Imperial War Museum London

The Imperial War Museum is my favourite history museum in London (at the moment – the new London Museum may well take that spot when it opens later in 2026).

There’s a lot of stuff you’d expect. Old tanks and planes – including a German V-2 rocket and a Reuters Land Rover, damaged by rocket attack in Gaza in 2006. But what makes the IWM a really great museum is its effort to tell the true stories of ordinary people involved in conflict, and telling the stories of conflict all over the globe, and how this has shaped our society.

I especially love the Blavatnik Art, Film and Photography galleries, which displays over 500 works from the 20th and 21st century to ‘explore the creativity and destruction’. The Holocaust section is extremely challenging and poignant – not recommended for children under 14 – but extremely well done, extensive and informative, as well as harrowing. It has won awards, and focuses on telling individuals stories.

With its wide global remit, it also hosts an interesting range of temporary exhibits, which are free (as is general entry). Recent highlights include Rebel Sounds (on music and conflict) and Northern Ireland: Living with the Troubles, to give you a sense of range of stuff they put on.

The building also has an interesting history. When you visit now, it’s obvious what it is – you’re met by two intimidating naval guns and a real piece of the Berlin Wall. But once this building was the notorious Bethlem Royal Hospital, a psychiatric hospital known as Bedlam.