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Historical sites

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At its most powerful, the British Empire was the largest empire that the world had ever seen. Its influence stretched all over the globe; shaping it in all manner of ways that still has reverberating effects in modern times.

Fort Rodney, St. Lucia

Commissioned by its namesake Admiral George Rodney between 1779 and 1782, Fort Rodney was constructed on Pigeon Island in St. Lucia. The Fort was built as a means to spy on a nearby French naval base on the island of Martinique. Fort Rodney remained an important tactical base for the British military in the Caribbean. The Admiral had ordered all of the island's trees to be cut down to allow a clear vantage point, which enabled the military to mount a successful attack on the French in the Battle of the Saints. Currently, the remains of Fort Rodney are situated within a 40 acre national park on the island, popular amongst hikers.

East India Company, London

An organisation synonymous with British colonial supremacy, the East India Company played a critical role in the British Empire's dominance over the Indian subcontinent. Established in 1600, the company was indirectly controlled by the Crown and focused primarily on trade with Asian countries. Eventually, the company played an increasingly important role in the British Empire's control and ultimate takeover of India. Its private army numbered over 250,000, considerably bigger than the British Army. Its dominance was so absolute that the Company essentially controlled and ruled over India for a century, its grip on power ended in the aftermath of the Indian Rebellion, which saw the Crown reassume control. Shortly afterwards, the Company was dissolved, essentially obsolete following its relinquishing of control of the subcontinent. Despite this, the company remains an important historical entity in regards to the British Empire and India.

Kew Gardens, London

The world's most diverse and vast botanical gardens, Kew Gardens are home to over 30,000 different plant species. In addition to its botanical significance, Kew Gardens also has a rich history stretching back centuries. The Gardens themselves were established in the 18th Century, while many of the famous buildings inside such as the Palm House and the Temperate House were built in the mid-19th Century. The Gardens became a hub for scientific research in line with the British Empire's ascendancy to global supremacy. Expansion of the Gardens continued up until the Second World War, resuming after the conflict. In the present day, Kew Gardens is one of Britain's most popular tourist attractions whilst still being an important outpost for scientific research.

HMS Victory, Portsmouth

One of the world's most famous and historically significant naval vessels, the HMS Victory is one of the defining symbols of the British Empire's military power. Ordered and laid down in 1758-9, the HMS Victory is a 104-gun first-rate ship, which played a pivotal role in the famous Battle of Trafalgar in 1805 as the campaign leader Lord Nelson's flagship. Despite sustaining damage during the conflict, the HMS Victory survived, although it was never utilised again in a military battle. The vessel was briefly used as a prison ship and a floating depot, relegated to the role of a harbour ship in 1824. Nearly 100 years later in 1922, the HMS Victory moved to a dry dock in Portsmouth, renovated and preserved as a museum ship. It remains a popular tourist attraction and one of the British Empire's most enduring physical relics.

Port Arthur, Australia

Situated on the Australian island of Tasmania, Port Arthur is one of the country's most significant historical sites due to its past as a convict settlement in the early years of the British control over the continent. Port Arthur forms a part of the Australian Convict Sites, a collection of World Heritage sites dedicated to providing a clear view of the British Empire's penal system on the colony. Port Arthur, as the island's top tourist attraction, is considered to be the most important of these, providing visitors with an insight into early colonial life in Australia. Many of the structures remain intact and well-preserved.

Albertopolis, London

One of the British capital's most important educational and cultural hubs, Albertopolis is the informal name given to the area centred around Exhibition Road, near Hyde Park. Prominent sites include Imperial College London, the Victoria & Albert Museum, the National History Museum and the Royal Albert Hall, amongst others. Named for Prince Albert, the spouse of Queen Victoria, the area boasts several of Victorian architecture's most significant accomplishments. Albertopolis is one of the capital's most important areas, both as a historical document and an intellectual centre.

Bombay Railway Station, Mumbai

Now known as the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus, this is one of the British Empire's most significant relics in India. Designed by architect Frederick William Stevens, the Terminus is an important piece of Victorian Gothic architecture. Constructed in 1887 as a commemoration of Queen Victoria's Golden Jubilee, the terminus is a grandiose symbol of Colonial India as well as the Victorian era. The railway station is currently the administrative centre of the Central Railways and remains one of the country's busiest well over a century after its construction.

Raffles Hotel, Singapore

Named after British colonialist and the 'founder' of Modern Singapore Sir Thomas Stamford Raffles, this hotel is one of Singapore's most iconic sites. Well-known for its colonial design, the hotel was opened in 1887 by an Armenian hotelier family. Now a national institution of Singapore, the hotel is more of a tribute to the colonial period rather than an authentic relic of it. The hotel remains a popular tourist attraction in the country today, functioning as a hotel and as a museum, which offers a window into colonial life in Singapore.

Singapore Botanical Gardens, Singapore

One of Singapore's most popular tourist sites with over 4 million annual visitors, the Botanical Gardens are amongst the most spectacular on the planet. Established in 1859, the Gardens are historically important as being the source of the region's major rubber trade boom, as the main centre for research into the material's cultivation. Through this research, the area held a monopoly on latex production for decades.

Viceroys House, Delhi

Now known as the Rashtrapati Bhavan, this is currently the official residence of the Indian President, but as indicated by its former name, was an important colonial site in India. Designed by prominent architect Edwin Landseer Lutyens, the building initially served as the residence for the British Viceroy in the then-new capital of Delhi. The building is known for its complex, unique design, which drew from a variety of different architectural influences. Built during the Edwardian Baroque Period, the House drew from Classical styles, as well as more contemporary colonial and Mughal influences. The adjacent Mughal gardens are a testament to the diverse design.

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Important Historical Sites of the British Empire - The Official Globe Trekker Website

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At its most powerful, the British Empire was the largest empire that the world had ever seen. Its influence stretched all over the globe; shaping it in all manner of ways that still has reverberating effects in modern times. Commissioned by its namesake Admiral George Rodney between 1779 and 1782, Fort Rodney was constructed on Pigeon Island in St.

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Never in the field of human conflict was so much owed by so many to so few. - Winston Churchill

World War II was one of the defining moments in British History. Almost every family in the UK was touched by the war in some way. Unlike many conflicts, WWII directly impacted regular people - during the Battle of Britain and The Blitz. There are several locations in Britain today where you can explore the history and walk in the footsteps of those who fought and led in WWII.

Churchill Museum and Cabinet War Rooms, London

The dangers of German bombers and V2 rockets forced many citizen of London into underground bomb shelters. The government had to seek the same shelter to conduct the war. Plans for an underground bunker for the government were developed as early as the 1920s and the cabinet war rooms became operational on August 27, 1939, just 1 week before the invasion of Poland. Today the facilities are open and you can see where the wartime cabinet met. You can also view the private quarters of Churchill, although he seldom actually slept in the bunker.

Imperial War Museum

One of the best collections of weapons and war memorabilia is at London's Imperial War Museum. Located in central London it is one of the finest military museums in the world and admission is free to the public. It includes not only items from WWII, but from WWI to the present. The giant 15" battleship guns outside the museum saw action in both WWI and WWII. The museum also operates the HMS Belfast which is docked as a museum in London.

Battle of Britain Memorial, Capel-le-Ferne

The Battle of Britain Memorial honours those who gave their lives and served in the air battle known as the Battle of Britain. Located on top of the famous White Cliffs of Dover, the monument consists of a statue of a sitting pilot looking out to sea and a wall of remembrance with the names of those who gave their life inscribed.

Battle of Britain Museum, Kent

The Battle of Britain Museum in Kent is one of the finest collection of military aircraft in the UK. Here, where the Battle of Britain was fought, you can see the actual Spitfire and Hurricane aircraft used during the battle. The museum is a former RAF Station Hawkinge, which is where many of the aircraft used in the battle were stationed. The museum is a short drive from the Battle of Britain Memorial.

Bletchley Park Museum

One of the most important events in WWII was something almost no one knew about at the time: the cracking of the German Enigma code. Alan Turing and his team at Bletchley Park, working in total secrecy, managed to decrypt German secrets which gave the allies a decisive advantage in the war. At Bletchley Park you can view original German Enigma machines as well as a reconstruction of the 'bombe' machine used to decrypt German codes.

Extra note from VisitBritain: Another gem hidden in Lincolnshire (known as 'Bomber County' during WWII due to its 54 airfields) is the RAF Battle of Britain Memorial Flight visitor centre at RAF Coningsby where you can see and learn about the iconic aircraft and crews that helped keep Europe free.

Photo Credits: Les Chatfield, Gary Arndt, Bletchley Park Museum

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5 places in Britain to explore WWII history

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Never in the field of human conflict was so much owed by so many to so few. - Winston Churchill World War II was one of the defining moments in British History. Almost every family in the UK was touched by the war in some way.

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Historical places to visit

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Article added 7 years ago

In 1940, Europe was ablaze. Britain was battling for survival against the German Air Force, much of France was occupied, and millions of prisoners faced the horrors of concentration camps. Seventy years later, visitors to a peaceful Europe continue to flock to some of the war's key sites and memorials. Here are several important World War II locations, museums, and monuments to that no history buff should miss on a trip to central Europe.

The Churchill War Rooms - London, England

Summer 1940. The skies above London filled with wave after wave of German bombers and Britain's tiny Royal Air Force struggled to fend off an enemy preparing to invade the homeland. Observing the heroic struggle, Winston Churchill observed, "Never in the field of human conflict was so much owed by so many to so few." Churchill's wartime headquarters was a fortified warren of rooms under a government office building in central London. After the war, the rooms were virtually sealed until the 1980s, when work began to convert them into a museum. Today, visitors can tour the site that is restored to its wartime appearance. The Churchill War Rooms also include the Churchill Museum-which interactively presents the life story of Britain's iconic leader.

Imperial War Museums - London, England

Winston Churchill's war bunker was spartan, but it pales in comparison to the conditions experienced by everyday Londoners during the bombing of their city. To get a feel for the realities of daily life during the Blitz, tourists can visit London's Imperial War Museum. The museum's Blitz Experience recreates the sights, sounds, smells and feel of a city under siege. The Imperial War Museum covers conflicts from 1914 to present-day, but much of the museum's collection focuses on World War II. The museum honestly portrays the human side of warfare, including the impact on children and the persecution of "undesirables" by the Nazi regime. There are extensive displays of military hardware from the war-fighter planes and a V-2 German missile loom overhead in the large exhibits gallery.

American Air Museum - Duxford, England

The men and aircraft of the Battle of Britain are memorialized in two other important locations outside of London. Duxford, about 50 miles north of London, is home to another branch of the Imperial War Museum. Located at a former RAF fighter base, this museum contains an extensive collection of aircraft-some of it still in flying form. Duxford hosts a sizable Battle of Britain exhibit housed in a hanger that was used during that conflict.

Duxford is also home to the American Air Museum in Britain. Nearly 30,000 American fliers based in Britain were killed during World War II and this museum is dedicated to their memory. Duxford is just nine miles south of Cambridge, the ancient university town filled with history and more than its share of "Harry Potter at Hogwarts"-style architecture. Cambridge has good rail connections to London, and there are bus connections to Duxford from central Cambridge.

Battle of Britain Memorial - Kent, England

In rural Kent, seventy miles southeast of London, within eyesight of the White Cliffs of Dover, lies the low-key Battle of Britain Memorial. Viewed from the air, the central feature of the monument is clearly a huge in-ground sculpture of a three-bladed aircraft propeller. At ground level, the propeller is less prominent than the stature entitled The Seated Airman-a young World War II flier who appears to look out toward the English Channel. The Battle of Britain Memorial is a homegrown monument created by private donations to the Battle of Britain Memorial Trust, which operates the site. Among the donations are two full-scale replicas of aircraft that fought in the battle: a Hawker Hurricane and its more-famous cousin a Supermarine Spitfire.

The site also includes a memorial wall inscribed with the names of the British airmen who served in the Battle of Britain. The Battle of Britain Memorial is just five miles west of the town of Folkestone, where visitors can enter the Channel Tunnel connecting England to France. The memorial is a similar distance east of the port of Dover, embarkation point for Channel ferries that sail to the Normandy coast.

Pointe Du Hoc - Normandy, France

In about 30 minutes, a Spitfire fighter could fly 150 miles southwest from the Battle of Britain Memorial to the D-Day beaches of Normandy. The names are a part of history: Utah, Omaha, Gold, Juno, and Sword. But at no place was the struggle ashore tougher for the Allied landing force than at Pointe du Hoc. Here American Rangers were forced to scale 100-foot-tall cliffs and capture German coastal guns. German defenders had previously removed the guns, but the dangerous Ranger assault went forward as planned.

Bomb craters are still prominent at Pointe du Hoc and a number of fortifications remain mostly intact. Erosion has endangered the site and repairs are being made to stabilize the cliff face, add walking pathways, and improve the on-site visitor center. The work is scheduled for completion by June 2011. The site is maintained and operated by the American Battlefields Monuments Commission.

American Cemetery - Coleville-Sur-Mer, Normandy

The moving scenes at the start and end of Saving Private Ryan were filmed at the American Cemetery at Coleville-sur-Mer, about eight miles west of Pointe du Hoc. More than 9,000 American servicemen are buried here, marked by rows of bright white crosses and an occasional Star of David.

German Cemetery - La Cambe, Normandy

The visual contrast could not be starker between the American Cemetery at Coleville and the rough-hewn dark crosses at the German military cemetery in La Cambe, six miles south. About 21,000 German war dead are commemorated at La Cambe-most marked with flat grave markers, but some buried in a mass grave mound at the center of the cemetery. There is an information center at the La Cambe cemetery where the names of the dead are recorded on a computerized database. The somber atmosphere of the American cemetery at Coleville is somewhat tempered by tributes to the just cause of the fallen heroes. At La Cambe, there is no just cause, only the stark reality of the cost of war.

Sainte-Mere-Eglise - Normandy, France

The peaceful countryside of Normandy bore the brunt of the Allied assault and many of the quaint villages were badly damaged or destroyed. But if there is any question that the residents of Normandy honor the memory of their liberators, a visit to Sainte-Mère-Église quickly provides the answer. The tiny town was one of the first to be freed from German control by early morning paratroop drops of the US 82nd and 101st Airborne divisions.

One legendary incident was portrayed in the D-Day epic film The Longest Day. An American soldier's parachute snagged on the steeple of the town church and the unlucky trooper was stuck for hours, feigning death, as the battle raged below. A dummy parachutist is still displayed, swaying from the church steeple and the coat of arms for the town shows two parachutes, with American stars, in the air above the church. The village of Sainte-Mère-Église-about 15 miles west of La Cambe-focuses on D-Day tourism with a small museum, displays at the church, and a scattering of shops and restaurants.

Mont-Saint-Michel, France

And the most-visited place in France-the rocky tidal island of Mont-Saint-Michel -is 50 miles south of Sainte-Mère-Église. Home to an ancient fortified monastery, Mont-Saint-Michel and the surrounding bay is a UNESCO World Heritage site.

Bayeux, France

Although the impact of World War II is evident throughout coastal Normandy, there is more to the region than war-related sights. It is only 35 miles from Sainte-Mère-Église to Bayeux-a pretty Norman city that is home to the historic Bayeux tapestry. The tapestry tells the story of a much earlier conflict when the Normans conquered England in 1066.

Memorial of the Martyrs of the Deportation - Paris, France

It took Allied forces almost three months from landing on Normandy's beaches until liberating the French capital. Miraculously, Paris escaped virtually unscathed during the war-although its inhabitants suffered mightily under German occupation. Just steps from the soaring spires of Notre Dame cathedral is a memorial to those who suffered the most.

The Memorial of the Martyrs of the Deportation commemorates 200,000 French citizens who were deported to Nazi concentration camps during World War II. Near the exit of the stark, subterranean monument is a simple inscription: Forgive but never forget. It is just 250 miles from Duxford in Cambridgeshire, England to Mont-Saint-Michel in Normandy, France. Seventy years after the war, tourists still travel to these areas to visit some of the most important and accessible World War II sites in Western Europe...and so much more.
Find more things to do in Paris, things to do in Normandy, and things to do in London. Or search for airfare to London or airfare to France. Photos by: heatheronhertravels, courtesy of Imperial War Museum, courtesy of Imperial War Museum, Duxford, Smudge 9000, David S. White, Mattias Wennström, nitot, Samantha Decker, batigolix, PIXEL TREE, zakgollop

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11 World War II Sights to Visit in England and France

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Article added 7 years ago In 1940, Europe was ablaze. Britain was battling for survival against the German Air Force, much of France was occupied, and millions of prisoners faced the horrors of concentration camps. Seventy years later, visitors to a peaceful Europe continue to flock to some of the war's key sites and memorials.

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WWI Sites and Battlefields

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What are the most important World War One sites and battlefields?

For many people, visiting World War One sites can be one of the most immersive ways to learn about the conflict known as the "Great War". There's are many fascinating World War One sites and battlefields to visit and among the most prominent are the Somme battlefields, Fort Douaumont and Lochnagar Crater. Other important sites tend to include Anzac Cove, Menin Gate and Douaumont Ossuary.

For those seeking to discover these poignant places there are World War One sites ranging from museums and memorials to battle sites and airfields which all stand in testimony to this terrible conflict. You can explore our selection of these WWI sites below and also view our WWI sites map above.

Whether you're interested in the Western Front or the Gallipoli Campaign, we've set out an experts guide to the World War 1 sites, museums monuments and landmarks around the globe with our top ten places to visit as well as a full list of WW1 sites which shouldn't be ignored if you have the time.

Full list of World War One Sites and Battlefields

Beyond the most famous WW1 sites, monuments and landmarks there's many similar places to visit, including the Ulster Memorial Tower, Hill 62 Sanctuary Wood Museum and Historial de la Grande Guerre to name but a few. We're constantly expanding this list of World War One sites and battlefields and you can view the current selection below.

Our list of World War One sites and battlefields is growing all the time, but we may not cover them all. So, if you know of other WW1 sites, monuments, museums and landmarks, you can always add them to Trip Historic now by contacting us today.

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For many people, visiting World War One sites can be one of the most immersive ways to learn about the conflict known as the "Great War". There's are many fascinating World War One sites and battlefields to visit and among the most prominent are the Somme battlefields, Fort Douaumont and Lochnagar Crater.

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Places to visit

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Locations of world history | visitBerlin.de

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Berlin History ➤ Explore ✓Middle Ages ✓Prussia ✓ Golden 1920s ✓the Nazi Period ✓World War II ✓the Berlin Wall ✓Reunification. Guided Tours ➤ Buy tickets