What is it?
A floating naval museum inside Europe’s largest WWII-era cruiser, HMS Belfast is one of the most significant battleships to have survived the Second World War.
With nine huge decks, including gun turrets, punishment rooms and an operating theatre, you can’t miss it if you’re walking through Tower Bridge, where it’s stationed on the south bank of the Thames.
Under the care of the Imperial War Museum, the museum offers an immersive experience of what life would have been like for members of the ship’s 950-strong crew. You’ll learn all about its history, from Arctic convoys to D-Day, its role in the Cold War and beyond.
The HMS Belfast also makes an unlikely playground for children, who tear around its cramped complex with ease. And the array of interactive exhibitions will distract them from the fact that they’re even in a museum. If you plan on visiting, bear in mind that there are ladders and a fair few narrow passages involved.
Why go?
From the boiler room to the bakery to the gunnery, HMS Belfast is a vast time capsule for you to learn everything there is to know about seafaring life.
Don’t miss
HMS Belfast’s Command Centre – a fully equipped gaming room at the heart of the ship where visitors can play ‘World of Warships’ and get a taste of what it would have been like to steer the British cruiser or other historical warships into battle.
When to visit
Open daily 10am to 5pm, last entry 4pm. Peak times at weekends and school holidays.
Ticket info
A standard adult ticket for HMS Belfast is £26.35 and for kids it’s £13.15.
People on Universal Credit can get tickets for £3 for themselves and up to five members of their household.
Time Out tip
Over selected school holidays, HMS Belfast runs ‘We Were There’ family days. Families with kids aged seven or older are able to meet and hear stories from real-life naval veterans and eyewitnesses of war, some of whom served onboard the HMS Belfast itself.