I have had the opportunity to visit a few of the major cities in Europe on business and vacation and always have made it a point to find the local military museum. The Tower of London and L'Invalides are just awesome. Although its been a few years since I've visited some of these I will try to relate their relevant value to the military history hobby. It's been so long since I was at the Tower, I'll have to leave it to someone else to describe.

Paris

Les Invalides

Not surprisingly the French have gathered a comprehensive display of everything Napoleonic - uniforms, weapons, art, carriages, etc. Anyone with a serious interest in the period should drop everything, buy a plane ticket, drop the wife off at the Louvre and checkout Les Invalides. The museum also has an excellent collection of medieval arms and armor. The size and variety of this collection is astounding. There must be hundreds of suites of armor. There are displays covering many other periods in French history including the War of Spanish Succession. Tucked away on the third floor are exquisite models of Vauban fortresses.

Vienna

Heeresgeschichtliches Museum

It's a mouthful. But after the Invalid (Paris) it is as fine a military history museum as Europe has to offer. Its collections primarily span the 1600s through the Napoleonic periods. There is no better treatment of the 30 Years War available. The dress and equipment of this war are generously displayed. Additionally, there are a dozen mural sized canvasses of the all the major battles (by a contemporary court artist, Peeter Snayer). Even if the deployments aren't perfect they capture the scope, tactics and flavor of the war.

The displays dealing with the War of Spanish Succession and Napleonics are also spectacular. There is enough artillery on display to equip a dozen museums. I highly recommend this place and for a small additional fee you can take all the pictures you want.

Kunsthistorische Museum

This is Vienna's world class art and history museum and well worth a day's visit. The very large arms and armor display contains primarily "museum pieces" which are notable for their beauty.

Florence

Musco Stibbert

Certainly not the most heavily visited place on the Florence museum circuit, the Stibbert has a large and fine a display of armor as will be found under one roof. Apparently, Mr Stibbert spent his considerable fortune on collecting armor and weaponry of the Middle Ages and Renaissance. It is all displayed on mannequins each life-sized models of his many lovers! The quantity and variety are impressive and besides European styles, covering all periods, the Stibbert has many Persian, Turkish and Muscovite pieces. The museum is located in the suburbs of Florence, a short bus or cab ride.

What ever your guide book says about hours, the small staff will shorten them. If you show up at opening time they will tell you to wait another hour. It's Italy. You will be escorted through the exhibits. It's a pain in the ass, but if you tip the guide you can take your time. It's Italy. And the guide has no information that will be of value to the readers of this magazine, so don't bother asking. It's Italy. All the same, anyone playing or painting the period and traveling to Florence, should put the Stibbert at least as high on the list as the ufrizi.

Brussels

Musee Royal de L'Armee

This is not a museum I recommend going out of your way to visit. For a country that hosted WWI and WW2 and one of the more significant Napoleonic battles, they chose to focus the collection on the latter 19th century? Pardon my ignorance, but apparently this is a period of Belgium military ascendancy that I missed. Conquest of the Congo? There is a small but fine collection of medieval/Renaissance arms and armor. The good news is that this museum is only a small part of a large and first class national museum complex. It includes an Air Museum and the Musee Royaux D'Art and Histoire which has one of those really cool HO scale models of ancient Rome. And it's the whole city - Coliseum, Forum, seven hills and every back alley.