-
Kinetica
There always seems to be something eye-catching going on within the clear glass walls of the UK's first museum dedicated to kinetic, electric and magnetic art. Whether it's a robot playing drums or a giant inflatable figure 'squirming' on the floor, it just seems to draw passers-by in.
-
King's Road
In the 17th century, Charles II set up a Chelsea love nest here for him and his mistress, an orange-seller turned actress at the Drury Lane Theatre by the name of Nell Gwyn. Heading back to Hampton Court Palace of an evening, Charles would make use of a farmer's track that inevitably came to be known as the King's Rd. The street begins at Sloane Sq, to the north of which runs Sloane St, celebrated for its designer boutiques.
-
Lambeth Palace
The redbrick Tudor gatehouse beside the church of St Mary-at-Lambeth leads to Lambeth Palace, the London residence of the Archbishop of Canterbury. Although the palace is not usually open to the public, the gardens occasionally are; check with a tourist office for details.
-
Leadenhall Market
Like stepping into a small slice of Victorian London, a visit to this dimly lit, covered mall is a minor time-travelling experience. There's been a market on this site since the Roman era, but the architecture that survives is all cobblestones and late-19th-century ironwork; even modern restaurants and chain stores decorate their façades in period style here. The market also appears as Diagon Alley in Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone .
-
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.
-
Linley Sambourne House
Tucked away behind Kensington High St, this was the home of Punch political cartoonist and amateur photographer Linley Sambourne and his family from 1874 to 1910. It's one of those houses whose owners never redecorated or threw anything away. What you see is pretty much the typical home of a well-to-do Victorian family: dark wood, Turkish carpets and rich stained glass. Visits are by 90-minute guided tour only.
-
Lloyd's of London
While the world's leading insurance brokers are inside underwriting everything from trains, planes and ships to cosmonauts' lives and film stars' legs, people outside still stop to gawp at the stainless steel external ducting and staircases of the Lloyd's of London building. French free climber, or 'spiderman', Alain Robert even felt moved to scale the exterior with his bare hands in 2003.
-
London Canal Museum
This quirky but very worthwhile museum is housed in an old ice warehouse (with a deep well where the frozen commodity was stored) dating from the 1860s and traces the history of Regent's Canal, the ice business and the development of ice cream through models, photographs, exhibits and archive documentaries. The ice trade was huge in late Victorian London, and 35,000 tonnes of it were imported from Norway in 1899.
-
London Dungeon
Under the arches of the Tooley St railway bridge, the London Dungeon was supposedly developed after somebody's kid didn't find Madame Tussauds Chamber of Horrors frightening enough. Well, they failed in that endeavour but the place continues to mint money.
-
London Eye
It takes a gracefully slow 30 minutes and, weather permitting, you can see 25 miles in every direction from the top of the world's tallest Ferris wheel. To the west lies Windsor, while to the east the sea. In between, you have the chance to pick out familiar landmarks. A ride in one of the wheel's 32 glass-enclosed gondolas holding up to 25 people is something you really can't miss if you want to say you've 'done' London.
-
Advertisement
-
London Transport Museum
This museum has had a massive renovation, with a revitalised existing collection (which consisted of buses from the horse age until today, plus taxis, trains and all other modes of transport) and more new collections, more display space and a 120-seat lecture theatre for educational purposes. You can get your Mind the Gap boxer shorts and knickers at the museum shop.
-
London Wetland Centre
One of Europe's largest inland wetland projects, this 43-hectare centre run by the Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust was transformed from four Victorian reservoirs in 2000 and attracts some 140 species of birds as well as 300 types of moths and butterflies. There's even a large colony of parakeets, that may or may not be the descendants of caged pets.
-
London Zoo
Established in 1828, these zoological gardens are among the oldest in the world. This is where the word 'zoo' originated. After a patchy period in the 1990s, London Zoo has become one of the most progressive in the world. The zoo is in the middle of a long-term modernisation plan and the emphasis is now firmly placed on conservation, education and breeding, with fewer species and more spacious conditions.
-
Lord's Cricket Ground
The 'home of cricket' is a must for any devotee of this peculiarly English game: book early for the test matches here, but also take the absorbing and anecdotal 90-minute tour of the ground and facilities, which takes in the famous Long Room, where members watch the games surrounded by portraits of cricket's great and good, and a museum featuring evocative memorabilia that will appeal to fans old and new.
-
Madame Tussauds
It's unbelievably kitsch and terribly overpriced, yet it draws over 3 million people every year and sits high on the 'must-do' list of any visitor to London. Different strokes for different folks, as they say, but if you like the idea of wax celebrities, movie stars and fantastically lifelike figures of the Windsors, you're in for a treat.
-
Marble Arch
John Nash designed this huge arch in 1827. It was moved here, to the northeastern corner of Hyde Park, from its original spot in front of Buckingham Palace in 1851, when it was adjudged too small and unimposing to be the entrance to the royal manor. There's a one-room flat inside, London's grandest bedsit. If you're feeling anarchic, walk through the central portal, a privilege reserved for the royal family by law.
-
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.
-
Michelin House
The superb Art Nouveau Michelin House was built for Michelin between 1905 and 1911 by François Espinasse, and completely restored in 1985. The ground floor provides space for upmarket fish and flower stalls, the famous roly-poly Michelin Man appears in the modern stained glass, and the lobby is decorated with tiles showing early-20th-century cars.
-
Mile End Park
The 32-hectare Mile End Park is a long, narrow green space wedged between Burdett and Grove Rds and the Grand Union Canal. Landscaped to great effect during the millennium year, the centrepiece, is architect Piers Gough's 'green bridge' linking the northern and southern sections of the park over busy Mile End Rd. The bridge itself is actually yellow - the 'green' refers to the trees and shrubs that have been planted along its walkway.
-
Millennium Bridge
Forever doomed to be known as the 'wobbly' bridge, although it's been perfectly stable for many years, the Millennium Bridge has become a much-admired feature of the 21st-century London skyline. It now carries some 10,000 people a day…and unfortunately they all seem to be on it the same time as you! Don't forget to look at St Paul's Cathedral through the Perspex decking at the bridge's southern end.
-
Advertisement
-
Museum in Docklands
Housed in a converted 200-year-old warehouse once used to store sugar, rum and coffee, this museum offers a comprehensive overview of the entire history of the Thames from the arrival of the Romans in AD 43. But it's at its best when dealing with specifics close by such as the controversial transformation of the decrepit docks into Docklands in the 1980s and the social upheaval and dislocation that accompanied it.
-
Museum Of Immigration & Diversity
This unique Huguenot town house was built in 1719 and housed a prosperous family of weavers, before subsequently becoming home to waves of immigrants including Polish, Irish and Jewish families, the last of which built a synagogue in the back garden in 1869. In keeping with the house's multicultural past, it now houses a museum of immigration and diversity, whose carefully considered exhibits are aimed at both adults and children.
-
Museum of London
The Museum of London is one of the capital's best museums but remains largely off the radar for most visitors. That's not surprising when you consider that it's encased in concrete and located above a roundabout in the Barbican. Despite this, once you're inside it's a fascinating walk through the various incarnations of the capital from Anglo-Saxon village to global financial centre.
-
Museum of Rugby
This museum, which will clearly appeal only to rugby-lovers, is tucked behind the eastern stand of the stadium. Relive highlights of old matches in the video theatre, take a tour of the grounds and visit the museum collection, exhibiting or storing some 10,000 items related to the sport.
-
National Army Museum
Suitably located next door to the Royal Hospital, this old-fashioned museum tells the history of the British army from the perspective of the men and women who put their lives on the line for king and country, conveying the horrors and perceived glories of war with a refreshing lack of meddling by modern technology.
