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in a far plainer building. It has loads of hands-on exhibits, with entire schools of children apparently decanted inside to interact with them; but it is, after all, painlessly educational. Don’t dismiss the Science Museum as just for kids, though. Highlights include the Launch Pad gallery, which demonstrates basic laws of physics; Puffing Billy, the oldest steam locomotive in the world; and the actual Apollo 10 capsule. The six floors are devoted to subjects as diverse as the history of flight, space exploration, steam power, medicine, and a sublime exhibition on science in the 18th century. Overshadowed by a three-story blue-glass wall, the Wellcome Wing is an annex to the rear of the museum, devoted to contemporary science and technology. It contains a 450-seat IMAX cinema, and the ForceField ride—an advanced motion simulator that combines seat vibration with other technical gizmos to create such crowd-pleasing effects as flying past an explosion in space. TIP If you’re a family of at least five, you might be able to get a place on one of the popular new Science Night sleepovers by booking well in advance. Aimed at kids 8–11 years old, these nighttime science workshops offer the chance to camp out in one of the galleries, and include a free IMAX show the next morning. Check the Web site for details. | Exhibition Rd., South Kensington | SW7 2DD | 0870/870–4868 | www.sciencemuseum.org.uk | Free, charge for cinema shows and special exhibitions | Daily 10–6 | South Kensington.

Fodor’s Choice | Victoria & Albert Museum.

Always referred to as the V&A, this huge museum is devoted to the applied arts of all disciplines, all periods, and all nationalities. Full of innovation, it’s a wonderful, generous place to get lost in. First opened as the South Kensington Museum in 1857, it was renamed in 1899, in honor of Queen Victoria’s late husband and has since grown to become one of the country’s best-loved cultural institutions.

Many collections at the V&A are presented not by period, but by category—textiles, sculpture, jewelry, and so on. Nowhere is the benefit of this more apparent than in the Fashion Gallery (Room 40), where formal 18th-century court dresses are displayed alongside the haute couture styles of contemporary designers, creating an arresting sense of visual continuity.

The British Galleries (rooms 52–58), devoted to British art and design from 1500 to 1900, are full of beautiful diversions—among them the Great Bed of Ware (immortalized in Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night). Here, a series of actual rooms have been painstakingly reconstructed piece by piece after being rescued from historic buildings. These include an ornate music room, and the Henrietta St. Room, a breathtakingly serene parlor dating from 1722.

The Asian Galleries (rooms 44–47) are full of treasures, but among the most striking items on display is a remarkable collection of ornate samurai armor in the Japanese Gallery (Room 44). There are also galleries devoted to China, Korea, and the Islamic Middle East. Several new galleries opened in 2009: a Buddhist Sculpture gallery, a new Ceramics gallery, and a Medieval and Renaissance gallery, which has the largest collection of works from the period outside of Italy.

Victoria & Albert Tips

The V&A is a tricky building to navigate so be sure to use the free map. As a whirlwind introduction, you could take a free one-hour tour at 10:30, 11:30, 12:30, 1:30, 2:30, or 3:30. There are also tours devoted just to the British Galleries at 12:30 and 2:30. Public lectures on Friday nights at 7 are delivered by visiting bigwigs from the art or fashion world (from £8). There are free lectures throughout the week given by museum staff. Whatever time you visit, the spectacular sculpture hall will be filled with artists, both amateur and professional, sketching the myriad of artworks on display there. Don’t be shy: Bring a pad and join in. Although the permanent collection is free—and there’s enough there to keep you busy for a week—the V&A also hosts high-profile special exhibitions that run for up to three months (from