HMS Belfast London: D-Day Warship & Gun Turret Tour

Step Inside a D-Day Warship That Fired the First Shots

You board a surviving D-Day warship on the Thames, descend into gun turrets with immersive sound, command a fleet using interactive tables, and climb to the flag deck for 360-degree London views. The tour includes access to crew quarters and Arctic convoy history, with no fixed schedule. You move through the ship at your own speed and leave when you're done.

Step-by-step itinerary

Explore HMS Belfast and its history

• Report for duty aboard HMS Belfast
• Learn about life on board during WWII
• Experience the ship firing first D-Day shots
• See tightly-packed hammocks in Arctic convoy
• Start at the Quarter Deck introduction
• Discover three key service time periods
• Meet HMS Belfast’s leading figures

The Experience

Most warships from Operation Overlord ended up in the scrapyard. HMS Belfast didn't. You board her on the Thames in central London and immediately feel the difference between a museum and a ship that actually fought. The steel is thicker than you'd expect, the corridors tighter, the whole thing tilted slightly with age and purpose. The Quarter Deck is where the tour begins, and your guide walks you through three distinct eras: the Second World War years when her guns cracked her own toilets from the recoil, the End of Empire period from 1945 to 1949, and the Cold War decades that followed. It's not a timeline you read on a wall. It's a ship you move through, deck by deck.

The 6-inch gun turrets are the centerpiece. You climb down into one and the sound experience kicks in: the roar of the guns, the shout of the crew, the percussion of D-Day itself happening around you. It's not subtle, and it shouldn't be. After that, the interactive plotting tables on the command deck let you see how a fleet actually moved, how orders traveled, how one ship fit into the larger machinery of war. Then you head up to the flag deck. The 360-degree view of London spreads out below (the Tower Bridge, the City, the river bending away), and you're standing where the captain stood, looking out over the same water the ship sailed up when she came home.

The hammocks and the crew quarters show you what life actually looked like: bunks stacked three high, no privacy, the smell of diesel and salt that you can almost imagine. The ship served in Arctic convoy duties, which meant months in freezing water, and the quarters make that real in a way no photograph could. Public transportation stops nearby, so getting there is straightforward. You don't need a car to reach her. The whole visit moves at your own pace. There's no fixed tour time, so you can spend two hours or four depending on how deep you want to go into each section.

What’s included

Your visit includes entry to HMS Belfast, access to all decks and crew quarters, the immersive 6-inch gun turret D-Day experience, interactive fleet plotting tables, and access to the flag deck for 360-degree views of London and the Thames. You explore at your own pace with no fixed tour schedule.

Days and timesDaily · 12 departure times, from 10:30 to 16:00

Ages16 to 64 years · Seniors (65+) · 5 to 15 years · Under 5 — Free

Meeting point and pickupNo pickup · ends where it starts

Cancellation and refundsNo refund if you cancel.

Prices and times updated today

Good to know

Easy physical levelPublic transport nearby

Operated by Evan Evans Tours

Is this one for you?Right for anyone wanting to understand what life aboard a warship actually felt like, without needing a guide or a set departure time. You move through the ship on your own, spending as long as you want in each section.

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Top questions

Can children come?

5 to 15 years; under 5, free.

How long does a visit to HMS Belfast typically take?

There's no fixed tour duration. Most visitors spend 2–4 hours depending on how thoroughly they explore each section and how long they spend in the interactive experiences.

What is included in the HMS Belfast visit?

Entry to the ship, access to all decks and quarters, the immersive D-Day gun turret experience, interactive plotting tables, and the flag deck with views of London.

Can I get to HMS Belfast by public transport?

Yes, public transportation options are available nearby. The ship is moored on the Thames in central London and is easily accessible by bus, tube, or river transport.

What was special about HMS Belfast's role on D-Day?

HMS Belfast was one of only three vessels from the entire D-Day fleet that participated in Operation Overlord and was not scrapped afterward. Her guns were powerful enough to crack the ship's own toilets from the recoil when firing.

Are there interactive experiences on the ship?

Yes. You can enter a 6-inch gun turret for an immersive sound experience of D-Day, and use interactive plotting tables to command a fleet of ships from the command deck.

What time periods of the ship's history are covered?

The tour covers three eras: the Second World War (1939–1945), the End of Empire period (1945–1949), and the Cold War years (1950–1966).