HMS Belfast, a Royal Navy cruiser, is moored on the River Thames between Tower Bridge and London Bridge. After her final commission, and after steaming almost half a million miles during her service, she was saved by her former captain, now Rear Admiral, Sir Morgan Morgan-Giles DSO OBE GM and brought to London in 1971 instead of heading for the scrapyard. She is now a floating naval museum, sited close to City Hall, Tower Bridge and the London Dungeons.

After her launch on St. Patrick's Day, 17th March 1938, the vessel was commissioned into the Royal Navy on the 5th August 1939, where she patrolled the Arctic seas and captured the largest enemy merchant ship to date, the SS Cap Norte. The ship was attempting to return to Germany full of reservists, and according to ship's historian, Nick Hewitt, "she intercepted the ship in a classic Nelsonian manner, fired a shot across the bows and boarded her. They sent a little boat over with a boarding party and captured the ship and brought it back to the UK."

When visiting the HMS Belfast, you are stepping onto an historic artefact, apparently the last one left of this size that the Royal Navy had during World Wars I and II. Visitors can explore all nine decks, from the boiler and engine rooms, to the galley, the Captain's Bridge and the six-inch gun turrets. There is also an exhibition charting HMS Belfast's achievements and her distinguished war history, including her heavy involvement in the D-day landings in Normandy.