This grand building (1922) with a curved, colonnaded facade was the home of the London County Council, and later the Greater London Council, until 1986. It now houses a number of high-price attractions, such as the Sea Life London Aquarium and London Dungeon, plus an arcade in the basement and two hotels on the upper floors.


Lonely Planet's must-see attractions

Nearby attractions

1. Sea Life London Aquarium

0.01 MILES

Mostly geared towards kids, the Sea Life London Aquarium includes a shark tunnel, ray lagoon and Gentoo penguin enclosures that will keep little ones…

2. London Dungeon

0.02 MILES

A scary tour of London's gruesome history awaits. Expect darkness, sudden loud noises, flashing lights, squirts of unspecified liquid and unpleasant…

3. London Eye

0.1 MILES

It’s hard to imagine South Bank without the London Eye (officially named the lastminute.com London Eye after its current sponsor), the world’s largest…

4. Florence Nightingale Museum

0.14 MILES

This small but almost perfect museum looks at the life and legacy of Florence Nightingale (1820–1910), considered the founder of modern nursing. Her story…

5. Leake Street Arches

0.17 MILES

A grungy road under Waterloo station seems an unlikely place to find art, theatre and restaurants, but Leake St is the latest of London's railway arches…

6. New Scotland Yard Building

0.22 MILES

The London Metropolitan Police has moved several times since its founding in 1829 but the latest move – to this renovated neoclassical block with a modern…

7. Big Ben

0.25 MILES

The most famous feature of the Palace of Westminster (Houses of Parliament) is Elizabeth Tower, more commonly known as Big Ben. A major £61-million…

8. Houses of Parliament

0.29 MILES

Both the elected House of Commons and the House of Lords, who are appointed or hereditary, sit in the sumptuous Houses of Parliament, officially called…