HMS Belfast

Europe's largest cruiser from World War II, HMS Belfast is now a floating naval museum, a landmark on the Thames near Tower Bridge, with its nine huge decks, including gun turrets, punishment rooms and an operating theatre. 'HMS Belfast in War and Peace' tells the story of the HMS Belfast from her inception in the mid-1930s to the decision to save her for the nation in 1971. Original artefacts, documents, plans and drawings (as well as contemporary paintings, photographs, models and audio-visual displays) give a detailed account of the life and times of the warship and the men who served in her. The HMS Belfast makes an unlikely playground for children, who tear around its cramped complex with ease.