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Alexandra Park & Palace
Built in 1873 as north London's answer to Crystal Palace, Alexandra Palace suffered the ignoble fate of burning to the ground only 16 days after opening. Today 'Ally Pally', as it is affectionately known, is largely a multipurpose conference and exhibition centre that also has an indoor ice-skating rink, the panoramic Phoenix Bar & Beer Garden and funfairs in summer.
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Banqueting House
This is the only surviving part of the Tudor Whitehall Palace, which once stretched most of the way down Whitehall, but was burned down in 1698. It was designed as England's first purely Renaissance building by Inigo Jones after he returned from Italy, and looked like no other structure in the country at the time. The English hated it for more than a century.
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Brompton Cemetery
As London's vast population exploded in the 19th century, seven new cemeteries opened, among them Brompton Cemetery, a long expanse running between Fulham Rd and Old Brompton Rd. There is a chapel and colonnades at one end, modelled after St Peter's in Rome. While the most famous resident is Emmeline Pankhurst, the pioneer of women's suffrage in Britain, the cemetery is most interesting as the inspiration for many of Beatrix Potter's characters.
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Central Criminal Court (Old Bailey)
Just as fact is often better than fiction, taking in a trial in the Old Bailey leaves watching a TV courtroom drama for dust. 'The Old Bailey' is a byword for crime and notoriety. Even if you sit in on a fairly run-of-the-mill trial, simply being in the court where such people as the Kray twins and Oscar Wilde (in an earlier building on this site) once appeared is memorable in itself.
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Changing of the Guard
This is a London 'must see' - if you actually get to see anything from the crowds. The old guard (Foot Guards of the Household Regiment) comes off duty to be replaced by the new guard on the forecourt of Buckingham Palace, and tourists get to gape - sometimes from behind as many as 10 people - at the bright red uniforms and bearskin hats of shouting and marching soldiers for just over half an hour.
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Charterhouse
You need to book nearly a year in advance to see inside this former Carthusian monastery, whose centrepiece is a Tudor hall with a restored hammer-beam roof. Its incredibly popular two-hour guided tours begin at the 14th-century gatehouse on Charterhouse Sq, before going through to the Great Chamber, where Queen Elizabeth I stayed on numerous occasions.
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Chiswick House
This is a fine Palladian pavilion with an octagonal dome and colonnaded portico. It was designed by the third Earl of Burlington (1694-1753) when he returned from his grand tour of Italy, fired up with enthusiasm for all things Roman. Lord Burlington used it to entertain friends and to house his library and art collection.
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Clapham Common
This large expanse of green is the heart of the Clapham neighbourhood. Mentioned both by Graham Greene in his novel The End of the Affair and Ian McEwan in his brilliant Atonement, it's now a venue for many outdoor summer events.
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Clarence House
After his beloved granny the Queen Mum died in 2002, Prince Charles got the tradesmen into her former home of Clarence House and spent around £4.6 million of taxpayers' money reshaping the house to his own design. Admission is by tour only, which must be booked (far in advance); book also for disabled access.
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Dr Johnson's House
This wonderful house, built in 1700, is a rare surviving example of a Georgian city mansion. Huge office blocks loom around it, making tiny Gough Sq quite hard to find. The house was the home of the great Georgian wit Samuel Johnson, the author of the first serious dictionary of the English language (transcribed by a team of six clerks in the attic) and the man who proclaimed 'When a man is tired of London, he is tired of life'.
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Eltham Palace
No fan of Art Deco should miss a trip to Eltham Palace, not so much for the remnants of the palace building itself but for the fabulous Courtauld House on its grounds.
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Ham House
Known as 'Hampton Court in miniature', Ham House was built in 1610 and became home to the first Earl of Dysart, an unlucky individual who had been employed as 'whipping boy' to Charles I, taking the punishment for all the king's wrongdoings. Inside it's furnished with all the grandeur you might expect.
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Hampton Court Palace
Here history is palpable, from the kitchens and grand living quarters of Henry VIII to the spectacular gardens complete with a 300-year-old maze. This is one of the best days out London has to offer and should not be missed by anyone with any interest in British history. Set aside plenty of time to do it justice, bearing in mind that if you come by boat from central London the trip will have already eaten up half the day.
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Highgate Cemetery
Most famous as the final resting place of Karl Marx and other notable mortals, Highgate Cemetery is set in 20 wonderfully wild and atmospheric hectares with dramatic and overdecorated Victorian graves and sombre tombs. It's divided into two parts. On the eastern side you can visit the grave of Marx. It's an amusing coincidence that buried opposite is the free-market economist Herbert Spencer - Marx and Spencer, does it ring a bell?
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Hogarth's House
Home between 1749 and 1764 to artist and social commentator William Hogarth, this house now showcases his caricatures and engravings, including such famous works as the haunting Gin Lane , Marriage à la Mode and a copy of A Rake's Progress . Although the house and grounds are attractive, very little original furniture remains so this is really a destination for ardent Hogarth fans.
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Horse Guards Parade
In a more accessible version of Buckingham Palace's Changing of the Guard, the mounted troopers of the Household Cavalry change guard here daily, at the official entrance to the royal palaces (opposite the Banqueting House). A lite-pomp version takes place at when the dismounted guards are changed. On the Queen's official birthday in June, the Trooping of the Colour is also staged here.
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Kensal Green Cemetery
Thackeray and Trollope are among the eminent dead at this huge and handsome Victorian cemetery, which made a name for itself in the 19th century as the place where the VIPs preferred to RIP. Ambitious two-hour tours start from the Anglican chapel in the centre of the cemetery.
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Kensington Gardens
These gardens have become something of a shrine to Princess Diana's memory, with a playground, a walk and now a fountain dedicated to her. Art is another feature - George Frampton's famous statue of Peter Pan is close to the lake, beside an attractive area known as Flower Walk. There are also sculptures by Henry Moore and Jacob Epstein here.
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Kensington Palace
Welded in people's memory as the residence of the late Diana, Princess of Wales, Kensington Palace's lawn was covered with a mountain of flowers following the death of the 'people's princess' in September 1997, an episode in history that showed the Brits loosening the stiff upper lip and mourning the princess with unprecedented sentimentality. A glimpse of Diana's frocks in the Royal Ceremonial Dress Collection is always a highlight.
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Leighton House
Leighton House sits on a quiet street near Holland Park, like a secret beauty that has to be sought out and appreciated. Designed in 1866 by George Aitchison, this was the home of Lord Leighton (1830-96), a painter belonging to the Olympian movement.
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Marble Hill House
This is an 18th-century Palladian love nest, originally built for George II's mistress Henrietta Howard and later occupied by Mrs Fitzherbert, the secret wife of George IV. The poet Alexander Pope had a hand in designing the park, which stretches down to the Thames. Inside you'll find an exhibition about the life and times of Henrietta, and a collection of early-Georgian furniture.
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No 10 Downing St
When it comes to property it's all 'location, location, location' and it's certain that British prime ministers have it pretty good postcode-wise. Number 10 has been the official office of British leaders since 1732, when George II presented No 10 to Robert Walpole, and since refurbishment in 1902 it's also been the PM's official London residence. As Margaret Thatcher, a grocer's daughter, famously put it, the PM 'lives above the shop' here.
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Red House
From the outside, this redbrick house built by Victorian designer William Morris in 1860 conjures up a gingerbread house in stone. The nine rooms open to the public bear all the elements of the 'Arts and Crafts' style to which Morris adhered - a bit of Gothic art here, some religious symbolism there.
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Royal Courts of Justice
Where the Strand joins Fleet St, you'll see the entrance to this gargantuan melange of Gothic spires, pinnacles and burnished Portland stone, designed by aspiring cathedral builder GE Street in 1874. (It took so much out of the architect that he died of a stroke shortly before its completion.)
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Royal Hospital Chelsea
Designed by Christopher Wren, this superb structure was built in 1692 to provide shelter for ex-servicemen. Since the reign of Charles II, it has housed hundreds of war veterans, known as Chelsea Pensioners. They're fondly regarded as national treasures, and cut striking figures in the dark-blue greatcoats (in winter) or scarlet frock coats (in summer) that they wear on ceremonial occasions.
