections terminate, in a couple of hours, either with the recorded tour (for which there is a charge) or by taking advantage of the extensive labeling that accompanies each item on display. Indeed, more than any individual exhibition, this straightforwardness is probably the museum's best attribute since London's history has been extremely complex. It commendably covers the experiences not only of the nobility and merchant class, but also examines the plight of women, the poor, and immigrants, who usually get short shrift in this kind of museum elsewhere.

Unusual for a civic museum, the first gallery "London Before London" deals with pre-history, providing a wealth of information on the early inhabitants of the Thames Valley in neon-lit display cases that wouldn't be out of a place in a modern art museum! Personally, I prefer the Roman Gallery, which harks back to the city's foundation as Londinium and contains a pair of very impressive reconstructed rooms featuring actual Roman mosaics. I enjoyed the recordings featuring spoken Latin and the cookbook of foods consumed by Roman patricians – including milk-fed snails and stuffed dormice! By contrast, the Tudor and Early Stuart section is little more than some ostentatious furnishings accompanied by a careworn display on the Great Fire of 1666.

This seminal event in London's history is your cue to walk to the airy downstairs galleries. "Late Stuart London" covers the rebuilding of the city, largely under the auspices of Sir Christopher Wren, best known for designing St. Paul's Cathedral. "Eighteenth Century London" examines the development of both bourgeois and plebeian culture in the reborn city – as well as displaying a cell from the notorious Newgate Prison. The museum's largest and most interesting exhibition covers London's rise as the world's preeminent economic and cultural center between 1789 and 1914. If you're pressed for time, you should come directly here, as it goes further in explaining how London came to be the city it is today than any other exhibition.

The museum's exhibitions compose an essential introduction to London. It also plays host to quite a few events (many geared to families and most free) every day, many of which offer the opportunity to add an interactive element to your visit. Inquire at the Information Desk when you enter, where you can also pick up a free museum map and find out about temporary exhibitions (for which there is often an admission charge.)

http://www.museumoflondon.org.uk

This was a great museum, and I wish we could have had more time here. A great overview of a great city. Such a central city as london it is important to learn about the history of the area. Wonderful for adults and children and very close to the bus tour stops. Worth the short walk.

This is the first place to go if you are interested in London history and would like to have some understanding of the things you will see in London during your visit. Right around the corner from our lodgings, we visited the Museum of London on our first day in town. We could easily have spent an entire day there. Although there were a lot of school children, there were very few tourists, and the place was not crowded. It's off the beaten path, and I would guess that most people visiting London aren't familiar with it. But our visit enriched our trip tremendously, and I highly recommend visiting this museum before hitting all the more famous attractions.

The museum is very logically organized and begins with pre-historic England. There is a great deal of information concerning the Roman settlement and occupation of Londinium, which was much more extensive and long-lasting than I had realized. Along with a replica of the interior of a Roman home, one can see a remaining section of the original London Wall. There is also an interesting exhibit with artifacts from the Roman Temple of Mithras.

You move through the medieval period, the Renaissance, and onward through London history. Replica interiors from different eras are very interesting and well-done. The exhibit on the Great Fire of 1666 is particularly compelling.

I plan to return here for a more thorough visit on my next trip. The book shop is very good, and there is a café in the museum for lunch or tea. Near the Barbican and St. Paul tube stations, the museum is easily accessible from anywhere in London.

The British Museum is without a doubt London's best museum, with collections of relics from British history, Egyptian times, and many other interesting pieces. The amount of information is overwhelming. A great way to see this museum is with the London Pass. The London Pass provides free entrance into special exhibits at the British Museum. When you are finished with the British Museum, make your way onto some of the other attractions (over 50) included in the product. See fascinating sites like Shakespeare's Globe, The Tower of London, London Zoo, and Cutty Sark. The London Pass comes with a guidebook that explains and describes each attraction before you visit, so you can plan out your day. For more information on this money- and time-saving product, visit: www.londonpass.com.