Verulamium Museum

The Roman stuff in St Albans is properly impressive, and Verulamium Museum is where you get the full picture. It's housed in a 1930s building right beside the actual Roman city remains - you can see the theatre earthworks from the museum windows, which is a nice touch. Inside, there's a solid collection of mosaics, pottery, coins and everyday objects that tell you how people actually lived here when it was Verulamium, one of Roman Britain's most important towns.

Walking round takes a good hour, maybe ninety minutes if you're the type to read every label. The mosaics are genuinely striking - particularly the fish one - and seeing objects arranged by period rather than just dumped in cases means you actually understand the chronology. Kids tend to engage well with the interactive bits and the fact you can then wander outside and poke around the theatre remains, so it's worth combining the two.

Families staying at Frogmore Park Homes or Cherry Green Trees won't find it far at all - both are within easy reach of St Albans town centre where the museum sits. History enthusiasts will want to allocate a proper morning here rather than rushing through. The town itself has plenty else going on, so it works well as part of a longer visit rather than a standalone trip. Opening hours and admission prices are best checked directly, but Roman sites in England are rarely wallet-destroying.