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SPECIAL REPORT
Global Traveller
• Confidence is returning to the business travel sector, but companies are not expecting a lightning improvement
• Playing golf is often used in building contacts and professional relationships
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1. British Museum
The oldest museum in the world, and one of London's most fascinating, contains treasures and artifacts from all over the world.
- Great Russell St WC1
- 020 7323 8000
- Open 10-5:30pm daily (selected galleries 10-8:30pm Thu & Fri). Great Court: open 9-6pm Mon, 9-9pm Tue, Wed & Sun, 9-11pm Thu-Sat
- Guided tours at 10:30am, 11:30am, 12:30pm, 1:30pm, 2:30pm & 3:30pm daily
- www.britishmuseum.ac.uk
2. Natural History Museum
Life on Earth and the Earth itself are vividly explained here using hundreds of traditional and interactive exhibits.
- Cromwell Road SW7
- 020 7942 5000
- Open 10-5:50pm Mon-Sat, 11-5:50 Sun. Last admission 5:30pm
- Free
- www.nhm.ac.uk
3. Science Museum
This exciting museum traces centuries of scientific and technological development, with impressive and educational displays.
- Exhibition Road SW7
- 020 7942 4455
- Open 10-6pm daily
- Free (separate charge for Virtual Voyages and IMAX cinema)
- www.sciencemuseum.org.uk
4. Victoria and Albert Museum
This museum of decorative arts is one of London's great pleasures, with 145 astonishingly eclectic galleries. One of the highlights is the huge Dress Collection, with exhibits dating from 1600 to the present day. The museum also has collections of jewellery, ceramics, metalwork, glass, paintings, prints, sculpture and rooms full of Indian and Far Eastern treasures.
- Cromwell Road SW7
- Open 10-5:50pm daily (10pm Wed)
- Free
5. Museum of London
This comprehensive museum located near the Barbican Centre provides a detailed account of London life from prehistoric times to the present day. It is particularly strong on Roman Londinium, but also has a large model re-creating the Great Fire of 1666. The museum is undergoing major refurbishment during 2002-2003.
- London Wall EC2
- Open 10-5:50pm Mon-Sat, 12-5:50pm Sun
- Admission charge
6. National Maritime Museum
The world's largest maritime museum, perfectly located in part of Wren's Royal Naval Hospital, has much to offer. The 1803 Battle of Trafalgar is re-enacted, and Admiral Nelson's fatally pierced tunic is on display. Antarctic expeditions are recalled and there is a collection of boats, from coracles to royal barges. State-of-the-art simulators give an idea of modern navigation and what it was like when the Titanic went down.
- Greenwich SE10
- Train to Greenwich; DLR Cutty Sark, Greenwich; Tube North Greenwich
- Royal Observatory Greenwich: Open 10-5pm daily
- Admission charge
7. Imperial War Museum
In this museum, which is housed in part of the former Bethlehem ("Bedlam") Hospital for the Insane, a clock in the basement moves remorselessly on, recording the world's war dead - a figure that has now reached 100 million. Six million of them are commemorated in the Holocaust Exhibition. Other displays include evocative re-creations of World War I trench warfare and the life of Londoners during the World War II Blitz. Now it is "total war" that we have to contemplate, and this, too, is explored.
- Lambeth Road SE1
- Open 10-6pm daily
- www.iwm.org.uk
8. Design Museum
Based in a clean white 1930s building beside Tower Bridge, this museum is the only one in Britain devoted to 20th- and 21st-century design. Regularly changing exhibitions feature the very best of modern design from the museum's collection, including both product and graphic design, fashion, furniture, architecture and engineering.
- Butler's Wharf SE1
- Open 10-5:45 pm daily
- Admission charge
9. London Transport Museum
In this light and airy former flower-market building, the history of London's transport system is illustrated with posters, photographs and examples of early buses, tubes and horse-drawn vehicles. There are also educational hands-on "KidZones" for children.
- The Piazza WC2
- Open 10-6pm Sat-Thu, 11-6pm Fri
- Admission charge
10. Theatre Museum
Filling the museum's subterranean galleries, the collection documents the history of British theatre from Shakespeare's time up until the present, with a wealth of memorabilia, paintings and prints of famous thespians. It also holds educational workshops, events and performances.
- Russell Street WC1
- Open 10-6pm Tue-Sun
- Free
- www.theatremuseum.org
