Apsley House (Wellington Museum)

Lonely Planet review

This stunning house was the first building one saw when entering the city from the west and is therefore known as 'No 1, London'. It was designed by Robert Adam for Baron Apsley in the late 18th century, but later sold to the first Duke of Wellington, who lived here until his death in 1852. In 1947 the house was given to the nation; 10 of its rooms are open to the public today as the Wellington Museum.

The house itself is magnificent and retains many of its original furnishings and collections. Wellington memorabilia, including his medals, some entertaining old cartoons and his death mask, fill the basement gallery, while there's an astonishing collection of china, including some of the Iron Duke's silverware, on the ground floor. The stairwell is dominated by Antonio Canova's staggering 3.4m-high statue of a naked Napoleon, adjudged by the subject as 'rather too athletic'. The 1st-floor rooms are decorated with paintings by Velàsquez, Rubens, Brueghel and Murillo, but the most interesting is Goya's portrait of the duke, which some years ago was discovered to have the face of Napoleon's brother, Joseph Bonaparte, beneath the duke's. Apparently, the artist had taken a punt on Napoleon winning the Battle of Waterloo and had to do a quick 'about face' when news of Wellington's victory arrived.