Housed in a grand and impressive building, the NHM is well curated, with impeccable displays, and…read moreit's free. However, a donation of £10 is HIGHLY suggested as you enter. As with all London museums, there is security checking all backpacks, but this museum was checking for alcohol! When you see all the school teens sitting on the stairways (perhaps waiting for parents to pick them up?), then the alcohol check is understandable. Out of all the displays, my favorite was the dimly lit Treasures room. Each piece exhibited tells an important story beyond what you actually see like an Iguanodon tooth from the Mesozoic strata and found by Gideon Mantell (or his wife) and the rivalry that ensued between Mantell and Owen, who later usurped Mantell's contribution in discovering the first known dinosaur species and shaping the early understanding of dinosaurs. While I find the digital text for each display as being the true treasures, only 1-2 people can read at a time so you feel a bit rushed if you're a person (like me) who reads everything, yet people are behind you waiting their turn. In addition to the wonderful displays, there is a photo booth whereby you can have 3 photos taken against a green screen depicting a dinosaur encounter. What they don't tell you upfront is that the photos are NOT free and can be downloaded (depending on the package you choose) from £12 to £22 pounds. When I asked the staff for information on particular exhibits, I found them to be more than helpful and friendly, too. Allow time for this expansive gem.

Lots of bones! Plenty of old stuff! Great turn-of-the-century over-the-top ornate architecture!…read morePlan on an hour unless you're hardcore. Ride the escalator into the middle of the earth to find out what music is playing inside. See extraordinary taxidermy handiwork. Even see a fake dodo bird thought to be an adjacent species that didn't exist. And if you like dinosaurs this is your Mecca. Just don't dare sit anywhere like on some stairs in the corner or some overzealous guard will kick you right out. But otherwise you'll have a great time. Also enjoy the outside grounds for a stroll, and hit up the West entrance for zero lines while the hoards line up on the other side.

Great place to be outside in the sunshine and have a walk around the well kept gardens. My mum and…read moreI went in the blazing heat a few weeks ago. Parking was easy (and free!) and we had a drink and a slice of cake in the cafe and then a walk around the gardens. The cafe is reasonably priced and had a large selection of cakes and snacks. We grabbed a seat outside overlooking the lake and gardens which was lovely. There is a historical house that you can pay to visit, but we gave that a miss this time due to the beautiful weather and stuck to the gardens. My favorite thing we saw were the Queen's Beasts, the topiary. They were immaculately maintained and I got some great photos. There is plenty to explore and lots of space if you wish to sit and bring your picnic. We decided to visit the Butterfly Jungle experience. It costs £4 for adults, which isn't very much, but the 'experience' is very small and although there were lots of butterflies, it's wasn't really even worth the £4, you could walk around the space in under a minute and if there are other people in there you get stuck and have to wait for them to move on or you miss seeing those butterflies! It was enjoyable to see them, but I wouldn't bother visiting that area again when I return. Equally the owl experience looked very short and sweet, you could see the Owls through the doorway before the pay point, and there were 4 owls in perches. You'd be done after a few minutes. I look forward to returning to visit the house and for a walk around the gardens and a slice of cake!

I have been to Hall Place numerous times with the family, there is a HUGH car park (free), there…read morewas no admission price into Hall's Place, instead donations were invited. The grounds are vast and truly beautiful especially in the spring & summer periods and perfect for families to take children with a picnic and just enjoy the outdoors. The House itself was interesting and well maintained, parts can be hired for functions. The house is rather unique, with some bits tudor, some bits much more recent, some interesting art and artifacts, and the history of the building was well explained. Hall Place is not just a pretty historic house. It is also an art gallery, a fantastic garden, and the borough museum that captures the Bexley's history from the Romans to the end of the twentieth century. The Jacobean house and its connections to all sorts of British and world events from the Doomsday Book, through to the reformation, Levent Trade,slavery, abolition, the East India Company, the great estates and the Irish road to independence. The formal gardens around the house were lovely. There is a little river with a bridge which is lovely and very scenic!. There is also a plant nursery as well!. The cafe around the grounds was perfect for a light snack. If you do want a meal there is a nice steak house next door (WHICH IS FIRST CLASS). A programme of events are available regularly throughout the year, (i.e Open Air Cinema, Farm Animals etc), Well worth a visit. Extremely, HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.

The Brits plundered many fascinating archeological artifacts from around the world, and the…read moreBritish Museum displays some of the most famous, such as the Rosetta Stone. Admission: free Time budget: minimum 4 hours Free WiFi is available Plenty of clean bathrooms Caution: The museum has no air conditioning. I visited during a rare heat wave, and the museum was a sweat box. Also, if you don't like crowds, you won't like this museum. It gets packed early. Pre-opening tour: The museum offers for UK $35 various pre-opening tours. I took the Greece pre-opening tour. Pros: Small group of 20 before the unwashed masses crowd into the museum. Tour guides are knowledgable. Guides may offer extra time at no charge (e.g. 15-20 minutes extra). Cons: My tour guide did not enunciate or project his voice, so much of the tour was unintelligible.

How is this place free?!?! As they state themselves, it is the greatest collection of stolen items…read moreanywhere...lol. Meaning there are artifacts from countries all around the world. You do have to register for timed tickets ahead of time to get in. We got some just a few days before and they didn't check for times as we were almost an hour late. It was super crowded and getting through the queue took about 10 minutes. Once inside, we knew we had to move fast since they close at 5pm and you could spend all day here. The information booth was helpful as they gave us a map with the option of hitting the highlights, which was perfect for our amount of time. The items from the Easter Islands were my favorite and the library room right when you walk in was cool too. Of course the Rosetta Stone was amazing as well! There is food and a gift shop inside so get an early time and spend the day here.

This war memorial for soldiers who fought and fell in WW1 is a poignant reminder to us all that…read morelocal people fought for our freedom. The memorial is set in a picturesque flower garden next to the library and Dartford museum. A place to ponder ones thoughts of how lucky we are those young men (mostly) and women fought to save us from the enemy. Bless them all.

Small lovely museum, funded mainly by donations with lovely staff. Educational and mind opening…read moreexperience. I hope the museum gets the opportunity to expand and have more exhibits. When we came they had an exhibit about menopause. I think more people need to learn about the vagina in general and as a whole and understand what it is like to have one and all the burdens that come along with it and without it in the end.

A soon as I saw the name on the sign outside I HAD to go in. They have a wide variety of products…read moredisplayed from information pamphlets, books and jewellery that looks like ummm well I'm not sure what word Yelp will consider PC or risqué so just read the name of the business and you'll know exactly what I'm messing. You can wear them on your ears with a knitted sweet or on a chain around your neck made of an plastic type material, they had bold showing every size, shape and colour. You can also get t-shirts. The staff stayed behind the desk but they were friendly and greeted everyone that entered. I realised like myself most people seemed to be coming in out of curiosity and don't make any purchases but b they staff took that in stride and continued greeting everyone with the same courteous smile. Kudos to this company for celebrating woman so boldly

Better than Cadbury's or any BS french chocolate, the most tasty and filling chocolate in the…read moreworld. The staff there are very nice if you want to book a chocolate-making workshop!

From the owner: The only place in London where you can make, taste and learn about chocolate.read more

Cardiff Model Engineering Society puts on family events throughout the year giving members of the…read morepublic the chance to take a ride on their miniature passenger-carrying railways, running through a section of Cardiff's Heath Park. It's something smaller children seem to enjoy, and some of their parents too (and not just the closet-train-spotters amongst them). Known officially as the Heath Park Miniature Railway and Tramway, all the work at the site is down to the voluntary efforts of keen members of the Society, which is a non-profit making organisation. The Society was founded in 1948 and moved to Heath Park in 1987, and its current site has two railway tracks and a unique electric tramway, two model railways, and refreshment facilities. To visit and ride on the railway you do have to wait until a family 'open day' event crops up - but these take place throughout the year. Although their website appears a bit dated, it is actually well-maintained and currently shows events taking place right up until the 'Santa Special' in December 2010. Have a look at http://www.cardiff-mes.org.uk/RailwayG.html for details.

Very limited play areas. The ground floor consisted of an art area (wooden spoon, color pens and…read moretape), a small slide, climbing structure, and a simulated ship reading nook. The first floor has a boat area, rocket ship, and a outdoors . I believe we paid an extra amount to attend this special event closer to closing time where kids were treated to an additional play area for about 45 minutes. Unsure if entire price was worth it but if you're in the area and it's a rainy day by all means come here.

This place is fantastic for people of all ages and it's free which is even better. Did you know…read morethat the nursery rhymes humpty dumpty and twinkle twinkle little star are both from Colchester? Well you can find out why and much more at this museum - well worth a visit

A free museum and somewhere worth visiting. Not only are there lots of interesting artifacts but…read morethere are things the children and adults can play around with whilst learning about the local history.

I waited for a while to write this review as I wanted to parse this experience a little more in my…read moremind. In general, this place was reasonably well designed to tell the Jack the Ripper saga at a level for the casual observer. In other words, for those who want to learn the historical significance of the events on a basic level, it was perfect. I was afraid that it might be overly gimmicky and touristy. And there was some dramatic effect pervasive in the audio guide (extra cost), but it was not overdone. While the museum is housed in the Whitechapel neighborhood where the murders occurred, the structure itself has no documented connection to any of the homicides or murder suspects. The museum is well chosen, however, as it features five floors where they stage scenes relevant to the telling of the Ripper saga. The ground floor was informational, while the next level was set up as one of the first murder scenes where a victim was found. The second floor (third level) was staged as the apartment of one of the prime suspects Walter Sickert. There were actually a period overcoat and derby in that room to try on for a photo op. The third floor was set up to be a likeness of the police station with actual police artifacts from the investigator who was working the case. The top floor was constructed as a shanty apartment from one of the last victims. The basement (last in the tour on the recommended sequence) was a scene from the Ten Bells Tavern which seemed to be a seminal hunting location for the Ripper. The museum was well presented and the audio guide and displays presented the right amount of drama to tell the story without crossing the "hype" border. If you want to leave out most of the drama, you could forgo the audio guide. I thought it was a nice added dimension. But the artifacts and the signage by themselves give a very good basic history of the events associated with the Ripper. The backgrounds of the victims were quite interesting. Likewise fascinating were the identities and backgrounds of the lineup of suspects that had been pegged as possible culprits by various contemporaries as well as scholars and JtR buffs since that time. What particularly interested me was the status of Whitechapel within London's social environment at that time. It was clearly very different from the current standing of the community, which has really only changed in the past 20 or 30 years from what I could glean. This area was clearly rife to present opportunities for a psychopath like the Ripper to find his victims. These unfortunate women were victimized first by society and by their own poor choices before becoming ultimate victims for the Ripper. It was an intriguing dive into London's social history. Because of the iconic and enduring nature of the mystery behind these killings and its inextricable tie to the City of London, this museum is probably worth seeing if you have the time (and I emphasize the word "IF"). Given the number of worthwhile sights in London, I'd be hard pressed to urge most people to prioritize it. This was my fifth or sixth trip to London, and the third in which I've had my wife with me, so we were in a situation where we were on second tier sights, making this one easier to prioritize. We were also staying in Shoreditch. Hence, the proximity was working in our favor as the museum was walkable. On the other hand, if you are a crime buff or a mystery buff in addition to being interested in social and cultural history, you might elevate this sight to a must-see. It is done well enough to be both entertaining and informative.

I didn't take a lot of pictures of this great little museum because that would ruin it for those…read morewho like these types of places. Nice little souvenirs to take home. Museum takes you through the whole Jack the Ripper murders. Mind you it is a three story museum and more information in the basement. Lots to look at, and it brings you closer to what happened.