Putting aside any moral or ethical issues for the moment, as a visitor to London one thing everyone must make time for is a trip to the British Museum. As the largest empire the world has ever known the British explorers/conquerors/looters (whichever term you wish to apply) brought back from the farthest reaches of their empire artifacts and historical treasures the likes of which had never been 
before.
The wonderful thing about the British Museum – apart from the fact that entry is free and so makes for a great day out with the family, (and invaluable on one of those rare rainy days we occasionally get in London) is that there really is something for everyone. No child can ever walk past the ancient embalmed bodies of Egyptian mummys without a thrill and know exactly what they are looking at.
Want to see a perfectly preserved body (apart from a little colouring and the fact that he’s squashed) that has lain in a peat bog for almost 2000 years? Then get along to the British Museum.
Want to see oneof the most hottly contested museum artifacts in the world before they get returned to Athens? Then go a long and see the Elgin Marbles which are displayed in incredible beauty with their mountings and lightings in their own dedicated room on the ground floor.
museum traces its origins back to 1753 when an act of Parliament officially accepted the donation (at a cost of £20,000 admittedly) from Sir Hans Sloane, a persoanl collection of over 71,000 objects. Over the next hundred years or so, the wealth of the Empire allowed itself the luxury of extending this collection with many ‘gentlemen’ collectors and archeologists bringing back curiosities and ancient treasures from around the world.
The opening hours are 10.00 to 17.30 daily and entrance is free – apart from special exhibitions – and with audio tours in 10 different languages, it really does offer an incredible day out for every visitor to our city. See the Musuems fascinating website for details of special projects and details of work they are doing around the world to promote and preserve the heritage of hundreds of countries!
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