BRITISH MUSEUM

The British Museum is one of the world's largest and oldest museums. It receives over 6 million visitors every year. In 1753, the State acquired Sir Hans Sloane's collection. Housed in Montagu House, it soon became too cramped to accommodate the various bequests and acquisitions, including the Cottonian Library and the Harley family collection. The Natural Science Department was transferred to the Natural History Museum in South Kensington in 1881. Work on the new museum began in 1824, and the final stone was laid in 2000, when Norman Foster designed the immense glass and steel roof covering the central courtyard.

The museum is divided into a number of very different but equally interesting departments. With its 8 million objects, 80,000 of which are on public display, the institution can be visited in several stages. You can select a few themes and devote several half-days to them, to avoid saturation. Every year, the museum is enriched by a dynamic acquisitions policy, supported by generous sponsorship programs.

Africa, Oceania and the Americas. Presentation of Indian, Maori, Eskimo, Polynesian and Aztec cultures. Fine examples of masks, objects and costumes are on display. In particular, this section analyzes the practices of different peoples in the face of death and illness.

Egyptian antiquities. These rooms feature Egyptian sculptures, the most famous of which is the Rosetta Stone, the fragment in Egyptian and Greek that enabled Champollion to decipher the hieroglyphs. For those who wonder why it's not on display in France, even though it was discovered in 1799 by Napoleon's soldiers, it's because its transfer to England was part of the terms of the Treaty of Alexandria, signed after the French defeat at Aboukir. The following rooms present life in Egyptian times, funeral rites and the famous mummies.

Ancient Greece and Rome. Start with the Greek civilization of the Cyclades, then discover the Minoan and Mycenaean civilizations and their collections of jewelry and pottery. The following rooms are dedicated to Greek art between 1050 and 520 BC and Greek vases, first with black figures, then with red figures on a black background. Don't miss the reconstruction of the Tomb of the Nereids, with its facade built like a small temple, the "Mausoleum" of Halicarnassus (one of the Seven Wonders of the World) and the famous fragments of the Parthenon frieze, brought back by Lord Elgin at the beginning of the ^19th century and the cause of a controversy with Greece, which wants them repatriated. Then comes the splendor of the Roman Empire, with objects illustrating the rise of Rome, which rapidly became an imperial capital controlling the entire Mediterranean basin and Western Europe. The room on the Etruscan world features objects of religious devotion and everyday objects. The final rooms explore the influence of Greece in Italy, and the fashion for Roman portraits and sculpture, which played an important role in the civil and domestic life of the Empire.

Asia. Discover objects from India, South Asia and East Asia (Pakistan, Nepal, Sri Lanka). The rooms dedicated to ancient China feature fine collections of jade, the oldest pieces of which date back to the Neolithic period. There are also rooms devoted to the art and culture of Japan and Korea.

Europe and Great Britain. Here you'll find objects dating back to prehistoric times, tracing the fascinating evolution of man in the Bronze and Iron Ages. Tools, weapons, everyday objects and jewelry, including such rare treasures as the Mold cape and the Rillaton cup. This department is also home to the Lindow Man, an unfortunate man who, in the Iron Age, was murdered (probably as part of a ritual sacrifice) and then thrown into a peat bog. The acidity of the bog preserved him until 1984, when he was discovered by farm workers. We then move on to the medieval period, following the departure of the Roman legions and the invasions of the Saxons and Vikings. See a ship used as a royal burial site, found intact at Sutton Hoo in 1939. Or admire the Lewis Chessmen, a chess set made of walrus ivory dating from the ^12th century, and the Black George icon, depicting Saint George on a black horse (very rare), discovered in 1959.

The Middle East. Here, you'll find objects presenting the culture and civilization of Middle Eastern countries from the Neolithic to the present day. Assembled thanks to various archaeological digs, the pieces come from Mesopotamia, Iran, Turkey, Central Asia... Major pieces include the Oxus treasure, Phoenician ivories and the famous winged lions that guarded the gates of Ashurnasirpal II's palace.

Graphic arts department. The museum boasts a rich collection of drawings, some by the greatest masters, particularly of the Renaissance.

Guided tours. Thematic tours of 20 to 90 minutes, bookable on site (some are free). Application with themed self-guided tours available in 9 languages (from £1.99 to £2.99).