The London Dungeon In the bowels of London Bridge Station this famous waxwork museum of torture focuses on the dark side of life. As such it can paint an artificially grim portrait of London: Jack the Ripper is small fry by today's serial killer standards. Stocks, executions, torture machines, rats, plague are the main crowd attractions. The queues stretch right up Duke St Hill for at least 100 metres, unemployed actors in 'period' costume and ghoulish make-up keep them amused while they're waiting.
Life in London was undoubtedly hard for the poor or those who for some reason were ostracised by society, worth remembering as you go round, for example, Hampton Court which paints an equally biased view of a rosy Olde England.
Their younger, Paris branch for some reason claims it's the original - we suspect branches will be spring up everywhere, even in your suburb. There a restaurant inside and sometimes nightclubs are held there. Their very atmospheric website gives you a flavour of the place.

Tube: London Bridge (Northern, Jubilee) Train: London Bridge

Madame Tussaud's Most large towns have waxworks museums, and this is just another one, albeit much bigger. It's a big crowd puller - the queues can be horrendous - but you can pre-book a ticket online and walk jauntily by the unfortunates if you wish. Has worked hard over the years to achieve a semi-official status, like the Guinness book of records. Have your photo taken next to Charles , the artist formally known as Prince (if the crowd will part for long enough), or the artist formerly known as Prince (or whatever he calls himself today). Also on the site is the planetarium, which is much like all other planetaria, only more so. We think there are much better things to do in London, especially considering the steep admission price - thousands disagree.
It's on the Marylebone Road, 100 yards from Baker Street tube, and conveniently close to Sherlock Holmes' fictional residence which maintains a small 'Museum' - visit only if you're a diehard fan.  Recently tourists have taken to having their photo taken by the horrible statue of Sherlock Holmes outside Baker Street tube. Please don't - you'll cringe later on.
If you get that stuffy feeling after Tussaud's walk 400 yards north to Regent's Park - and beyond to Primrose Hill for a great view over London. On the weekend it's an easy walk right through to Camden Market.

Tube: Baker Street (Circle, Jubilee, Bakerloo )

London Eye A huge modern version of Vienna's Prater ferris wheel which dominates the river skyline opposite Parliament. Queues were horrendous, but the new ticketing system has improved things markedly. The capsules can get very hot in sunny weather - you can book a whole capsule if you wish (some famous uses include advertising cars, having sex, cocktail parties). Take a telephoto lens if you want to get good photos from the top - London is a big, big city.
Our favourite natural vantage points are at the top of Greenwich Hill - near the Ranger's House or the Observatory there which are much more atmospheric as the sun slices, Bunuel fashion, down the city skyscrapers. Another good vantage point is Parliament Hill, on Hampstead Heath or Primrose Hill in Regent's Park. As far as the wheel goes make sure there's good weather before you go up as it's a really depressing ride when it's rainy and overcast. Nb Usually closed for annual maintenance at the end of January/beginning of February, but this can shift so check their website.

Tube: Waterloo (Jubilee, Bakerloo, Northern) Train: Waterloo

London Aquarium If it's just fish you're after then the aquarium in County Hall (vide infra) has great atmosphere and is quite beautiful, with its Easter Island statues immersed in a multi-story pool. Well designed and well put together, it's not very 'London' but more a refuge from the hustle and bustle of the city - that is if there are no school parties around.

Tube: Waterloo (Jubilee, Bakerloo, Northern) Train: Waterloo

THE 02 The Milennium Dome, resurrected as a music venue, and exhibition centre, owned by a telecommunications company. The whole area is very like Paris' Parc de la Villette and equally far out. Decent Exhibition space, if a bit large and intrusive. However the lobby and common areas are truly repulsive, the effect is redolent of the the worst of American shopping malls - hard sell of crap products. The main auditorium is like most and has a god sound system, when working properly, but the smaller 02 indigo is a great place, a bit like Paris' Trabendo where you can get closer to bands than you might want to.
The Original Dome was set up as a temporary home/away tourist attraction and was the most visited tourist attraction in the UK, but even so, failed to meet its targets, attracting only half the visitors it needed to pay its way. Despite frequent government handouts it went bust several times and sat around empty for years.

It's worth stopping at the Jubilee Line tube stations along the route - they took the coveted prize for the best architecture of 2000, which annoyed the Dome considerably.
The Independent newspaper puts Westminster station in its list of the 50 best designed buildings in the country. We also like the art-deco St John's Wood tube station. Opposite Southwark Station is The Ring - one of London's last boxing pubs which until very recently maintained a boxing ring and training gym on the first floor. It's on the Cut, a fast-changing strip of restaurants (Tas, Livebait, Tapas bars and Gastropubs)
A view of the dome can be had from the Waterfront at Greenwich or the river cruise that takes in the London Flood Barrier will give you good views - but do it on a clear and sunny day... The Chinese restaurant on the ground floor of the nearby Holiday Inn is the best place to eat locally - very very popular with the large local Chinese community. On Sundays be prepared to queue.

Tube: North Greenwich (Jubilee) - also accessible by Riverboat.

The Royal Artillery Exhibition Aimed at kids or big kids, and military enthusiasts it promises lots of big bangs and huge explosions. Artillery is a broad term: it was the British use of Artillery that decided the battles of Crecy and Agincourt (the longbow), as well as Trafalgar (sea cannon) and the Gulf War (howitzers and rocket based systems).

Train: Woolwich Arsenal (from Charing Cross or Waterloo)

Cultural Phenomena

Kew Gardens A spectacular site laid out over acres in a pleasant and wealthy London suburb, it's a great place for a sunny afternoon - it doesn't work so well in bad weather as the various hothouses and exhibits are somewhat spread out over the site. Kew house, in the grounds, is smallest of the London Royal Palaces, its 'English' garden and the herb garden are excellent.
The Physic garden in Chelsea is also worth a visit, if you don't have the time or inclination to leave the centre of London. If it's wet the Barbican has a large hothouse conservatory on its roof (see our City Walks section).  Kew can be combined with a visit to Marble Hill and Ham Houses - see our trips page for details.  

Tube: Kew Gardens (District) Train: Kew Gardens (from Waterloo)

London  Zoo Currently spearheading the cultural transition from 'Zoo' in the Victorian sense to 'Conservation resource' this is still a great way to see animals in their more or less natural environment. Nationally, and internationally it cedes to Chester Zoo, where 'cruelty free captivity' was pioneered. Feeding time for the penguins and apes are a firm favourite, and the insect house is a marvel. Great location at the north end of Regent's park. Convenient for Camden Market, Madame Tussauds and walking along the canal.  

Tube: Camden (Northern) Baker Street (Circle, Bakerloo, Jubilee)

HMS Belfast Part of the Imperial War Museum, this battleship moored beside Tower Bridge is for the enthusiast only, but it's still impressive that people went to sea, let alone to battle in these tin cans. The Maritime Museum in Greenwich has earlier examples of Britannia's warhorses. For non-maritime firepower there's the new Royal Artillery museum (see below).  

Tube: London Bridge (Northern, Jubilee)

The  BBC You can tour the BBC studios just opposite White City tube station (at weekends they film drama shows and stars wander the corridors in search of sausage rolls and such from the BBC tea bars) - book by calling 0870 6030304. We suggest you also ring the ticket office (see our Free page) and get some tickets for the same day to see a show being filmed.

Tube: White City (Central)

Tube: Tower Hill (Circle) London Bridge (Northern, Jubilee, Mainline trains from Charing Cross) Boats from Westminster.

Old Royal Observatory, Greenwich Favourite with those who want to stand with one leg in the East and one in the West. After a challenge from France and America, Greenwich is now secure as the centre of the world, and Greenwich means time. Great views, especially at sunset, over the City and the Dome. Has the original clock used in the book/film/TV series 'Longitude'. Take a train from London Bridge or, better, take the Docklands Light Railway from Bank and walk through the atmospheric foot tunnel that links Island Gardens to Greenwich stations. You can also go by boat. See also our markets and trips pages.  

Tube: Greenwich (DLR) Train: Greenwich (from Charing Cross or Waterloo)

Museums

Dennis  Severs  House    Old house in an unspoilt Dickensian area north of Spitalfields Market which preserves a record of itself throughout three centuries. Each room is dedicated to a time span in the house's history and meticulously decorated and furnished with artifacts - including food and a full chamber pot. There's also a soundtrack of 'authentic noises'. Very complicated opening hours, take a mathematician or see website link below. Our major cavil is over the price, which at £7 is a bit steep for such a small, private house. But if you're a history buff it's fascinating time travel stuff. Candlelit tours are available the following Monday evening, by appointment, at a higher price. 

Tube: Liverpool Street (Central)

The Fan museum Open in two beautiful houses in Greenwich, at the bottom of Crooms Hill, just off the centre, this is the world's biggest collection of fans. We thought it wouldn't survive, but it has and once the initial shock of the monotonous nature of the exhibits has passed, this can be fascinating - for fans only.

Tube: Greenwich (DLR) Train: Greenwich (from Charing Cross or Waterloo)

Fashion and Textile Museum This garish orange and pink museum in Bermondsey Street SE1 is not a historical nor in any way intellectual experience (for that visit the V & A) but a kind of Fashion Cafe without the burgers, or a Tussauds without the wax. Its appeal, as far as we can see, is to teenage girls who want to see the dresses worn by the stars: a somewhat narrow, though dedicated audience. The world of fashion is a very shallow one indeed, the Emperor's clothes lose something without having the emperor inside...

Tube: London Bridge (Northern, Jubilee) Train: London Bridge (from Charing Cross or Waterloo) Bus: RV1 (riverside bus linking all attractions along the South Bank, or any bus to London Bridge.)

Imperial War Museum Has transformed itself from a celebration of military achievement and different ways of killing into a museum about the experience of war. Good for kids, with excellent actors doing mini-tours in costume. The new Holocaust exhibition is quite a bold step, the Blitz gallery is atmospheric and their changing exhibitions are world-class. Housed in a former lunatic asylum, which we think just about sums up militarism. Free entry. See also the Maritime and Artillery museums on our museums page.

Shakespeare's globe exhibition. The bard, who 'reposes' in Westminster Abbey, would probably approve of Sam Wannamaker's efforts to reconstruct his stomping ground, next to Southwark Bridge, using original techniques and materials. Theatregoing in the 17thC was quite a different experience to today's, sometimes more bleak, requiring the audience's imagination as sets were either minimal as at the Globe, or infinitely more grand with theatres competing for the most lavish stage machinery - with effects to rival 'Miss Saigon'. Tickets for the shows sell out in advance as it's a very coach party thing to do, but day tickets as groundlings (standing - often there are a few free seats you can creep into) are usually available. The standard of the productions improved markedly in 2001 from a low base while Mark Rylance was directing/acting for a few years but sadly slumped after he left. He occasionally comes back, if he's playing there then grab a ticket if you can...he'll sell out

Tube: London Bridge (Northern, Jubilee) Train: London Bridge (from Charing Cross or Waterloo)

Cutty Sark Permanently moored on Greenwich's waterfront this is the last and most famous of the tea clippers that supplied the British with their favourite drink. It was built in 1869, and moored here since 1954. Sadly it was severely damaged in a fire in 2007 and is being refurbished.  

Tube: Cutty Sark (DLR) Train: Greenwich( from Charing Cross or Waterloo)

Pollock's Toy Museum Somewhat eccentric small museum on the Corner of Scala Street behind Goodge Street tube, given over to a stunning collection of toys - very much a collector's corner. Its rival, the Bethnal Green Museum of Childhood - out east on the central line, but linked to the Victoria and Albert Museum has much more the feel of an institution. The latter has an excellent collection of Children's books, but Bethnal Green, although an up-and-coming gay outpost, is a bit of a way out and there's little else round there, so if you're interested, Pollock's gets our vote. It's a bit Willy Wonka, in miniature. There's also a museum of mechanical toys in the basement of Covent Garden market.  

Tube: Tottenham Court Road (Central ) Goodge Street (Northern)

Science Museum & Natural History Museum: Apart from their more academic bent there are exhibitions and 'experiences' here - focusing on readily accessible subjects such as earthquakes and dinosaurs. We've been fans since we were 8. The erudition on display is amazing. The new Wellcome wing looks good in a way, but doesn;lt really live up to the promise. The Welcome Museum in Euston is good, if a little pretentious.  See our Museums page for further details. 

Landmarks

Changing of The Guard Happens at all the Royal Palaces so you don't have to endure the crush at Buckingham Palace. Smaller ceremonies are held at St James' Palace and Windsor. Doesn't happen every day at Buckingham Palace (a noticeboard out front tells you when), and some of the guards regiments are quite dowdy in appearance (the Gurkas for instance). But when there's a full ceremony (details on the website - see our Historic section) with the regimental band marching out of the Guards' Barracks (on Birdcage Walk to the left of the Palace as you're facing it) and the soldiers are dressed in red with full busbees it can be all Pomp and Circumstance. And it's free.  

However there are plenty of other pieces of pomp and ceremony, parades, gun salutes etc that go unnoticed by most people, you can escape the crush by looking HERE for the Army's own list of ceremonials. Good info on guard changing as well.



St Pauls Built on the site of a Roman Temple to Diana, this impressive part of the London skyline was raised by Sir Christopher Wren in 1697, after the previous one had been destroyed in a the Great Fire of London. Wren had submitted plans to demolish and rebuild that dangerous structure only six days before the blaze itself, but the commissioners refused to have the old Norman building pulled down. Even though St Paul's is big, the earlier Norman Cathedral was even bigger and had the tallest church spire ever built - the stone was brought from Caen in France by boat.

Wren, however, created the domed masterpiece we see today, which took 35 years, and Wren is buried in the crypt below the dome he built, alongside Lord Nelson. However it's comparatively stark inside, containing few monuments. It became a symbol of British resistance to Nazism during the blitz when it 'miraculously' suffered no war damage, due to a team of vigilantes who defused every bomb that fell in the precincts at great personal risk. This probably explains why it's a bit militaristic inside - more like the kind of glorification the Imperial War Museum is moving away from. Worth visiting the dome and whispering gallery. The sad thing is that you have to pay. Linked by an impressive modern bridge (nicknamed 'the wobbly bridge', it closed three hours after opening as users felt seasick, then spent two years being modified..) to the South Bank's Tate Modern, so you can pop across.

Tube: St Pauls (Central) Mansion House (Circle)

Bank of England The original 'Old Lady of Threadneedle Street' was built on the site of the ancient Roman city of Londinium. Houses a small museum. The impressive interior is closed to the public. Has its own tube station. See our City section. 

Tube: Bank (Central, Northern ) Monument (Circle)

The British Library Competes with its Parisian rival for ugliness - before this monstrosity was born the collection was housed in the British Museum, and the reading room where Marx wrote Das Kapital was a hushed place where you could actually read without being disturbed by tourists. However the new site has brought convenience and more of its wonderful collection to the public gaze.

They've got everything you could want to see manuscript-wise (from the Magna Carta to handwritten Beatles lyrics) - several people tell us it was a highlight of their visit, but we are too phased by the architecture. Our advice is to close your eyes until you're well inside - or feast your fill on the wonderful St Pancras Station (right) with its wonderful Pre-Raphaelite interiors - as seen in the film Richard III which is now a hotel. The (original) interior decoration is breath taking.  Tours can be booked online. Expensive at £20 but we think they're worth it.... you could just go and have a cup of coffee and see the main public rooms.

The ever changing exhibitions in the British Library are very worth visiting and you can roll it all into one with a trip to the Wellcome Collection nearby (see our museums page. Right is the main staircase of the St Pancras Hotel, the decoration is very similar to the Houses of Parliament. The ancient St Pancras church - probably the earliest site of christian worship in Britain, is behind the Library, but only really for the enthusiast.

Tube: St Pancras/King's Cross (Northern, Circle, Victoria, Piccadilly)

Bow Bells If these are the first things you heard in life then you're a cockney - from the Saxon for 'Rotten Egg'. Not really worth a detour - we provide a guide to some London churches on our City page. 'Oranges and Lemons' St Clements is nearby. Pleasant little enclave in Bow Lane off Cheapside, behind the church.
There's an online Cockney Museum for all things pearly - they're trying to raise the money for a real rather than a virtual one. Worth a butchers, though too many apples and pears for my plates of meat. 

Tube: St Pauls (Central) Mansion House (Circle)

Tube: South Kensington (Circle, Piccadilly) then take foot tunnel.

Curiosity Shop

The Old Curiosity Shop The Old Curiosity Shop mentioned in Dickens still exists just north of the Strand, on Portsmouth Street, off the south-west corner of Lincoln's Inn Fields. It's sadly overlooked by more modern developments in this high rent quarter. As befits, it doesn't have a website. 


Bloomsbury Those on the literary trail still traipse around this once fashionable quarter in the footsteps of the Bloomsbury group - of which little remains. The Russell hotel in Russell Square has a 'Virginia Woolf Burger Bar' and much of the area is quite tacky - it's also famed for cheap hotels and coach parties. Hotels nearer King's Cross let rooms by the hour. Generally the area has lots of blue plaques but little else to see - unless you count the reading room of the British Museum where Marx wrote Das Kapital - which is a masterpiece. Sadly the British Library has moved to a new 'carbuncle' (as Prince Charles would call their horrendous building) on the Marylebone road. The main attraction here is the glorious Victorian pile of St Pancras Station which is actually just outside Bloomsbury proper (vide supra). It looks more like a chateau than a train station. 


Freud Museum Devotees of the guru of the unconscious visit this shrine in Hampstead where most of the practitioners of this cult also live. However today child abuse is too real to be put down to the imagination of children and Freud is more of a historical backwater than a practical cat. His couch and most of his substitute family of Egyptian statuettes came with him when he fled Vienna. If you've spent thousands on analysis and still feel bad you can sublimate or cathect here. Not really worth a special trip. 20 Maresfield Gardens, NW3 - Tube: Hampstead (Northern line) open Wed-Sun 12:00-17:00. Website 


Jeremy Bentham Was the inventor of the Panopticon, where prisoners were under the ever present eye of both their warders and God (the Tate Gallery is built on the site of a former jail run on Bentham's principles, which still govern much prison architecture in America) so it is fitting that Mr Bentham's body should have been stuffed and placed in a glass case so he could be under the eye of future generations. It was his idea.
Sadly after medical students stole his head, the latter has been kept in a safe. He's in a corridor in University College of London, Gower Street, dressed in his original clothes. Only worth a visit if you're passing, or are a fan. Beats waxworks.  St Mary's Church, Garlickhythe also has a mummified body, and of course everyone who was anybody in Ancient Egypt is at the British Museum.


Revolutionary London Most people know that Karl Marx lived in London  - in a house in Soho that's now a sumptuous restaurant, but not many know that Lenin and Ho Chi Minh also did.  Lenin lived in Percy Circus, on the edges of Islington - just round the corner from King's Cross.  The area from Percy Circus to the Angel is full of unique houses and beautiful squares - worth a peek - just triangulate between King's Cross and Saddler's wells. Or follow our 'Squares Walk' on the itinerary page. Ho Chi Minh was a waiter in a hotel which stood on the site of the New Zealand Cultural centre on Haymarket.   Not something, we feel, he put on his resume when applying for that job back home.

Stalin stayed in the building next to the Whitechapel Mosque (as did Orwell and a host of other dossers) in the early days of the 20th C.

You can go and see Marx's final resting place, Highgate Cemetery in Swains Lane, N6. A gothic fantasy - like the film set of Dracula. It's a bit of a walk from the tube, but worth it. Tube: Archway or Highgate on the Northern Line. It's open 1000-1700 daily in Summer (opens an hour later at weekends) 1000-1600 daily in winter. You can book a tour of the west cemetery (obligatory) on 0208 340 1834. Costs £3/7 for the East, £7 for the West Cemeteries (tour only, March-November). The tour is worth it: the cemetery is owned and managed by amateur enthusiasts.

Less famous, but free, is Nunhead Cemetery for those who like nosing around Victorian graves.