ARRIVING IN LONDON

The Imperial War Museum is built on the site of the once notorious hospital for the insane, called Bedlam (in fact, Charlie Chaplain's mother was admitted here in while he was growing up).

This museum is devoted to English wartime experiences from 1914 to the present, emphasizing how wars affect people.

Throughout, there is an impressive display of guns, tanks, fighter planes and a V2 rocket. The lower ground floor contains documentation and pictures attesting to the human damage of the the two world wars. The Blitz experience invites visitors to find out what it was like to be a Londoner in 1940, when the face of the city was changed forever. The first floor has a new secret war gallery explaining the movement of SAS operations during the Gulf War in terms of espionage and intelligence gathering.

You can take a grim walk through a re-creation of the trenches of World War I.. For an extra fee you can also experience a flight in an aircraft simulator. The new Holocaust Exhibition includes an outstanding collection of original documents, artifacts, films and photographs to illustrate the story of the Nazis' genocidal programme. There is a concentration on the plight of the Jews but also tells the story of others who faced persecution such as Soviet prisoners or war, people with disabilities and homosexuals.

Lambeth North Tube