National Army Museum
Chelsea’s compact, modern take on four centuries of the British Army. Five galleries (from ‘Soldier’ to ‘Society’) mix kit and campaigns with personal stories, so you move from a cuirass to a diary without losing the thread. It’s readable in 90 minutes, child-friendly without dumbing down (Play Base slots sell fast), and strong on uncomfortable questions as well as pageantry.
Opening Hours
What's not to miss inside?
Marengo’s Skeleton
Napoleon’s war horse, up closeCaptured after Waterloo, this small, tough Arabian carried a very big story.
📍 Permanent displays, Waterloo section
Soldier Stories
The Army at human scaleLetters, kit and portraits follow a life from enlistment to veterans’ memories.
📍 ‘Soldier’ gallery
Tactics Table
How formations win or failModels and screens show why squares beat cavalry—and when they didn’t.
📍 ‘Battle’ gallery, interactives
Play Base
Under-8s soft-play with a military twistCamouflage tunnels and mini-obstacles let energy burn while adults regroup.
📍 Ground floor, timed entry
Inspire your Friends
- The star ‘celebrity’ is equine: Marengo, Napoleon’s horse, whose bones tell a different story to heroic paintings—he’s notably small.
- The museum’s 2017 rebuild reorganised content around questions (Soldier, Army, Battle, Society, Insight) rather than a straight timeline.
- You can touch more than you think—selected handling objects and interactives are designed to be used, not just looked at.
- Free entry, but the wildly popular Play Base (ages 0–8) is ticketed—locals treat it like a membership perk.
