Places to go in London

13 places

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  Churchill War Rooms

  Hidden beneath the streets of Westminster, this subterranean bunker served as the secret command center for Winston Churchill and his government throughout World War II. Visitors can explore the tightly packed rooms left almost untouched since 1945, including the Map Room with its original wall charts and wartime telephones. It offers a gripping, tangible look into the claustrophobic nerve center where crucial decisions of the war were made.

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  Cutty Sark

  As the world's only surviving extreme clipper, the Cutty Sark is a celebrated 19th-century merchant vessel renowned for its record-breaking speed in the global tea trade. Visitors can walk the historic weather decks, take the ship's wheel, and stand directly beneath the suspended, copper-clad hull to experience Victorian maritime engineering up close.

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  Horniman Museum and Gardens

  Perched on a hillside in South London, the Horniman Museum is renowned for its eclectic natural history collections, musical instruments, and its famously overstuffed Victorian walrus. Visitors come to explore the subterranean aquarium and stroll through 16 acres of landscaped gardens that offer sweeping views across the London skyline.

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  Kensington Palace

  Set within Kensington Gardens, this historic royal residence has been home to British monarchs for centuries, famously including Queen Victoria and Princess Diana. Visitors come to explore the opulent King's and Queen's State Apartments, view exhibitions on royal history and fashion, and stroll through the manicured Sunken Garden.

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  Natural History Museum

  Housed in a striking Romanesque building in South Kensington, the Natural History Museum preserves more than 80 million specimens documenting billions of years of the natural world. Visitors flock here to walk beneath the colossal blue whale skeleton suspended in Hintze Hall, study world-famous dinosaur fossils, and explore interactive galleries chronicling Earth's geology and biodiversity.

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  Old Royal Naval College

  Anchoring the Greenwich riverfront, the Old Royal Naval College is celebrated for its twin neoclassical domes designed by Sir Christopher Wren. Visitors come to marvel at the soaring, baroque ceiling of the Painted Hall and wander across grand riverside grounds steeped in British maritime history.

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  Royal Observatory Greenwich

  Perched on a hill overlooking Greenwich Park, the Royal Observatory is the historic home of British astronomy and the official site of the Prime Meridian. Visitors can straddle the brass line dividing the Earth's eastern and western hemispheres, explore historic timepieces that revolutionized navigation, and take in sweeping views across the River Thames to the London skyline.

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  Sir John Soane's Museum

  Preserved exactly as it was upon the architect's death in 1837, this atmospheric townhouse museum is one of London's most eccentric treasures. Daylight filters through domed skylights onto labyrinthine rooms packed with thousands of classical antiquities, architectural casts, and paintings by Hogarth and Turner. Visitors come to marvel at its ingenious use of space and rare curiosities, including the 3,000-year-old alabaster sarcophagus of Pharaoh Seti I.

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  Tate Modern

  Housed in a former power station on the banks of the River Thames, Tate Modern is the United Kingdom's flagship museum for international modern and contemporary art. Visitors come to experience monumental installations inside the cavernous Turbine Hall and explore galleries featuring masterworks by artists such as Picasso, Warhol, and Rothko. The upper viewing levels also provide sweeping panoramic vistas across the river toward St Paul's Cathedral.

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  The British Museum

  Housing millions of artifacts spanning over two million years of human history, the British Museum is one of the world's foremost chronicles of civilization. Visitors step beneath the iconic glass roof of the Great Court to examine legendary relics, including the Rosetta Stone, Egyptian mummies, and the Parthenon Sculptures. It offers an expansive journey through global art, archaeology, and culture in the heart of London.

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  The National Gallery

  Overlooking Trafalgar Square, the National Gallery houses one of the world's greatest collections of Western European painting, spanning the 13th to early 20th centuries. Visitors can wander grand neoclassical halls to see iconic masterpieces up close, including works by Van Gogh, Leonardo da Vinci, and Turner. With free general admission, it offers an inspiring and accessible journey through art history right in the heart of London.

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  The Wallace Collection

  Housed within an elegant 18th-century townhouse in Marylebone, The Wallace Collection showcases a world-class assortment of fine and decorative arts, historic arms and armour, and 18th-century French furniture. Visitors come to admire masterworks like Fragonard's The Swing and Frans Hals' The Laughing Cavalier displayed in opulent, remarkably preserved domestic galleries.

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  Victoria and Albert Museum

  Renowned as the world's leading museum of art, design, and performance, the Victoria and Albert Museum houses an extraordinary collection spanning 5,000 years of human creativity. Visitors come to explore everything from historic couture and intricate jewelry to monumental plaster casts in the soaring Cast Courts. Its ornate Victorian architecture and ever-changing exhibitions make it an essential stop for anyone fascinated by material culture and craftsmanship.