NEIGHBOURHOODS ( P125 ) Eye

NEIGHBOURHOODS ( p125 ) Eye

( p99 ) p99 ( ( p109 ) p109 ( ( p211 ) p211 ( Palace ( p130 ) p130 Globe (

( p170 ) p170 Heath ( Court ( p119 ) p119 London ( ( p75 ) p75 Gallery ( ( p89 ) p89 Museum ( of ( p129 ) p129 Modern (

Join the crowds digesting this fantastic collection. National Superb national art collection that’s one of Europe’s best. British (and controversial) museum collection.A truly great Shakespeare’s See the bard performed as the Elizabethans saw it. Hampton palace opens its doors daily. Tudor The capital’s greatest British Airways London a ‘flight’ on the iconic Eye for unbeatable city views. Take Hampstead Escape to hills with wonderful views. open spaces and great Tower Historic fortress and home to the Crown Jewels. Cathedral St Paul’s dome. masterpiece soars with its incredible Wren’s Westminster Abbey and iconic, with a fascinating royal history. Impressive Tate

© Lonely Planet Publications

lonelyplanet.com 56 lonelyplanet.com NEIGHBOURHOODS

London is a tough city to divide, with its multitudi- Ilford Woolwich nous villages, divergent councils, ancient parishes ‘much of London’s charm and haphazard postcodes, none of which take Eltham East rests in what you’ll Ham into account the borders of any of the others. The centre of the city is the commercial West discover when you leave Silvertown End, with its kernel Soho and Covent Garden

s Charlton e surrounded by academic Bloomsbury, bohe- Woodford m the beaten track and a mian Fitzrovia, chic Marylebone, superrich Th Ham West Mayfair, royal St James’s and the political vil- explore on your own’ Blackheath

lage of Westminster. Here you’ll find much of Greenwich (p155)

the best shopping, eating and entertainment Catford of Isle Dogs DOCKLANDS Stratford

options in London, as well as most of the other visitors to the city. Poplar THE EAST END & (p179) Docklands The South Bank, facing the West End and the City across the Thames, serves up theatre, art, Leyton New Walthamstow Hill Cross Bow GREENWICH & film and music, and features two of London’s most iconic modern sights, Tate Modern and the Forest End Mile Deptford London Eye, as well as the wonderful Borough Market. SOUTHEAST LONDON

The wealthy stretch of neighbourhoods from Hyde Park to Chelsea includes superexclusive Rotherhithe Belgravia, shopping mecca Knightsbridge, the various guises of exceptionally posh Kensington Whitechapel

and the large village of Chelsea, famed for the King’s Rd. No visit to London is complete without Wapping Hackney Peckham

checking out South Ken’s museums, visiting Harrods and Harvey Nicks in Knightsbridge, or Bermondsey Village Dulwich

wandering the magnificent open spaces of Hyde Park. Tottenham NEIGHBOURHOODS NEIGHBOURHOODS Stoke

To the east of the West End lie boththe City (once the ancient Roman walled city, now the (p109) Dulwich (p148) THE CITY Highbury Newington financial hub of London) and the once shabby neighbourhoods of Clerkenwell, Shoreditch Kingsland (p125) SPITALFIELDS Pentonville SHOREDITCH & and Spitalfields, now London’s most creative and exciting districts. Here you’ll find supercool CLERKENWELL, Islington Brixton Wood Green Camberwell (p197) SOUTH Lambeth THE SOUTH BANK

Hoxton Sq with its clubs and bars, Spitalfields Market and fantastic Brick Lane, longtime curry LONDON hub of Banglatown and now one of the best clothes-shopping areas in London. Kennington Further east lie the East End and Docklands: the East End is ‘real’ London, a multiethnic

Town Bloomsbury Vauxhall (p65) RUNNINGHEADB Camden

yet strangely traditional stretch of the city that’s home of the famous cockney. The East End Westminster Clapham Pimlico Town THE WEST END Kentish

looks set to be transformed in the coming years as the London 2012 Olympics will be held in Mayfair

Highgate

(p164) s e

the valley of the River Lea in and around Stratford at the East End’s furthest edge. Docklands m a

Friern Barnet h

Balham

Battersea NORTH LONDON NORTH T

is another, albeit government- and financial sector–driven, example of urban renewal – now Marylebone (p136) CHELSEA seriously rivalling the City as the home of the capital’s money men and London’s tallest sky- Camden Chelsea HYDE PARK TO HYDE PARK

scrapers. The future belongs to the east due notonly to the Olympics, but also to the Thames Bayswater

Gateway, a huge development of the Thames estuary. Hampstead Green Hill Golders North London is a hilly collection of charming villages, which often seem to exist as worlds Earl's Court Finchley Notting Kilburn

within themselves, such as old money Hampstead and Highgate, celebrity-filled Primrose Hill, Kensington fashionable Islington, hippy Stoke Newington and well-healed Crouch End. In between are urban Wandsworth

centres such as Finchley Rd, Camden Town, Holloway and Finsbury Park. Fulham West London is grand, moneyed and home to some of London’s most traditional must-sees Putney Bush Hendon

including Buckingham Palace and the Houses of Parliament and gems such as Kensington Palace. Hammersmith (p174) Shepherd's West London, too, has its cooler side in Notting Hill and Portobello Rd, with its great street market, Barnes superb shopping and many of the city’s better pubs and bars. WEST LONDON Willesden 5 km South of the river, Greenwich enchants with its huge historic importance as a centre of maritime 3.0 miles

activity, and, of course, time. Neighbouring Southeast London areas of Deptford, New Cross and (p204) Acton Neasden Edgware Woolwich are showing signs of becoming South London’s long-awaited answer to Shoreditch. Harlesden

Vast, residential South London has multiple flavours, from the leafy Blackheath, Clapham, Kew Putney and Richmond to the edgier, rougher likes of Brixton, Kennington and Vauxhall. SOUTHWEST LONDON

Southwest London includes such well-known urban villages as Putney, Barnes, Richmond, Wim- Richmond bledon and Kew that between them attract huge visitor numbers for the wonderful botanical gardens, Brentford Wembley the tennis and the almost perfectly preserved tudor palace of Henry VIII at Hampton Court. Ealing London takes years to get to know and even Londoners never entirely agree on what to call certain areas – so take things easily and always have a good map to hand – although much of London’s Isleworth 0 0 Twickenham charm rests in what you’ll discover when you leave the beaten track and explore on your own. Hounslow 58 lonelyplanet.com NEIGHBOURHOODS ITINERARY BUILDER 61

( p308 )

( p302 ) ( p302 ) ( p309 ) ( p302 ) ( p301 ) ) ( p335 )

)

( p299 )

) p300

p301 ( p300 ) ( p302 ) ( p300 ) ( p301 ) p300 ( p300 ) ( p298 ) ( p299 ) Ministry of Sound Bethnal Green Working Men’s Club Pacha Pacha Cross Fridge ( Carling Academy Brixton 333 Bar Rumba Neighbourhood Rhythm Factory Notting Hill Arts Club Joiners Arms Egg Fabric Fabric Madame Jo Jo’s Dogstar ( Koko End (

)

( p325 ) ( p155 ) p314

( p315 )

( p319 )

( p315 )

( p319 ) ( p316 )

( p317 ) ( p312 ) ( p319 ) ( p309 ) ( p315 )

( p314 ) ( p319 ) ( p314 ) ( p315 ) ( p298 ) ) ( p312 ) p316 Entertainment Nightlife Notting Hill Coronet Rhythm Factory Arcola Theatre 93 Feet East 93 Feet Everyman Hampstead Whitechapel Art Gallery Royal Albert Hall Clapham Picture House ( National Theatre Royal Opera House BFI Southbank Hampstead Heath Ponds Almeida Theatre Battersea Arts Centre Sadler’s Wells Donmar Warehouse Electric Cinema Ritzy ( Curzon Soho

( p225 )

Barbican

( p232 )

( p234 )

( p229 )

( p226 ) ( p233 )

( p219 ) ( p229 ) ( p227 ) ( p233 )

( p232 ) ( p226 ) ( p228 )

( p226 ) ( p229 ) ( p229 ) ng ( p234 ) ( p229 ) ( p220 ) ) ( p223 ) ( p220 ) p234 HOW TO USE THIS TABLE THIS USE TO HOW table below allows you to plan a day’s worthThe of the city. Simply of activities in any area and then mix match from the corresponding you wish to explore, select which area a well-known highlight of in each cell represents first item listings to build your day. The off-the-beaten-track gems. more are while the other items the area, Fortnum & Mason Tatty Devine Tatty Fabrications Flying Duck Enterprises Camden Passage Habitat Shoppi Portobello Road market Selfridges Liberty Leadenhall Market Hoxton Boutique Konditioner & Cook Harvey Nichols Camden Market Broadway Market Emporium Housmans Burberry Factory Shop Labour & Wait Black + Blum Cockfighter of Bermondsey Joy (

( p282 )

( p288 ) ( p280 )

( p285 )

( p286 ) ( p290 ) ( p293 )

( p292 ) ( p289 ) ( p292 )

( p278 ) ( p287 ) ( p296 )

( p280 ) ( p283 ) ( p288 ) ( p283 ) ( p289 ) ( p285 )

( p288 ) ( p282 ) ( p294 ) ( p282 ) French House King’s Arms Elk in the Woods Foundry George Inn George & Dragon Earl of Lonsdale Jerusalem Tavern Jerusalem Tavern Edinboro Castle Bistrotheque Ye Olde Cheshire Cheese Ye Windsor Castle Hollybush Prospect of Whitby Barmy Arms So.uk Seven Stars Dickens Inn Trafalgar Tavern Jamaica Wine House Baltic Grapes Gordon’s Wine Bar

( p260 ) ( p264 )

( p250 ) ( p249 ) ( p261 )

( p245 )

( p249 ) ( p252 ) ( p272 )

( p274 ) ( p239 ) ( p248 ) ( p264 ) ( p240 ) ( p257 ) ( p253 )

( p255 ) ( p262 ) ( p249 ) ( p270 ) ( p255 ) ( p254 ) ( p248 ) Daquise Busaba Eathai Tom Aikens Inside Paternoster Chop House Olivo Anchor & Hope Moro Café Spice Namaste Gay Hussar Portrait St John Skylon Glasshouse Blue Print Café Manna Duke of Cambridge Place Below Sweeting’s Bacchus Wapping Food Lobster Pot La Gaffe

( p197 ) ( p161 )

( p131 )

( p152 ) p152 ( ( p170 )

( p109 ) ( p181 ) ( p170 )

( p267 ) ( p119 ) ( p151 ) ( p75 ) ( p176 ) ( p113 ) ( p129 ) ( p165 )

( p76 ) ( p87 ) ( p125 ) ( p139 ) ( p158 ) ( p159 ) ( p211 ) Hampstead Heath Highgate Cemetery St Paul’s CathedralSt Paul’s Dennis Severs’ House SightsNational Gallery EatingTower of London Church Temple Drinking Victoria & Albert Museum London Zoo V&A Museum of Childhood Royal Observatory Hampton Court Palace Ragged School Museum Tate Modern Tate Sir John Soane’s Museum Southwark Cathedral Kensington Place Museum in Docklands Imperial War Museum British Airways London Eye National Portrait Gallery Leighton House Geffrye Museum

West End The City Clerkenwell, Shoreditch & Spitalfields The South Bank West London North London East London South London ACTIVITIES AREA AREA ITINERARY ITINERARY BUILDER size and variety – its sheer chunks in small, easy-to-digest London is best approached in heart failure things to seeof and do (not to mention eat, drink buy) may result our Itinerary Builder, West exhaustion. For the purposes least severe of or at the very to Chelsea South and West London neighbourhoods. London includes our Hyde Park & Southeast London, South London and Southwest London includes the Greenwich London neighbourhoods. 60 lonelyplanet.com NEIGHBOURHOODS ITINERARY BUILDER lonelyplanet.com NEIGHBOURHOODS CENTRAL LONDON 63 2 km DLR of Quay South Bridge Isle

Dogs Deptford d Poplar

d 1 mile R DLR R

Lewisham w n

o ly B e v New Cross E Deptford Canary Wharf Heron Quay's Mile End

New

Cross d

Park

R Limehouse d

k Victoria R

r DLR Westferry

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0 0 er

w THE WEST END End p68 West Central The Holborn & Square, Leicester Garden, Covent pp72-3 Strand Bloomsbury pp92-3 & Marylebone Mayfair p100 p96-7 & Whitehall Westminster St James's, THE CITY City The p110 THE SOUTH BANK South Bank p126 The CHELSEA TO HYDE PARK Chelsea p138 to Park Hyde & SPITALFIELDS SHOREDITCH CLERKENWELL, & Spitalfields p150 Shoreditch Clerkenwell, THE EAST END & DOCKLANDS East End p156 The Docklands p160 LONDON NORTH North p166 London p168 & Islington Camden WEST LONDON p175 London West Court p177 Bush & Earl’s Shepherd’s GREENWICH & SOUTHEAST LONDON p180 & Southeast London Greenwich SOUTH LONDON p198 South London Brixton & Clapham p200 SOUTHWEST LONDON p205 London Southwest Richmond p208

o d Nunhead

Wapping Wapping (Closed until 2010) L Bethnal Green R

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Central

Shadwell 10 11 d

MAP INDEX

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CENTRAL LONDON U To Richmond (3mi) To 62 lonelyplanet.com NEIGHBOURHOODS CENTRAL LONDON lonelyplanet.com NEIGHBOURHOODS THE WEST END , 65 is ( p94 ) p74 ) ( , Britain’s p99 ) ( THE WEST END ( p76 )

( p74 ) ( p75 ) ( p86 ) ( p89 )

trait Gallery clogs up with tourists, weekend clogs up with tourists, weekend leads to Buckingham Palace leads to Buckingham Palace p86 ) ( ( p95 ) ) if you intend to use public transport to use) if you intend public transport National G Br Somerset House Trafalgar Square National Por p390 itish Museum allery

less victims of the Great Fire moved here, here, moved Fire the Great victims of less immigrants, which of followed by many waves bad-boy its infamous anarchic, Soho gave (though in a much that it still retains image form). It’s home to a 5000-strong com- diluted London’s gay munity, the traditional heart of scene, numerous media companies, a red-light boozers, theatres, district, shops, restaurants, course, tourists, who can nightclubs and, of part in the action. easily take chaos and vivacity that they found so enticing chaos p342 oozes authentic culture but its restaurants need careful need careful but its restaurants authentic culture oozes , a real London ‘village’ with a quaint High Street that’s with a quaint High Street London ‘village’ , a real p67 ) ( ; Sleeping ( p105 ) p216 , famed for its ( below ) flashes its illuminated adverts and even though it’s busy with traffic, adverts flashes its illuminated ; Shopping p67 ) ( p278 and counters Soho’s sauciness Soho’s and counters , or try Marylebone , or try Marylebone ( p89 ) ; Drinking ( p93 ) p237 for its street performers, boutiques and performers, for its street At its centre is Soho is Soho At its centre Piccadilly Circus The best way to get to know the West End, and indeed the whole of London, is on foot. London, is on foot. to know the West End, and indeed the whole of The best way to get THE WEST END THE WEST END

p71 )

at all, otherwise you may have to come up with a small fortune to cover the cost of a couple a couple the cost of to come up with a small fortune cover at all, otherwise you may have tube rides. of with its high-brow reputation – this is where – this is where reputation with its high-brow Vir- campuses abound and where university and loved. ginia Woolf and her posse lived shoppers and tourists, most Londoners can’t help but love it. Magnificent Trafalgar Sq it. Magnificent can’t help but love and tourists, most Londoners shoppers political heart, is where many important decisions are made before breakfast, yet Westminster yet Westminster breakfast, made before many important decisions are political heart, is where Eating about the city’s ‘wonderful im- raved London has always turned people on. Samuel Johnson ‘the most famously claimed that for him the British capital offered James mensity’, and Henry the complexity, of Much life’. possible form of whether on the West End, London’s physical, cultural and social heart where, is centred or strolling much you’ll be gawping, rushing or resident, visitor, regular a first-time you are you their own (any Londoner you meet The West End is a vague term will give the time. of often it does neighbourhoods are and doesn’t on which take include), and its component areas may Londoners one another. startlingly unlike the notorious crowds in complain about It’s West End, but most find it irresistible. with sights packed monumental and majestic, with a gritty urbanity. and splattered for its rampant nightlife history and loved The nearby and bars. and excellent restaurants Bloomsbury hides the British of leafy area Museum Garden and tourists flock to Covent Shoppers ( Aromatic Chinatown busy theatres. while cinema-central and tourist-trap Leicester Sq choosing, London’s legal business touts. Holborn & The Strand is where and discount-ticket inebriates out and the city starts sorted to dip its toes Thames. gets into the River Park Soothing St James’s a calming influence. offers Abbey a place that needs no introduction, though to say it’s safe that you won’t find many Londoners with the West End that isn’t heaving If you fancy seeingof gawping through its gates. an area and St Mayfair traffic, of stroll around the aristocratic neighbourhoods human and vehicle James’s you’re within walking distance too much, from one another, thoughMost sights if it gets are you to most sights, on a bus. While the tube will take your feet sometimes the best resting faster Garden and Leicester Sq or Piccadilly) are (eg Covent distances between two areas card (see Do arm yourself with an Oyster walked. SOHO & CHINATOWN a single thoughdoesn’t Soho have Even London’s most ‘proper’ sight, it’s still one of popular hangouts thanks to the contagious name is a hunting it exudes. Soho’s energy was cry from Tudor times: the neighbourhood the aristocratic hunting ground during status was VIII. Its privileged Henry of reign when the home- down considerably knocked home to celebrations, protests and the city’s best galleries, while Westminster and the city’s best galleries, while Westminster home to celebrations, protests stacked with independent shops and small (but posh) eateries. eateries. with independent shops and small (but posh) stacked

Dulwich Palace Football Club (2mi) Club Football Palace (61mi) Bec Lido Bec

Palace (4 mi) (4 Palace

Twickenham

Sports Centre (2mi);Crystal Centre Sports Portsmouth Tooting Hampton Court Court Hampton

Hill Brighton (42mi) Brighton Island (57mi)

Park

To Crystal Palace National Palace Crystal To To

To Wimbledon (1mi); Wimbledon To House

Airport (24mi); Airport Southampton Eel Pie Eel Forest

Richmond

Village

Ham

(7mi); Gatwick (7mi);

To M3; To

Arms

Golf Course Golf

Dulwich

To Croydon To Catford

Barmy

A3 (56mi)

House Palace Chez Bruce Chez

Richmond Park Richmond

Swan

To Dover To

Hill Eltham A205 Museum

Common

A205

White Gallery Balham

Marble Park Horniman Wandsworth

Picture

Brockwell

Eltham Common Rugby Stadium Rugby

Dulwich

Richmond

A20 Rye Park Rye Rugby; Twickenham Rugby; A2 Clapham

A23

Wandsworth

Peckham Museum of Museum

A316 Cross

Blackheath Clapham

s Apprentice

Airport (1mi) Airport

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Gardens

m

London

To Heathrow To a

A3

h

Hart

Kew Isleworth

Glasshouse

T

Farmers' Market Farmers' A207

Red House (4mi) House Red

Ye White Ye

Brixton

Kew

Camberwell Greenhouse Blackheath

House (4mi); House

House

Fulham

(104mi)

Battersea

Barnes

Kew

A2 To Danson To

Park

Syon

Park

To Bristol To

A202

Park

Woolwich

Chiswick

Honour

House

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Greenwich

Deptford

Battersea

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Brentford London Broncos London Osterley

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Gunnersbury

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Bridge

Bush Isle

Firepower, the Royal the Firepower, Flood

Park

London A406

Waterloo

Rotherhithe Shepherd's

Kensington

Thames

Green

Docklands Park

Centre

Southwark

Wapping

Silvertown Mayfair

Rangers Football Club Football Rangers Hyde

Television

Street

Acton Queens Park Park Queens Bayswater Cross

Hill

BBC

Airport

Soho

Fenchurch

Charing

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London

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Liverpool

Bloomsbury

Spitalfields A13

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Green

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Mill

A11

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Harlesden Cross

Bethnal

Mile

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Shoreditch

Kilburn

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(41mi) Bow Hoxton

Town East

Football Club Football

To Oxford To Pentonville

Park Camden Ham Tricycle Theatre Tricycle United

Islington

Victoria

West West Ham West Luminaire

A117

A406 Camden

on-Sea (25mi) on-Sea

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Kentish A5

A503

A10

A12

Stadium Ilford Hampstead

Club

Highbury

Wembley Football

A41

Arsenal

Leyton Neasden Wembley Heath

Rasa

Legume

Club

Hampstead Blue

Cemetery

Football

A406

Abney Park Park Abney

Orient

Highgate Park

Leyton

Finsbury

Newington

Green

Hendon

Stoke Wood Golders

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Walthamstow

(56mi)

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Hotspur Football Hotspur

Alexandra Park Alexandra

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(Finchley)

Tottenham

W oodford Alexandra Palace Alexandra Wood A406 Jewish Museum Jewish

A406 A10 M11 Finchley

Tottenham

Barnet

Edgware

Leeds (176mi) Leeds

Friern

Cambridge (47mi) Cambridge Birmingham (92mi); Birmingham (42mi)

To Stanstead Airport (23mi); Airport Stanstead To Luton (16mi); Luton To Cambridge To

GREATER LONDON GREATER 3 miles 3 0

5 km 5 0 64 lonelyplanet.com NEIGHBOURHOODS GREATER LONDON lonelyplanet.com lonelyplanet.com 0 1 km which is why the statue of Charles II stands PICCADILLY CIRCUS Map p68 THE WEST END OVERVIEW 0 0.6 miles in the northern part of the square. In the C tPiccadilly Circus a m y d centre is a tiny mock-Tudor-style house – Together with Big Ben and Trafalgar Sq, Primrose a e Barnard w n Copenhagen St A k v Hill r H Park the gardener’s shed – whose lift was a e a this is postcard London. And despite the ig R P h Camden d d King's R S Town passage to underground shelters. Apart ert t Cross stifling crowds and racing midday traffic, lb London Pa A nc e Zoo Mornington ra from being a relaxing green space, Soho Sq c s the flashing ads and buzzing liveliness of in r H Cres R P d a Pentonville E Somers (along with the rest of Soho) is media cen- Regent's m v Piccadilly Circus always make it exciting e Angel Park p r Town King's Cross s s h tral: 20th Century Fox and the British Board t Rd to be in London. The circus looks its best e o tonville a l n A t St Pancras Pe d l S b t International of Film Classification have their offices here. R at night, when the flashing advertisement a

n d King's Cross S

y

e t Euston Thameslink Finsbury v Heading south of Soho Sq, down Dean

S J panels really shine against the dark sky. A o t See Bloomsbury Map (pp92-3) y h r St e n Street, you’ll come upon number 28, the Designed by John Nash in the 1820s, the b Boating Queen e S Pancras s t P Mary's o a Lake R place where Karl Marx and his family lived hub was named after the street Piccadilly, rk Gardens Euston Sq Fa R rr d W in from 1851 to 1856. Marx, his wife Jenny o g which earned its name in the 17th century b d u G o r r n See Mayfair & Marylebone Map (p100) Warren St n a R and their four children lived in extreme from the stiff collars (picadils) that were y d P 's l Great Portland St G In poverty, without a toilet or running water, o n the sartorial staple of the time (and were L w Russell Sq Clerkenwell i Baker St G R ss Marylebone Rd e d o e r r d ell R n e rkenw and three of their children died of pneumo- n bo Regent's Park S le the making of a nearby tailor’s fortune). yle a Bloomsbury C G ar t t M v Marylebone P G e d Farringdon nia in this flat. While the father of commu- o R At the centre of the circus is the famous l 's o r t ld u l a a b c o n Goodge St e nism spent his days researching Das Kapital e h lead statue, the Angel of Christian Char- d T Edgware s t Chancery La e Fitzrovia S Rd r t in the British Museum, his main sources of H ity, dedicated to the philanthropist and P B olborn l a k Tottenham t Holborn income were money from writing articles er ord S C child-labour abolitionist Lord Shaftesbury, Court Rd Oxf h w K a S Ne Holborn i n E t d St n c for newspapers and financial help from his and derided when unveiled in 1893, send- g ford g e w Ox s r a w y r e Oxford Circus a L friend and colleague Friedrich Engels. The ing the sculptor into early retirement. The R y a d r St Fleet St mou Soho Sey Covent Garden Marx family were eventually saved by a sculpture was at first cast in gold, but it R ch Marble Arch Bond St e ry y g u w e d huge inheritance left to them by Mrs Marx’ was later replaced by the present-day d b l ter R n es Covent swa t t e A Bay af v S h A Garden Temple t S family, after which they upped sticks and one. Down the years the angel has been nd nt ra kme Hyde Piccadilly Circus Leicester Sq St ban

NEIGHBOURHOODS moved to the more salubrious surround- NEIGHBOURHOODS Park Mayfair Em mistaken for Eros, the God of Love, and the ria Park La to ic ings of Primrose Hill. Today it’s a lively misnomer has stuck (you’ll even see signs Charing Cross V Southwark street lined with shops, bars and many for ‘Eros’ from the Underground). It’s a See Covent Garden, Leicester Square, See TheGreen Central Holborn & Strand Map (pp72-3) other consumer outlets that no doubt handy meeting place for tourists, though West ParkEnd Map (p68) W would have given Marx indigestion. if you don’t like the crowds, meet at the h

i Waterloo y t s South l e il e East The Serpentine d Green St James's h Bank Seducer and heart-breaker Casanova and charging Horses of Helios statue at the edge a ca m Station l c a d i Park l R P h opium-addicted writer Thomas de Quincey of Piccadilly and Haymarket – apparently a

T THE WEST END THE WEST St James's k Waterloo END THE WEST r W Hyde Park o Park Y a Corner te lived on Greek Street, whereas the parallel much cooler place to convene. Knightsbridge G Westminster r K r lo nightsbridge o Buckingham Westmin o sv ster Borough Frith Street (number 20) housed Mozart for a John Nash had originally designed Re- e Palace Bridge W R Knightsbridge n d d d o St James's Park es R r Gardens R tm Lambeth year from 1764. n P i gent St and Piccadilly to be the two most o l e ns North t c te p a r Rd m l Bridge o t a Rd elegant streets in town (see Regent Street, r S P h B ria th et d cto e mb R Vi b La p70), but curbed by city planners, Nash CHINATOWN Map p68 e m t St q c a Pon S a L l couldn’t realise his dream to the full. In the n a S Immediately north of Leicester Sq – but a o P l t o a E a m La many years since his noble plans, Piccadilly n Victoria m a beth world away in atmosphere – are Lisle and e h B d ri g dge S R Circus has become swamped with tourists, n i t Belgravia Westminster Gerrard Sts, the focal point for London’s k m c d a u Lambeth R

with streets such as Coventry St flogging as- lh B u n Chinese community. Although not as big as t

F o

See St James’s, Westminster & Whitehall Map (pp96-7) n t

Sloane e g tronomically priced cheap tat at unsuspect-

n Chinatowns in many other cities – it’s just m Sq i d k o R k n c n li n n ing visitors. Coventry St leads to Leicester im a Chelsea P Pimlico a e two streets really – this is a lively quarter d b b Pimlico l K R il 's M m Sq, while Shaftesbury Ave takes you to the g E n with fake oriental gates, Chinese street i V t K au r B xh e a heart of the West End’s theatre land. Pic- rid a b L l signs, red lanterns, many, many restaurants ge ll nington A Ken and great Asian supermarkets. London’s cadilly itself goes to the sanctuary of Green original Chinatown was further east, near Park. On Haymarket, check out New Zealand Soho is besieged by the four Circuses – Ox- shops and are home to some of Soho’s hippest Limehouse, but it was moved here after House (built in 1959 on the site of the Carl- ford, Piccadilly, Cambridge and St Giles’s. shopping once again. heavy bombardments in WWII. To see it at ton Hotel, bombed during the war), where Wardour St divides Soho neatly in two halves; its effervescent best, time your visit with the Vietnamese revolutionary leader Ho Chi high Soho to the east, and low or West Soho SOHO SQUARE & AROUND Map p68 Chinese New Year in late January/early Minh (1890–1969) worked as a waiter in opposite. Old Compton St is the de facto main At Soho’s northern end, leafy Soho Sq is the February (see p191). Do be aware that the 1913. Have a look down Lower Regent St for High Street and the gayest street in London. area’s back garden. This is where people quality of food here varies enormously – it a glimpse of glorious Westminster. The West End’s only fruit ’n’ veg market is come to laze in the sun on spring and sum- pays to get recommendations as many Just east of the circus is London Trocadero on atmospheric Berwick St. The epicentre of mer days, and where office workers have places are mediocre establishments aimed (Map p68 ; %0906 888 1100; www.troc.co.uk; 1 Piccadilly 1960s fashion, Carnaby and Newburgh Sts, their lunch or gather for a picnic. It was laid squarely at the tourist market. Try Jen Café Circus W1; admission free; h10am-1am), a huge have recovered from a decade of tourist tack out in 1681, and originally named King’s Sq, ( p243 ) or New World ( p239 ). and soulless indoor amusement arcade 66 67 lonelyplanet.com NEIGHBOURHOODS THE WEST END 69 D3 D5 C4 C3 D3 C4 D5 C5 D4 D2 D4 D5 A3 C5 D4 D3 C5 D4 D3 D5 D4 D3 D6 D2 C5 C4 C3 D3 C4 D2 C4 D5 C4 A5 C1 B3 A1 D3 D1 A4 C5 A6 B2 C3 B3 130 131 132 133 134 135 136 137 138 139 140 141 142 143 144 145 101 102 103 104 105 106 107 108 109 110 111 112 113 114 115 116 117 118 119 120 121 122 123 124 125 126 127 128 129 (pp339–61) (pp311–21) (pp323–29) (pp331–37) SLEEPING ARTS Borderline...... Comedy Camp...... (see 126) Comedy Store...... Madame Jo Jo's...... Mean Fiddler...... (see 99) Pizza Express Jazz Club...... Ronnie Scott's...... St James's Piccadilly...... (see 16) Apollo...... Comedy...... Criterion...... Curzon Soho...... Dominion...... Gielgud...... Her Majesty's Theatre...... London Palladium...... Lyric...... Palace...... Phoenix...... Piccadilly...... Prince Charles...... Prince Edward...... Prince of Wales...... Queen's Theatre...... Soho Theatre...... Theatre Royal Haymarket...... Central YMCA...... Third Space...... Barcode...... Candy Bar...... Edge...... Friendly Society...... Ghetto...... Prowler...... Shadow Lounge...... (see 131) Trash Palace...... Yard...... Brown's Hotel...... Charlotte Street Hotel...... Courthouse Hotel Kempinski... Grange Langham Court Hotel.. Hazlitt's...... myhotel Bloomsbury...... Number 5 Maddox Street...... Piccadilly Backpackers...... Ritz...... Sanderson...... Soho Hotel...... YHA Oxford St...... SPORTS & ACTIVITIES GAY & LESBIAN D3 C4 D3 A1 D3 D4 D3 C3 D1 C3 D4 A3 C5 C1 D3 D2 A6 C3 B3 D2 D4 D3 C4 C3 C4 B4 C2 D3 D3 C4 A3 D4 B5 B3 B3 D4 B4 C4 B4 D4 D4 C2 D3 C3 C1 A3 A4 C3 B5 D3 87 88 89 90 91 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 64 65 66 67 68 69 70 71 72 73 74 75 76 77 78 79 80 81 82 83 84 85 86 100 (pp277–96) (pp235–75) (pp297–310) and relationships. The idea is that you take The and relationships. a tour around and come out enlightened at the stuff between and miles better from reviews sheets, but it’s had mixed Londoners, particularly from those who silly themes, take their sex seriously. The to ‘find out punters such as encouraging how to kiss’ (in the Sensorium) and a lesson skills foreplay (at the aimed at improving much. Sexplorium) don’t help matters 11am-midnight; Amato...... Andrew Edmunds...... Arbutus...... Back to Basics...... Bar Italia...... Bar Shu...... Barrafina...... Berwick Street Market...... (see 24) Breakfast Club Soho...... Busaba Eathai...... Busaba Eathai Wardour St...... C&R Café...... Carluccio's...... Criterion Grill...... Fino...... Gay Hussar...... Hakkasan...... Hamburger Union Soho...... Kerala...... Kettners...... Kulu Kulu...... La Trouvaille...... Leon...... Maison Bertaux...... Masala Zone...... Mildred's...... Momo...... New World...... Pâtisserie Valerie...... Rasa Samudra...... Red Fort...... Red Veg...... Roka...... Sakura...... Sketch...... Star Café...... Veeraswamy...... Wolseley...... Yauatcha...... Yo! Sushi...... Bradley's Spanish Bar...... Coach & Horses...... (see 73) French House...... Garlic & Shots...... Milk & Honey...... Player...... Sun and 13 Cantons...... Two Floors...... 100 Club...... Amused Moose Soho...... Astoria...... Bar Rumba...... DRINKING NIGHTLIFE EATING Amora – The 7734 2529; www h C5 C6 D1 C5 D6 B5 D2 D4 C5 C5 D5 C5 B5 B5 D3 B4 B3 B4 B5 D2 B3 A3 C3 A4 C3 C3 C4 B6 A3 B3 A4 C5 B6 C3 D4 C4 A3 B5 C1 C4 C3 B3 D2 B6 B6 D3 B3 B4 B3 B5 % ( 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9

34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 10 11 12 13 14 15 (pp66–71) (pp215–34) e 5pm £12, after 5pm £15) . Amora ex & Relationships THE CENTRAL WEST END INFORMATION SIGHTS SHOPPING Boots...... Britain Visitor Centre...... easyEverything...... easyEverything...... New Zealand High Commission.. Burlington Arcade...... Centre Point...... Chinatown...... Eros Statue...... Horses of Helios Statue...... London Trocadero...... Piccadilly Circus...... Regent Street...... Royal Academy of Arts...... Soho Square...... St James's Piccadilly...... White Cube Gallery...... Agent Provocateur...... Algerian Coffee Stores...... Ann Summers...... Apple Store...... Aquascutum...... Bang Exchange...... Berwick Street Market...... BM Soho...... Borders...... Computer Shops...... Dr Harris...... Fortnum & Mason...... Foyle's...... Grant & Cutler...... Hamleys...... Harold Moore's Records...... Jess James...... Liberty...... Marshmallow Mountain...... Minamoto Kitchoan...... On the Beat...... Phonica...... Ray's Jazz Shop...... (see 30) Reiss...... Revival...... Rigby & Peller...... Sister Ray...... Sounds of the Universe...... Tatty Devine...... Taylor of Old Bond Street...... Topshop & Topman...... Urban Outfitters...... Vintage House...... (see 19) Vivienne Westwood...... Waterstone's......

that has six levels of hi-tech, high-cost fun of hi-tech, that has six levels along with cinemas, US- for youngsters, But and bowling alleys. themed restaurants the drabness of Trocadero has perked up a bit with the introduction of Academy of S calls itself an ‘amusement park’ and con- well, sex rooms that explore, sists of several .amoralondon.com; 13 Coventry St W1; admission befor

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o B P Hill Hay 68 lonelyplanet.com NEIGHBOURHOODS CENTRAL WEST END lonelyplanet.com lonelyplanet.com churches with a warm and elegant user- in the late 1990s to make it one of the world’s SEX & DRUGS & ROCK’N’ROLL – THE HISTORY OF SOHO friendliness. The spire, although designed most superb singing venues. The wider area by Wren, was added only in 1968. This is of Covent Garden is a honeypot for shop- Soho’s character was formed by the many waves of immigration, and residential development started in the 17th a particularly sociable church: it houses a pers who revel in the High-Street outlets on century, after the Great Fire had levelled much of the city. An influx of Greek and Huguenot refugees and, later, the counselling service, stages lunchtime and Long Acre and independent boutiques along 18th-century influx of Italian, Chinese and other artisans and radicals into Soho replaced the bourgeois residents, evening concerts, provides shelter for an the little side streets. Neal St is no longer the who moved out of the area and into Mayfair. The following century saw Soho as no more than a slum, with cholera antiques market and an arts and crafts fair grooviest strip, although the little roads cut- frequently attacking the impoverished residents. But despite its difficulties, the cosmopolitan vibe attracted writers (from 10am to 6pm on Tuesday, and from ting across it maintain its legendary style. and artists, and the overcrowded area became a centre for entertainment, with restaurants, taverns and coffee Wednesday to Sunday, respectively), has a Neal’s Yard is a strange and charming little houses springing up. Caffé Nero attached on the side, as well as, courtyard featuring overpriced vegetarian The 20th century was even more raucous, when a fresh wave of European immigrants settled in, making Soho a what was the last thing…oh, yeah, teach- eateries. Floral St is where swanky designers bona fide bohemian enclave for two decades after WWII. Ronnie Scott’s famous club, originally on Gerrard St, provided ing the word of God. such as Paul Smith have stores. Soho’s jazz soundtrack from the 1950s, while the likes of Jimi Hendrix, the Rolling Stones and Pink Floyd did their early Covent Garden’s history is quite different gigs at the legendary Marquee club, which used to be on Wardour St. Soho had long been known for its seediness but from its present-day character: it was a site WHITE CUBE GALLERY Map p68 when the hundreds of prostitutes who served the Square Mile were forced off the streets and into shop windows, it of a convent (hence, ‘covent’) and its garden became the city’s red-light district and a centre for porn, strip joints and bawdy drinking clubs. Gay liberation soon %7930 5373; www.whitecube.com; 25-26 Mason’s in the 13th century, owned by Westminster Yard SW1; admission free; h10am-6pm Tue-Sat; followed, and by the 1980s Soho was the hub of London’s gay scene, as it remains today. The neighbourhood has a Abbey, which became the property of John tPiccadilly real sense of community, best absorbed on a weekend morning when Soho is at its most villagelike. Russell, the first Earl of Bedford, in 1552. The Opened in early summer 2007, this cen- area developed thanks to his descendants, who tral sister to the Hoxton original ( p149 ) has employed Inigo Jones to convert a vegetable REGENT STREET Map p68 famous Summer Exhibition (early June to recently hosted two major high-profile mid-August), which has showcased art sub- field into a piazza in the 17th century. He built Regent St is the border separating the hoi exhibitions: an Andreas Gursky collection the elegant Italian-style piazza, flanked by St polloi of Soho and the high-society resi- mitted by the general public for nearly 250 of photographs from North Korea; and years, is the Academy’s biggest event. Paul’s Church to the west, and its tall terraced dents of Mayfair. Designed by John Nash the massively publicised Damien Hirst ‘For houses soon started to draw rich socialites as a ceremonial route, it was meant to link The Academy is enjoying its new Annen- the Love of God’ exhibition –famed for its berg Courtyard, which features a dashing who coveted the central living quarters. The the Prince Regent’s long-demolished city diamond skull – that brought back some of bustling fruit and veg market – immortalised NEIGHBOURHOODS stone-paved piazza with choreographed NEIGHBOURHOODS dwelling with the ‘wilds’ of Regent’s Park, the media frenzy the Young British Artists in My Fair Lady – dominated the piazza. Lon- and was conceived by the architect as a lights and fountains flanking a statue of (YBAs) were used to in the 1990s. Housed founder Joshua Reynolds, though he’s don society, including writers such as Pepys, grand thoroughfare that would be the in Mason’s Yard, a traditional courtyard Fielding and Boswell, gathered here in the centrepiece of a new grid for this part of often replaced or joined by various (and with brick houses and an old pub, the dubious) art pieces. evenings looking for some action among the town. Alas, it was never to be – too many White Cube looks like an ice block – white, coffee houses, theatres, gambling dens and toes were being stepped on and Nash had straight-lined and angular. The two con-

brothels. Lawlessness became commonplace, THE WEST END THE WEST to downscale his plan. There are some BURLINGTON ARCADE Map p68 trasting styles work well together and the leading to the formation of a volunteer po- END THE WEST elegant shop fronts that look older than 51 Piccadilly W1; tGreen Park courtyard often serves as a garden for the lice force known as the Bow Street Runners their 1920s origins (when the street was Flanking Burlington House – home of the gallery on popular opening nights. (see Georgian London, p24 ). In 1897 Oscar remodelled) but, as in the rest of London, Royal Academy of Arts – on its western Wilde was charged with gross indecency in the chain stores have almost completely side is the curious Burlington Arcade, built the now-closed Bow St magistrate’s court. A taken over. Two distinguished retail outlets in 1819 and evocative of a bygone era. COVENT GARDEN & LEICESTER flower market designed by Charles Fowler was are Hamleys ( p224 ), London’s premier toy and Today it is a shopping precinct for the very added at the spot where London’s Transport game store, and the upmarket department wealthy and is most famous for the Burling- SQUARE Covent Garden, though the throbbing heart of Museum now stands. store Liberty ( p220 ). ton Berties, uniformed guards who patrol tourist London, is as beautiful and pleasant as During the 1970s, it became increasingly the area keeping an eye out for punishable tourist areas can get. Located east of Soho, the difficult to maintain the fruit and veg mar- offences such as running, chewing gum ROYAL ACADEMY OF ARTS Map p68 area is dominated by the piazza, which draws ket amid the city traffic and the market was or whatever else might lower the arcade’s %7300 8000; www.royalacademy.org.uk; Bur- thousands of tourists into its elegant arched moved in 1974. Property developers loomed tone. The fact that the arcade once served lington House, Piccadilly W1; admission varies; belly with boutiques, stalls, open-air cafés and over the space and there was even talk of as a brothel isn’t mentioned. h10am-6pm, to 10pm Fri; tGreen Park; w pubs, and street entertainers who mostly per- the market being demolished for a road, but Britain’s first art school was founded in form outside St Paul’s Church. Most Londoners thanks to the area’s dedicated residential com- 1768, though it only moved here in the ST JAMES’S PICCADILLY Map p68 avoid the human traffic jam of the area, but you munity who demonstrated and picketed for following century. It’s a great place to come %7734 4511; 197 Piccadilly W1; h8am-7pm; should see it at least once. If you can, try to walk weeks, the piazza was saved and transformed for some free art, thanks to the John Madej- tGreen Park through the piazza after 11pm: it’s calmer and into what you see today. ski’s Fine Rooms, where drawings ranging The only church Christopher Wren built almost totally empty, save for a busker or two, from Constable, Reynolds, Gainsborough from scratch and on a new site (most of and you can appreciate its old-world beauty and TRAFALGAR SQUARE Map pp72–3 and Turner to Hockney are displayed for the others were replacements for ones Inigo Jones’s design without the crowds. Ad- In many ways this is the centre of London, nowt. The Academy’s galleries have sprung razed in the Great Fire), this simple build- ditionally, there is an excellent antiques market where many great rallies and marches take back to life in recent years with mega- ing is exceedingly easy on the eye and on Monday that’s worth a wander. place, where the New Year is ushered in by successful populist exhibitions such as the substitutes what some might call the To the north of the piazza is the Royal tens of thousands of revellers, and where Art of the Aztecs and Turks, though the pompous flourishes of his most famous Opera House, ruthlessly yet brilliantly rebuilt locals congregate for anything from com- 70 71 lonelyplanet.com NEIGHBOURHOODS WEST END: COVENT GARDEN, LEICESTER SQ, HOLBORN & STRAND

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THE WEST END: COVENT GARDEN, LEICESTER SQUARE, HOLBORN & STRAND F

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T F Wh Morwell St St Oxford Oxendon St 72 lonelyplanet.com NEIGHBOURHOODS WEST END: COVENT GARDEN, LEICESTER SQ, HOLBORN & STRAND lonelyplanet.com lonelyplanet.com ism, with celebrations for Russian, Jewish exhibits, prices vary for temporary exhibitions; THE WEST END: COVENT GARDEN, LEICESTER SQUARE, HOLBORN & STRANDand Chinese New Year, concerts of African h10am-6pm Thu-Tue, to 9pm Wed; tCharing INFORMATION Magma...... 47 A4 St Martin-in-the-Fields...... (see 25) music, or concerts celebrating Ken’s friend- Cross; w Australian High Commission...... 1 E4 Molton Brown...... 48 D4 ship with Venezuela’s left-wing president With more than 2000 Western European British Council...... 2 A6 Murder One...... 49 A4 ARTS (pp311–21) Hugo Chavez. paintings on display, the National Gallery Canadian Embassy...... 3 A6 Neal's Yard Dairy...... 50 B3 Adelphi...... 91 C5 easyEverything...... 4 B6 Oasis...... 51 C4 Albery...... 92 B4 In 2005 Livingston, together with Wendy is one of the largest galleries in the world. South African High Commission.. 5 B6 Office...... 52 B3 Aldwych...... 93 D4 Woods (widow of the anti-apartheid jour- But it’s the quality of the works, and not Paul Smith...... 53 C4 Cambridge...... 94 B3 nalist Donald Woods) and film director Lord the quantity, that impresses most. Almost SIGHTS (pp71–89) Poste Mistress...... 54 B4 Coliseum...... (see 97) Admiralty Arch...... 6 B6 Rough Trade...... 55 B3 Donmar Warehouse...... 95 B3 Attenborough, applied to erect a 2.7m-tall five million people visit each year, keen Canada House...... (see 3) Space NK...... 56 B3 Duke of York's Theatre...... 96 B5 statue of Nelson Mandela on the square’s to see seminal paintings from every im- Covent Garden Piazza...... 7 C4 Stanford's...... 57 B4 English National Opera...... 97 B5 north terrace. The application was rejected portant epoch in the history of art, includ- Gilbert Collection...... 8 E5 Urban Outfitters...... 58 B3 Fortune...... 98 D4 by Westminster Council who suggested ing works by Giotto, Leonardo da Vinci, Gray's Inn...... 9 F1 Warehouse...... 59 B4 Garrick...... 99 B5 Griffin (Former Temple Bar Site)..10 F3 Lyceum...... 100 D4 the statue be placed outside South Af- Michelangelo, Titian, Velázquez, Van Gogh Hunterian Museum...... 11 E3 EATING (pp235–75) New Ambassadors...... 101 B4 rica house. This, in turn, was rejected by and Renoir, just to name a few. Although Inner Temple...... 12 G4 Asadal...... 60 D2 New London...... 102 C3 the Mayor and Lord Attenborough, who it can get ridiculously busy in here, the Leicester Square...... 13 A5 Assa...... 61 A3 Peacock Theatre...... 103 D3 galleries are spacious, sometimes even Lincoln's Inn...... 14 F2 Canela...... 62 B3 Poetry Café...... 104 C3 claimed that the location would not allow London Transport Museum...... 15 C4 Christopher's...... 63 D4 Royal Ballet...... (see 22) the statue to be viewed properly. The sedate, and it’s never so bad that you can’t National Gallery...... 16 B6 Food for Thought...... 64 B3 Royal Opera House...... (see 22) debate continues. appreciate the works. That said, weekday National Portrait Gallery...... 17 B5 Great Queen Street...... 65 C3 St Martin's...... 105 B4 The pedestrianisation has made it easier mornings and Wednesday evenings (after Nelson's Column...... 18 B6 J Sheekey...... 66 B5 Savoy Theatre...... 106 C5 6pm) are the best times to visit, as the Photographers' Gallery...... 19 B4 Jen Café...... 67 A4 Shaftesbury...... 107 B2 to appreciate not only the square but also Prince Henry's Room...... 20 F3 Joe Allen...... 68 D4 Strand...... 108 D4 the splendid buildings around it: the Na- crowds are small. If you have the time to Royal Courts of Justice...... 21 F3 Matsuri...... 69 E2 Theatre Royal Drury Lane...... 109 D4 tional Gallery, the National Portrait Gallery make multiple visits, focus on one section Royal Opera House...... 22 C4 Mela...... 70 B3 Tkts Booth...... 110 A5 and the newly renovated church of St at a time to fully appreciate the astonish- St Clement Danes...... 23 E4 Monmouth Coffee Company....71 B3 Whitehall Theatre...... 111 B6 ing collection. St Giles-in-the-Fields...... 24 A3 Porters...... 72 C5 Wyndham's...... 112 B4 Martin-in-the-Fields. The ceremonial Pall Mall St Martin-in-the-Fields...... 25 B5 Portrait...... (see 17) runs southwest from the top of the square. The size and layout can be confusing, so St Paul's Church...... 26 C4 Rock & Sole Plaice...... 73 B3 SPORTS & ACTIVITIES (pp323–29) To the southwest stands Admiralty Arch ( p85 ), make sure you pick up a free gallery plan NEIGHBOURHOODS Sir John Soane's Museum...... 27 D2 Rules...... 74 C5 Oasis...... 113 B3 NEIGHBOURHOODS with the Mall leading to Buckingham Palace at the entrance. To see the art in chrono- Somerset House...... 28 D5 Sarastro...... 75 D3 Sanctuary...... 114 C4 logical order, start with the Sainsbury Wing Stanley Gibbons...... 29 C5 Scoop...... 76 B3 beyond it. To the west is Canada House (1827), Staple Inn...... 30 F2 Shanghai Blues...... 77 C2 GAY & LESBIAN (pp331–37) designed by Robert Smirke. The 52m-high on the gallery’s western side, which houses Strand...... 31 C5 Simpson's-in-the-Strand...... 78 D5 Heaven...... 115 C6 Nelson’s Column (upon which the admiral paintings from 1260 to 1510. In these 16 Trafalgar Square...... 32 B6 Wahaca...... 79 B5 Ku Bar...... 116 A4 rooms you can explore the Renaissance Twinings...... 33 F4 surveys his fleet of ships to the southwest) DRINKING (pp277–96) SLEEPING (pp339–61) through paintings by Giotto, Leonardo da has stood in the centre of the square since THE WEST END THE WEST Vinci, Botticelli, Raphael and Titian, among END THE WEST SHOPPING (pp215–34) AKA...... 80 B2 Citadines Apart'Hotel...... 117 D2 1843 and commemorates the admiral’s Aram...... 34 D4 Cross Keys...... 81 C3 Covent Garden Hotel...... 118 B3 others. This is where you’ll also find the victory over Napoleon off Cape Trafalgar in BBC World Service Shop...... 35 E4 Freud...... 82 B3 Fielding Hotel...... 119 C3 Micro gallery, a dozen computer terminals Benjamin Pollock's Toyshop...... 36 C4 Gordon's Wine Bar...... 83 C6 Haymarket...... 120 A6 Spain in 1805. It was cleaned in 2006 and on which you can explore the pictorial Blackwell's...... 37 A3 Lamb & Flag...... 84 B4 Kingsway Hall...... 121 D2 the admiral now shines with more confi- database, find the location of your favour- Covent Garden Market...... 38 C4 Polski Bar...... 85 D2 LSE High Holborn Residence... 122 B3 dence than ever. Duffer of St George...... 39 B3 Princess Louise...... 86 C2 One Aldwych...... 123 D4 ite works or create your own personalised Forbidden Planet Megastore..... 40 B3 Salisbury...... 87 B5 St Martin's Lane...... 124 B5 tour. Gosh!...... 41 B2 Seven Stars...... 88 E3 Savoy...... 125 D5 NATIONAL GALLERY Map pp72–3 James Smith & Sons...... 42 B2 Seven Dials Hotel...... 126 B3 The High Renaissance (1510–1600) is cov- Karen Millen...... 43 C4 NIGHTLIFE (pp297–310) Trafalgar...... 127 A6 %7747 2885; www.nationalgallery.org.uk; ered in the West Wing, where Michelangelo, Koh Samui...... 44 B4 12 Bar Club...... 89 A3 Travel Lodge Covent Garden.. 128 C2 Trafalgar Sq WC2; admission free to permanent Titian, Correggio, El Greco and Bronzino Konditor & Cook...... 45 F1 Chuckle Club...... 90 E3 Waldorf London Review Bookshop...... 46 B1 End...... (see 80) Hilton...... 129 D4

munal open-air cinema to various political had dispersed the pooping ‘flying rats’ (as THE FOURTH PLINTH protests. The great square was neglected they are affectionately known in London), Three of the four plinths located at Trafalgar Sq’s corners are occupied by notables, including King George IV on horse- over many years, ringed with gnarling traf- he embarked on a bold and imaginative back, and military men General Charles Napier and Sir Henry Havelock. One, originally intended for a statue of William fic and given over to flocks of pigeons that scheme to transform it into the kind of IV, has largely remained vacant for the past 150 years. The Royal Society of Arts conceived of the unimaginatively titled would dive-bomb anyone with a morsel space John Nash had intended when he Fourth Plinth Project (www.fourthplinth.co.uk) in 1999, deciding to use the empty space for works by contemporary of food on their person. But things have designed it in the early 19th century. Traffic artists. The stunning Ecce Homo by Mark Wallinger (1999) was the first one, a life-size statue of Jesus which appeared changed. was banished from the northern flank in tiny in contrast to the enormous plinth, commenting on the human illusions of grandeur; it was followed by Bill The grand square has Mayor Ken Living- front of the National Gallery, and a new Woodrow’s Regardless of History (2000) and Rachel Whiteread’s Monument (2001), a resin copy of the plinth, turned stone to thank for its new lease of life and, pedestrian plaza built. The front of the upside down. primarily, hygiene: one of the first things National Gallery itself has been dolled up, The Mayor’s office has since taken over the Fourth Plinth Project, continuing with the contemporary-art theme, with Livingstone did when he became mayor with a new façade and entrance hall, and Marc Quinn’s Alison Lapper Pregnant (2005), a statue of the Thalidomide-affected artist (Alison Lapper) when expecting was take aim at the pesky pigeons and Ken has taken pains to organise cultural a child, being replaced by Tomas Schütte’s Model for a Hotel 2007 (2007). ban people from feeding them. Once he events to showcase the city’s multicultural- 74 75 lonelyplanet.com © Lonely Planet Publications David, a aphael R urner aphael (Continued on page 85) page on (Continued itian an Eyck ichelangelo is on the top ( p240 ) is on the top – T – Rubens

elásquez eonardo da Vinci – Degas ering some superb views towards ering some superb views towards – Giotto Pentecost and Child with St Anne John the Virgin Baptist – L Chapeau de Paille Le Charles I – V Bacchus and Ariadne an Dyck The Water Lily Pond – Monet Miss La an Gogh Arnolfini Wedding – V and Mars – Botticelli Venus The Ansidei Madonna – R – The Madonna of the Pinks The Entombment – M – V Venus Rokeby The Supper at Emmaus – Caravaggio Bathers – Cézanne Sunflowers – V The Hay-Wain – Constable – T Temeraire The Fighting Portrait restaurant NATIONAL GALLERY HIGHLIGHTS HIGHLIGHTS GALLERY NATIONAL

To follow the paintings chronologically To follow the paintings chronologically Audioguides (a £3 donation is sug- Audioguides Westminster. speare. Despite the recent discovery that discovery the recent Despite speare. Company’s Flower the Royal Shakespeare century portrait of the Bard was a 19th- the National Portraitforgery, Gallery still dur- been painted this one to have believes lifetime. ing Shakespeare’s you should take the huge escalator to 1st top floor and work your way down. The to the Royal family, but floor is dedicated the most fun is seeing one of two por- traits of the Queen made by Andy Warhol. with ground floor is most interesting The using a portraits figures of contemporary and variety of media, including sculpture photography. Among the most popular of these is Sam Taylor-Wood’s video-portrait of David Beckham asleep a football training, which attracted after in lot of women to suddenly take interest an annual this part of the gallery. There’s Portrait exhibition, Photographic Prize some of the best contemporary featuring photographers. highlight some 200 portraits gested) and allow you to hear the voices of some the people portrayed. Portrait The Café in the basement and and bookshop are the floor, off im ), this 7747 2525; p245 % 10am-5pm (

leave tours leave w h ( p129 ) and, for guided .co.uk; .co.uk; ( p103 ) .

estaurant, and pastries , in the Sainbury Wing, is Tate Modern Tate 10am-6pm, to 9pm Thu & Fri; National Dining Rooms National Dining Rooms h Tate Britain t, Tate emporary exhibitions – for which you emporary exhibitions – for which you 7306 0055; www.npg.org.uk; St Martin’s Pl Charing Cross or Leicester Sq; The highlights listed in the boxed text text in the boxed highlights listed The The new The T The gallery’s collection cuts off at 1900 The tra tour at 6.30pm on Wednesday. There tra tour at 6.30pm on Wednesday. There normally have to pay, and often book book to pay, and often normally have in advance – go on show the basement often of the Sainsbury Wing and are outstanding. ( right ) include many of the most important works, but if you want to immerse yourself in this pool of riches rather than just sk www.thenationaldiningrooms are also special trails and activity sheets for are children. WC2; admission free, prices vary for temporary exhibitions; and cakes in the bakery. British ar hold court, while Rubens, Rembrandt and can be found in the North Wing Caravaggio most crowded part(1600–1700). The of the – is likely to gallery – and for good reason be the East Wing (1700–1900) and particu- larly the many works of impressionists Gogh, including Van and postimpressionists, Gauguin, Cézanne, Monet, Degas and Re- Although it hardly stands out in such noir. display company, the impressive exalted 18th-century British landscape featuring artists Gainsborough, Constable and Turner is also well worth checking out. to see 20th-century art you and therefore need to head PORTRAIT GALLERY NATIONAL pp72–3 Map % t 76 across the surface, borrow a themed or audioguide (£4 donation comprehensive Hall. Free from the Central recommended) one-hour introductory from the information desk in Sainsbury Wing daily at 11.30am and 2.30pm, with an ex Excellent for putting faces to names over Excellent for putting faces to names over centuries of British history, the the last five gallery houses a primary collection of some rotated, regularly 10,000 works, which are among them the museum’s first acquisi- tion, the famous Chandos portrait of Shake- is an excellent, well-lit space, with quality British food in the r a wonderful addition to the gallery. recent (the man behind Inn Peyton Run by Oliver see in St James’s Park; the Park Sun-Tue, to 8.30pm Wed) Sun-Tue,

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Ornate choir stalls and quire of Wren’s masterpiece, St Paul’s Cathedral 76 HIGHLIGHTSLONDON ARCHITECTURE HEADING Unlike some other great metropolises, London has never been methodically planned. Rather, it has developed in an organic (read: haphazard) fashion. There has tradition- ally been an aversion to the set piece here and, until relatively recently, buildings were rarely used as parts of a larger town or district plan. LAYING THE FOUNDATIONS London’s roots lie in the walled Roman settlement of Londinium, established in AD 43 on the northern banks of the River Thames, roughly on the site of today’s City. Few traces of it survive outside museums, but stretches of the Roman wall remain as foundations to a medieval wall outside Tower Hill tube station and in a few sections below Bastion Highwalk, next to the Museum of London. The Saxons, who moved into the area after the decline of the Roman Empire, found Lond- inium too small and built their communities further up the Thames. Excavations carried out by archaeologists from the Museum of London during renovations at the Royal Opera House in the late 1990s uncovered extensive traces of the Saxon settlement of Lundenwic, including some wattle-and-daub housing. But the best place to see what the Saxons left behindin situ is Night views of Tower Bridge and the River Thames Exterior of Laban dance institute in Deptford the church of All Hallows-by-the-Tower (p123 ) , northwest of the Tower of London, which boasts an important archway and the walls of a 7th-century Saxon church. With the arrival of William the Conqueror in 1066, the country got its first example of Nor- man architecture in the shape of theWhite Tower (p121 ) , the sturdy keep at the heart of the Tower MEDIEVAL LONDON of London. The church ofSt Bartholomew-the-Great ( p114 ) at Smithfield also has Norman arches and Westminster Abbey (p99 ) , enlarged and refurbished between the 12th and 14th centuries, is a splen- columns marching down its nave. The west door and elaborately moulded porch at theTemple did reminder of what the master masons of the Middle Ages could produce, whileTemple Church Church (p113 ) in Inner Temple are other outstanding details of Norman architecture. (p113 ) illustrates the transition from the round-arched, solid, Norman Romanesque style to the pointed-arched delicateness of Early English Gothic. Perhaps the finest surviving medieval Westminster Abbey, London’s finest example of Early English Gothic architecture church in the City is 13th-century Church of St Ethelburga-the-Virgin (Map p110; 78 Bishopsgate EC2) near Liverpool St station, which was restored after Irish Republican Army (IRA) bombings in 1993. The 15th-century Church of St Olave (Map p110 ; Hart St EC3), northwest of Tower Hill, is one of the City’s few remaining Gothic parish churches, while the crypt at the largely restored churchSt of Ethelreda (Map p150 ; Ely Pl EC1), north of Holborn Circus, dates from about 1250. Secular buildings are even scarcer, although the ragstoneJewel Tower (Map pp96–7 ; Abingdon St SW1) opposite the Houses of Parliament dates from 1365, and most of theTower of London (p119 ) goes back to the Middle Ages. Staple Inn (Map pp72–3; High Holborn WC1) in Holborn dates from 1378, but the half-timbered shopfront façade (1589) is mostly Elizabethan and was heavily restored in the 1950s after wartime bombing. AN AGE OF ARCHITECTS The finest London architect of the first halfof the 17th century was Inigo Jones (1573–1652), who spent a year and a half in Italy and became a convert to Palladian Renaissance architecture. His chefs-d’œuvre include Banqueting House (1622; p105 ) in Whitehall and Queen’s House (1635; p182 ) in Greenwich. Often overlooked is the much plainer church ofSt Paul’s (Map pp72–3 ) in Covent Garden, which he designed in the 1630s to go with the new piazza and described as ‘the hand- somest barn in England’. The greatest architect ever to leave his mark on London was Sir Christopher Wren (1632–1723), responsible not just for his masterpiece and monumentSt Paul’s Cathedral (1710; p109 ) but also for many of central London’s finest churches. He oversaw the building of dozens of them, many replacing medieval churches lost in the Great Fire, as well as theRoyal Hospital Chelsea (1692; p137 ) and the Old Royal Naval College (p181 ) , begun in 1694 at Greenwich. His neoclassical buildings and churches are taller, lighter and generally more graceful than their medieval predecessors. Nicholas Hawksmoor (1661–1736) was a pupil of Wren who worked with him on several churches before going on to design his own masterpieces. The restoredChrist Church (1729; p152 ) in Spitalfields and the 1731 St George’s Bloomsbury (Map pp92–3; Bloomsbury Way WC1), as well as St Anne’s, Limehouse (1725; p161 ) and St George-in-the-East(1726; p163 ) at Wapping, are among his finest works. 78 79 Alfred Waterhouse (1830–1905), Augustus Pugin (1812–52) and Charles Barry (1795–1860). Scott was responsible for the elaborate Albert Memorial (1872; p144 ) in Kensington Gardens and St Pancras Chambers (1874; Map p168). Waterhouse designed the flamboyant Natural History Museum (1880; p141 ), while Pugin and Barry worked together from 1840 on theHouses of Parliament ( p102 ), after the Palace of Westminster burned down in 1834. The last great neo-Gothic public building to go up in London was the Royal Courts of Justice (1882; p87 ), designed by George Edmund Street. The emphasis on the artisanship and materials necessary to create these elaborate neo- Gothic buildings led to what has become known as the Arts and Crafts movement – ‘British Art Nouveau’, for lack of a better term – of which William Morris (1834–96) was a leading exponent. Morris’ work can be best enjoyed in the Green Dining Room of theVictoria & Albert Museum ( p139 ) and at his Bexleyheath residence,Red House (1860; p186 ). The 1902 Euston Fire Station (Map p168 ; 172 Euston Rd NW1) opposite St Pancras New Church is a wonderful example of Arts and Crafts architecture. FLIRTING WITH MODERNISM Not many public buildings of note were built during the first 15 years of the 20th century, apart from Admiralty Arch (1910; p85 ), in the Edwardian baroque style of Aston Webb (1849–1930), who also designed the Queen Victoria Memorial(1911) opposite Buckingham Palace and worked on the front façade of the palace itself.County Hall (p127 ) , designed by Ralph Knott in 1909, was not completed until 1933. In the period between the two world wars, English architecture was hardly more creative though Edwin Lutyens (1869–1944), whose work is sometimes classified as British Art Deco, designed the Cenotaph (1920; p105 ) on Whitehall as well as the impressive 1927Britannic House (Map p150 ; Finsbury Sq EC2), now Triton Court, in Moorgate. Europeans architects introduced the modernist style, but the monuments they left are gener- ally on a small scale. Russian Berthold Lubetkin(1901–90) is perhaps the best remembered, principally because of his Penguin Pool at the London Zoo (p165 ) , with its concrete spiral ramp. Built Neo-Palladian mansion of Kenwood House, Hampstead in 1934, it is considered to be London’s earliest modernist structure. Another Wren protégé, James Gibb (1682–1754), was responsible forSt Martin-in-the-Fields (1726; p85). The style of these two architects’ buildings is usually defined as English baroque. POSTWAR RECONSTRUCTION A few domestic buildings dating from before the 18th century still survive, among them the Hitler’s bombs during WWII wrought the worst destruction on London since the Great Fire and half-timbered 1611 Prince Henry’s Room (Map pp72–3 ; 17 Fleet EC4) and several old pubs on Fleet St and the immediate postwar problem was a chronic housing shortage. Low-cost developments and along the Strand.

GEORGIAN MANNERS OPEN SESAME The Georgian period saw the return of classicism (or neo-Palladianism). Among the greatest If you want to stick your nose inside buildings you wouldn’t normally be able to see, September is the time to visit. One exponents of this revived style was Robert Adam (1728–92). Much of his work was demol- weekend that month (usually the third one), the charity Open House arranges for owners of up to 600 private buildings ished by the Victorians, but an excellent example that endures is Kenwood House (1773; p171 ), on to throw open their front doors and let in the public free of charge. Major buildings, some of them listed in this chapter Hampstead Heath. (eg 30 St Mary Axe, City Hall, Lloyd’s of London, St Pancras Chambers etc) have also participated. Adam’s fame has been eclipsed by that of John Nash (1752–1835), and rightly so: his contri- For more details, contact Open House Architecture (%0900 160 0061; www.londonopenhouse.org). The charity bution to London’s architecture compares favourably to that of Wren. Nash was responsible for % the layout of Regent’s Park and its surrounding elegant crescents. To give London a ‘spine’, he also runs three-hour, architect-led tours ( 7380 0412; adult/student £18.50/13) every Saturday at 10am departing created Regent Street (p70 ) as a straight north–south axis from St James’s Park in the south to the from the Building Centre (see below) at 10am. There’s a rolling program visiting the Square Mile, Bankside, the West new Regent’s Park in the north. This grand scheme also involved the formation of Trafalgar End or Docklands. The tours, which include lively, well-informed commentary, are highly recommended. Best of all, you Sq, and the development of the Mall and the western end of the Strand. can ask questions to your heart’s content. % Nash’s contemporary, John Soane (1753–1837), was the architect of theBank of England (Map Another annual event worth keeping an eye out for is Architecture Week ( 7973 5246; www.architectureweek p110 ; Threadneedle St EC2), completed in 1833 (though much of his work was lost during the bank’s .org.uk) in mid-June, which has an enticing mix of talks by leading architects, designers and well-known TV design crit- rebuilding by Herbert Baker, 1925–39), as well as theDulwich Picture Gallery (1814; p185 ). Robert ics, plus events involving actors and bands. It’s run as a joint venture between the Royal Institute of British Architects Smirke (1780–1867) designed theBritish Museum (p89 ) in 1823, one of the finest expressions any- (www.riba.org) and the Arts Council. where of the Greek Revivalist style. If you’re interested in where architecture is headed in London visit the New London Architecture (www.new londonarchitecture.org) website or the Building Centre (Map pp92–3 ; %7692 4000; www.buildingcentre.co.uk; 26 Store St WC1E; admission free; h9.30am-6pm Mon-Fri, 10am-5pm Sat; tTottenham Court Rd or Goodge A GOTHICK RETHINK St). Along with changing exhibitions and an outstanding bookshop, it has a scale diorama model of London that is In the 19th century a reaction emerged in the form of the highly decorative neo-Gothic style, also updated quarterly. known as Victorian High Gothic or ‘Gothick’. Champions were George Gilbert Scott (1811–78), 80 81 REACHING FOR THE SKIES Mayor Ken Livingstone has suggested that London needs another 10 to 15 skyscrapers within the next decade if it is to retain its pre-eminence as a financial capital. English Heritage initially contested some of the following proposed high- rises on the grounds that they might obstruct ‘strategic’ views of St Paul’s Cathedral, but its fears have been assuaged. All five of the following received planning permission and are on their way up.

20 Fenchurch Street (Map p110 ; 20 Fenchurch St EC3) Rafael Vinoly; 177m. The idea behind the ‘Walkie Talkie’ shape is that bigger top floors can command more rent, making the tower more profitable than others. Bishopsgate Tower (Map p110 ; 288m; 22-24 Bishopsgate EC2) Kohn Pedersen Fox Associates; 288m. Scaled down from more than 307m, the ‘Helter Skelter’ will still be the highest tower in the City when completed. Heron Tower (Map p110 ; 202m; 110 Bishopsgate EC3) Kohn Pedersen Fox Associates; 202m. The four façades of this stepped skyscraper will each be different, reflecting the buildings they face. Leadenhall Building (Map p110 ; 122 Leadenhall St EC3) Sir Richard Rogers; 224m. This 48-storey tower nicknamed the Cheese Grater faces the architect’s own Lloyd’s of London building. London Bridge Tower (Map p126 ; 32 London Bridge St SE) Renzo Piano; 310m. Luxury Asian hotel group Shangri-La has already signed up as a tenant on 18 floors of this thin, tall glass spike.

Heritage-listed BT Tower rises high above the West End Classical and baroque merge in St Martin-in-the-Fields

ugly high-rise housing were thrown up on bomb sites and many of these blocks still contribute to London’s urban blight today. The Royal Festival Hall ( p128, ) designed by Robert Matthew and J Leslie Martin for the 1951 Festival of Britain, attracted as many accolades as brickbats when it opened as London’s first major public building in the modernist style. The former now far outweigh the latter after a two-year, £75 million refit. Hardly anyone seems to have a good word to say about Denys Lasdun’s brutalist National Theatre (p128 ) , however, begun in 1966 and finished a decade later. The 1960s saw the ascendancy of the workaday glass-and-concrete high-rises exemplified by the mostly unloved 1967 Centre Point (Map p68 ; New Oxford St WC1) by Richard Seifert. But one person’s muck is another’s jewel; the once-vilified modernist tower has been listed by English Heritage, meaning that it represents a particular style, is of great value to the patrimony and largely cannot be altered outside (and in some cases inside as well). The 1964BT Tower (Map pp92–3 ; Straight lines and red brick define the exterior of the British Library 60 Cleveland St W1), formerly the Post Office Tower and designed by Eric Bedford, has also been given Heritage-listed status. With a youthful New Labour in power at the end of the 1990s, Britain’s economy on the The 1970s saw very little building in London apart from roads, and the recession of the late up and the new millennium looming, attention turned to public buildings, including several 1980s and early 1990s brought much of the development and speculation in the Docklands landmarks that would define London in the early 21st century. and the City to a standstill. In 1990 the publication of A Vision of Britain, a reactionary tract by Tate Modern (Herzog & de Meuron, 1999;p129 ) was a success beyond even its architects’ wildest Prince Charles that argued for a synthetic ‘English tradition’, helped polarise traditionalists and dreams. From the disused Bankside Power Station (Sir Giles Gilbert Scott, 1963) they fashioned modernists still further. For these and other reasons, the London skyline had little to compare an art gallery that went straight to first place in the top 10 London tourist attractions, and then with that of New York or Hong Kong. walked away with international architecture’s most prestigious prize, the Pritzker. The stunning Millennium Bridge (Sir Norman Foster and Antony Caro, 2000;p130 ), the first bridge to be built over the Thames in central London since Tower Bridge (1894), had a case of the wobbles when it POSTMODERNISM LANDS was first opened, but it is now much loved and much used. Even theMillennium Dome (Sir Richard London’s contemporary architecture was born in the City and the Docklands in the mid- Rogers; p181 ), the dunce of the class of 2000, probably through no fault of its tentlike exterior, 1980s. The former centrepiece wasLloyd’s of London (1986; p117 ), Sir Richard Rogers’ ‘inside-out’ has got a new lease of life as a sometime concert hall and sporting stadium called theO2 . masterpiece of ducts, pipes, glass and stainless steel. Taking pride of place in the Docklands The graceful British Library (Colin St John Wilson, 1998;p167 ), with its warm red-brick exterior, was Cesar Pelli’s 244m-high 1 Canada Square (1991), commonly known as Canary Wharf (see Asianesque touches and its wonderfully bright interior, met a very hostile reception. It has now p161) and easily visible from central London. become a popular and much loved London landmark. 82 83 © Lonely Planet Publications © Lonely Planet Publications

Spiral staircase inside the glass-clad City Hall TODAY & TOMORROW The millennium icons and more recent structures such as the glass ‘egg’ ofCity Hall (2002; p133 ) and the ever-popular30 St Mary Axe(2003; p116 ), or ‘the Gherkin’, have given the city the confidence to continue planning more heady buildings – especially of the tall variety. By 2010 London will be home to Europe’s tallest building: the needlelikeLondon Bridge Tower (see boxed text, p83 ). And that will be accompanied by a host of other high-rises, from several new towers near the Lloyd’s building in the ‘City cluster’ to further lofty constructions in the Docklands. The current mayor of London, Ken Livingstone, favours ‘clusters’ of high-quality high-rises throughout the capital. The financial districts of the City and Canary Wharf, with the biggest concentration of existing skyscrapers, are obvious candidates for expansion though other neighbourhoods have been slated for redevelopment, including three distinct sections of Pad- dington to the west, Elephant & Castle to the south, Silvertown Quays at the Docklands in the east and the Greenwich Peninsula to the southeast. London’s most ambitious project of urban development this century is the 200-hectareOlympic Park (Map p64; www.london2012.com) in the Lea River Valley near Stratford, where most of the events of the 2012 Summer Olympiad will take place, but even in parts of London where you’d least expect it, there are innovative buildings to be seen – from theLaban (Herzog & de Meuron, 1999; p313) dance institute in Deptford and one-of-a-kind low-cost housing inSilvertown (Map p64 ; Evelyn Rd E16; Ash Sakula, 2004; Map p64 ; 60-66 Boxley St E16) – 2004 by Neal McLaughlin – andSouthwark (Map p198 ; Wansey St SE17) – 2006 by De Rijke Marsh Morgan – to the award-winning Adjaye Associates 2006 Idea Store (Map p156; Whitechapel Rd E1), a library for the iPod generation, in Whitechapel. You’ll make architectural discoveries at virtually every turn in this, the capital of Europe. 84 85 © Lonely Planet Publications lonelyplanet.com LONDON TRANSPORT MUSEUM lonelyplanet.com (Continued from page 76) Map pp72–3 ST MARTIN-IN-THE-FIELDS Map pp72–3 %7379 6344; www.ltmuseum.co.uk; Cov- %7766 1100, for brass-rubbing 7930 9306, for ent Garden Piazza WC2; adult/child/concession h concert box office 7839 8362; www.stmartin-in £5.95/2.50/4.50; 10am-6pm Sat-Thu, 11am-6pm Fri; tCovent Garden; w -the-fields.org; Trafalgar Sq WC2; admission free, This museum has had a massive renovation, pay for materials for brass-rubbing; h8am- with a revitalised existing collection (which 6.30pm, brass-rubbing centre 10am-6pm Mon-Sat, consisted of buses from the horse age until noon-6pm Sun; tCharing Cross today, plus taxis, trains and all other modes The ‘royal parish church’ is a delightful of transport) and more new collections, fusion of classical and baroque styles that more display space and a 120-seat lecture was completed by James Gibbs (1682– theatre for educational purposes. You can 1754) in 1726. A £36 million refurbishment get your Mind the Gap boxer shorts and project, completed in October 2007, sees knickers at the museum shop. a new entrance pavilion and foyer, several new areas at the rear of the church, in- ADMIRALTY ARCH Map pp72–3 cluding spaces offering social care (many tCharing Cross homeless and destitute people rely on the From Trafalgar Sq, the Mall passes under church’s help), and a lovely ‘contemplative this grand Edwardian monument, a triple- space’ accessible to the public. These are in arched stone entrance designed by Aston addition to the main hall, where Mass and Webb in honour of Queen Victoria in 1910. musical concerts are held, and the famous The large central gate is opened only for crypt café. royal processions and state visits. The refurbishment dig-up unearthed a 1.5-tonne limestone Roman sarcopha- ROYAL OPERA HOUSE Map pp72–3 NEIGHBOURHOODS gus containing a human skeleton in the %7304 4000; www.royaloperahouse.org; Bow churchyard; the yard also holds the graves St WC2; adult/concession £8/7; htours 10.30am, of 18th-century artists Reynolds and 12.30pm & 2.30pm Mon-Sat; tCovent Garden; w Hogarth. On the northeastern flank of the Covent Garden piazza is the gleaming, redeveloped

COVENT GARDEN PIAZZA Map pp72–3 – and practically new – Royal Opera House. END THE WEST London’s first planned square is now the Unique ‘behind the scenes’ tours take you exclusive reserve of tourists who flock through the venue, and let you experience the planning, excitement and hissy fits that here to shop in the quaint old arcades, be take place before a performance at one of entertained by buskers, pay through the the world’s busiest opera houses. As it’s a nose for refreshments at outdoor cafés working theatre, plans can change so you’d and bars, and watch men and women best call ahead. Of course, the best way to pretend to be statues. enjoy it is by seeing a performance (see On its western flank is St Paul’s Church p316). (%7836 5221; www.actorschurch.org; Bedford St WC2; admission free; h8.30am-5.30pm Mon-Fri, 9am-1pm Map pp72–3 Sun). The Earl of Bedford, the man who PHOTOGRAPHERS’ GALLERY % had commissioned Inigo Jones to design 7831 1772; www.photonet.org.uk; 5 & 8 Great Newport St WC2; admission free; h11am-6pm the piazza, asked for the simplest possible Mon-Sat, noon-6pm Sun; tLeicester Sq, Covent church, basically no more than a barn. The Garden or Charing Cross; w architect responded by producing ‘the This tiny two-part gallery may be small in handsomest barn in England’. It has long size, but it’s certainly got a big reputation been regarded as the actors’ church for its in the photography world. It won’t even associations with the theatre, and contains be that small come 2008, since plans are memorials to the likes of Charlie Chaplin underway to relocate to 16-18 Ramillies St and Vivian Leigh. The first Punch and Judy in Soho with the new premises designed show took place in front of it in 1662. by O’Donnell + Tuomey Architects. The Check out the lovely courtyard in the prestigious Deutsche Börse Photography back, perfect for a picnic. Competition (annually 9 February to 8 84 85 lonelyplanet.com lonelyplanet.com April) is of major importance for con- of 1665 took hold (this is cheerful, isn’t it?). Chambers designed the house in 1775 for ROYAL COURTS OF JUSTICE Map pp72–3 temporary photographers; past winners In Victorian times it was London’s worst royal societies and it now contains three %7936 6000; 460 The Strand; admission free; include Richard Billingham, Luc Delahaye, slum, oft namechecked by Dickens. Today fabulous museums. The courtyard is trans- h9am-4.30pm Mon-Fri; tTemple Andreas Gursky, Boris Mikhailov and Juer- the forbidding streets and drug-users who formed into a popular ice rink in winter and Where the Strand joins Fleet St, you’ll see gen Teller. The gallery is always exhibiting hang out around the area make you feel like used for concerts in summer, as well as an the entrance to this gargantuan melange excellent and thought-provoking photog- things haven’t changed much. improvised fountain-bathing area for tod- of Gothic spires, pinnacles and burnished raphers. The next-door café and exhibition An interesting relic in the church is the dlers. Behind the house, there’s a sunny ter- Portland stone, designed by aspiring cathe- space is a great place to sit in peace during pulpit that was used for 40 years by John race and café overlooking the embankment. dral builder GE Street in 1874. (It took so weekdays, and the shop is good for pho- Wesley, the founder of Methodism. Immediately to your right as you enter much out of the architect that he died of a tography books and quirky gifts. the grounds of Somerset House from the stroke shortly before its completion.) Inside Strand, you’ll find the Courtauld Institute of the Great Hall there’s an exhibition of legal LEICESTER SQUARE Map pp72–3 HOLBORN & THE STRAND Art (%7848 2526; www.courtauld.ac.uk; adult/con- costumes, as well as a list of cases to be This area – compacted here for convenience’s cession/UK student £5/4/free, free 10am-2pm Mon; heard in court that day; if you’re interested Enormous cinemas and nightclubs domi- sake – comprises the rough square wedged nate this ‘aesthetically challenged’ square, h10am-6pm), a superb gallery connected in ‘the criminal mind’ and decide to watch, between the City to the east, Covent Garden to to the Courtauld Institute of Arts, Britain’s leave your camera behind and expect which could really do with a makeover. the west, High Holborn to the north and the foremost academy of art history. Have an airportlike security. It heaves with crowds on weekends and be- Thames to the south. Past glory and promi- uncrowded stroll between the walls of this comes the inebriates’ playground at night. nence are its key characteristics: The Strand, There was a serious pickpocketing problem wonderful place, and see work by Rubens, THE STRAND Map pp72–3 connecting Westminster with the City, used From the time it was built, at the end of here some years ago, until a heavy police to be one of the most important streets in Botticelli, Cranach, Cézanne, Degas, Renoir, presence improved matters, but still keep Manet, Monet, Matisse, Gauguin, Van Gogh the 12th century, the Strand (from the Old London and was lined with fabulous town English and German word for beach) ran an eye on your bag/wallet, especially when houses built by local luminaries and aristo- and Toulouse-Lautrec, to mention but a the square is very crowded. Britain’s glitzy few. There are lunchtime talks on specific by the Thames. Its grandiose stone houses, crats. This rich history is only vaguely evident built by the nobles, counted as some of the film premiers take place here, as well as the today, but while much of this pocket is soul- works or themes from the collection at majority of London Film Festival screenings. 1.15pm every Monday and Friday. A little most prestigious places to live, sitting as less and commercial, it is saved by some ar- they did on a street that connected the City The major Odeon cinema boasts the big- chitectural gems, a few splendid galleries and café and the plush Admiral 2 restaurant

NEIGHBOURHOODS and Westminster, the two centres of power; NEIGHBOURHOODS gest screen in the country, and definitely provide sustenance. the calm, green recesses of the charming Inns indeed, its appeal lasted for seven centu- the highest ticket prices (a whopping £17!). The vaults beneath the South Terrace of Court, the cradle of English law. Behind ries, with the 19th-century prime minister It’s been on a major comedown since the Strand runs the Victoria Embankment have some of the finest Thames views and Benjamin Disraeli pronouncing it ‘the finest the 19th century, when the square was so Gardens, a lovely place for a picnic, a stroll are home to the Gilbert Collection of Decorative street in Europe’. It had the Savoy, the fashionable that artists Joshua Reynolds and splendid views across the Thames to the Arts (Map pp72–3 ; %7420 9400; www.gilbert-col now-no-more Cecil Hotel, Simpson’s, King’s and William Hogarth chose to hang their recharged South Bank. lection.org.uk; adult/concession/UK student £5/4/free; College and Somerset House. THE WEST END THE WEST hats here. There’s a small statue of Charlie Fleet St was the former home of British h10am-6pm) In 1996 Anglo- American But modern times haven’t treated the END THE WEST Chaplin inside the little park, which is there journalism. It was named after the River businessman Arthur Gilbert bequeathed to Strand with the same sort of respect and mainly because of Leicester Sq’s cinematic Fleet, which in the 17th and 18th centuries Britain his Italian mosaics, European silver, awe: the street is now overrun by offices, importance rather than any historical con- was a virtual sewer filled with entrails and gold snuffboxes and portrait miniatures. cheap restaurants and odd souvenir shops, nection of the comedian to the area. other grisly bits from Smithfield Market (p115 ) The part-dazzling, part-gaudy display has and despite the fact that the Savoy (which upriver. Holborn was named after one of its been described as the most generous gift still does very glamorous cocktails), the ST GILES-IN-THE-FIELDS Map pp72–3 tributaries. Both were filled in the late 18th ever made to the nation. There are one- building formerly Simpson’s and the won- %7240 2532; 60 St Giles High St; h9am-4pm century, with the River Fleet now running hour guided tours each Saturday at 3pm (free derful Somerset House still grace the street, Mon-Fri; tTottenham Court Rd underground. The area was a notorious slum with admission ticket). it is hardly seen as the fine drag it once was. Built in what used to be countryside be- in Victorian times and although efforts were Finally, the Hermitage Rooms (%7845 4630; Still, there are some lovely things to see here, tween the City and Westminster, St Giles made to smarten it up in the early 20th cen- www.hermitagerooms.com; adult/concession/UK student such as Twinings at No 216, a teashop opened church isn’t much to look at but has an tury, it was probably no great loss when the £5/4/free; h10am-6pm) are a charming out- by Thomas Twining in 1706 and believed interesting history, while the area around St Germans flattened much of it during WWII, post of the State Hermitage Museum in St to be the oldest company in the capital still Giles High St had perhaps the worst reputa- after which the current business moved in. Petersburg (which holds some three mil- trading on the same site and owned by the tion of any London quarter. The current lion pieces that make up one of the finest same family. It’s also the centre of London structure is the third to stand on the site of SOMERSET HOUSE Map pp72–3 art collections in the world). Small but philatelic life, with stamp- and coin-collec- an original chapel built in the 12th century to %7845 4600; www.somerset-house.org.uk; the fascinating Russian-themed exhibits from tor’s mecca Stanley Gibbons at No 339. serve the leprosy hospital. Until 1547, when Strand WC2; hHouse 10am-6pm, Great Court the Hermitage collection revolve every the hospital closed, prisoners on their way to 7.30am-11pm; tTemple or Covent Garden six months. The galleries are modelled on SIR JOHN SOANE’S MUSEUM Map pp72–3 be executed at Tyburn stopped at the church Passing beneath the arch towards this those in the Imperial Winter Palace, and %7405 2107; www.soane.org; 13 Lincoln’s Inn gate and sipped a large cup of soporific ale – splendid Palladian masterpiece, it’s hard to there’s a live feed to St Petersburg and Fields WC2; admission free, suggested donation their last refreshment – from St Giles’s Bowl. believe that the magnificent courtyard in even a short video on the State Hermitage £3; h10am-5pm Tue-Sat, plus 6-9pm 1st Tue of From 1650 the prisoners were buried in front of you, with its 55 dancing fountains, Museum itself. month; tHolborn the church grounds. It was also within the was a car park for tax collectors up until a You can get a pass for two collections (on This little museum is one of the most boundaries of St Giles that the Great Plague spectacular refurbishment in 2000. William the same day) for £8; see all three for £12. atmospheric and fascinating sights in 86 87 lonelyplanet.com little-known, yet fantastic London mu- many faculties and campuses scattered along lonelyplanet.com INNS OF COURT seum. Among the more bizarre items on the streets. And shaded by many trees and display are the skeleton of a 2.3m giant, surrounded by Georgian and Victorian town For all of the West End’s urban mania, the area hides some unexpected pockets of Zenlike calm. Clustered around Holborn half of mathematician Charles Babbage’s houses is what must be one of the world’s and Fleet St are the Inns of Court, with quiet alleys, open spaces and a serene atmosphere. All London barristers work brain, and, hilariously, Winston Churchill’s best museums: the British Museum. The from within one of the four inns, and a roll call of former members ranges from Oliver Cromwell and Charles Dickens to dentures. Thanks to a massive refurbish- beautiful squares were once colonised by the Mahatma Gandhi to Margaret Thatcher. It would take a lifetime working here to grasp the intricacies of the protocols ment some years back, the atmosphere ‘Bloomsbury Group’, a group of artists and of the inns – they’re similar to the Freemasons, and both are 13th-century creations with centuries of tradition – and is less gory and allows decent viewing of writers which included Virginia Woolf and it’s best to just soak in the dreamy atmosphere and relax. things such as animal digestive systems, EM Forster, and the stories of their many in- Lincoln’s Inn (Map pp72–3 ; %7405 1393; Lincoln’s Inn Fields WC2; hgrounds 9am-6pm Mon-Fri, chapel 12.30- forensically documented in formaldehyde, tricate love affairs are as fascinating as their 2.30pm Mon-Fri; tHolborn) Lincoln’s Inn is the most attractive of the four inns and has a chapel, pleasant square and wonders such as the ‘hearing organ’ books. Charles Dickens, Charles Darwin, Wil- and picturesque gardens that invite a stroll, especially early or late in the day when the legal eagles aren’t flapping of a blue whale. Upstairs includes a display liam Butler Yeats and George Bernard Shaw about. The court itself, although closed to the public, is visible through the gates and is relatively intact, with original on plastic surgery techniques, which will also lived here or hereabouts, as attested by 15th-century buildings, including the Tudor Lincoln’s Inn Gatehouse on Chancery Lane. Inigo Jones helped plan the impress and disgust in equal measure. the many blue plaques dotted around. Today well-preserved chapel which was built in 1623. There’s a free guided tour every Wednes- Bloomsbury continues to teem with students, day at 1pm. Gray’s Inn (Map pp72–3 ; %7458 7800; Gray’s Inn Rd WC1; hgrounds 10am-4pm Mon-Fri, chapel 10am-6pm bookshops and cafés, while remaining rela- tively uncommercial. At its heart, London’s Mon-Fri; tHolborn/Chancery Lane) This inn – destroyed during WWII, rebuilt and expanded – is less interesting ST CLEMENT DANES Map pp72–3 largest green square, Russell Sq, is looking than Lincoln’s Inn although the peaceful gardens are still something of a treat. The walls of the original hall absorbed %7242 8282; The Strand WC2; h8.30am-4.30pm better than ever with an excellent refit and the first ever performance of Shakespeare’s Comedy of Errors. Mon-Fri, 9am-3.30pm Sat, 9am-12.30pm Sun; tidy up a few years ago. It remains a won- Inner Temple (Map pp72–3 ; %7353 8559; King’s Bench Walk EC4; tTemple or Blackfriars) Duck under the tTemple derful place for lunch and people-watching. archway next to Prince Henry’s Room and you’ll find yourself in the Inner Temple, a sprawling complex of some of the An 18th-centry English nursery rhyme Nearby is Brunswick Centre (www.brunswick finest buildings on the river. The church (see p113 ) was originally planned and built by the secretive Knights Templar that incorporates the names of London .co.uk), a wonderful 1960s complex that con- between 1161 and 1185. At the weekend you’ll usually have to enter from the Victoria Embankment. churches goes: ‘Oranges and lemons, say sists of apartments, restaurants, shops and a Staple Inn (Map pp72–3 ; Holborn; tChancery Lane) The 16th-century shop-front façade is the main interest at the bells of St Clements’, with the soothing cinema. A £24 million project saw it turned final lines: ‘Here comes a chopper to chop from a dreary, stern space to a lovely, cream- NEIGHBOURHOODS Staple Inn (1589), the last of eight Inns of Chancery whose functions were superseded by the Inns of Court in the NEIGHBOURHOODS 18th century. The buildings, mostly postwar reconstructions, are now occupied by the Institute of Actuaries and aren’t off your head, Chop chop chop chop the coloured airy square in 2006, and the centre actually open to the public, although nobody seems to mind a discreet and considerate look around. On the same side last man’s dead!’ Isn’t that nice? Well, even is now packed with people seven days a week. of Holborn but closer to Fetter Lane stood Barnard’s Inn, redeveloped in 1991. Pip lived here with Herbert Pocket in though the bells of this church chime that The original architect, Partick Hodginson, Dickens’ Great Expectations. nursery tune every day at 9am, noon and worked on the renovations and claimed that 3pm, this isn’t the St Clements referred to in the centre now looks like what he’d planned

the first line the verse – that’s St Clements in the ’60s, but that the design was stunted by THE WEST END THE WEST END THE WEST London. The building is the beautiful, Turners, drawings by Christopher Wren Eastcheap, in the City. But we all know that the local council. bewitching home of architect Sir John and Robert Adam, and the original Rake’s historical fact needn’t get in the way of a Soane (1753–1837), which he left brimming Progress, William Hogarth’s set of cartoon good story. BRITISH MUSEUM Map pp92–3 caricatures of late-18th-century London with surprising effects and curiosities, and Sir Christopher Wren designed the origi- %7323 8000, tours 7323 8181; www.thebritish lowlife. You’ll have to ask a guard to open the museum represents his exquisite and nal building in 1682 but only the walls and museum.ac.uk; Great Russell St WC1; admission eccentric taste. the panes so that you can view all the a steeple added by James Gibbs in 1719 free, £3 donation suggested; hgalleries 10am- Soane was a country bricklayer’s son, paintings. Among Soane’s more unusual 5.30pm Sat-Wed, to 8.30pm Thu & Fri, Great Court acquisitions are an Egyptian hieroglyphic survived the Luftwaffe, and the church most famous for designing the Bank of 9am-6pm Sun-Wed, to 11pm Thu-Sat; tTotten- sarcophagus, an imitation monk’s parlour, was rebuilt after the war as a memorial to England. In his work and life, he drew w and slave’s chains. Allied airmen. Today it is the chapel of the ham Court Rd or Russell Sq; on ideas picked up while on an 18th- One of London’s most visited attractions, century grand tour of Italy. He married a Note that groups of seven or more need Royal Air Force (RAF), and there are some this museum draws an average of five mil- rich woman and used the wealth to build to book ahead and are not admitted on 800 slate badges of different squadrons set lion punters each year through its marvel- this house and the one next door, which Saturday, which is by far the museum’s into the pavement of the nave. The statue lous porticoed main gate on Great Russell has been bought by the museum and busiest day. Evenings of the first Tuesday of in front of the church quietly and conten- is planned to open as an exhibition and each month are a choice time to visit as the tiously commemorates the RAF’s Sir Arthur St (a few go through the quieter Montague education space in late 2007. house is lit by candles and the atmosphere ‘Bomber’ Harris, who led the bombing raids Pl entrance). One of the world’s oldest and The heritage-listed house is largely as it is even more magical. that obliterated Dresden and killed some finest museums, the British Museum started was when Sir John was carted out in a box, 10,000 civilians during WWII. in 1749 in the form of royal physician Hans and is itself a main part of the attraction. It HUNTERIAN MUSEUM Map pp72–3 Sloane’s ‘cabinet of curiosities’ – which has a glass dome which brings light right %7869 6560; www.rcseng.ac.uk/museums; Royal he later bequeathed to the country – down to the basement, a lantern room College of Surgeons, 35-43 Lincoln’s Inn Fields BLOOMSBURY and carried on expanding its collection filled with statuary, rooms within rooms, WC2; admission free; h10am-5pm Tue-Sat; Immediately north of Covent Garden – though (which now numbers some seven million and a picture gallery where paintings tHolborn worlds away in look and atmosphere – items) through judicious acquisition and are stowed behind each other on fold- The collection of anatomical specimens of is Bloomsbury, a leafy quarter and the aca- the controversial plundering of empire. It’s ing wooden panes. You can see Soane’s pioneering surgeon John Hunter (1728–93) demic and intellectual heart of London. Here an exhaustive and exhilarating stampede choice paintings, including Canalettos and inspired this fascinating, slightly morbid, you will find the University of London and its through world cultures, with galleries 88 89 lonelyplanet.com nating museum opened in 1925, showcas- If you’ve got any interest in things Egyptian, lonelyplanet.com BRITISH MUSEUM HIGHLIGHTS ing the family drawing room (restored to you’ll love this quiet and oft-overlooked its original condition) and 10 rooms chock- museum, where some 80,000 objects make The first and most impressive thing you’ll see is the museum’s Great Court, covered with a spectacular glass-and-steel a-block with memorabilia. In the dressing up one of the most impressive collections roof designed by Norman Foster in 2000; it is the largest covered public square in Europe. In its centre is the world- room you can see texts Dickens had pre- of Egyptian and Sudanese archaeology in famous Reading Room, formerly the British Library, which has been frequented by all the big brains of history: George the world. Behind glass – and amid an Bernard Shaw, Mahatma Gandhi, Oscar Wilde, William Butler Yeats, Karl Marx, Vladimir Lenin, Charles Dickens and pared for his reading tours, which include atmosphere of academia – are exhibits Thomas Hardy. funny notes-to-self such as ‘slapping the The northern end of the courtyard’s lower level houses the terrific new Sainsbury African Galleries, a romp through desk’. The said slapped desk is on display, ranging from fragments of pottery to the art and cultures of historic and contemporary African societies. a velvet-topped bureau purpose-made for the world’s oldest dress (2800 BC). The Check out the 1820 King’s Library, the most stunning neoclassical space in London, which hosts a permanent his public readings. museum is named after Professor William exhibition ‘Enlightenment: Discovering the World in the 18th Century’. Flinders Petrie (1853–1942), who uncovered One of the museum’s major stars is the Rosetta Stone (room 4), discovered in 1799. It is written in two forms of NEW LONDON ARCHITECTURE many of the exhibits during his excavations ancient Egyptian and Greek and was the key to deciphering Egyptian hieroglyphics. Another major star is the Parthenon Map pp92–3 and donated the collection to the univer- Sculptures (aka Parthenon Marbles; room 18). The marbles once adorned the walls of the Parthenon on the Acropolis %7636 4044; www.newlondonarchitecture sity in 1933. The entrance is through the in Athens, and are thought to show the great procession to the temple that took place during the Panathenaic Festival, .org; Building Centre, 26 Store St WC1; admission University’s Science Library. on the birthday of Athena, one of the grandest events in the Greek world. They are better known as the Elgin Marbles free; h9am-6pm Mon-Fri, 10am-5pm Sat, closed (after Lord Elgin, the British ambassador who shipped them to England in 1806), though this name is bound in con- Sun;tGoodge St POLLOCK’S TOY MUSEUM Map pp92–3 troversy due to the British Museum’s dispute with the Greek government, who want to see the pieces back in Athens. An excellent way to see which way Lon- %7639 3452; www.pollockstoymuseum.com; 1 The battle continues, but you can read the museum’s side of the story on a leaflet entitled ‘Why are the Parthenon don’s architectural development is going, Scala St W1; adult/child £3/1.50; h10am-5pm Sculptures always in the news?’ this is a frequently changing exhibition that Mon-Sat; tGoodge St Prepare for a bit of gore in the Mexican Gallery (room 27), at the foot of the eastern staircase. The room features the will capture the imagination and interest of Aimed at both kids and adults, this mu- 15th-century Aztec Mosaic Mask of Tezcatlipoca (The Skull of the Smoking Mirror), which has a turquoise mosaic anyone who loves London. A large model seum is simultaneously creepy and mes- laid over a human skull. of the capital highlights the new build- merising. You walk in through the museum On a calmer note, rooms 33 and 34 host the Asian collections with the wonderful Amaravati Sculptures (room 33a), ing areas, showing the extent of the 2012 shop laden with excellent wooden toys and Indian goddesses, dancing Shivas and serene cross-legged Buddhas in copper and stone. Olympics plans and various neighbourhood various games, and start your exploration NEIGHBOURHOODS The story goes that bandits tried to steal the impressive Oxus Treasure (room 52), but the British rescued the col- regeneration programmes. Photographs by climbing up a rickety narrow staircase NEIGHBOURHOODS lection of 7th- to 4th-century BC pieces of Persian gold which originated in the ancient Persian capital of Persepolis, and details of individual buildings make it where displays begin with framed dolls and brought it to the museum. easy to locate each new structure, so that from Latin America, Africa, India and Eu- The Lindow Man (room 50) is a 1st-century unfortunate who appears to have been smacked on the head with you can either go and see it in real life or rope; upstairs is the museum’s collection an axe and then garrotted. His remains were preserved in a peat bog until 1984 when a peat-cutting machine sliced spot it as you go along. of toy theatres, many made by Benjamin him in half. Pollock himself, the leading Victorian

WEST END WEST manufacturer of the popular sets. Up an- END THE WEST PERCIVAL DAVID FOUNDATION OF other set of stairs and you see tin toys and devoted to Egypt, Western Asia, Greece, that lets you take a virtual tour of the mu- Map pp92–3 CHINESE ART weird-looking dolls in cotton nighties, and the Orient, Africa, Italy, the Etruscans, the seum, plan your own circuit or get informa- %7387 3909; www.pdfmuseum.org.uk; 53 Gordon as you carry on the higgledy-piggledy trail Romans, prehistoric and Roman Britain and tion on specific exhibits. Sq WC1; admission free; h10am-12.30pm & 1.30- of creaking stairs and floorboards, the dolls medieval antiquities. 5pm Mon-Fri; tRussell Sq follow you with their glazed eyes. After The museum is massive, so make a few DICKENS HOUSE MUSEUM Map pp92–3 Although it feels like a fusty old institution, you’ve climbed three flights of stairs, you’ll focused visits if you have plenty of time, %7405 2127; www.dickensmuseum.com; 48 the friendly staff, lack of crowds and quirky descend four and, as if by magic, be led and consider the choice of tours. There Doughty St WC1; adults/under 16yr/concession collection here make for a rewarding visit. back to the shop. are nine free 50-minute eyeOpener tours of £5/3/4; h10am-5pm Mon-Sat, 11am-5pm Sun; With some 1700 pieces, it’s the largest individual galleries throughout the day, tRussell Sq collection of Chinese ceramics from the THE SQUARES OF BLOOMSBURY and 20-minute eyeOpener spotlight talks daily at 10th to 18th centuries outside China. Sir The great Victorian novelist lived a no- Map pp92–3 1.15pm focusing on different themes from Percival David donated it to the University madic life in the big city, moving around At the very heart of Bloomsbury is Russell the collection. Ninety-minute highlights tours of London in 1950 on the condition that London so prolifically that he left behind Square. Originally laid out in 1800 by Hum- every single piece be displayed at all times. (adult/concession £8/5) leave at 10.30am, 1pm him an unrivalled trail of blue plaques. This phrey Repton, it was dark and bushy until Among the highlights are the David Vases and 3pm daily. If you want to go it alone handsome four-storey house is his sole the striking face-lift that pruned the trees, (1351), the earliest dated and inscribed there is a series of audioguide tours (£3.50) avail- surviving residence before he upped and tidied up the plants and gave it a 10m-tall able at the information desk, including a moved to Kent. Not that he stayed here for blue-and-white Chinese porcelain, named fountain. family-oriented one narrated by comedian, very long – he lasted a mere two-and-a- after Sir Percival himself. The centre of literary Bloomsbury was Gor- writer and TV presenter Stephen Fry. One half years (1837–39) – but this is where his don Square where, at various times, Bertrand specific to the Parthenon Sculptures (aka work really flourished: he dashed off The PETRIE MUSEUM OF EGYPTIAN Russell lived at No 57, Lytton Strachey at the Parthenon Marbles or Elgin Marbles) Pickwick Papers, Nicholas Nickleby and Ol- ARCHAEOLOGY Map pp92–3 No 51 and Vanessa and Clive Bell, Maynard is available in that gallery. You could also iver Twist despite worry over debts, deaths %7679 2884; www.petrie.ucl.ac.uk; University Keynes and the Woolf family at No 46. Stra- check out Compass, a multimedia public and his ever-growing family. The house College London (UCL), Malet Pl WC1; admission free; chey, Dora Carrington and Lydia Lopokova access system with 50 computer terminals was saved from demolition and the fasci- h1-5pm Tue-Fri, 10am-1pm Sat; tGoodge St (the future wife of Maynard Keynes) all took 90 91 lonelyplanet.com NEIGHBOURHOODS THE WEST END 93 Hol- 9.30am- t Map pp92–3 pp92–3 Map h , the only com- Square, the only Bedford 7405 3044; Bloomsbury Way WC1; 7405 3044; Bloomsbury Way Lovely Lovely

FITZROVIA of – to the west Fitzrovia the war, After as a to Soho Bloomsbury – was a forerunner by struggling art- populated enclave bohemian many pubs, its who frequented ists and writers It’s home to particularly the Fitzroy Tavern. bars media offices, with tons of of hundreds St heaving along Charlotte and restaurants a tourist blind It’s a bit of office hours. after spot due to the fact that its one main sight, the (once the highest Tower structure 1960s BT of in London), closed ago as a result years threats. terrorist ST JAMES’S en- the aristocrats are is where St James’s clubs gentlemen’s tertained in exclusive sort as opposed(the Army and Navy to lap- catered are tastes and whosedancing), refined and to in the many galleries, historic shops commer- much elegant buildings. Despite elitism cial development, its matter-of-fact intact, the seat and as you enter of remains royal London along the grand, processional St that sweeps alongside the gorgeous Mall and Buckingham up to Palace Park, James’s you’ll seethe Queen’s driveway, why. turns living at No 41. Not all the buildings, buildings, the Not all 41. at No living turns the univer- belong to of which now many markedplaques. with blue sity, are still surviving square in Georgian pletely was home to many London Bloomsbury, when until the 1990s, publishing houses up by multinational swallowed they were in- They and relocated. conglomerates Bod- Chatto and the Cape, cluded Jonathan husband up by Woolf and her ley Head (set for responsible largely and were Leonard), of the Bloomsbury perpetuating the legend seemingly endless Group by churning out memoirs letters, collections of associated and biographies. ST GEORGE’S BLOOMSBURY this Nicholas in 2005, Superbly restored is distinguished Hawksmoor church (1731) by its classical portico of Corinthian capitals Mau- by the that was inspired and a steeple It is topped with a soleum of Halicarnassus. I in Roman dress. statue of George born or Tottenham Court Rd 5.30pm Mon-Fri, 10.30am-12.30pm Sun; %

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0 200 m 200 92 lonelyplanet.com NEIGHBOURHOODS THE WEST END lonelyplanet.com CHANGING OF THE GUARD royal heads try to win some money on the lonelyplanet.com THE WEST END: BLOOMSBURY %7766 7300; Buckingham Palace, Buckingham horses. INFORMATION Sterns Music...... 11A3 GAY & LESBIAN (pp331–37) Palace Rd SW1; h11.30am daily Apr-Jul & alter- Marie Stopes International...... 1 A3 Gay's the Word...... 24 D2 t University College Hospital...... 2B3 EATING (pp235–75) nate days, weather permitting Aug-Mar; St ST JAMES’S PARK Map pp96–7 Abeno...... 12 D6 SLEEPING (pp339–61) James’s Park or Victoria %7930 1793; The Mall SW1; h5am-dusk; SIGHTS (pp89–93) Hummus Bros...... 13 E5 Academy Hotel...... 25 C4 This is a London ‘must see’ – if you actually tSt James’s Park British Museum...... 3 D5 North Sea Fish Restaurant...... 14 D2 Ambassadors Bloomsbury...... 26 C1 get to see anything from the crowds. The Building Centre...... 4 B5 Shiok...... 15 E4 Arosfa...... 27 B4 This is one of the smallest but most gor- Dickens House Museum...... 5 F3 Arran House Hotel...... 28 B4 old guard (Foot Guards of the Household geous of London’s parks. It has brilliant New London Architecture...... (see 4) DRINKING (pp277–96) Crescent Hotel...... 29 C2 Regiment) comes off duty to be replaced views of the London Eye, Westminster, St Percival David Foundation King's Bar...... 16 D3 Generator...... 30 D2 by the new guard on the forecourt of James’s Palace, Carlton Terrace and Horse of Chinese Art...... 6 C3 Lamb...... 17 F3 Grange Blooms Hotel...... 31 D4 Buckingham Palace, and tourists get to Petrie Museum of Egyptian Lord John Russell...... 18 D2 Harlingford Hotel...... 32 D2 Guards Parade, and the view of Bucking- Archaeology...... 7 B3 Museum Tavern...... 19 D5 Hotel Cavendish...... (see 28) gape – sometimes from behind as many ham Palace from the footbridge spanning Pollock's Toy Museum...... 8 B4 Perseverance...... 20 F3 Jenkins Hotel...... 33 C2 as 10 people – at the bright red uniforms St James’s Park Lake is the best you’ll find St George's Bloomsbury...... 9 D5 Queen's Larder...... 21 E4 Jesmond Hotel...... 34 B4 and bearskin hats of shouting and march- Morgan (get those cameras out). The central lake SHOPPING (pp215–34) ARTS (pp311–21) Hotel...... 35 C5 ing soldiers for just over half an hour. The is full of different types of ducks, geese, Habitat...... 10 B4 Place...... 22 C1 Ridgemount official name for the ceremony is Guard swans and general fowl, and its southern Heal's...... (see 10) Renoir...... 23 D3 Hotel...... (see 34) Mounting, which, we dare say, sounds side’s rocks serve as a rest stop for pelicans more interesting. (fed at 3pm daily). Some of the technicol- The district took shape when Charles II royal doors of Buck House to the public for our flowerbeds were modelled on John moved his court to St James’s Palace in the the first time. Well, to 19 of the 661 rooms, QUEEN’S GALLERY Map pp96–7 Nash’s original ‘floriferous’ beds of mixed 17th century, and the toffs followed. The great at least. And only during August and Sep- %7766 7300; www.the-royal-collection.com; south- shrubs, flowers and trees, and old-age Georgian squares – Berkeley, Hanover and tember, when HRH is holidaying in Scotland. ern wing, Buckingham Palace, Buckingham Palace squirrel feeders congregate under the trees Grosvenor – were built in the next century, And for a veritable king’s ransom, but still, Rd SW1; adult/child/concession £8/4/7; h10am- daily, with bags of nuts and bread. Spring by which time St James’s was largely filled. By we mustn’t quibble – no price is too great 5.30pm; tSt James’s Park or Victoria; w and summer days see Londoners and 1900 it was the most fashionable part of Lon- for an opportunity to see the Windsors’ Paintings, sculpture, ceramics, furniture and tourists alike sunbathing, picnicking and

NEIGHBOURHOODS don, teeming with theatres, restaurants and NEIGHBOURHOODS Polaroids plastered all over the fridge door. jewellery are among the items displayed in generally enjoying the sunshine, though boutiques. Savile Row is still where gentlemen The ‘working rooms’ are stripped down the collection of art amassed by the royals sometimes in annoyingly large numbers. go for tailoring, Bond Sts (old and new) are each summer for the arrival of the com- over 500 years. The splendid gallery was Nearby the popular café and restaurant Inn where ladies go for jewellery, and Cork St is moners, and the usual carpet is replaced originally designed by John Nash as a con- the Park ( p245 ) stands the National Police Memo- where they go together for expensive art. Some with industrial-strength rugs, so the rooms servatory. It was converted into a chapel rial, one column of marble and another of residents couldn’t keep up with the Joneses of don’t look all that lavish. The tour starts in for Victoria in 1843, destroyed in a 1940 glass. Conceived by film director Michael

THE WEST END THE WEST St James’s and moved out, to be replaced by END THE WEST the Guard Room, too small for the Ceremo- air raid and reopened as a gallery in 1962. (Death Wish) Winner and designed by archi- businesses, offices and embassies. Grosvenor nial Guard who are deployed in adjoining A £20 million renovation for the Golden tect Norman Foster and artist Per Arnoldi, Sq is dominated by the US embassy. quarters; allows a peek inside the State Jubilee in 2002 enlarged the entrance and it pays tribute to 1600 ‘bobbies’ who have Dining Room (all red damask and Regency added a Greek Doric portico, a multimedia lost their lives in the line of duty. BUCKINGHAM PALACE Map pp96–7 furnishings); then moves on to the Blue centre and three times as much display % Drawing Room, with a gorgeous fluted 7766 7300, for disabled access 7766 7324; www space. Entrance to the gallery is through ST JAMES’S PALACE Map pp96–7 .royalcollection.org.uk; Buckingham Palace Rd SW1; ceiling by John Nash; to the White Draw- Buckingham Gate. Cleveland Row SW1; closed to the public; adult/child/concession/family £15/8.50/13.50/38.50; ing Room, where foreign ambassadors are tGreen Park h9.30am-4.30pm 28 Jul-25 Sep, timed ticket with received; and to the Ballroom, where offi- ROYAL MEWS Map pp96–7 The striking Tudor gatehouse of St James’s admission every 15min; tSt James’s Park, Victoria cial receptions and state banquets are held. %7766 7302; www.the-royal-collection.com; Palace, the only surviving part of a building or Green Park; w The Throne Room is pretty hilarious with Buckingham Palace Rd SW1; adult/child/concession initiated by the palace-mad Henry VIII in Built in 1705 as Buckingham House for the kitschy his-and-hers pink chairs initialled £7/4.50/6; h11am-4pm Mar-Jul, 10am-5pm Aug 1530, is best approached from St James’s duke of the same name, this palace has ‘ER’ and ‘P’, sitting smugly under what & Sep; tVictoria; w St to the north of the park. This was the provided the royal family’s London lodg- looks like a theatre arch. South of the palace, the Royal Mews official residence of kings and queens for ings since 1837, when St James’s Palace The most interesting part of the tour started life as a falconry but is now a more than three centuries and foreign was judged too old-fashioned and insuf- (for all but the royal sycophants) is the working stable looking after the royals’ ambassadors are still formally accredited ficiently impressive. It is dominated by the 76.5m-long Picture Gallery, featuring immaculately groomed horses, along with to the Court of St James, although the tea 25m-high Queen Victoria Memorial at the end of splendid works from the likes of Van Dyck, the opulent vehicles the monarchy uses and biscuits are actually served at Bucking- the Mall. Tickets for the palace are on sale Rembrandt, Canaletto, Poussin, Canova for getting from A to B. Highlights include ham Palace. Princess Diana, who hated this from a kiosk in Green Park. and Vermeer, although the likes of these the stunning gold coach of 1762, which place, lived here up until her divorce from After a series of crises and embarrassing and much more are yours for free at the has been used for every coronation since Charles in 1996, when she moved to Ken- revelations in the early 1990s, the royal spin National Gallery. Wandering the gardens is that of George III, and the Glass Coach of sington Palace. Prince Charles and his sons doctors cranked things up a gear to try and another highlight here – it’s bound to give 1910, used for royal weddings. The Mews stayed on at St James’s until 2004, before rally public support behind the royals once you a real royal feeling. is closed in June during the four-day rac- decamping next door to Clarence House, again, and it was decided to swing open the Book in advance for disabled access. ing carnival of Royal Ascot, when the leaving St James’s Palace to a brace of 94 95 lonelyplanet.com NEIGHBOURHOODS WEST END 97

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(Wellington Museum) (Wellington r Park G Hyde Corner Park THE WEST END: ST JAMES'S, WESTMINSTER & WHITEHALL & WESTMINSTER JAMES'S, ST END: WEST THE Hyde 96 lonelyplanet.com NEIGHBOURHOODS WEST END lonelyplanet.com lonelyplanet.com minor royals including Charles’s famously The royal sights generally don’t leave was where Picasso and Henry Moore had great German-born composer was in resi- tetchy sister, Princess Anne. Don’t get too people breathless, but this one may touch their first UK shows, and ever since then dence, complete with artworks borrowed close in case she sends out a footman to your heartstrings: it’s where all the contem- the institute has sat comfortably on the from several museums. Exhibits include tell you to naff off. porary royals from Princess Diana to the cutting and controversial edge of the Brit- early editions of Handel’s operas and orato- Queen Mother have lain in their coffins in ish arts world, with an excellent range of rios, although being in the hallowed space CLARENCE HOUSE Map pp96–7 the run-up to their funerals. The church was experimental/progressive/radical/obscure where he composed and first rehearsed %7766 7303, for disabled access 7766 7324; Cleve- originally built by Inigo Jones in the Pallad- films, music and club nights, photography, the likes of Water Music, Messiah, Zadok the land Row SW1; guided tour adult/concession £7/4; ian style and was the first post-Reformation art, theatre, lectures, multimedia works Priest and Fireworks Music is ample attrac- h9.30am-5pm Aug-Oct; tGreen Park; w church in England built for Roman Catholic and book readings. Sure, you may see an tion for any enthusiast. Entrance to the After his beloved granny the Queen Mum worship. It was once part of St James’s exhibition here and come out none the museum is on Lancashire Ct. died in 2002, Prince Charles got the trades- Palace but was separated after a fire. The wiser – we often do – and the place has Funnily enough, the house at No 23 men into her former home of Clarence simple interior has exquisite 17th-century been known to award a £26,000 prestigious (now part of the museum) was home to a House and spent £4.6 million of taxpayers’ fittings and is atmospherically illuminated sculpture prize for what was essentially a musician as different from Handel as could money reshaping the house to his own by light streaming in through the large wonky shed, but the institute’s programme be imagined: American guitarist Jimi Hendrix design. The ‘royal residences are held in windows above the altar. is generally fantastic. Plus there’s the li- (1942–69) lived there from 1968 until his trust for future generations’, but the cur- censed ICA Bar & Restaurant (hto 2am most nights). death. rent generation has to pay to have a look at GREEN PARK Map pp96–7 The complex also includes an excellent five official rooms when the Prince, his sons Piccadilly W1; h5am-dusk; tGreen Park bookshop, gallery, cinema and theatre. WESTMINSTER and Camilla are away on their summer hols. Less manicured than the adjoining St The Duke of York Column, up the steps beside WESTMINSTER ABBEY Map pp96–7 The highlight is the former Queen Mum’s James’s, this park has wonderful huge the ICA into Waterloo Pl, commemorates % small art collection, including one painting oaks and hilly meadows, and it’s never as a son of George III. It was erected in 1834, 7222 5152; www.westminster-abbey.org; by playwright Noël Coward and others by crowded as St James’s. It was once a duel- but never quite caught the public imagina- Dean’s Yard SW1; adult/child/concession £10/free/6; h WS Sickert and Sir James Gunn. Admission ling ground and served as a vegetable tion like Nelson’s Column in Trafalgar Sq, 9.30am-3.45pm Mon-Fri, to 6pm Wed, to t is by tour only, which must be booked (far garden during WWII. although it’s only 6m shorter. 1.45pm Sat, last entry 1hr before closing; West- in advance); book also for disabled access. minster; w Westminster Abbey is such an important NEIGHBOURHOODS The house was originally designed by John NEIGHBOURHOODS GUARDS MUSEUM Map pp96–7 M AY FA I R commemoration site for both the British Nash in the early 19th century, but – as %7976 0850; www.theguardsmuseum.com; Wel- London has many well-heeled neighbour- Prince Charles wasn’t the first royal to call royalty and the nation’s political and artistic lington Barracks, Birdcage Walk SW1; adult/child/ hoods but none is so frightfully Jimmy Choo- idols, it’s difficult to overstress its symbolic in the redecorators – has been modified concession £3/free/2; h10am-4pm Feb-Dec, last ed up as this. Just wander up Old Bond St and much since. value or imagine its equivalent anywhere entry 3.30pm; tSt James’s Park; w you’ll understand that this is a path walked else in the world. With the exception of If you found the crowds at the Changing by those with blue blood, old money and de-

Edward V and Edward VIII, every sovereign THE WEST END THE WEST SPENCER HOUSE Map pp96–7 of the Guards tiresome and didn’t see a signer shoes. It’s fascinating to witness the has been crowned here since William the END THE WEST %7499 8620; www.spencerhouse.co.uk; thing, get here for 10.50am on any day unabated flow of wealth and power stretching Conqueror in 1066, and most of the mon- 27 St James’s Pl SW1; adult/concession £9/7; from April to August to see the guards between Mayfair (the highest step on Lon- archs from Henry III (died 1272) to George II h10.30am-5.45pm Sun, last entry 4.45pm, closed entering formation outside the museum, don’s property ladder) and Chelsea. (died 1760) were also buried here. Jan & Aug; tGreen Park; w for their march up to Buckingham Palace. Mayfair is west of Regent St and is where There is an extraordinary amount to see Just outside the park, Spencer House was In addition, check out the history of the five high society gives high-fives to one another; here but, unless you enjoy feeling like part built for the first Earl Spencer, an ances- regiments of foot guards and their role in defining features are silver spoons and old- of a herd, come very early or very late. tor of Princess Diana, in the Palladian style military campaigns from Waterloo on, in fashioned razzamatazz. But, in its southwest- The abbey is a magnificent sight. Though between 1756 and 1766. The Spencers this little museum established in the 17th ern corner, nudging Hyde Park, Shepherd a mixture of architectural styles, it is con- moved out in 1927 and their grand fam- century during the reign of Charles II. There Market is near the site of a rowdy and de- sidered the finest example of Early English ily home was used as an office, until Lord are uniforms, oil paintings, medals, curios bauched fair that gave the area its name. The Gothic (1180–1280). The original church Rothschild stepped in and returned it to its and memorabilia that belonged to the sol- fair was banned in 1730, and today ‘the old was built in the 11th century by King (later former glory in 1987 with an £18 million diers. Perhaps the biggest draw here is the village centre of Mayfair’ is a tiny enclave of St) Edward the Confessor, who is buried restoration. Visits to the eight lavishly fur- huge collection of toy soldiers in the shop. pubs and bistros. in the chapel behind the main altar. Henry nished rooms of the house are by guided III (r 1216–72) began work on the new tour only. INSTITUTE OF CONTEMPORARY HANDEL HOUSE MUSEUM Map p100 building but didn’t complete it; the French The gardens, returned to their 18th- ARTS Map pp96–7 %7495 1685; www.handelhouse.org; 25 Brook St Gothic nave was finished in 1388. Henry century design, are open only between ICA; %7930 3647; www.ica.org.uk; The Mall SW1; W1; adult/child/concession £5/2/4.50; h10am- VII’s huge and magnificent chapel was 2pm and 5pm on a couple of Sundays in day membership adult/concession Mon-Fri £2/1.50, 6pm Tue-Sat, to 8pm Thu, noon-6pm Sun; tBond added in 1519. Unlike St Paul’s, Westmin- summer. Tickets cost £3.50 or £11 for com- Sat, Sun & during exhibitions £3/2; hnoon- St; w ster Abbey has never been a cathedral – it bined house and garden entry. 10.30pm Mon, to 2am Tue-Sat, to 11pm Sun; George Frederick Handel lived in this 18th- is what is called a ‘royal peculiar’ and is tCharing Cross or Piccadilly Circus; w century Mayfair building for 36 years until administered directly by the Crown. QUEEN’S CHAPEL Map pp96–7 Housed in a traditional building along the his death in 1759, and the house opened as It is perhaps more impressive from Marlborough Rd SW1; honly for Sunday services Mall, the ICA (as it’s locally known) is as a museum in late 2001. It has been restored outside than within. The interior is chock-a- at 8.30am & 11.15am Apr-Jul; tSt James’s Park untraditional as you can possibly get. This to how it would have looked when the block with small chapels, elaborate tombs 98 99 lonelyplanet.com lonelyplanet.com 0 500 m THE WEST END: MAYFAIR & MARYLEBONE 0 0.3 miles THE WEST END: MAYFAIR & MARYLEBONE

Park Sq INFORMATION Mulberry...... 25 D4 Woodlands...... 50 C2 P a Y rk o r American Embassy...... 1 C4 Paul Smith Sale Shop...... 26 D4 R See k d d Park Sq West e R B r North London Park East Canadian Consulate...... 2 C4 Poste...... 27D4 DRINKING (pp277–96) o r sm i s B Map d Square o g R a easyEverything...... 3 B2 Pringle...... 28 D4 Guinea...... 51 D4 l p166 e Gardens c Outer Cir o Pl d B Euston R m Ivor easyEverything...... 4 C3 Selfridges...... 29 C3 Moose Bar...... 52 C3 o b A Great s l t e ls 67 o o York Portland p Gate Regent's Shoon...... 30 C2 Salt Whisky Bar...... 53 A3 n H S 9 P e St c G t l k T Park a Pl or r Y r SIGHTS (pp99,105–107) Skandium...... 31 C2 e s e w re a t Devonshire Pl P k C o ar All Souls Church...... 5 D2 Stella McCartney...... 32 D4 ARTS (pp311–21) t Baker St No 44 o Dorset Sq S 8 P d O o Marylebone t combe tin r Broadcasting House...... 6 D2 Wright & Teague...... 33 D5 Curzon Mayfair...... 54 D5 el l t A d Halla M l b a tonL v L g 14 u n o e h hr is u Handel House Museum...... 7 D4 Wigmore Hall...... 55 D3 S r l a d s P x t y S o e m m b b n m 62 S o P lc or Madame Tussauds...... 8 B1 EATING (pp235–75) e t M P l G B S o 66 l 48 Cosway St v 34 e t u St e a re Sherlock Holmes Museum...... 9 B1 Eat & Two Veg...... 34 C2 SPORTS & ACTIVITIES (pp323–29) g hi 13 u ns h o ottingham St m ev W N D Wallace Collection...... 10 C3 Golden Hind...... (see 50) Elemis Day Spa...... 56 D4 S o 37 i t m d Bickenhall3 St n R U t 40 p Gordon Ramsay at Claridge's..(see 59) Seymour Leisure Centre...... 57 A2 e P n p o S o eb on St mouth St o yl p ingt t l ey ar Padd M e Harley St r M e W d 15 31 t SHOPPING (pp215–34) Greenhouse...... 35 D5 r l R a M a W M C 36 r n y 42 w d Burberry...... 11 D4 La Fromagerie...... 36 C2 SLEEPING (pp339–61) e h i o l Marylebone m e n i s n l b P o t 19 p t e o l Butler & Wilson...... 12 D4 Le Pain Quotidien...... 37 C2 Chesterfield...... 58 D5 b t 43 o S a r St e n o n k ox Cram t r g n Ay l l M S o G e Y e h y u is H B d M r Cath Kidston...... 13 C2 Locanda Locatelli...... 38 B3 Claridge's...... 59 D4 o l S en b S v o H a m S a t a 30 t C a t ro er m S t u t k w S i e n t g M e ord c e e N Conran Shop...... 14 C1 Marylebone Farmers' Market....39 C2 Cumberland Hotel...... 60 B4 rs o s r 39 St wf e r h St ra Do f S k C s i d t e t S l S l 15 C2 l e Daunt Books...... Ping Pong...... 40 C2 Dorchester...... 61 C5 P t St d t O gu r 41 ta Marylebone 6 PlS n S h o P d M M t C Debenhams...... 16 D3 Providores & Tapa Room...... 41 C2 Dorset Square Hotel...... 62 B1 r o l u Montagu Sq Blandfo Marylebone La h o a rd St f ldha Bryanston Sq St a n 50 5 w 57 46 Wel n French Connection UK...... 17 C3 Quiet Revolution...... 42 C2 Durrants Hotel...... 63 C2 c a 63 d r m h t S o C e ge Queen Anne or lb s Garrard...... 18 D4 Reubens...... 43 B2 Edward Lear Hotel...... 64 B3 S s e G t t e eck S T r 10 t Pl t h ck Ginger Pig...... 19 C2 Seashell of Lisson Grove...... 44 A1 Glynne Court Hotel...... 65 B3 S S dish Bro a Wellbe y t St

b y k St Way Caven

w e tic Jigsaw...... 20 D4 Six 13...... 45 D3 Hotel La Place...... 66 C2 q n

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r r B Sq S

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H M S 55 i John Lewis...... 21 D3 Stara Polska...... 46 C2 International Students House....67 D1

r t d S

Pl a e St n

t d Portman Cl t re e

or S n s o 45 Kurt Geiger...... 22 D4 Taman Gang...... 47 B4 Leonard Hotel...... 68 B3 tf c e 69 m v

u e h ig N FitzhardingeSt W a y M

m C Marks & Spencer...... 23 C3 Villandry...... 48 D2 Mandeville...... 69 C3 a Cavendish H o Portman r u y o E Gt. Cumberland Pl Old l Marylebone Farmers' Market..(see 39) Wagamama...... 49 C3 Parkwood Hotel...... 70 A4 r 65 le l d l e g J b P P 49 a tVa St s w o rie l m en e Miss Selfridge...... 24 D3 Wallace...... (see 10) Sumner Hotel...... 71 A3 a Upper Berkeley St n H S r 52 e r e Mews es e 21 t t 38 O L S R a S 16 l d 71 Portman Sq r Edward P c S t

NEIGHBOURHOODS 4 NEIGHBOURHOODS a h t d 64 t o Barrett n S ard D e Connaught ur r St 24 o 68 t 17 e K eym m r At the eastern end of the sanctuary, op- cess may be restricted to protect the 13th- Quebec St S B in t Old a l gh S e g u Sq n t n a t S Sout nn St 29 ord h S Co 53 Oxf e t t S h Molton St i S posite the entrance to the Henry VII Chapel, century floor. St Edward was the founder t 23 Bond St So m Badlerton St u See B th 28 60 G 22 i D D n M 20 is the rather ordinary-looking Coronation of the abbey and the original building was West London u a L o Marble Arch e ow n a l ht Av R u lb v to ug le h N ey i n Map nna arb rt k e o M o o ert s C N e 27 l 25 Chair, upon which almost every monarch consecrated a few weeks before his death. P r S p175 70 t S 7 S t 12 h t 47 t S t A A Lancashire Ct v 26 er since the late 13th century is said to have His tomb was slightly altered after the origi- r Rd C u y N te St d 59 yswa u n St Ro e Ba m ee l k w 56 w ate r P e oo G G r been crowned. Up the steps in front of you nal was destroyed during the Reformation. y B and a

THE WEST END THE WEST l B END THE WEST b er r Brook Mews Lees Pl S o Ring k The t n t d S r S s and to your left is the narrow Queen Elizabeth The south transept contains Poets’ Corner, s t o w Ride ew ven S orth s M 2 ros r M t N od B G no l ve 11 Chapel, where Elizabeth I and her half-sister Wo St a 1 ros where many of England’s finest writers are ok c G N ro M k o r B b t r e w u C S th pp Sq 51 ‘Bloody Mary’ share an elaborate tomb. buried and/or commemorated; a memorial U r n R s n enor a ow do e v r R ur i os l o Bruton Pl d ' r o nt B e s G ou Grafton St St s M 32 The Henry VII Chapel, in the easternmost here is the highest honour the Queen can or Mayfair Culross St n P ve a os l 18 Gr Bruton St L r ppe part of the abbey, has spectacular circular bestow. Just north is the Lantern, the heart U Adam's Row n Be o t

r u vaulting on the ceiling. Behind the chapel’s k r of the abbey, where coronations take place. Reeves Mews Mount St ele 33 B Hyde P y a S B altar is the elaborate sarcophagus of Henry r o S e If you face eastwards while standing in Park k q r u t k Hay Hill L t S e a h n St ll le e t i y VII and his queen, Elizabeth of York. the centre, the sanctuary is in front of you. ford A S H Ald S u Farm C t d h t Beyond the chapel’s altar is the Royal Air l e George Gilbert Scott designed the ornate t e s S S t t uth y e Hay's Mws s H r e S So f 35 l S il ie r l l a n S Force (RAF) Chapel, with a stained-glass window t d h t high altar in 1897. Behind you, Edward C o r Queen St 58 z a t r t Chesterfield t S u Bolton St o C n commemorating the force’s finest hour, the Blore’s chancel, dating from the mid-19th 61 y r Clarges St St e St n Half Moon St Battle of Britain. Next to it, a plaque marks century, is a breathtaking structure of a

e D lly the spot where Oliver Cromwell’s body lay gold, blue and red Victorian Gothic. Where 54 di Mws ca rket ic Ma P for two years until the Restoration, when it monks once worshipped, boys from the was disinterred, hanged and beheaded. The Choir School and lay vicars now sing the of monarchy, and monuments to various Whig and Tory prime ministers who domi- bodies believed to be those of the two child daily services. luminaries down through the ages. And, nated late Victorian politics, Gladstone princes (allegedly) murdered in the Tower The entrance to the Cloister is 13th cen- as you might expect for one of the most (who is buried here) and Disraeli (who is of London in 1483 are buried here. The tury, while the cloister itself dates from visited churches in Christendom, it can get not), have their monuments uncomfort- chapel’s southern aisle contains the tomb of the 14th. Eastwards down a passageway intolerably busy. ably close to one another. Nearby is a Mary Queen of Scots, beheaded on the orders of off the Cloister are three museums run by Immediately past the barrier through monument to Robert Peel, who, as home her cousin Elizabeth and with the acquies- English Heritage. The octagonal Chapter House the north door is what’s known as States- secretary in 1829, created the Metropolitan cence of her son, the future James I. (h9.30am-5pm Apr-Sep, 10am-5pm Oct, 10am-4pm men’s Aisle, where politicians and eminent Police force. Robert’s policemen became The Chapel of St Edward the Confessor, the most Nov-Mar) has one of Europe’s best-preserved public figures are commemorated mostly known as ‘Bobby’s boys’ and later, simply, sacred spot in the abbey, lies just east of medieval tile floors and retains traces of by staggeringly large marble statues. The ‘bobbies’. the sanctuary and behind the high altar; ac- religious murals. It was used as a meeting 100 101 lonelyplanet.com lonelyplanet.com place by the House of Commons in the sec- built it between 1840 and 1860, when the and enthusiasm. Bags and cameras must be but on the contrary, things have worked ond half of the 14th century. To the right extravagant neo-Gothic style was all the checked at a cloakroom before you enter out perfectly for both galleries. The vener- of the entrance to Chapel House is what is rage. The most famous feature outside the gallery and no large suitcases or back- able Tate Britain, built in 1897, stretched claimed to be the oldest door in the UK – the palace is the Clock Tower, commonly packs are allowed through the airport-style out splendidly into all its increased space, it’s been there 950 years. The adjacent Pyx known as Big Ben. Ben is the bell hanging security gate. filling it with its definitive collection of Chamber (h10am-4.30pm) is one of the few inside and is named after Benjamin Hall, After campaign group ‘Fathers 4 Justice’ British art from the 16th to the late 20th remaining relics of the original abbey and the commissioner of works when the tower lobbed a condom full of purple powder centuries, while the Modern sister devoted contains the abbey’s treasures and liturgical was completed in 1858. If you’re very keen at Tony Blair in May 2004 and prohunt its space to, well, modern art. objects. The Abbey Museum (h10.30am-4pm) (and a UK resident) you can apply in writ- campaigners broke into the Commons that The permanent galleries are broadly exhibits the death masks of generations of ing for a free tour of the Clock Tower (see September, security was further tightened, chronological in order, and you can expect royalty, wax effigies representing Charles II the website). Thirteen-tonne Ben has rung and a bulletproof screen now sits between to see some of the most important works and William III (who is on a stool to make in the New Year since 1924, and the clock members of the public and the debating by artists such as Constable and Gainsbor- him as tall as his wife Mary), as well as gets its hands and face washed by abseil- chamber. ough – who have entire galleries devoted armour and stained glass. ing cleaners once every five years. The As you’re waiting for your bags to go to them – and Hogarth, Reynolds, Stubbs, To reach the 900-year-old College Garden best view of the whole complex is from through the X-ray machines, look left at the Blake and Moore, among others. Adjoining (h10am-6pm Tue-Thu Apr-Sep, to 4pm Tue-Thu Oct- the eastern side of Lambeth Bridge. At the stunning roof of Westminster Hall, originally the main building is the Clore Gallery, which Mar), enter Dean’s Yard and the Little Clois- opposite end of the building is Victoria Tower, built in 1099 and today the oldest surviv- houses the superb JMW Turner, includ- ters off Great College St. completed in 1860. ing part of the Palace of Westminster, the ing the two recovered classics Shade and On the western side of the cloister is The House of Commons is where Mem- seat of the English monarchy from the Darkness and Light and Colour which were Scientists’ Corner, where you will find Sir Isaac bers of Parliament (MPs) meet to propose 11th to the early 16th centuries. Added nicked in 1994 and found nine years later. Newton’s tomb; a nearby section of the north- and discuss new legislation, to grill the between 1394 and 1401, it is the earliest Just before you thought that all the ern aisle of the nave is known as Musicians’ prime minister and other ministers, and to known example of a hammer-beam roof moderns and contemporaries were up at the Aisle. get their mugs on TV to show their constit- and has been described as ‘the greatest Modern, Tate Britain’s got work by Lucian The two towers above the west door are uents they are actually working. Watching surviving achievement of medieval English Freud, Francis Bacon, David Hockney and the ones through which you exit. These a debate is not terribly exciting unless it’s carpentry’. Westminster Hall was used for Howard Hodgkin, as well as Anthony Gorm- were designed by Nicholas Hawksmoor and Prime Minister’s Question Time, for which coronation banquets in medieval times, NEIGHBOURHOODS ley and bad-girl Tracey Emin. Tate Britain NEIGHBOURHOODS completed in 1745. Just above the door, you will have to book advance tickets and also served as a courthouse until the also hosts the prestigious and often contro- perched in 15th-century niches, are the lat- through your MP or local British embassy. 19th century. The trials of William Wallace versial Turner Prize of contemporary art from est sacred additions to the abbey: 10 stone The layout of the Commons Chamber is (1305), Thomas More (1535), Guy Fawkes October to early December every year. statues of international 20th-century mar- based on that of St Stephen’s Chapel in the (1606) and Charles I (1649) all took place There are several free one-hour thematic tyrs. These were unveiled in 1998 and they original Palace of Westminster. The current here. In the 20th century, monarchs and tours each day, mostly on the hour (last tour include the likes of Martin Luther King and chamber, designed by Giles Gilbert Scott, Winston Churchill lay in state here. at 3pm), along with free 15-minute talks THE WEST END THE WEST END THE WEST the Polish priest St Maximilian Kolbe, who replaced the earlier one destroyed by a The House of Lords Visitors’ Gallery (%7219 3107; on paintings, painters and styles at 1.15pm was murdered by the Nazis at Auschwitz. 1941 bomb. Although the Commons is a admission free; h2.30-10pm Mon-Wed, 11am-1.30pm Tuesday to Thursday in the Rotunda. Audi- To the right as you exit is a memorial national assembly of 646 MPs, the cham- & 3-7.30pm Thu, 11am-3pm Fri) is also open for oguide tours for the collection cost £3.50/3 to innocent victims of oppression, vio- ber has seating for only 437. Government visits. Against a backdrop of peers’ gentle (adult/concession). The best way to see lence and war around the world. ‘All you members sit to the right of the Speaker snoring, you can view the intricate Gothic both Tates and have a fabulous art day is to who pass by, is it nothing to you?’ it asks and Opposition members to the left. The get the boat that connects the two galler- poignantly. interior that led poor Pugin (1812–52) to Speaker presides over business from a chair ies; see p387. A good time to visit the Tate is There are 90-minute guided tours (%7222 an early death from overwork and nervous given by Australia, while ministers speak for its Late at Tate nights on the first Friday 7110; £5) that leave several times during the strain. from a despatch box donated by New of every month, when the gallery stays day (Monday to Saturday) and limited audi- When Parliament is in recess, there are Zealand. 75-minute guided summer tours (%0870 906 open until 10pm. oguide tours (£4). One of the best ways to visit When Parliament is in session, visitors are 3773; St Stephen’s Entrance, St Margaret St; adult/child/ the abbey is to attend a service, particularly admitted to the House of Commons Visitors’ Gal- concession £12/5/8) of both chambers and evensong (5pm weekdays, 3pm at week- lery via St Stephen’s Entrance. Expect to queue HORSE GUARDS PARADE Map pp96–7 other historic buildings. Times change, so ends). Sunday Eucharist is at 11am. for an hour or two if you haven’t already %0906 866 3344; hChanging of the Guard 11am telephone or check www.parliament.uk for organised a ticket. Parliamentary recesses Mon-Sat, 10am Sun; tWestminster latest details. HOUSES OF PARLIAMENT Map pp96–7 (ie holidays) last for three months over In a more accessible version of Bucking- %7219 4272; www.parliament.uk; St Stephen’s the summer and a couple of weeks over ham Palace’s Changing of the Guard, the Entrance, St Margaret St SW1; admission free; Easter and Christmas, so it’s best to ring in TATE BRITAIN Map pp96–7 mounted troopers of the Household Cav- hduring Parliamentary sessions 2.30-10.30pm advance. To find out what’s being debated %7887 8000, 7887 8888; www.tate.org.uk; Mill- alry change guard here daily, at the official Mon, 11.30am-7pm Tue & Wed, 11.30am-6.30pm on a particular day, check the notice board bank SW1; admission free, prices vary for temporary entrance to the royal palaces (opposite the Thu, 9.30am-3pm Fri; tWestminster; w posted beside the entrance, or look in the exhibitions; h10am-5.50pm; tPimlico; w Banqueting House). A lite-pomp version The House of Commons and House of Daily Telegraph or the freebie Metro news- You’d think that Tate Britain may have suf- takes place at 4pm when the dismounted Lords are housed here in the sumptuous paper under ‘Today in Parliament’, though fered since its lavish, sexy sibling, Tate Modern guards are changed. On the Queen’s of- Palace of Westminster. Charles Barry, as- it has to be said that the debates leave a lot ( p129 ), took half its collection and all of the ficial birthday in June, the Trooping of the sisted by interior designer Augustus Pugin, to be desired both in terms of attendance limelight up river when it opened in 2000, Colour is also staged here. 102 103 lonelyplanet.com lonelyplanet.com Fittingly, as the parade ground and its & student £10/free/5/8; h9.30am-6pm, last admis- to Roosevelt, the cramped typing pool, CENOTAPH Map pp96–7 buildings were built in 1745 to house the sion 5pm; tCharing Cross or Westminster; w the converted broom cupboard that was Whitehall SW1; tWestminster or Charing Cross Queen’s so-called ‘Life Guards’, this will be Down in the bunker where Prime Minister Churchill’s office and scores of bedrooms The Cenotaph (Greek for ‘empty tomb’), the pitch for the beach volleyball during Winston Churchill, his cabinet and gener- have all been preserved. built in 1920 by Edwin Lutyens, is Britain’s the London 2012 Olympics (see www als met during WWII, £6 million has been You will pass the broadcast niche main memorial to the British and Com- .london2012.org). When this choice of spent on a huge exhibition devoted to where Churchill made four of his rousing monwealth victims who were killed during venue was first announced, it had Tony ‘the greatest Briton’. This whizz-bang, speeches to the nation, including one the two world wars. The Queen and other Blair gloating about what a good view of multimedia Churchill Museum joins the about Germany’s fuelling ‘a fire in British public figures lay poppies at its base on the the bikini-clad players he would have from highly evocative Cabinet War Rooms, hearts’ by launching the London Blitz. In Sunday nearest 11 November. his Downing St back window, though he where chiefs of staff slept, ate and plotted the Chief of Staff’s Conference Room, the walls are covered with huge, original maps may have to go around to Gordon Brown’s Hitler’s downfall, blissfully believing they NO 10 DOWNING STREET Map pp96–7 now to get a glimpse (if Brown will let him were protected from Luftwaffe bombs by that were only discovered in 2002. If you squint two-thirds of the way down the www.number10.gov.uk; 10 Downing St SW1; in, that is). the 3m slab of concrete overhead. (Turns tWestminster or Charing Cross out it would have crumpled like paper had right wall, somebody (Churchill himself?) As most people know, when it comes to the area taken a hit.) Together, these two drew a little doodle depicting a cross-eyed ST JOHN’S, SMITH SQUARE Map pp96–7 property it’s all ‘location, location, location’ sections make you forget the Churchill and bandy-legged Hitler knocked on his % and it’s certain that British prime ministers 7222 1061; www.sjss.org.uk; Smith Sq, West- who was a maverick and lousy peacetime arse. t have it pretty good postcode-wise. Number minster SW1; Westminster politician, and drive home how much the The free audioguide is very informative 10 has been the official office of British In the heart of Westminster, this eye- cigar-chewing, wartime PM was a case of and entertaining and features plenty of an- leaders since 1732, when George II pre- catching church was built by Thomas right man, right time. ecdotes, including some from people who sented No 10 to Robert Walpole, and since Archer in 1728 under the Fifty New The Churchill Museum contains all sorts worked here in the nerve centre of Britain’s refurbishment in 1902 it’s also been the Churches Act (1711), which aimed to build of posters, trivia and personal effects, from war effort – and weren’t even allowed by 50 new churches for London’s rapidly the man’s cigars to a ‘British bulldog’ vase their irritable boss to relieve the tension by PM’s official London residence. As Margaret growing metropolitan area. Though they in his image, and from his formal Privy whistling. Thatcher, a grocer’s daughter, famously put never did build all 50 churches, St John’s, Council uniform to his shockingly tasteless it, the PM ‘lives above the shop’ here. along with a dozen others, saw the light For such a famous address, however, No

NEIGHBOURHOODS red velvet ‘romper’ outfit. Even though the BANQUETING HOUSE Map pp96–7 NEIGHBOURHOODS of day. Unfortunately, with its four corner museum doesn’t shy away from its hero’s 10 is a small-looking building on a plain- towers and monumental façades, the %0870 751 5178; www.hrp.org.uk; Whitehall looking street, hardly warranting compari- fallibilities, it does begin with his strong- SW1; adult/concession £4.50/3.50; h10am-5pm structure was much maligned for the first est suit – his stirring speeches, replayed son to the White House, for example. A century of its existence thanks to rumours Mon-Sat; tWestminster or Charing Cross; w stoic bobby stands guard outside, but you for each goose-bumped visitor who steps This is the only surviving part of the Tudor that Queen Anne likened it to a footstool, in front of the matching screen. ‘I have can’t get too close; the street was cordoned though it’s also said that she actually Whitehall Palace, which once stretched off with a rather large iron gate during nothing to offer but blood, toil, tears and THE WEST END THE WEST requested a church built in the shape of a most of the way down Whitehall and Margaret Thatcher’s times. END THE WEST sweat’, ‘We will fight them on the beaches’, burned down in 1698. It was designed as footstool. Whatever the case, it’s generally ‘Never in the course of human history Breaking with tradition when he came to agreed now that the church is a master- England’s first purely Renaissance building power, Tony Blair and his family swapped has so much been owed by so many to by Inigo Jones after he returned from Italy, piece of English baroque, although it no so few’. Elsewhere, silver-tongued Winnie houses with the then-unmarried Chancel- and looked like no other structure in the longer serves as a church. After receiving a even gets credit for inspiring Orson Welles’ lor, who traditionally occupied the rather country at the time. Apparently, the English direct hit during WWII, it was rebuilt in the famous rant about Switzerland and cuckoo larger flat at No 11. He also commandeered hated it for more than a century. 1960s as a classical music venue ( p309 ), and clocks, with a speech he made to Parlia- the offices at No 12, traditional base of the A bust outside commemorates 30 January is renowned for its crisp acoustics. ment several years before The Third Man chief whip, claiming the need for more 1649 when Charles I, accused of treason by The brick-vaulted restaurant in the crypt was filmed. work space. We’ll see what Brown does in is called, predictably, the Footstool, and is There’s fantastically edited footage of Cromwell after the Civil War, was executed his years in power. open for lunch Monday to Friday, as well as Churchill’s 1965 state funeral, making the on a scaffold built against a 1st-floor win- for pre- and postconcert dinner. April 2005 burial of Pope John Paul II look dow here. When the royals were reinstated like a low-key family affair, and you can with Charles II, it inevitably became some- MARYLEBONE check on what the PM was doing nearly thing of a royalist shrine. In a huge, virtually MADAME TUSSAUDS Map p100 WHITEHALL every day beforehand via the huge, table- unfurnished hall on the 1st floor there are %0870 400 3000; www.madame-tussauds.com; Whitehall and its extension, Parliament St, top interactive lifeline. Touch the screen on nine ceiling panels painted by Rubens in Marylebone Rd NW1; adult/under 16yr £24/20; is the wide avenue that links Trafalgar and a particular year, and it will open up into 1635. They were commissioned by Charles I h9.30am-5.30pm Mon-Fri, 9am-6pm Sat & Sun; Parliament Sqs, and it is lined with many gov- months and days for you to choose. and depict the ‘divine right’ of kings. tBaker St; w ernment buildings, statues, monuments and In stark contrast, the old Cabinet War It is still occasionally used for state What can one say about Madame Tus- other historical bits and pieces. Rooms have been left much as they were banquets and concerts, but fortunately you sauds? It’s unbelievably kitsch and terribly when the lights were turned off on VJ Day don’t have to be on the royal A-list to visit, overpriced, yet it draws more than 3 mil- CHURCHILL MUSEUM & CABINET in August 1945 and everyone headed off though if the house is rented for an event, lion people every year and sits high on the WAR ROOMS Map pp96–7 for a well-earned drink. The room where it will be closed to the public, so phone in ‘must-do’ list of any visitor to London. Dif- %7930 6961; www.iwm.org.uk; Clive Steps, King the Cabinet held more than 100 meet- advance to check. ferent strokes for different folks, as they say, Charles St SW1; adult/under 16yr/unemployed/senior ings, the Telegraph Room with a hotline Book in advance for disabled access. but if you like the idea of wax celebrities, 104 105 lonelyplanet.com lonelyplanet.com movie stars and fantastically lifelike figures WALLACE COLLECTION Map p100 material and information on Arthur Conan take place. Check out the shop for great pho- of the Windsors, you’re in for a treat. %7563 9500; www.wallacecollection.org; Hert- Doyle. tography books. Madame Tussauds dates back more than ford House, Manchester Sq W1; admission free; two centuries when the eponymous Swiss h10am-5pm; tBond St; w BROADCASTING HOUSE Map p100 3 Chinatown model-maker started making death masks Arguably London’s finest small gallery %0870 603 0304; www.bbc.co.uk; Portland Pl; Avoid Leicester Sq and walk down Lisle St of the people killed during the French (relatively unknown even to Londoners), hshop 9.30am-6pm Mon-Sat, 10am-5.30pm Sun; under the ersatz Oriental gates of Chinatown ( p67) . Breathe in the aromatic spices, pick one Revolution. She came to London in 1803 the Wallace Collection is an enthralling tOxford Circus and exhibited around 30 wax models in glimpse into 18th-century aristocratic life. of the restaurants – try Jen Café (p243) or New Broadcasting House is the iconic build- World (p239) for some delicious Chinese food. Baker St, on a site not far from this build- The sumptuously restored Italianate man- ing from which the BBC began radio ing, which has housed the waxworks since sion houses a treasure-trove of 17th- and broadcasting in 1932, and where much of 4 Shaftesbury Avenue 1885. The waxworks were an enormous hit 18th-century paintings, porcelain, artefacts the BBC’s radio output still comes from. This is theatre land and Shaftesbury Ave is in Victorian times, when the models pro- and furniture collected by generations of There’s a shop stocking any number of vided the only opportunity for visitors to where some of West End’s most prestigious the same family and bequeathed to the products relating to BBC programmes, theatres are. This is where Hollywood stars glimpse the famous and infamous before nation by the widow of Sir Richard Wallace even though the majority of the Beeb’s such as Juliette Lewis, Jessica Lange and photography was widespread and long (1818–90) on condition it should always be output is produced in the corporation’s Christian Slater have performed, along with before the advent of TV. on display in the centre of London. glassy complex in Shepherd’s Bush (hop London’s own Daniel Radcliffe. Madame Tussauds is very keen on Among the many highlights here – be- on the website if you want to get tickets public surveys telling it who the punters sides the warm and friendly staff – are to a recording). Broadcasting House is cur- 5 Piccadilly Circus would like to see most, resulting in such paintings by the likes of Rembrandt, Hals, rently having a vast extension built onto Hectic and traffic-choked, but still lovely, Pic- highlights as a photo op with the Kate Moss Delacroix, Titian, Rubens, Poussin, Van it, to where the World Service is scheduled cadilly Circus ( p67) is like London’s Times Sq, full of figure (of a very poor similitude), an eco Prince Dyck, Velàzquez, Reynolds and Gainsbor- to relocate when its lease on its current flashing ads, tons of shops and tourists. Charles statue, the Blush Room where A-listers ough in the stunning Great Gallery. There’s a premises, Bush House on the Strand, stand listlessly and where the J-Lo figure spectacular array of medieval and Renais- expires in 2008. 6 Piccadilly blushes if you whisper in her ear. Bollywood sance armour (including some to try on), An elegant stretch away from the Circus, fans are treated with a smiling Shahrukh a Minton-tiled smoking room, stunning Piccadilly gives a whiff of the nearby aris- NEIGHBOURHOODS Khan and ‘Big Bruvva’ lovers can get into chandeliers and a sweeping staircase that ALL SOULS CHURCH Map p100 tocratic St James’s and Mayfair. Pop into NEIGHBOURHOODS the Diary Room and take the video home. is reckoned to be one of the best examples %7580 3522; www.allsouls.org; Langham Pl W1; St James’s Piccadilly ( p70) , the only church Sir There are tons of temporary exhibits, such of French interior architecture in existence. h9am-6pm, closed Sat; tOxford Circus Christopher built from scratch, check out as the Pirates of the Caribbean chamber, There are also temporary exhibitions (ad- A Nash solution for the curving, northern the market stalls selling crafts and antiques potting holes with Tiger Woods, and so on. mission payable) and very popular themed sweep of Regent St was this delightful outside, and sit down for a coffee while the church, which features a circular columned Permanent photo opportunities include events involving Marie Antoinette and pigeons fight for the bread crumbs left be- THE WEST END THE WEST END THE WEST the political leaders in World Stage and the other French aristocrats, costumes and ball- porch and distinctive needlelike spire, hind. Or you could visit Minamoto Kitchoan ( p222 ) array of celebrities in Premiere Room. The room dancing (check the website for what’s reminiscent of an ancient Greek temple. Japanese sweet shop for a green tea and some famous Chamber of Horrors details the horrors on when you’re here). Built from Bath stone, the church was very sweeties. of Jack the Ripper and is usually a huge hit Have lunch at the excellent glass-roofed unpopular when completed in 1824 – a Free art and pay-for exhibitions abound with children. Finally you can take a ride restaurant, Café Bagatelle – which occupies contemporary cartoon by George Cruik- at the brilliant Royal Academy of Arts (p70 ) , where in the Spirit of London ‘time taxi’, where you sit the central courtyard and feels like some- shank shows Nash rather painfully impaled the courtyard installations can often be quite in a mock-up of a London black cab and thing in southern Spain – and you’ll have on the spire through the bottom with the bizarre. are whipped through a five-minute histori- spent one of the most outstanding days in words ‘Nashional Taste!!!’ below it. It was cal summary of London, a mercifully short London. bombed during the Blitz and renovated in 7 Green Park time to endure the god-awful scripts and 1951, and is now one of the most distinc- Walk past the Ritz and turn left into Green Park hackneyed commentary. The old Plan- tive churches in central London. ( p98 ), a quiet, green space with some stunning SHERLOCK HOLMES MUSEUM Map p100 oak trees and olde-worlde street lamps. etarium is now the Stardome that screens an %7935 8866; www.sherlock-holmes.co.uk; entertaining and educational animation by 221b Baker St; adult/child £6/4; h9.30am-6pm; 8 Buckingham Palace Nick Park, creator of Wallace and Gromit (it THE WEST END WALK tBaker St Admire the Queen’s abode (p94 ) , though if you’re involves aliens and celebrities). Though the museum gives its address as Walking Tour keen on seeing some of the rooms (public ac- In case you were wondering what hap- 221b Baker St, the actual fictional abode 1 Covent Garden Piazza cess summer only), you’re better off buying a pens to the models of those people whose of Sherlock Holmes is the Abbey National Yes it’s touristy, but it’s worth seeing this ticket in advance. Walk down the grandiose 15 minutes have passed, contrary to popu- building a bit further south. Fans of the wonderful Inigo Jones piazza ( p85) and some of the Mall, where processions often take place and the lar belief, they are never melted, but simply books will enjoy examining the three floors street performers who make a living buffoon- Queen’s limousine is escorted by her guards. resting in storage. of reconstructed Victoriana, deerstalkers, ing around in front of St Paul’s Church. If you want to avoid the queues (par- burning candles, flickering grates, but may 9 St James’s Park ticularly in summer) book your tickets balk at the dodgy waxworks of Professor 2 Photographers Gallery One of London’s smaller, but definitely one online and get a timed entry slot. They are Moriarty and ‘the Man with the Twisted Small but with a hard artistic punch, this gallery of its most beautiful, parks (p95 ) , this place is cheaper this way too. Lip’. The only disappointment is the lack of ( p85 ) is where top photographic exhibitions wonderful in summer and winter. Feed the 106 107 lonelyplanet.com lonelyplanet.com 0 200 m THE WEST END WALK 0 0.1 miles THE CITY B M ow t e S S rc Covent Garden t k W W e C wic e r a d a s p248 p282 p349 K r oa r t S Eating ; Drinking ; Sleeping S in n Br L d S t t R g a e o t START l b x u G e y y re Covent g in r New c t The ancient, hallowed streets of the City are some of London’s most fascinating. The Square e e S S g S A S o t Garden n t St t t Old Compton St World g l r t o a g k n Jen 2 on r Mile occupies pretty much exactly the same patch of land around which the Romans first con- e S a B t lo t e S L F B ir S r Café 1 S d t e Piccadilly t ie w re 3 structed a defensive wall almost two millennia ago and probably contains more history than L B China Town a t Ga King St W le S rri is S ck the rest of the city put together. S L S a e t t B t a r v Rupert St S C M e v w 4 A Leicester Sq i Bedfordbury d e h l le i f The tiny backstreets and ancient churches are today juxtaposed with skyscrapers and office y ck a o y a o r r r Henrietta St B R u r t d o S i i b n n w t s S g ' blocks as this is the home of London’s stock exchange, the Bank of England and countless other t e s t Maiden La f Leicester C L Cork St sshou a la se St t a G h y S Square r l financial institutions. Very few people live in S entr o P St ov s s go Sackville Piccadilly Circus C g S s o Vi St 5 Irvin t d W R n the City today, which was badly bombed dur- Piccadilly d ha A h C Haymarket l 6 Circus it b c e St William IV St e B o rang ing the Blitz, and so while it’s very animated m Old Bond Stu Minamoto St Alban's St m O a rl r i Kitchoan Piccadilly L b l n National e g Royal o Monday to Friday, you can hear a pin drop w S Strand ton t Dining S Academy S t e 12 S St James’s r u Rooms t Victoria of Arts f at the weekend and even on a weeknight after M END D A Piccadilly R f o r e o Embankment c g lk a v Duke of r e e t Gardens York St i 9pm once the commuters are all safely on r n S n t St t ' S s t Fortnum S Jermyn St James's t P THE CITY B 11 Charing e & Mason l their way home. rk Cross Embankment eley Cock D spur St Station S u N The centre of gravity for the City is Wren’s St Paul’s Cathedral ( below ) tr k St or att S A B e thum t r u James's Waterloo ber on li S r S lan masterpiece and London’s great survivor, St Tower of London ( p119 ) n t y t d A S gton Square Pl Ministry ve The J S t a of Ritz m t Paul’s Cathedral, still a must for all visitors to Museum of London (p113 ) S e Carlton Defence t s ' l s Gdns P St all the capital. To the north of here is Smithfield, 30 St Mary Axe ( p116 ) Green S eh t ing 10 hit PiccadillyPark K W home to the notorious St Bartholomew’s fair Temple Church ( p113 )

Queen's Walk Old War Pall Mall Office St James'sPl W for centuries and a favoured spot for witch h

i Mar H t Green t e burnings and other gory public executions. 7 n o w h e Park o r Horse a R lb s e l m d o Inn on Guards l k East of Smithfield is the Barbican, a vast arts complex and a visual statement that will either n r a G el o the Park Parade n v u a le g u C a b h make your heart sing or your eyes ache depending what side of the architectural debate you r d m NEIGHBOURHOODS NEIGHBOURHOODS R E s d R a bat for. Personally we love it, but there you go. i ll d r a o M t c i Further east still is Bank, the prosaically named district home to many of the major financial he T St James's Richmond Tce V Park Foreign & institutions of the country including the titular Bank of England. This is where the City can St James's Commonwealth 9 Park Office justly be called a bit sterile – pubs often only open Monday to Friday and eating choices split

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Thames between Marks & Spencer sandwiches or five-course haute cuisine meals for those with expense Constituti t on Hill n accounts – yet beauties such as Lloyd’s of London, the Gherkin and wonderful Leadenhall me Queen

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THE WEST END THE WEST i THE CITY Victoria l r Monument a Westminster Market more than compensate for the lack of life at street level.

P S Westminster 8 q Bridge Further to the east still is Tower Hill, home to the world-famous Tower of London and iconic ur Birdcage Wk St Buckingham ueen Parliament R Old Q Palace d Square Tower Bridge. This is an area dominated by faceless office blocks, although pockets of colour Anne's Gate n

e e d do spill over from the neighbouring multicultural areas of Aldgate and Whitechapel and well- u a ro ary Q B tu nc Sa heeled Wapping. However, what the City lacks in great hangouts and community it more than makes up for with a wealth of historic sights and fascinating museums. ducks, squirrels or swans, and take a look at the pelicans. Have a break in the stylish WALK FACTS SMITHFIELD & ST PAUL’S Paul’s almost didn’t make it off the draw- wooden Inn the Park (p246), where you can have ing board, as Wren’s initial designs were Start Covent Garden tube station ST PAUL’S CATHEDRAL Map p110 & p112 some modern British food too. It’s one of the rejected. However, since its first service in End Trafalgar Sq (Charing Cross tube station) %7236 4128; www.stpauls.co.uk; St Paul’s more atmospheric places for dinner. 1697, it’s held funerals for Lord Nelson, the Distance 2.5 miles Churchyard EC4; adult/6-16yr/senior & student Duke of Wellington and Winston Churchill, Duration One hour 15 minutes £9.50/3.50/8.50; h8.30am-4pm (last entry) Mon- 10 Institute of Contemporary Arts and has played host to Martin Luther King Fuel stops Jen Café (p243), New World (p239), Inn the Sat; tSt Paul’s; w as well as the ill-fated wedding of Charles Pop into the edgy ICA (p98 ) and have a look at Park ( p245 ), National Gallery Dining Rooms ( p76 ) Occupying a superb position atop Ludgate and Diana. For Londoners the vast dome, whatever exhibition is taking place – you’ll Hill, one of London’s most recognisable which still manages to loom amid the far come out feeling something, good or bad. buildings is Sir Christopher Wren’s master- higher skyscrapers in the Square Mile, is a 12 The National Gallery work, completed in 1710 after the previous symbol of resilience and pride – miracu- 11 Trafalgar Square Take a few hours to admire the artwork at the building was destroyed in the Great Fire of lously surviving the Blitz unscathed. Today Another tourist magnet, but worth it all the National Gallery (p75 ) . Sit down for a well-deserved 1666. The proud bearer of the capital’s larg- the cathedral is undergoing a huge resto- way, Trafalgar Square ( p74 ) is a magnificent beauty lunch or dinner in the new and stylish Na- est church dome, St Paul’s Cathedral has ration project to coincide with its 300th of a square. Check out the views of Big Ben tional Dining Rooms, where you can enjoy seen a lot in its 300-plus years, although anniversary in 2010, so some parts may be from its southern side. British cuisine in its finest form. Ludgate Hill has been a place of worship under scaffold when you visit. for almost 1400 years, the current incarna- However, despite all the fascinating tion being the fifth to stand on this site. St history and its impressive interior, people

108 109 lonelyplanet.com NEIGHBOURHOODS THE CITY

E3 A3 D3 E2 B2 A2 F3 E2 D3 F2 C3 B2 D3 A2 F3 B3 111 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 , (pp277–96) (pp311–21) (pp339–61) Duke of (pp297–310) choir stalls (or chan- quire which depicts , written for Wren for Wren epitaph written (1875). In the north tran- Salade...... Sweeting's...... Room...... Wine Library...... Black Friar...... Counting House...... El Vino...... Jamaica Wine House...... Vertigo 42...... Cheese...... Ye Olde Cheshire St Paul's 30) Cathedral...... (see Volupté...... 7) Barbican...... (see Grange City Hotel...... Great Eastern Hotel...... Threadneedles...... Travelodge Liverpool Street...... YHA London St Paul's...... White Swan Pub & Dining White Swan DRINKING NIGHTLIFE ARTS SLEEPING and the Chapel of St Dunstan . The ornately carved ornately . The (Reader, if you seek his monu- Lector, si monumentum requiris, si monumentum requiris, Lector, D3 F2 E2 C3 C1 C2 C3 D3 B1 D3 F4 F4 D3 B2 C1 B3 D2 D3 C3 The Light of the World 42 30 31 32 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 high altar (pp215–34) (pp235–75) Of course, back on the ground floor, St In the northern aisle you’ll find the Christ knocking at an overgrown door that, Christ knocking at an overgrown symbolically, can only be opened from the Beyond, in the cathedral’s heart, inside. are the particularly spectacular cel) – its ceilings and arches dazzling with and gold mosaics – and blue, red green, the by Grinling Gibbons on either side of the the ornamental as are exquisite, are quire wrought-iron gates, separating the aisles from (both men also the altar, by Jean Tijou Walk worked on Hampton Court Palace). gilded around the altar, with its massive ous railings; you’ll be hard pushed to see ous railings; you’ll be hard anything better. plenty of riches for those who offers Paul’s firmly on its black- like to keep their feet has tiled floor – and the interior and-white years. in recent been stunningly restored Just beneath the dome, for starters, is a compass and an by his son: circumspice ment, look around you). All Souls’ Chapel to the 10th-century archbishop dedicated and the grandiose of Canterbury, Wellington Memorial sept chapel is Holman Hunt’s celebrated painting , so Golden SHOPPING EATING St Paul's Cathedral...... St Stephen Walbrook...... Smithfield Market...... Temple of Mithras...... Tower Bridge...... Tower of London...... 18) Leadenhall Market...... (see Petticoat Lane Market...... 32) Smithfield Market...... (see Ciro's Pizza Pomodoro...... City Miyama...... Club Gascon...... Paternoster Chop House...... 29) Place Below...... (see Royal Exchange Grand Roman London Amphitheatre..(see 14) London Amphitheatre..(see Roman Royal Exchange...... Holborn...... St Andrew St Bartholomew-the-Great...... St...... St Brides, Fleet St Lawrence Jewry...... St Mary Woolnoth...... St Mary-le-Bow...... , which is an Café & Bar...... D2 D1 E3 B2 E2 E3 A2 B2 D2 E2 B2 E3 E3 E3 D3 D3 C2 C3 E1 E3 E2 E4 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 Whispering Gallery (pp109–24) Stone Gallery and only a handful of tour de force Climbing even more steps (another steps more Climbing even The furtherThe to the 152 iron steps THE CITY THE Bank of England Museum...... Bank of England Barbican...... Bishopsgate Tower...... Court (Old Central Criminal Bailey)...... Church of St Ethelburga-the-Virgin...... Church of St Olave...... Dr Johnson's House...... Golden Boy of Pye Corner...... Guildhall...... 14) Guildhall Art Gallery...... (see Heron Tower...... Holborn Viaduct...... Leadenhall Building...... Leadenhall Market...... Lloyd's of London...... Mansion House...... Monument...... Museum of London...... City Information Centre...... City Information Office..... Street Tourist Liverpool 20 Fenchurch St...... 30 St Mary Axe...... All Hallows-by-the-Tower...... INFORMATION SIGHTS

are usually most interested in climbing the usually most interested are dome for one of the best views of London domes, one It’s actually three imaginable. inside the other, but it made the cathedral Wren’s others throughout the world (mostly in Exactly 530 stairs take Italy) outdo it in size. you to the top, but it’s a three-stage jour- cathedral is built in the shape of a ney. The So cross, with the dome at its intersection. between area first find the circular paved columns supportingthe eight massive the dome, then head to the door on the side of the southern transept. western above, 259 steps Some 30m and precisely walkway around the the interior you reach is the This dome’s base. called because if you talk close to the wall words around to does carry your it really side, 32m away. the opposite the 119) you reach are steeper and narrower than below Gallery steeper are worth really the effortbut are as long as From from claustrophobia. you don’t suffer London, the city opens 111m above here, up to you, your view unspoilt by superflu- exterior viewing platform, with 360-degree viewing platform, with 360-degree exterior rather views of London, all of which are other suicide- by pillars and obscured preventing measures.

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THE CITY THE 0 0.2 miles 0.2

03 m 0 0 110 lonelyplanet.com NEIGHBOURHOODS THE CITY lonelyplanet.com lonelyplanet.com (albeit in a totally new place) alongside the of London diorama, narrated from the ST PAUL'S CATHEDRAL redevelopment of Paternoster Sq in 2003. renowned diary of Samuel Pepys; and a Audioguide tours in multiple languages last- timeline of London’s creeping urbanisation ing 45 minutes cost £3.50 for adults, or £3 for during the 18th and 19th centuries. There

GROUND FLOOR CRYPT (keyed in italics) seniors and students; guided tours lasting 1½ are two mock-ups of city streets: one rep- 1 Entrance to Dome & 7 Quire 14 OBE Chapel 21 Monument to the to two hours (adult/senior and student/child resents Roman London, the other is called Whispering Gallery 8 High Altar 15 Wellington's People of London 2 Dome & Wren's Epitaph 9 Choir Stalls Tomb aged six to 16 years £3/2.50/1) leave the tour Victorian Walk and harks back to the 19th 3 All Souls' Chapel 10 Wrought-iron Gates 16 Nelson's Tomb desk at 11am, 11.30am, 1.30pm and 2pm. century (although Leadenhall Market, p118, 4 Chapel of St Dunstan 11 American Memorial 17 Wren's Tomb 5 Duke of Wellington Chapel 18 Treasury There are free organ recitals at St Paul’s at 5pm creates a slightly less authentic, but more Memorial 12 Effigy of John Donne 19 Crypt Café 6 The Light of the World 13 Crypt Entrances 20 Shop most Sundays, as well as celebrity recitals (adult/ lively Victorian feeling). concession £8/5.50) at 6.30pm on the first Thurs- You can pause for a breather in the day of the month between May and October. pleasant garden in the building’s central 21 Evensong takes place at 5pm Monday to courtyard or head for the adjoining Museum 18 6 Saturday and at 3.15pm on Sunday. Café, which serves light meals from 10am to North There is limited disabled access. Call 5.30pm (from 11.30am on Sunday). Alter- 3 4 Transept ahead for further information. natively, on a sunny day, pack some sand- 13 wiches and lunch in the next-door Barber 5 10 Surgeon’s Herb Garden. 2 MUSEUM OF LONDON Map p110 When arriving, look for the Barbican’s 19 16 15 97 14 8 11 %0870 444 3852, 7600 0807; www.museumo Queen gate seven; before leaving, don’t forget to Anne flondon.org.uk; London Wall EC2; admission free; Statue 10 h have a browse through the well-stocked 1 10am-5.50pm Mon-Sat, noon-5.50pm Sun; 20 12 17 bookshop and check what the temporary 13 tBarbican; w South exhibits are as these tend to be some of Transept The Museum of London is one of the capi- Great West Door London’s more interesting. (Main Entrance) tal’s best museums but remains largely off Chapel of St George the radar for most visitors. That’s not surpris- & St Michael

NEIGHBOURHOODS ing when you consider that it’s encased in TEMPLE CHURCH Map p110 NEIGHBOURHOODS Not to Scale concrete and located above a roundabout in %7353 3470; www.templechurch.com; Temple the Barbican. Despite this, once you’re inside EC4; admission free; husually approx 2-4pm it’s a fascinating walk through the various Wed-Sun, but call or email ahead to check as these oak canopy, to the American Memorial Chapel, a also an exhibit of Wren’s controversial plans incarnations of the capital from Anglo-Saxon change frequently; tTemple or Chancery Lane memorial to the 28,000 Americans based in for St Paul’s and his actual working model. village to global financial centre. This magnificent church lies within the

Britain who lost their lives during WWII. St Paul’s was one of the 50 commissions the

THE CITY The newest gallery, called London Before walls of the Temple, built by the legendary THE CITY Around the southern side of the ambula- great architect was given after the Great Fire London, outlines the development of the Knights Templar, an order of crusading tory is the effigy of John Donne (1573–1631). of London wiped out most of the City. Thames Valley from 450 million years ago. monks founded in the 12th century to The one-time dean of St Paul’s, Donne was The treasury displays some of the cathe- Harnessing computer technology to enliven protect pilgrims travelling to and from also a metaphysical poet, most famous for dral’s plate, along with some spectacular its exhibits and presenting impressive fos- Jerusalem. The order moved here around the immortal lines ‘No man is an island’ and needlework, including Beryl Dean’s jubilee sils and stone axe heads in shiny new cases, 1160, abandoning its older headquarters in ‘Ask not for whom the bell tolls, it tolls for cope (bishop’s cloak) of 1977, show- it somehow feels less warm and colourful Holborn. Today the sprawling oasis of fine thee’ (both in the same poem!). ing spires of 73 London churches, and than the more-established displays. In buildings and pleasant traffic-free green On the eastern side of both the north its matching mitre. There is a Crypt Café these you begin with the city’s Roman era space is home to two Inns of Court (hous- and south transepts are stairs leading down (h9am-5pm Mon-Sat, 10.30am-5pm Sun) and the and move anticlockwise through the Saxon, ing the chambers of lawyers practising in to the crypt, treasury and OBE Chapel, where restaurant Refectory (h9am-5.30pm Mon-Sat, medieval, Tudor and Stuart periods. Contin- the City), the Middle and the Lesser Temple. weddings, funerals and other services are 10.30am-5.30pm Sun), in addition to a shop uing down a ramp and past the ornate Lord The Temple Church has a distinctive held for members of the Order of the Brit- (h9am-5pm Mon-Sat, 10.30am-5pm Sun). Mayor’s state coach, this history continues design: the Round (consecrated in 1185 ish Empire. The crypt has memorials to up Just outside the north transept, there’s progressively until 1914, although at the and designed to recall the Church of the to 300 military demigods, including Flor- a simple monument to the people of London, time of writing the galleries were being Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem) adjoins the ence Nightingale and Lord Kitchener, while honouring the 32,000 civilians killed (and expanded and improved to take visitors up Chancel (built in 1240), which is the heart both the Duke of Wellington and Admiral Nelson another 50,000 seriously injured) in the to the present day. The finished galleries of the modern church. Both parts were are actually buried here, Nelson having defence of the city and the cathedral are due to open in late 2009. severely damaged by a bomb in 1941 and been placed in a black sarcophagus that is during WWII. Also to the left as you face Aside from the magnificently over-the- have been lovingly reconstructed. Its most directly under the dome. On the surround- the entrance stairway is Temple Bar, one of top state coach, highlights include the obvious points of interest are the life-size ing walls are plaques in memory of those the original gateways to the City of Lon- 4th-century lead coffin, skeleton and recon- stone effigies of nine knights that lie on the from the Commonwealth who died in vari- don. This medieval stone archway once structed face of a well-to-do young Roman floor of the Round. These include the Earl of ous conflicts during the 20th century. straddled Fleet St at a sight marked by a woman whose remains were discovered in Pembroke, who acted as the go-between for Wren’s tomb is in the crypt, while architect griffin (Map pp72–3 ) but was removed to Mid- Spitalfields in 1999; the Cheapside Hoard, King John and the rebel barons, eventually Edwin Lutyens and poet William Blake are dlesex in 1878. Temple Bar was restored an amazing find of 16th- and 17th-century leading to the signing of the Magna Carta in also remembered here. In a niche, there is and made a triumphal return to London jewellery; the lo-fi but heartfelt Great Fire 1215. In recent years the church has become 112 113 lonelyplanet.com lonelyplanet.com a must-see for readers of The Da Vinci Code, This wonderful house, which was built in cient calm – especially as you’ll often be the corner of Cock Lane and Giltspur St, has in which a key scene was set here. 1700, is a rare surviving example of a Geor- only visitor. There are historical associations a somewhat odd dedication: ‘In memory During the week, the easiest access to gian city mansion. All around it today huge with William Hogarth, who was baptised put up for the fire of London occasioned the church is via Inner Temple Lane, off office blocks loom and tiny Gough Sq can here, and with politician Benjamin Franklin, by the sin of gluttony 1666’. All becomes Fleet St. At the weekends, you’ll need to be quite hard to find as a result. The house who worked on site as an apprentice printer. clear, however, when you realise the Great enter from the Victoria Embankment. has been preserved, of course, as it was the The church sits on the corner of the grounds Fire was started in a busy bakery on Pud- home of the great Georgian wit Samuel of St Bart’s Hospital, on the side closest to ding Lane and that the fire finally burned CENTRAL CRIMINAL COURT (OLD Johnson, the author of the first serious dic- Smithfield Market. Another selling point itself out in what was once called Pye (Pie) BAILEY) Map p110 tionary of the English language (transcribed for modern audiences is that scenes from Corner, where the statue now stands. This %7248 3277; cnr Newgate & Old Bailey Sts; admis- by a team of six clerks in the attic) and the Shakespeare in Love (and parts of Four Wed- was interpreted by many as a sign that the sion free; happrox 10am-1pm & 2-5pm Mon-Fri; man who proclaimed ‘When a man is tired dings and a Funeral) were filmed here. The fire was an act of God as punishment for tSt Paul’s of London, he is tired of life’. location managers for those movies knew the gluttony of Londoners. Just as fact is often better than fiction, taking The museum doesn’t exactly crackle with what they were doing: St Bartholomew-the- in a trial in the Old Bailey leaves watching a Dr Johnson’s immortal wit, yet it’s still an Great is indeed one of the capital’s most SMITHFIELD MARKET Map p110 TV courtroom drama for dust. Of course, it’s atmospheric and fascinating place to visit atmospheric places of worship. %7248 3151; West Smithfield EC1; tFarringdon with its antique furniture and artefacts too late to see author Jeffrey Archer being Smithfield is central London’s last surviv- from Johnson’s life (his brick from the Great found guilty of perjury here, watch the Guild- ST BRIDE’S, FLEET STREET Map p110 ing meat market. Its name derives from Wall of China must surely be the oddest ford Four’s convictions being quashed after %7427 0133; www.stbrides.com; St Bride’s Lane it being a smooth field where animals of these). The numerous paintings of Dr their wrongful imprisonment for IRA terrorist EC4; h8am-6pm Mon-Fri, 11am-3pm Sat, 10am- could be grazed, although its history is Johnson and his associates, including his attacks or view the Yorkshire Ripper Peter 1pm & 5-7.30pm Sun; tSt Paul’s or Blackfriars far from pastoral. Built on the site of the Sutcliffe being sent down. However, ‘the Old black manservant Francis Barber and his Rupert Murdoch might have frogmarched clerk and biographer James Boswell are notorious St Bartholomew’s fair, where Bailey’ is a byword for crime and notoriety. the newspaper industry out to Wapping in witches were traditionally burned at the So even if you sit in on a fairly run-of-the-mill sadly not particularly revealing of the great the 1980s, but this small church off Fleet stake, this is where Scottish Independence trial, simply being in the court where such minds who would have considered the St remains ‘the journalists’ church’. Candles leader William Wallace was executed in people as the Kray twins and Oscar Wilde (in building home from home. A more reveal- were kept burning here for reporters John ing object is a chair from Johnson’s local 1305 (there’s a large plaque on the wall of NEIGHBOURHOODS an earlier building on this site) once ap- McCarthy and Terry Anderson during their NEIGHBOURHOODS peared is memorable in itself. pub, the Old Cock Tavern on Fleet St. St Bart’s Hospital south of the market) as years as hostages in Lebanon during the well as the place where the leader of the Choose from 18 courts, of which the There’s a rather ponderous video, plus 1990s, and a memorial plaque here keeps oldest – courts one, two and three – usually leaflets telling how the lexicographer and Peasants’ Revolt Wat Tyler met his fate in tab of the growing number of journalists 1381. Described in terms of pure horror by have the most interesting cases. As cameras, six clerks (Boswell wasn’t among them, yet) killed in Iraq. video equipment, mobile phones, large bags developed the first English dictionary in the Dickens in Oliver Twist, this was once the There’s a brief, well-presented history armpit of London, where animal excrement and food and drink are all forbidden inside, house’s attic during the period he lived here THE CITY of the printing industry in the crypt, dat- THE CITY and there are no cloakrooms or lockers, it’s from 1748 to 1759. Children will love the and entrails created a sea of filth. Today it’s ing from 1500 when William Caxton’s first an increasingly smart area full of bars, and important not to take these with you. Take a Georgian dressing-up clothes on the top printing press was relocated next to the cardigan or something to cushion the hard floor, and the temporary exhibits in the attic the market itself is a wonderful building, church after Caxton’s death. St Bride’s is although one constantly under threat of seats though, and if you’re interested in a look at other aspects of 18th-century life. also of architectural interest. Designed by destruction and redevelopment into office high-profile trial, get there early. Across Gough Sq is a statue of Johnson’s Sir Christopher Wren in 1671, its add-on The Central Criminal Court gets its blocks. cat, Hodge, sitting above the full quote spire (1703) reputedly inspired the first nickname from the street on which it explaining why when a man is tired of tiered wedding cake. stands: baillie was Norman French for London, he is tired of life: ‘For there is in HOLBORN VIADUCT Map p110 ‘enclosed courtyard’. The current building London all that life can afford.’ t ST ANDREW HOLBORN Map p110 St Paul’s or Farringdon opened in 1907 on the combined site of a This fine iron bridge was built in 1869 in %7353 3544; Holborn Viaduct EC4; h9am- previous Old Bailey and Newgate Prison. ST BARTHOLOMEW-THE-GREAT an effort to smarten up the area, as well 4.30pm Mon-Fri; tChancery Lane Intriguingly, the figure of justice holding a Map p110 as to link Holborn and Newgate St above sword and scales in her hands above the This church on the southeastern corner of %7606 5171; www.greatstbarts.com; West what had been a valley created by the River building’s copper dome is not blindfolded Holborn Circus, first mentioned in the 10th Smithfield EC1; adult/concession £4/3; h8.30am- Fleet. The four bronze statues represent (against undue influence, as is tradition- century, was rebuilt by Wren in 1686 and 5pm Mon-Fri, to 4pm mid-Nov–mid-Feb, plus Commerce and Agriculture (on the north- ally the case). That’s a situation that has was the largest of his parish churches. Even 10.30am-4pm Sat & 8.30am-8pm Sun year-round; ern side) and Science and Fine Arts (on the sparked many a sarcastic comment from though the interior was bombed to smith- tFarringdon or Barbican south). those being charged here. ereens during WWII, much of what you see This spectacular Norman church dates from inside today is original 17th century as it 1123, originally a part of the monastery of was brought from other churches. DR JOHNSON’S HOUSE Map p110 Augustinian Canons, but becoming the par- BANK %7353 3745; www.drjohnsonshouse.org; 17 ish church of Smithfield in 1539 when King By its very nature, much of the work of the Gough Sq EC4; adult/child/concession/family Henry VIII dissolved the monasteries. The au- THE GOLDEN BOY OF PYE CORNER City goes on behind closed doors. However, £4.50/1.50/3.50/10; h11am-5.30pm Mon-Sat thentic Norman arches, the weathered and Map p110 a short exploration of the streets around Bank May-Sep, to 5pm Mon-Sat Oct-Apr; tChancery blackened stone, the dark wood carvings This small statue of a corpulent boy op- tube station will take you to the door of many Lane or Blackfriars and the low lighting lend this space an an- posite St Bartholomew’s Hospital, at the financial, as well as political and religious, 114 115 lonelyplanet.com lonelyplanet.com landmarks. Here, at the tube station’s main behind the much-acclaimed Lowry centre MONUMENT Map p110 Barbican is much better loved than Lon- exit, seven bank-filled streets converge. Take in Salford Quays near Manchester). Behind %7626 2717; Monument St EC3; adult/5-15yr don’s other modernist colossus, the South Princes St northwestwards to get to the Guild- this, Poultry runs into Cheapside, site of a £2/1; h9.30am-5pm; tMonument Bank Centre. Trendy urban architects are hall or head northeastwards along Thread- great medieval market. On the left you’ll see The vast column of Monument is definitely racing to get hold of the back-in-fashion needle St for the Bank of England Museum. another of Wren’s great churches, St Mary- one of the best vantage points over Lon- apartments and the residences in the three (All the following sights are on the City map, le-Bow (%7248 5139; Cheapside EC2; h6.30am-6pm don due to its centrality as much as to high-rise towers that ring the cultural cen- p110.) Mon-Thu, to 4pm Fri), built in 1673. It’s famous its height: the river, St Paul’s and the City tre are some of the city’s most sought after The Royal Exchange (founded by Thomas Gre- as the church whose bells dictate who is – are all around you and you truly feel at living spaces. sham) is the imposing, colonnaded building and who isn’t – a cockney; it’s said that a London’s bustling heart. The column itself Home of the London Symphony Or- you see at the juncture of Threadneedle St and true cockney has to have been born within is a memorial to the Great Fire of London chestra and one of the best places to Cornhill to the east. It’s the third building on earshot of Bow Bells, although before the ad- in 1666, which, in terms of the physical see dance in capital, the Barbican is still a site originally chosen in 1564 by Gresham. vent of motor traffic this would have been a devastation and horrifying psychologi- London’s pre-eminent cultural centre, It has not had a role as a financial institution far greater area than it is today. The church’s cal impact it wreaked on the city, must boasting three cinemas that show a com- since the 1980s and now houses a very upmar- delicate steeple is one of Wren’s finest works have been the 9/11 of its day. Fortunately, bination of commercial and independent ket (and much needed) shopping centre. and the modern stained glass is striking. this event lies further back in history films, two theatres which feature touring In the angle between Lombard St and King and few people died, so it’s possible to drama as well as dance performances and William St further south you’ll see the twin 30 ST MARY AXE Map p110 simply enjoy Sir Christopher Wren’s 1677 the highly regarded Barbican Gallery (adult/sen- towers of Hawksmoor’s St Mary Woolnoth (%7626 %7071 5008; www.30stmaryaxe.com; St Mary Axe tower and its panoramic views of London. ior, student & 12-17yr £8/6; h11am-8pm, to 6pm Tue 9701; h8am-5pm Mon-Fri) , built in 1717. The ar- EC3; tAldgate or Bank Slightly southeast of King William St, near & Thu), which stages excellent temporary chitect’s only City church, its interior Cor- Known to one and all as ‘the Gherkin’ for London Bridge, the Monument is exactly exhibits. inthian columns are a foretaste of his Christ obvious reasons when you see its incred- 60.6m from the bakery in Pudding Lane See The Arts chapter for details of the Church in Spitalfields. ible shape, 30 St Mary Axe – as it is officially where the fire started and exactly 60.6m theatres ( p317 ), cinemas ( p314 ) and concert Between King William St and Walbrook and far more prosaically named – remains high. To reach the viewing platform, just halls ( p312 ). stands the grand, porticoed Mansion House London’s most distinctive skyscraper, below a gilded bronze urn of flames that (%7626 2500; www.cityoflondon.gov.uk), the official dominating the city despite actually being some call a big gold pincushion, you will LLOYD’S OF LONDON Map p110

NEIGHBOURHOODS residence of the Lord Mayor of London, which NEIGHBOURHOODS slightly smaller than the neighbouring Nat- % t was built in the mid-18th century by George need to climb 311 steps on the impressive 7623 1000; 1 Lime St EC3; Aldgate or Bank Dance the Elder. It’s not open to the public, West Tower. The phallic Gherkin’s futuristic, circular staircase. On descent, you’re given While the world’s leading insurance brokers though group tours are sometimes available sci-fi exterior has become an emblem of a certificate to say you did it, and if you are inside underwriting everything from when booked in advance. modern London as recognisable as Big Ben did go all the way to the top, you’ll feel it’s trains, planes and ships to cosmonauts’ Along Walbrook, past the City of London or the London Eye. justly deserved. lives and film stars’ legs, people outside still Built in 2002–03 to a multi-award- stop to gawp at the stainless steel external %

THE CITY Magistrates Court, is St Stephen Walbrook ( 7283 THE CITY 4444; 39 Walbrook EC3; h10am-4pm Mon-Thu, to 3pm Fri), winning design from Norman Foster, this is BARBICAN Map p110 ducting and staircases of the Lloyd’s of built in 1679. Widely considered to be the London’s first ecofriendly skyscraper: Foster %information 7638 8891, switchboard 7638 London building. French free climber, or finest of Wren’s City churches and a fore- laid out the offices so they spiral around 4141; www.barbican.org.uk; Silk St EC2; h9am- ‘spiderman’, Alain Robert even felt moved runner to St Paul’s Cathedral, this light and internal ‘sky gardens’. The windows (one of 11pm Mon-Sat, noon-11pm Sun; tBarbican or to scale the exterior with his bare hands in airy building is indisputably impressive. Some which popped out of its frame in 2005) can Moorgate 2003. 16 pillars with Corinthian capitals rise up to be opened and the gardens are used to re- Londoners remain fairly divided about the Lloyd’s is the work of Richard Rogers, support its dome and ceiling, while a large process stale air, so air-conditioning is kept architectural legacy of this vast housing one of the architects of the Pompidou cream-coloured boulder lies at the heart of to a minimum. Its primary fuel source is and cultural complex in the heart of the Centre in Paris, and although it was a its roomy central space. There is an altar by gas, low-energy lighting is used throughout City. While the Barbican is named after watershed for London when it was built in sculptor Henry Moore, cheekily dubbed ‘the the building and the design heightens the a Roman fortification protecting ancient 1986, it’s since been overtaken by plenty Camembert’ by critics. amount of natural light let into the build- Londinium that may once have stood here, of other stunning architecture throughout Queen Victoria St runs southwestwards ing, meaning that less electricity is used. what you see here today is very much a the capital. However, its brave-new-world from Bank. A short way along it on the left, Its 41 floors mainly house the reinsur- product of the 1960s and ’70s. Built on a postmodernism still strikes a particular in front of Temple Court at No 11, you’ll find ance giant Swiss Re’s London offices, and huge bombsite abandoned since WWII contrast with the olde-worlde Leadenhall the remains of the 3rd-century AD Temple of tours are not currently possible. The gor- and opened progressively between 1969 Market next door. Mithras . Truth be told, however, there’s little geous top-floor restaurant is usually open and 1982, it’s fair to say that its brutalist While you can watch people whizzing to see here. If you’re interested in this Persian only to staff and their guests, but it’s pos- concrete isn’t everyone’s cup of tea. Yet up and down the outside of the building in God and the religion worshipping him, you’re sible to gain access by booking one of the despite topping several recent polls as its all-glass lifts, sadly you can’t experience better off checking out the Museum of Lon- private dining rooms, although this will London’s most ugly building, many Lon- it yourself. Access to the elevators and the don (p113 ) , where sculptures and silver incense need to be done well in advance. In some doners see something very beautiful about rest of the interior is restricted to employ- boxes found in the temple are on display. years mere mortals are granted access dur- its cohesion and ambition – incorporating ees or professional groups, who must book Due west of Bank is Poultry. The mod- ing the superb Open House Weekend (www.open Shakespeare’s local church St Giles Cripple- in advance. Some years the Lloyd’s building ern building at the corner, with striped lay- house.org.uk), an annual September event. gate into its brave-new-world design and takes part in Open House Weekend, which ers of blond and rose stone, is by Stirling When included as a venue, the Gherkin is embellishing its public areas with lakes and gives the public very rare access to the Wilford (the Wilford in question is also always one of the most popular openings. ponds. With a £7 million refit in 2005, the inside of the building. 116 117 lonelyplanet.com lonelyplanet.com LEADENHALL MARKET Map p110 exhibits ranging from photographs and Library (%7606 3030; Aldermanbury EC2; h9.30am- missing seating, and computer-meshed www.leadenhallmarket.co.uk; Whittington Ave EC1; coins to a gold bar you can lift up (it’s 4.45pm Mon-Sat), founded in about 1420 under outlines of spectators and gladiators. The h7am-5pm Mon-Fri; tBank amazingly heavy) and the muskets once the terms of Dick Whittington’s will. It is roar of the crowd goes up as you reach Like stepping into a small slice of Victorian used to defend the bank. divided into three sections for research: the end of the entrance tunnel and hit the London, a visit to this dimly lit, covered printed books; manuscripts; and prints, central stage, giving a real sense of how mall off Gracechurch St is a minor time- GUILDHALL Map p110 maps and drawings. Also here is the Clock- Roman London might have felt. Markings travelling experience. There’s been a mar- %7606 3030; www.cityoflondon.gov.uk; Gresham makers’ Company Museum (%7332 1868; Guildhall on the square outside the Guildhall mark ket on this site since the Roman era, but St EC2; admission free; halways call ahead; Library, Aldermanbury EC2; admission free; h9.30am- out the original extent of the amphitheatre, the architecture that survives is all cob- tBank; w 4.45pm Mon-Fri), which has a collection of allowing people to imagine the scale of the blestones and late-19th-century ironwork; Bang in the centre of the Square Mile, the more than 700 clocks and watches dating original building. even modern restaurants and chain stores Guildhall has been the City’s seat of gov- back some 500 years. The clock museum decorate their façades in period style here. ernment for nearly 800 years. The present sometimes closes for an hour or two on ST LAWRENCE JEWRY Map p110 The market also appears as Diagon Alley in building dates from the early 15th century, Monday to wind the clocks. %7600 9478; Gresham St EC2; admission free; Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone. For making it the only secular stone structure h7.30am-2.15pm; tBank; w details of what’s on sale, see p233. to have survived the Great Fire of 1666, GUILDHALL ART GALLERY & ROMAN To look at the Corporation of London’s although it was severely damaged both LONDON AMPHITHEATRE Map p110 extremely well-preserved official church, BANK OF ENGLAND MUSEUM Map p110 then and during the Blitz of 1940. %7332 3700; www.guildhall-art-gallery.org.uk; you’d barely realise that it was almost %7601 5545; www.bankofengland.co.uk; Bar- Most visitors’ first port of call is the Guildhall Yard EC2; adult/senior & student £2.50/1, completely destroyed during WWII. Instead, tholomew Lane EC2; admission free, audioguides impressive Great Hall, where you can see the all day Fri & daily after 3.30pm free; h10am-5pm it does Sir Christopher Wren, who built it in £1; h10am-5pm Mon-Fri; tBank banners and shields of London’s 12 guilds Mon-Sat, noon-4pm Sun; tBank 1678, and its subsequent restorers proud, When James II declared war against France (principal livery companies), which used The gallery of the City of London provides with its immaculate alabaster walls and gilt in the 17th century, he looked over his to wield absolute power throughout the a fascinating look at the politics of the trimmings. The arms of the City of London shoulder and soon realised he didn’t have City. The lord mayor and sheriffs are still Square Mile over the past few centuries, adorn the organ above the door at the the funds to finance his armed forces. A elected annually in the vast open hall, with with a great collection of paintings of western end. The Commonwealth Chapel Scottish merchant by the name of William its chunky chandeliers and its church-style London in the 18th and 19th centuries, as is bedecked with the flags of member NEIGHBOURHOODS Paterson came up with the idea of forming monuments. It is often closed for various well as the vast frieze entitled The Defeat of nations. Free piano recitals are held each NEIGHBOURHOODS a joint-stock bank that could lend the gov- other formal functions, so it’s best to ring the Floating Batteries (1791), depicting the Monday at 1pm; organ recitals at the same ernment money and, in 1694, so began the ahead. Meetings of the Common Council British victory at the Siege of Gibraltar in time on Tuesday. Bank of England and the notion of national are held here every third Thursday of each 1782. This huge painting was removed to As the church name suggests, this was debt. The bank rapidly expanded in size month (except August) at 1pm, and the safety just a month before the gallery was once part of the Jewish quarter – the and stature and moved to this site in 1734. Guildhall hosts the awards dinner for the hit by a German bomb in 1941 – it spent 50 centre being Old Jewry, the street to the

THE CITY During a financial crisis at the end of the Man Booker Prize, the leading British liter- years rolled up before a spectacular restora- southeast. The district was sadly not with- THE CITY 18th century, a cartoon appeared depict- ary award. tion in 1999. out its pogroms. After some 500 Jews were ing the bank as a haggard old woman, and Among the monuments to look out for An even more recent arrival is a sculp- killed in 1262 in mob ‘retaliation’ against a this is probably the origin of its nickname if the hall is open are statues of Winston ture of former prime minister Margaret Jewish moneylender, Edward I expelled the ‘the Old Lady of Threadneedle St’, which Churchill, Admiral Nelson, the Duke of Thatcher, which has to be housed in a entire community from London to Flanders has stuck ever since. The institution is now Wellington and the two prime ministers protective glass case as the iron lady was in 1290. They did not return until the late in charge of maintaining the integrity of Pitt the Elder and Younger. In the minstrels’ decapitated here by an angry punter with 17th century. the sterling and the British financial system gallery at the western end are statues of a cricket bat soon after its installation in and even sets interest rates since Gordon the biblical giants Gog and Magog, tradi- 2002. Today, following some tricky neck Brown empowered it to as Chancellor of tionally considered to be guardians of the surgery, the Maggie has finally rejoined the TOWER HILL the Exchequer in 1997. The gifted Sir John City; today’s figures replaced similar 18th- gallery’s collection, but her contentious TOWER OF LONDON Map p120 Soane built the original structure, although century statues destroyed in the Blitz. The legacy lives on. %7709 0765; www.hrp.org.uk; Tower Hill the governors saw fit to demolish most of Guildhall’s stained glass was also blown out The real highlight of the museum is EC3; adult/5-15yr/senior & student/family his splendid bank in the early 20th century during the Blitz but a modern window in deep in the darkened basement, where the £16/9.50/13/45; h9am-6pm Tue-Sat, 10am-6pm and replace it with a utilitarian, no-frills the southwestern corner depicts the city’s archaeological remains of Roman London’s Sun & Mon Mar-Oct, 9am-5pm Tue-Sat, 10am-5pm model that they would soon regret. history; look out for a picture of London’s amphitheatre, or coliseum, lie. Discovered Sun & Mon Nov-Feb, last admission on all days 1hr The centrepiece of the museum – which first lord mayor, Richard ‘Dick’ Whittington, only in 1988 when work finally began on a before closing time; tTower Hill; w explores the evolution of money and the and his famous cat. new gallery following the original’s destruc- The absolute kernel of London with a his- history of this venerable institution, and Beneath the Great Hall is London’s largest tion in the Blitz, they were immediately tory as bleak and bloody as it is fascinating, which is not nearly as dull as it sounds medieval crypt, with 19 stained-glass win- declared an Ancient Monument, and the the Tower of London should be first on – is a postwar reconstruction of Soane’s dows showing the livery companies’ coats new gallery built around them. While only anyone’s list of London’s sights. Despite original stock office complete with man- of arms. The crypt can be seen only as part a few remnants of the stone walls lining ever-growing ticket prices and the hoards nequins in period dress behind original of a free guided tour (%7606 3030, ext 1463). the eastern entrance still stand, they’re of tourists that descend here in the summer mahogany counters. A series of rooms The buildings to the west house Corpo- imaginatively fleshed out with a black- months, this is one of those rare pleasures: leading off the office are packed with ration of London offices and the Guildhall and-fluorescent-green trompe l’oeil of the somewhere worth the hype. Throughout 118 119 lonelyplanet.com the ages, murder and political skulduggery With more than two million visitors a Forces. Known affectionately as ‘beefeaters’ in a medieval palace, it might have looked lonelyplanet.com have reigned as much as kings and queens, year, crowds are quite serious in the high by the public (due to the large rations of in Edward I’s day. During the 15th-century so tales of imprisonment and executions season and it’s best to buy a ticket in beef given to them in the past), there are War of the Roses between the Houses of will pepper your trail. advance as well as to visit later in the day. 35 Yeoman Warders today, including Moira Lancaster and York, Henry VI was almost The Tower is in fact a castle, and not You can buy Tower tickets online, or at Cameron, the first ever female beefeater, certainly murdered in this tower. towerlike at all (although in the Middle any tube station up to a week beforehand, who began serving in 2007. While officially Below, in the basement of Wakefield Ages it’s easy to imagine how the White which can save you a long time when you they guard the tower and Crown Jewels at Tower, there’s a Torture at the Tower exhibi- Tower would have dwarfed the huts of the arrive. Also, after 3pm the groups have usu- night, their role is as tour guides (and to tion. However, torture wasn’t practised as peasantry surrounding the castle walls) ally left and the place is a lot more pleasant pose for photographs with curious foreign- much in England as it was on the Continent and has been the property (and sometime to stroll around. During the winter months ers). These tours leave from the Middle apparently, and the display is pretty per- London residence) of the monarch since it it’s far less crowded, so there’s no need to Tower every 30 minutes from 9.30am functory, limiting itself to a rack, a pair of was begun during the reign of William the do either of the preceding. (10am on Sunday) to 3.30pm (2.30pm in manacles and an instrument for keeping Conqueror (1066–87). By far the best pre- Your best bet is to start with a free winter) daily. The warders also conduct prisoners doubled up called a Scavenger’s served medieval castle in London, it’s one hour-long tour given by the Yeoman about eight different short talks (35 min- Daughter. Frankly, you’d see scarier gear of the capital’s four Unesco World Heritage Warders, which are a great way to bring utes) and tours (45 minutes) on specific at any London S&M club (or, the London sites (the others are Westminster Abbey, the various parts of the tower to life. The themes. The first is at 9.30am Monday to Dungeon across the river in London Bridge, Kew Gardens and Maritime Greenwich), and Yeoman Warders have been guarding the Saturday (10.15am on Sunday in summer, see p132 ). To get to this exhibition and the will fascinate anyone with any interest at all tower since 1485, and have all served a 11.30am in winter), the last at 5.15pm (3pm basement level of Wakefield Tower, you in history, the monarchy and warfare. minimum of 22 years in the British Armed in winter). Less theatrical are the self-paced enter the tower courtyard through the arch audioguides available in five languages for opposite Traitors’ Gate.

0 100 m £3 from the information point on Water As you do so, you’ll also see at the cen- TOWER OF LONDON 0 0.1 miles Lane. tre of the courtyard the Norman White Tower Trinity House Minories You enter the tower via the West Gate with a turret on each of its four corners Tower Hill and proceed across the walkway over the and a golden weather vane spinning atop Trinity Pl dry moat between the Middle Tower and each. This tower has a couple of remnants Sundial Medieval Muscovy St Trinity Square & Roman Gardens Byward Tower. The original moat was finally of Norman architecture, including a fire-

NEIGHBOURHOODS Wall NEIGHBOURHOODS Trinity Sq drained of centuries of festering sewage place and garderobe (lavatory). However, WWI in the 19th century, necessitated by per- most of its interior is given over to a collec- Byward ὈὈὈὈὈὈὈSt MemorialὈὈ sistent cholera outbreaks, and a superbly tion of cannons, guns and suits of armour Tower Hill manicured lawn now surrounds the Tower. for men and horses, which come from All Hallows- by-the-Tower Before you stands the Bell Tower, housing the the Royal Armouries in Leeds. Among the

Moat tower’s curfew bells and one-time home to most remarkable exhibits are the 2m suit THE CITY Thomas More. The politician and author of of armour made for John of Gaunt (to see THE CITY Gloucester Ct Bowyer Utopia was imprisoned here in 1534 before that coming towards you on a battlefield ὈὈὈὈὈὈὈFlint Tower Brick Tower Tower Devereux Martin his execution for refusing to recognise King must have been terrifying) and alongside Tower Tower Henry VIII as the new head of the Church of it a tiny child’s suit of armour designed Tower Hill England in place of the Pope. To your left for James I’s young son Henry. Another Waterloo Barracks Chapel Royal Moat of St Peter are the casements of the former Royal Mint, which unmissable suit is that of Henry VIII, almost Ticket ad Vincula was moved from this site to new buildings square-shaped to match the monarch’s Office Beauchamp Tower Fusiliers Museum Constable northeast of the castle in 1812. body by his 40s, and featuring what must ὈὈὈὈὈὈὈScaffoldὈ Site Tower Continuing past the Bell Tower along have been the most impressive posing Middle Tower Moat Tower White Hospital Water Lane between the walls you come pouch in the kingdom. Green Tower Thames Block to the famous Traitors’ Gate, the gateway The stretch of green between the West Gate Byward Broad Boat Tower Arrow Tower Bridge Approach Tickets (Main Queen's Cannon Tower through which prisoners being brought Wakefield and White Towers is where the Entrance) Bell House by river entered the tower. Above the Tower’s famous ravens are found. Opposite Tower Bloody Ravens New Tower Armouries Water Lane gate, rooms inside St Thomas’s Tower show Wakefield Tower and the White Tower Wakefield Roman City Café Ramparts Tower Wall Fragments what the hall and bedchamber of Edward I is the Bloody Tower, with an exhibition on ὈὈὈὈὈὈὈὈὈὈὈὈὈὈὈὈ St Katharine's Way St Thomas's Salt Tower Tower (1272–1307) might once have looked like. Elizabethan adventurer Sir Walter Raleigh, Lanthorn Tower Here also archaeologists have peeled back who was imprisoned here three times by Tower Pier Traitors' Gate the layers of newer buildings to find what the capricious Elizabeth I, most significantly Cradle Well Develin Tower Tower Tower went before. Opposite St Thomas’s Tower from 1605 to 1616. To St is Wakefield Tower, built by Henry III between The Bloody Tower acquired its nickname T H A M E S Katharine's Dock 1220 and 1240. Its upper floor is actually from the story that the ‘princes in the ὈὈὈὈὈὈὈὈὈὈὈὈὈὈ (200m) entered via St Thomas’s Tower and has tower’, Edward V and his younger brother,

Tower been even more enticingly furnished with were murdered here to annul their claims Bridge a replica throne and huge candelabra to to the throne. The blame is usually laid at give an impression of how, as an anteroom the door of their uncle Richard III, although 120 121 lonelyplanet.com lonelyplanet.com Henry VII might also have been responsible you past the dozen or so crowns that are the main gates makes the changing of the The Tower Bridge Exhibition (%7940 3985; www for the crime. centrepiece, including the £27.5 million Im- guard at Buckingham Palace look like a .towerbridge.org.uk; adult/under 5yr/5-15yr/senior & Beside the Bloody Tower sits a collection perial State Crown, set with diamonds (2868 recently invented tourist trick – the guards student/family £6/free/3/4.50/14; h10am-6.30pm of black-and-white half-timbered Tudor of them to be exact), sapphires, emeralds, have been performing the ceremony every Apr-Oct, 9.30am-6pm Nov-Mar, last admission 1hr before day unbroken for more than 600 years. Even houses that are home to Tower of London rubies and pearls, and the platinum crown closing) explains the nuts and bolts of it all. If when a bomb hit the Tower of London dur- staff. The Queen’s House, where Anne Boleyn of the late Queen Mother, Elizabeth, which is you’re not particularly technically minded, ing the Blitz, the ceremony was delayed by lived out her final days in 1536, now houses famously set with the 105-carat Koh-i-Noor however, it’s still interesting to get inside just 30 minutes, which as everyone agrees the resident governor and is closed to the (Mountain of Light) diamond. Surrounded the bridge and look out its windows along is the essence of the famed stiff upper lip. public. by myth and legend, the 14th-century dia- the Thames. North of the Queen’s House, across Tower mond has been claimed by both India and Entry to the ceremony is free, but in a suit- Green, is the scaffold site, where seven people Afghanistan. It reputedly confers enormous ably antiquated style you have to apply for were executed by beheading in Tudor power on its owner, but male owners are tickets by post as demand is so high. See the ALL HALLOWS-BY-THE-TOWER Map p110 times: two of Henry VIII’s six wives, the destined to die a tormented death. website for details. %7481 2928; Byward St EC3; admission free; alleged adulterers Anne Boleyn and Cath- Behind the Waterloo Barracks is the There is limited disabled access to the h9am-5.45pm Mon-Fri, 10am-5pm Sat & Sun; erine Howard; the latter’s lady-in-waiting, newly opened Bowyer Tower, where George, tower. Call ahead for more information. tTower Hill Jane Rochford; Margaret Pole, countess of Duke of Clarence, brother and rival of All Hallows is the parish where famous Salisbury, descended from the House of Edward IV, was imprisoned, and, according AROUND THE TOWER OF LONDON diarist Samuel Pepys recorded his observa- York; 16-year-old Lady Jane Grey, who fell to a long-standing legend that has never Map p120 tions of the nearby Great Fire of London in 1666. Above ground it’s a pleasant enough foul of Henry’s daughter Mary I by being been proved, was drowned in a barrel of Despite the Tower’s World Heritage Site her rival for the throne; William, Lord Hast- Malmsey (sweet Madeira wine). status, the area immediately to the north is church, rebuilt after WWII. There’s a copper ings; and Robert Devereux, Earl of Essex, The Fusiliers Museum to the east of Water- fairly disappointing, especially as in recent spire added in 1957 to make the church once a favourite of Elizabeth I. loo Barracks is run by the Royal Regiment years much of it has been a construction stand out more, a pulpit from a Wren These people were executed within the of Fusiliers, who charge a separate nominal site. Just outside Tower Hill tube station, a church in Cannon St destroyed in the war, tower precincts largely to spare the mon- entrance fee. This museum covers the his- giant bronze sundial depicts the history of a beautiful 17th-century font cover by the arch the embarrassment of the usual public tory of the Royal Fusiliers dating back to London from AD 43 to 1982. It stands on a master woodcarver Grinling Gibbons and execution on Tower Hill, an event that was 1685, and has models of several battles. A some interesting modern banners. NEIGHBOURHOODS platform offering a view of the neighbour- NEIGHBOURHOODS usually attended by thousands of specta- 10-minute video gives details of the mod- ing Trinity Square Gardens, once the site of the However, a church by the name All Hal- tors. In the case of Robert Devereux, the ern regiment. Tower Hill scaffold and now home to Edwin lows (meaning ‘All Saints’) has stood on this authorities perhaps also feared a popular The redbrick New Armouries in the south- Lutyens’ memorial to the marines and site since AD 675, and the best bit of the uprising in his support. eastern corner of the inner courtyard merchant sailors who lost their lives during building today is undoubtedly its atmos- Behind the scaffold site is the Beauchamp houses the New Armouries Café where you can WWI. A grassy area, off the steps leading pheric Saxon undercroft, or crypt (admission £3; h10am-4pm Mon-Sat, 1-4pm Sun). There you’ll Tower, where high-ranking prisoners includ- grab a pricey sandwich or soup lunch. to a subway under the main road, lets you THE CITY ing Anne Boleyn and Lady Jane Grey were There are plenty of other attractions, as inspect a stretch of the medieval wall built on find a pavement of reused Roman tiles and THE CITY jailed and where unhappy inscriptions from well as churches, shops and toilets within Roman foundations, with a modern statue walls of the 7th-century Saxon church, as the condemned are on display today. the tower complex, but before you leave of Emperor Trajan (r AD 98–117) standing in well as coins and bits of local history. Behind the scaffold site lies the Chapel you should also walk along the inner front of it. At the other end of the tunnel is a William Penn, founder of Pennsylvania, Royal of St Peter ad Vincula (St Peter in Chains), a ramparts. This Wall Walk begins with the postern (gate) dating from the 13th century. was baptised here in 1644 and there’s a rare example of ecclesiastical Tudor archi- 13th-century Salt Tower, probably used to memorial to him in the undercroft. John tecture and the burial place of those be- store saltpetre for gunpowder, and takes TOWER BRIDGE Map p110 Quincy Adams, sixth president of the USA, headed on the scaffold outside or at nearby in Broad Arrow Tower, which houses an exhibit tTower Hill was also married at All Hallows in 1797. Tower Hill. Unfortunately, it can only be about the gunpowder plotters imprisoned Perhaps second only to Big Ben as Lon- visited on a group tour or after 4.30pm, so here, many of their original inscriptions don’s most recognisable symbol, Tower THE CITY WALK if you aren’t already part of a group hang having been discovered on the walls. The Bridge doesn’t disappoint up close. There’s around until one shows up and then tag walk ends at the Martin Tower, which houses something about its neo-Gothic towers and Walking Tour along. Alternatively, attend a service, which an exhibition about the original corona- blue suspension struts that that make it 1 Dr Johnson’s House takes place at 9am on Sunday. tion regalia. Here you can see some of the quite enthralling to look at. Built in 1894 as Find your way to this miraculously well-pre- To the east of the chapel and north of older crowns, which have had their jewels a much-needed crossing point in the east, served Georgian mansion (p114 ) in the heart of the the White Tower is the building that visitors removed. The oldest surviving crown is that it was equipped with a then revolutionary City and explore the story of Dr Johnson’s most want to see: Waterloo Barracks, the home of George I, which is topped with the ball bascule (seesaw) mechanism that could amazing life and wit within, perhaps even drop- of the Crown Jewels. You file past footage of and cross from James II’s crown. It was from clear the way for oncoming ships in three ping by to his local, Ye Olde Cheshire Cheese Queen Elizabeth II’s coronation backed by the Martin Tower that Colonel Thomas minutes. Although London’s days as a thriv- on Fleet St (see p282). stirring patriotic music before you reach the Blood attempted to steal the Crown Jewels ing port are long over, the bridge still does vault itself (check out the doors as you go in in 1671, disguised as a clergyman. its stuff, lifting around 1000 times per year 2 St Paul’s Cathedral – they look like they’d survive a nuclear at- Finally for those interested in the obscure and as many as 10 times per day in sum- Wren’s masterpiece, this cathedral (p109 ) tack). Once inside you’ll be confronted with ritual and ceremony of the British monarchy, mer. (For information on the next lifting is an unlikely survivor of the Blitz and ornate sceptres, plates, orbs and, naturally, the Key Ceremony takes place every evening ring %7940 3984 or check the following one of the London skyline’s best-loved crowns. A very slow-moving travelator takes at 9.30pm. This elaborate locking of the website.) features. Join the crowds to see the dazzling 122 123 lonelyplanet.com lonelyplanet.com 0 500 m THE CITY WALK 0 0.3 miles THE SOUTH BANK G St a se 4 Liverpool r u Chancery La d rho Moorgate Street e rte START n ha Fore St Station Eating p249 ; Drinking p282 ; Shopping p224 ; Sleeping p350 C Finsbury Li Holb ver M orn Circus poo H l S e i S o 3 t t d h St The transformation of this neighbourhood, which was until relatively recently considered to be t lb t L rt o ond a d wo S o t A rn n g l n V s e e n F i W s La a W C n a d a du ll p e Aldgate a the ‘wrong’ side of the Thames, has been nothing short of astonishing. This is where new London h r r c o x e r t t H a i S h S w n m East n s o t g i N e u c e l d Fetter S d w 5 B n faces off old London, and both come out winners. Indeed, two of the city’s major new landmarks e g G o a t o a d r te re o s n y Princes St r S sha C d t m B i New St t L S ld c t St h Aldgate have come to be located here, and they stare a pair of its oldest icons straight in the face. The a 1 Paul's C O t ate heap dle S Ludg Hill side dnee British Airways London Eye ‘wheel of good M P rea M Fleet St ou h t nh 2 ltr T ade all S i y S e t a L n City St Bank n Place K h o fortune’ has been raised across the water from s Thameslink Paul' yard i c r n r i e s Ch urch Below e d g u l n Station s l a tr W h S S the neo-Gothic Parliament at Westminster, e Tudor St c h i e t T l t Queen Victo l c S ria S t i a Fe h t Mansion a r nchurc S while the disused Bankside Power Station has m G Fenchurch House n Blackfriars S Temple e t Street bankment Station e Monument Tower END morphed into Tate Modern, London’s most ctoria Em u Station Vi Hill l Q Cannon 6 il Street ward St Tower H visited sight, opposite St Paul’s Cathedral. ames By Th k Station r Lo THE SOUTH BANK a e e wer e The South Bank is made up of five con- g g Th g w ame 7 d s d t h d S i i Bridge h i c r

Blackfriars r t r a u B B BFI Southbank ( p128 ) B o tiguous areas, which tend to blend into one

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p S e n und p o w r o A G o another without much warning. From west Borough Market ( p132 ) per d Up Southwark T W n o a S L to east they are: the area around Waterloo British Airways London Eye (below ) B t o r e u i r th d l w g o a o rk 8 railway station and the renovated Southbank Shakespeare’s Globe ( p130 ) e Tower St Bridge Centre complex of theatres and concert halls; Tate Modern ( p129 ) which runs not only the City but many of the Bankside and, to the south, Southwark, with WALK FACTS capital’s biggest parks. Here delve into the the stunning Millennium Bridge pushing off bizarre ritual of the guilds, see the excellent art from between Tate Modern and Shakespeare’s Globe; and Borough, with London’s most popular Start Chancery Lane tube station gallery and go back in time two millennia to see (and trendy) food market, and Bermondsey, boasting a slew of popular museums, including the End Tower Bridge (Tower Hill tube station) the remains of London’s Roman amphitheatre. London Dungeon and the Design Museum. Distance 1.5 miles The best way to see this neighbourhood is on foot. And if you follow the Silver Jubilee Walk- NEIGHBOURHOODS Duration Two hours way and the South Bank section of the Thames Path (see p206) along the southern riverbank – one NEIGHBOURHOODS Fuel stop Place Below (p249 ) 6 Monument This column ( p117 ) marks the Great Fire of Lon- of the most pleasant strolls in town – you’re in pole position to see it. Images of the industrial don, and – while not for the vertiginous – is age such as the Art Deco Oxo Tower have been given new life, while shiny space-age confections interior, the fascinating crypt, the whispering a superb way to see the City up close. De- such as City Hall have also sprung up. And always in sight is Father Thames himself. spite the number of high rises all around, the gallery and the breathtaking views over the ster and Waterloo changed all that and mas- Monument still feels extremely high, giving THE CITY capital from the cupola. WATERLOO sive Waterloo train station opened in 1848. BANK SOUTH THE you an idea of how massive it would have In 1951 the British government attempted 3 Museum of London looked in the 17th century! to raise the spirits of a nation still digging This wonderful museum (p113 ) may not look like through rubble and on restricted rations six BRITISH AIRWAYS LONDON EYE much from the outside, but it’s one of the 7 Tower of London years after the end of WWII by holding a Map p126 city’s best, totally devoted to documenting The sheer amount of history within the mas- national celebration called the Festival of Brit- %0870 500 0600; www.londoneye.com; Jubilee the multifaceted history of the capital through sive stone walls of the Tower of London ( p119) ain. Its permanent legacy in London was the Gardens SE1; adult/5-15yr/senior £14.50/7.25/11; its many stages of development from Saxon is hard to fathom. The White Tower, the Crown brutalist Royal Festival Hall, a building that h10am-8pm, to 9pm Jun-Sep, closed 1 week in Village to three-time Olympic city. Jewels, the Yeoman Warders, the Scaffold Site and helped shape the face of the river-facing South Jan; tWaterloo; w Traitor’s Gate all have fascinating stories asso- Bank for the next two decades. It’s difficult to remember what London 4 Barbican ciated with them and the Tower of London A cluster of concrete buildings known as looked like before the landmark London Built on the site of an old Roman watch- deserves at least a half day’s visit at the end the Southbank Centre still stands but has Eye began twirling at the southwestern end tower whence its name, the modern Barbican of the walk. undergone a remarkable makeover over the of Jubilee Gardens during the millennium ( p117 ) is the City’s fabulous arts centre and past decade. Though it will never compete year. Not only has it fundamentally altered an architectural wonder all of its own – 8 Tower Bridge with the impressive County Hall or iconic the skyline of the South Bank but, stand- love it or hate it, it’s worth a visit; check out A wonderful icon of Victorian engineering, London Eye in a beauty or popularity contest, ing 135m tall in a fairly flat city, it is visible the greenhouse, the lakes and Shakespeare’s par- Tower Bridge ( p123 ) has been a symbol of London the remodelled centre will at least be easier on from many surprising parts of the city (eg ish Church, St Giles’ Cripplegate. since the day it was built when it was the larg- the eye and continue to be the capital’s most Kennington and Mayfair). A ride – or ‘flight’, est bascule bridge in the world. A walk across important cultural complex. as sponsors British Airways (BA) like to call 5 Guildhall it (and visit to the interesting exhibition from Waterloo, named after a field in Belgium it – in one of the wheel’s 32 glass-enclosed Once the very heart of the City, seat of power which the views are spectacular) is a must to where the Duke of Wellington stopped Napo- gondolas holding up to 25 people is some- and influence, the Guildhall (p118 ) is today still appreciate old Father Thames at its widest and leon’s advance through Europe once and for thing you really can’t miss if you want to say the home to the Corporation of London, most spectacular. all, was nearly all marshland until the 18th you’ve ‘done’ London. It takes a gracefully century, as the name of one of the area’s main slow 30 minutes and, weather permitting, streets, Lower Marsh, suggests. Bridges from you can see 25 miles in every direction from the northern bank of the Thames at Westmin- the top of what is the world’s tallest Ferris 124 125 lonelyplanet.com NEIGHBOURHOODS THE SOUTH BANK B2 E2 D3 C2 D2 B3 B3 D2 D3 C2 D4 B2 A3 C2 B2 D2 A3 C2 D2 D3 127 , 61 62 63 64 65 66 67 68 69 70 71 72 73 74 75 76 77 78 79 80 (p384) County (pp311–21) (pp323–29) (pp339–61) (pp297–310) Spellbound. is one of the ) 7967 8000; www.lon w % ( 10am-6pm, to 7pm late Jul-Aug; (Persistence of Memory) (Persistence h Mad Hatter...... Orient Espresso...... Premier Travel Inn...... Southwark Rose Hotel...... St Christopher's Inn...... St Christopher's Village...... London Bicycle Tour Company.. On Your Bike...... Royal Oak...... 53) Wine Wharf...... (see 30) Southwark Cathedral...... (see 5) BFI Southbank...... (see Inigo Jones Theatre...... Factory...... Menier Chocolate 23) National Theatre...... (see Old Vic...... 27) Royal Festival Hall...... (see 28) Shakespeare's Globe...... (see 29) Southbank Centre...... (see Young Vic...... XXL...... Dover Castle Hostel...... Express by Holiday Inn Southwark...... King's College Great Dover St Apartments...... King's College Stamford St Apartments...... London Marriott County Hall.... LSE Collections Bankside House.. NIGHTLIFE ARTS GAY & LESBIAN SLEEPING TRANSPORT 10am-6.30pm); entry is included h B2 B3 D2 E3 E3 E3 E4 E4 B3 B2 A2 B3 C2 D2 D2 B3 D2 D2 D2 E4 E3 B2 D2 B3 A2 B3 E4 E3 (

33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 43 58 59 60 London Aquarium (pp215–34) (pp235–75) (pp277–96) Westminster or Waterloo; The artist’s paintings, etchings, sculp- twisted display in a series and other works on tures of low-lit galleries arranged according to Religion theme: Sensuality and Femininity, and Fantasy. and Mythology, and Dreams Keep an eye out for Dalí’s famous melt- ing pocket watch Mae West Lips Sofa and the backdrop he for Hitchcock’s film painted in the which have exhibitions, Temporary or past focused on such artists as Picasso in the adjacent located Warhol, are Hall Gallery room of and, as room after in Europe largest Fish good one. fish tanks go, this is a pretty grouped in some 14 zones according are from the Pacific to their geographic origin, Oceans and from temperate to the Atlantic in the general admission price. & student/family adult/3-14yr/senior donaquarium.co.uk; £13.25/9.75/11.25/44; t Konditor & Cook...... Radio Days...... Riverside Walk...... Anchor & Hope...... Bermondsey Kitchen...... 14) Blue Print Café...... (see 6) Borough Market...... (see Champor-Champor...... Coffee@Bermondsey...... Delfina...... Garrison...... Hartley...... Manze's...... Masters Super Fish...... Oxo Tower Restaurant & Brasserie...... 6) Roast...... (see Skylon...... Tas...... Tas Pide...... Wright Brothers...... Anchor Bankside...... Baltic...... Bar Blue...... George Inn...... King's Arms...... Laughing Gravy...... Market Porter...... Winchester Palace...... Winchester Market...... Bermondsey 49) Black + Blum...... (see 6) Borough Market...... (see Cockfighter of Bermondsey...... Konditor & Cook...... SHOPPING EATING D2 C2 D2 F3 D2 D2 A2 E2 A3 D2 E2 C1 A2 D2 A2 C2 A2 C2 A2 D3 A3 C2 A2 A2 D2 D2 E2 A3 F2 D2 A3 A3 Westminster or 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 2526 27 DRINKING 28 29 30 31 32 t (pp125–35) Map p126 Map 10am-6.30pm) is the world’s 0870 744 7485; www.daliuniverse h % (

w It seems that no major European city is It seems that no major European You can save 10% on standard flight You can save THE SOUTH BANK SOUTH THE BFI Southbank...... Borough Market...... of Tea & Bramah Museum Coffee...... Britain at War Experience...... British Airways London Eye...... City Hall...... Clink Prison Museum...... County Hall...... Dalí Universe...... Design Museum...... Golden Hinde...... Golden Hinde Shop (Ticket Office)...... Hayward Gallery...... HMS Belfast...... London Aquarium...... London Bridge Tower...... London Dungeon...... Millennium Bridge...... National Theatre...... Old Operating Theatre Museum & Herb Garret...... Purcell Room...... (see 25) Queen Elizabeth Hall...... Rose Theatre...... Royal Festival Hall...... Shakespeare's Globe...... Southbank Centre...... Southwark Cathedral...... Tate Modern...... Vinopolis...... Guy's Hospital...... Visitor Centre...... London 32) Tourist Office...... (see Southwark Bankside Gallery...... BFI IMAX Cinema...... INFORMATION SIGHTS

largest, with 500 of the prolific surrealist with 500 of the prolific surrealist largest, .com; adult/4-7yr/8-16yr/senior & student/family £12/5/8/10/30; Begun in 1909, County Hall took more than Begun in 1909, County Hall took more Today it contains decades to complete. five an art museum and gallery, vast aquarium and two hotels. these days without a museum complete to the work of Salvador Dalí, and devoted Dalí Universe COUNTY HALL Westminster Bridge Rd SE1; wheel. To the west lies Windsor, while to the you have In between, the east the sea. chance to pick out familiar landmarks. prices and avoid the queues to buy tickets by booking online (minimum two hours to arrive Be sure your chosen time). before in advance. 30 minutes Waterloo;

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0 500 m 500 126 lonelyplanet.com NEIGHBOURHOODS THE SOUTH BANK lonelyplanet.com lonelyplanet.com waters to tropical seas. The coral-reef (zone The Riverside Walk Market (h10am-7pm Sat & power station has become the world’s leading southwest corner in the form of a ziggurat – 10) and mangrove (zone 13) displays are Sun), with prints and second-hand books, modern art gallery (and, importantly, Lon- a spiralling stepped pyramid – by the same particularly impressive, and there’s a ‘touch takes place immediately in front of the BFI don’s most visited sight). architects is now under way and will be pool’ with manta rays for the kids. Southbank under the arches of the bridge. completed in 2012. TATE MODERN Map p126 Tate Modern’s permanent collection on levels 3 and 5 is now arranged by both SOUTHBANK CENTRE Map p126 BFI IMAX CINEMA Map p126 %general enquiries 7887 8000, tickets 7887 8888, theme and chronology. States of Flux is %0871 663 2509; www.southbankcentre.co.uk; %0870 787 2525; www.bfi.org.uk/imax; 1 Charlie recorded information 7887 8008; www.tate.org.uk Belvedere Rd SE1; twaterloo; w /modern; Queen’s Walk SE1; admission free, special devoted to early-20th-century avant-garde Chaplin Walk SE1; adult/4-14yr/senior & student movements, including cubism and futur- The flagship venue of the Southbank Centre, h exhibitions £6-10; h10am-6pm Sun-Thu, to from £8.50/5/6.25; 7 screenings 11am-8pm, ad- ism. Poetry and Dream examines surrealism the collection of concrete buildings and ditional screening at 11.15pm Sat; tWaterloo; w 10pm Fri & Sat; tSt Paul’s, Southwark or London through various themes and techniques. walkways wedged between Hungerford The renamed British Film Institute IMAX Bridge; w Material Gestures features European and and Waterloo Bridges, is the Royal Festival Hall. Cinema in the centre of a busy roundabout The public’s love affair with this phenom- American painting and sculpture of the It is the oldest building of the centre that is screens the predictable mix of 2-D and enally successful modern art gallery shows 1940s and ’50s. Idea and Object looks at still standing, having been erected to cheer IMAX 3-D documentaries about travel, no sign of waning. Serious art critics have minimalism and conceptual art from the up a glum postwar populace as part of the space and wildlife, lasting from 40 minutes occasionally swiped at its populism (eg Carl 1960s onward. 1951 Festival of Britain. Its slightly curved to 1½ hours, as well as recently released Höller’s funfairlike slides, Olafur Eliasson’s More than 60,000 works are on constant façade of glass and Portland stone always blockbusters. The drum-shaped building participatory The Weather Project, both in rotation here, and the curators have at won it more public approbation than its sits on ‘springs’ to reduce vibrations and the vast Turbine Hall) and poked holes in its their disposal paintings by Georges Braque, 1970s neighbours, but a two-year refit cost- traffic noise from the traffic circle and collection. But five million visitors appear to Henri Matisse, Piet Mondrian and Andy ing £75 million has added new pedestrian subways below, and the exterior changes disagree, making it the world’s most popu- Warhol, as well as pieces by Joseph Beuys, walkways, food outlets, bookshops and colour at night. And size does matter here: lar contemporary art gallery and – almost Marcel Duchamp, Damien Hirst, Rebecca music stores below it and a fabulous new the 477-seat cinema is the largest in Eu- unbelievably – the most visited sight in Horn, Claes Oldenburg and Auguste Rodin. restaurant called Sklylon ( p249 ). rope, with a screen measuring 20m high London, just ahead of the British Museum. Mark Rothko’s famous Seagram murals Just north, Queen Elizabeth Hall is the sec- and 26m wide. The critics are right in one sense, though: ond-largest concert venue in the centre this ‘Tate Modern effect’ is really more have been given their own space on level

NEIGHBOURHOODS and hosts chamber orchestras, quartets, about the building and its location than 3; other familiar favourites include Roy NEIGHBOURHOODS NATIONAL THEATRE Map p126 choirs, dance performances and even about the mostly 20th-century art inside. Lichtenstein’s Whaam! (level 5), Jackson % opera. It also contains the smaller Purcell 7452 3400; www.nationaltheatre.org.uk; South Leading Swiss architects Herzog & de Pollock’s Summertime: No 9A (level 3) and t w Room. Underneath its elevated floor, you’ll Bank SE1; Waterloo; Meuron won the Pritzker, architecture’s Andy Warhol’s Marilyn Diptych (level 5). find a real skateboarders’ hang-out, suitably This is the nation’s flagship theatre com- most prestigious prize, for their transforma- Special exhibitions (level 4) in the past decorated with master-class graffiti tagging. plex, comprising three auditoriums: the tion of the empty Bankside Power Station, have included retrospectives on Edward

Olivier, Lyttelton and Cottesloe. Opened Hopper, Frida Kahlo, August Strindberg, THE SOUTH BANK THE SOUTH The Hayward Gallery (%0870 380 0400; www.hay which was built between 1947 and 1963 BANK THE SOUTH in 1976 – one of your humble authors (no ward.org.uk; admission from £5; h10am-6pm, to 10pm and decommissioned 23 years later. Leav- Nazism and ‘Degenerate’ Art and local ‘bad prize for guessing which one) worked in boys’ Gilbert & George. Audioguides, with four Fri & Sat) is one of London’s premier exhibi- ing the building’s single central chimney, the staff canteen that spring and watched different tours, are available for £2. Free tion spaces for major international art adding a two-storey glass box onto the Albert Finney rehearse in Peter Hall’s Tam- guided highlights tours depart at 11am, noon, shows. The grey fortresslike building dating roof and using the vast Turbine Hall as a burlaine the Great by Christopher Marlowe – 2pm and 3pm daily. from 1968 it makes an excellent hanging dramatic entrance space were three strokes and modernised to the tune of £42 million The Tate Boat, painted by Damien Hirst, space for the blockbuster exhibitions it puts of genius. Then, of course, there are the in the late 1990s, it’s been undergoing an operates between the Bankside Pier at Tate on. Admission prices depend on what’s on. wonderful views of the Thames and St artistic renaissance under the directorship Paul’s, particularly from the restaurant-bar Modern and the Millbank Pier at sister- of Nicholas Hytner. Backstage tours (adult/ on the 7th level and coffee bar on the 4th. museum Tate Britain ( p103 ), stopping en route BFI SOUTHBANK Map p126 concession/family £5/4/13; htours 6 times Mon-Fri, 2 There’s also a café on the 2nd level, plus at the London Eye. Services from Tate %7255 1444, bookings 7928 3232; www.bfi.org.uk; times Sat) lasting 1¼ hours are also offered. places to relax overlooking the Turbine Hall. Modern depart from 10am to 4.40pm daily, Theatre Ave SE1; h11am-11pm; twaterloo; w There are sometimes art exhibitions in the An 11-storey glass tower extension to the at 40-minute intervals (see p387). Tucked almost out of sight under the lobby and other public areas. arches of Waterloo Bridge, and until re- cently called the National Film Theatre, is PICK OF THE STYX: LONDON’S UNDERGROUND RIVERS the revamped British Film Institute South- BANKSIDE & SOUTHWARK The Thames is not London’s only river: many have been culverted over the centuries and now course unseen un- bank containing four cinemas that screen Outside the jurisdiction of the City and noto- derground. Some survive only in place names: Hole Bourne, Wells, Tyburn, Walbrook and Westbourne, which was some 2000 films a year, a gallery and the rious for its brothels, bear-baiting and prisons, dammed up in 1730 to form the Serpentine in Hyde Park. The most famous of these Rivers Styx is the Fleet, which new Mediatheque (%7928 3535; admission free; Bankside was London’s very own Sodom and rises in Hampstead and Kenwood ponds and flows south through Camden Town, King’s Cross, Farringdon Rd and New h11am-8pm), where you watch film and TV Gomorrah during Elizabethan times. And it Bridge St, where it empties into the Thames at Blackfriars Bridge. It had been used as an open sewer and as a dumping highlights from the BFI National Archive. was for this reason that Shakespeare’s Globe area for entrails by butchers for centuries; the Elizabethan playwright Ben Jonson describes a voyage on the Fleet on a The BFI is largely a repertory or art-house Theatre and the nearby Rose Theatre were hot summer’s night in which every stroke of the oars ‘belch’d forth an ayre as hot as the muster of all your night-tubs theatre, runs regular retrospectives and built here. A full five centuries on, the area’s discharging their merd-urinous load’. After the Great Fire Christopher Wren oversaw the deepening and widening is the major venue for the London Film entertainments are somewhat more highbrow. of a section of the Fleet into a canal, but this was covered over in 1733 as was the rest of the river three decades later. Festival in late October. The Globe has gone respectable and a disused 128 129 lonelyplanet.com lonelyplanet.com MILLENNIUM BRIDGE Map p126 of listed Georgian houses, Wanamaker set the admiral and his rather short – average on Londoners’ love affair with things red, Arguably the most useful of all the so- up the Globe Playhouse Trust in 1970 and height: 1.6m – crew. This tiny five-deck gal- white and rosé. Vinopolis provides a pretty called millennium projects to open in 2000, began fundraising for a memorial theatre. leon was home to Drake and his crew from cheesy tour of the world of wine and it’s the Millennium Bridge pushes off from Work started only 200m from the original 1577 to 1580 as they became the first sailors very popular with hen parties; need we the south bank of the Thames in front of Globe site in 1987, but Wanamaker died to circumnavigate the globe. Adult visitors say more? However, those with time and Tate Modern and berths on the north bank four years before it opened in 1997. wandering around stooped must also marvel patience who want to know a little more at the steps of Peter’s Hill below St Paul’s The new Globe was painstakingly con- at how the taller, modern-day crew managed about wine production and regional varie- Cathedral. The low-slung frame designed structed with 600 oak pegs (there’s not a nail to spend 20 years at sea on this 37m-long ties from France to South Africa and Chile by Sir Norman Foster and Antony Caro or a screw in the house), specially fired Tudor replica, after it was launched in 1973. to Australia will find it interesting enough. looks pretty spectacular, particularly lit up bricks and thatching reeds from Norfolk that – Tickets are available from the Golden Hinde Be advised, though, that you need to follow at night with fibre optics, and the view of for some odd reason – pigeons don’t like; Shop (%7403 0123; Pickfords Wharf, 1 Clink St SE1) just the audioguide to make sense of the exhib- St Paul’s from the South Bank has swiftly even the plaster contains goat hair, lime and opposite the ruins of Winchester Palace. You its, which introduce visitors to the history become one of London’s iconic images. The sand as it did in Shakespeare’s time. Unlike can also spend the night aboard for £39.50 of wine-making, vineyards and grape bridge got off on the wrong, err, footing other venues for Shakespearean plays, this per person, including a supper of stew and varietals, regional characteristics and which when it had to be closed just three days theatre has been designed to resemble the bread and a breakfast of bread and cheese. wine goes with which food. All tours, in- after opening in June 2000 because of the original as closely as possible – even if that cluding the Original Tour (£16), end in the means leaving the arena open to the skies Grand Tasting Halls, where you sample five alarming way it swayed under the weight CLINK PRISON MUSEUM Map p126 of pedestrians. An 18-month refit costing and roar of passing aircraft, expecting the different wines from around the world. The %7403 0900; www.clink.co.uk; 1 Clink St SE1; £5 million eventually saw it right. 500 ‘groundlings’ to stand even in the rain, Discovery (£21), Vintage (£26) and Cham- and obstructing much of the view from the adult/senior, student & child/family £5/3.50/12; pagne (£31) Tours include additional wine seats closest to the stage with two enormous h10am-6pm, to 9pm Jul-Sep; tLondon Bridge tastings as well as other alcoholic libations. SHAKESPEARE’S GLOBE Map p126 This erstwhile private jail in the park of Win- %7902 1500; www.shakespeares-globe.org; ‘original’ Corinthian pillars. The Globe Café on the Piazza level and the Globe Restaurant on the chester Palace ( below ), a 28-hectare area known BANKSIDE GALLERY Map p126 21 New Globe Walk SE1; exhibition entrance incl as the Liberty of the Clink and under the %7928 7521; www.banksidegallery.com; 48 Hop- guided tour of theatre adult/5-15yr/senior & 1st floor are open for lunch and dinner till 10pm or 11pm. jurisdiction of the bishops of Winchester ton St SE1; admission free; h11am-6pm; tSt student/family £9/6.50/7.50/20; h9am-noon & The season runs from May to early Oc- and not the City, was used to detain debt- Paul’s, Southwark or London Bridge; w

NEIGHBOURHOODS 12.30-5pm Mon-Sat, 9am-11.30am & noon-5pm Sun NEIGHBOURHOODS tober. For ticket details see p318. Attempts ors, whores, thieves and even actors. This Bankside Gallery is home to the Royal Wa- mid-Apr–mid-Oct, 10am-5pm mid-Oct–mid-Apr, to raise funds to complete the indoor Inigo was the notorious address that gave us the tercolour Society and the Royal Society of t w tours every 15-30min; London Bridge; Jones Theatre, a replica of a Jacobean play- expression ‘in the clink’ (in jail). The poky, Painter-Printmakers. There’s no permanent Shakespeare’s Globe consists of the recon- house connected to the Globe for winter rather hokey museum inside reveals the collection at this friendly upbeat place, but structed Globe Theatre and, beneath it, performances, have not been successful. wretched life of the prisoners who were there are frequently changing exhibitions an exhibition hall, entry to which includes forced to pay for their own food and ac- of watercolours, prints and engravings. Call

THE SOUTH BANK THE SOUTH a tour of the Globe Theatre except when commodation. There’s a nice little collec- ahead for the occasional Artists’ Perspec- BANK THE SOUTH matinées are being staged. Then the tour ROSE THEATRE Map p126 %7902 1500; www.rosetheatre.org.uk; 56 Park St tion of instruments of torture, too. tives, where artists talk about their work, shifts to the nearby Rose Theatre ( right ). The and other events. exhibition focuses on Elizabethan London SE1; adult/5-15yr/senior & student £6.50/3.50/5.50; and stagecraft and the struggle to get the h1-5pm Tue-Sun May-Oct; tLondon Bridge; w WINCHESTER PALACE Map p126 theatre rebuilt in the 20th century. The ex- The Rose, for which Christopher Marlowe Clink St SE1; tLondon Bridge BOROUGH & BERMONDSEY hibits devoted to Elizabethan special effects and Ben Jonson wrote their greatest plays All that remains of a huge palace complex, Although parts of these two are still pretty and costumes are especially interesting as and in which Shakespeare learned his craft, built by the powerful and corrupt bishops rundown, the area is very much on the up and are the recordings of some of the greatest is unique in that its original 16th-century of Winchester in the early 12th century, is a up and trend-followers like to bill it as ‘the Shakespearean performances ever. foundations have been unearthed. They 14th-century rose window carved in a wall new Hoxton’. Indeed, all the prerequisites are The original Globe – known as the were discovered in 1989 beneath an office from the Great Hall, and parts of the floor- already in place here: a trendy market, a com- ‘Wooden O’ after its circular shape and building at Southwark Bridge and given a ing, both visible from the street. The palace munity of creative types living in loft buildings roofless centre – was erected in 1599 with protective concrete cover. Administered by was built in 1109 and remained the bish- such as the former Hartley jam factory, and a timber taken from the demolished Theatre the nearby Globe Theatre, the Rose is open ops’ home for more than 500 years, before growing cluster of gastropubs, restaurants and (1576) on Curtain Rd in Shoreditch. The to the public only when matinées are being being converted into a prison for royalists hip cafés in and around popular Bermondsey Globe was closed in 1642 after the English performed at the Globe Theatre. under the puritanical Oliver Cromwell in St. The HMS Belfast, the London Dungeon Civil War was won by the Puritans, who 1642. The rose window was discovered in a and the neighbourhood’s several museums regarded the theatre as the devil’s work- GOLDEN HINDE Map p126 Clink St warehouse in 1814. are all worth exploring. shop, and it was dismantled two years later. %0870 011 8700; www.goldenhinde.org; St Mary Despite the worldwide popularity of Shake- Overie Dock, Cathedral St SE1; adult/child, senior VINOPOLIS Map p126 SOUTHWARK CATHEDRAL Map p126 speare over the centuries, the Globe was & student/family £6/4.50/18; h9am-5.30pm; %0870 241 4040; www.vinopolis.co.uk; 1 Bank %7367 6700; www.southwark.anglican.org/ca barely a distant memory when American tLondon Bridge End SE1; tours £16-31; hnoon-10pm Mon, Thu thedral; Montague Close SE1; admission free, actor (and later film director) Sam Wana- Okay, it looks like a dinky theme-park ride & Fri, 11am-9pm Sat, noon-6pm Sun; tLondon requested donation £4; h8am-6pm; tLondon maker came searching for it in 1949. Un- and kids do love it, but stepping aboard this Bridge; w Bridge; w deterred by the fact that the foundations replica of Sir Francis Drake’s famous Tudor Vinopolis, spread over a hectare of Victo- The earliest surviving part of this relatively of the theatre had vanished beneath a row ship will inspire genuine admiration for rian railway vaults in Bankside, cashes in small cathedral is the atmospheric retrochoir, 130 131 lonelyplanet.com lonelyplanet.com which was part of the 13th-century Priory In recent years this museum, founded by Sir to Doom that has you ‘plummeting’ to your the open deck, there are 16 six-inch guns, of St Mary Overie (from ‘St Mary over the Terence Conran 20 years ago and housed death by hanging from the gallows. whose sights you can peer through. Water’). However, most of the building, in a 1930s-era warehouse, has abandoned It’s a good idea to buy tickets online Your (free) audioguide will help you including the nave, is Victorian. its permanent collection of 20th- and (adult/five to 15 years/16 to 18 years, stu- wend your way from one audio point to You enter via the southwest door and 21st-century objects to make way for a dent and senior £19.50/16.95/18.25) for this the next on five decks and four platforms. immediately to the left is the Marchioness revolving programme of special exhibitions. camped-up 90-minute gore-fest to avoid There is some disabled access. Call ahead memorial to the 51 people who died when But although those shows are populist – a the mammoth queues. for more information. a pleasure cruiser on the Thames hit a display of Manolo Blahnik shoes; Formula dredger and sank near Southwark Bridge One racing cars; the evolution and use of CITY HALL Map p126 BRITAIN AT WAR EXPERIENCE Map p126 in 1989. In the north transept, you’ll see a what is our favourite material in the world, %7983 4100; www.london.gov.uk; The Queen’s %7403 3171; www.britainatwar.co.uk; 64-66 memorial tablet to Lionel Lockyer (a quack doctor Velcro – they are also very popular. The Walk SE1; admission free; h8am-8pm Mon-Fri Tooley St SE1; adult/under 16yr/concession/family celebrated for his pills) and its humorous informal White Café (h10am-5.30pm) is on the & 1st weekend of the month; tTower Hill or £9.50/4.85/5.75/20; h10am-5.30pm Apr-Sep, to epitaph. On the eastern side of the north ground floor and the more formal Blue Print London Bridge; w 4.30pm Oct-Mar; tLondon Bridge transept is the Harvard Chapel, originally the Café ( p250 ) restaurant is upstairs. Glass-clad City Hall, designed by Sir Nor- Under another Tooley St railway arch, the chapel of St John the Evangelist but now A short distance to the south of the man Foster and Ken Shuttleworth, is trans- Britain at War Experience aims to educate named after John Harvard, founder of Har- museum in the centre of Queen Eliza- parent in both the figurative and literal the younger generation about the effect vard University in Cambridge, Massachu- beth St is a bronze statue of Jacob, one of % WWII had on daily life while simultaneously setts, who was baptised here in 1607. senses. There’s a visitors centre ( 9am-5.30pm) the many Courage Brewery dray horses on the lower ground floor, which also playing on the nostalgia of the war genera- A few steps to the east is the 16th- stabled here in the 19th century. These tion who sit in the mock Anderson air-raid century Great Screen separating the choir includes the ‘London Photomat’, an aerial workhorses delivered beer all over London photo of 1000 sq metres of the city stuck shelter listening to the simulated sounds of from the retrochoir. The screen was a gift of from the brewery on Horselydown (‘horse warning sirens and bombers flying over- the bishop of Winchester in 1520. On the to the floor and large enough for you to lie down’) Lane, where the poor old things walk on and pick out individual buildings, head with extraordinary detachment. In choir floor is a tablet marking the tomb of rested before crossing the bridge – again general it’s a tribute to ordinary people and Edmond Shakespeare, actor-brother of the Bard, and a café looking onto an outside amphi- and again. theatre. Some other areas, including the comes off fairly well – though the rather who died in 1607. musty displays make it feel like you’re on a In the south aisle of the nave is a green ramp, the meeting room on the 6th floor NEIGHBOURHOODS LONDON DUNGEON Map p126 called ‘London’s Living Room’ (available to low-budget TV stage-set. NEIGHBOURHOODS alabaster monument to William Shakespeare with You descend by lift to a reproduction depictions of the original Globe Theatre %7403 7221, recorded information 0900 160 any Londoner) and outside viewing gallery, 0066; www.thedungeons.com; 28-34 Tooley are open on certain weekends. Check the of an Underground station fitted with and Southwark Cathedral; the stained-glass bunks, tea urns and even a lending library window above shows characters from A St SE1; adult/5-15yr/16-18yr, student & senior website for details. £16.95/11.05/13.95; h10am-5.30pm Apr-late Oct, (as some of the stations really were) and Midsummer Night’s Dream, Hamlet and The then progress through rooms that display Tempest. Beside the monument is a plaque to 5pm late Oct-Mar; tLondon Bridge HMS BELFAST Map p126 wartime newspaper front pages, posters THE SOUTH BANK THE SOUTH BANK THE SOUTH to Sam Wanamaker (1919–93), the American Under the arches of the Tooley St railway %7940 6300; www.hmsbelfast.org.uk; Morgan’s and Ministry of Food ration books. The BBC film director and actor who was the force bridge, the London Dungeon was suppos- Lane, Tooley St SE1; adult/under 16yr/senior & Radio Studio allows you to hear broadcasts behind the rebuilt Globe Theatre. edly developed after somebody’s kid didn’t student £9.95/free/6.15; h10am-6pm Mar-Oct, to from everyone from Winston Churchill and Audioguides (adult/child/senior & student find Madame Tussauds Chamber of Horrors 5pm Nov-Feb; tLondon Bridge; w Edward Murrow to Hitler and Lord Haw £2.50/1.25/2) to the main cathedral, lasting frightening enough. Well, they failed in that Moored in the Thames opposite the newly Haw; the Rainbow Corner is a mock-up of a about 40 minutes, are available from the endeavour but the place continues to mint laid-out Potters Fields Park, HMS Belfast is a club frequented by American GIs ‘over here’. gift shop. Evensong is at 5.30pm weekdays, money. big toy that kids of all ages generally love. Finally, you emerge amid the wreckage of 4pm Saturday and 3pm Sunday. It all starts with a stagger through a Of course, for most of its commissioned a shop hit by a bomb, with the smoke still mirror maze (the Labyrinth of the Lost); life this large, light cruiser had a rather eddying around and the injured – or dead – BOROUGH MARKET Map p126 followed by a waltz through the bubonic more serious purpose than as a plaything. being carried from the rubble. %7407 1002; www.boroughmarket.org.uk; cnr plague (c 1665); a push through a torture Launched in 1938 from the Belfast shipyard Southwark & Stoney Sts SE1; h11am-5pm Thu, chamber; a run ‘through’ the Great Fire Harland & Wolff, it served in WWII, most OLD OPERATING THEATRE MUSEUM noon-6pm Fri, 9am-4pm Sat; tLondon Bridge of London (where – to give you an idea noticeably in the Normandy landings, and & HERB GARRET Map p126 Here in some form or another since the of the production values – wafting fab- during the Korean War. %7188 2679; www.thegarret.org.uk; 9a St 13th century, ‘London’s Larder’ has enjoyed ric makes up the ‘flames’); a close shave It probably helps to be keen on things Thomas St SE1; adult/child/senior & student/family an enormous renaissance in recent years, with Sweeney Todd, the demon barber of naval, but the HMS Belfast is surprisingly £5.25/3/4.25/12.95; h10.30am-5pm; tLondon overflowing with food-lovers, both expe- Fleet St; and an encounter with Jack the interesting for what it shows of the way Bridge rienced and wannabes, and has become Ripper, where the Victorian serial killer is of life on board a cruiser, laying out every- This unique museum, at the top of the nar- quite a tourist destination. See also p242 ). shown with the five prostitutes he sliced thing from its operations room – which row and rickety 32-step tower of St Thomas and diced, their entrails hanging out in full has been reconstructed to show its role in Church (1703), focuses on the nastiness DESIGN MUSEUM Map p126 gory display. The best bits, though, are the the 1943 Battle of North Cape off Norway, of 19th-century hospital treatment. The %0870 833 9955; www.designmuseum.org; 28 vaudevillian delights of being sentenced which ended in the sinking of the Ger- garret was used by the apothecary of St Shad Thames SE1; adult/under 12/student & conces- by a mad, bewigged judge on trumped-up man battleship Scharnhorst – and bridge Thomas’s Hospital to store medicinal herbs sion £7/free/4; h10am-5.45pm; tTower Hill or charges, the fairground-ride boat to Trai- (where you can sit in the admiral’s chair) and now houses an atmospheric medical London Bridge; w tor’s Gate and the new Extremis Drop Ride to its boiler room and living quarters. On museum delightfully hung with bunches of 132 133 lonelyplanet.com herbs that soften the impact of the horrible teacups and silverware to Japanese canisters of light’ designed by Sir Norman Foster, is overlooked but well worth a visit, especially lonelyplanet.com devices displayed in the glass cases. of tea. In the adjoining Tea Room (%7.30am- everything contemporary architecture should for its historical associations. A monument to Even more interesting is the 19th-century 6pm), your cuppa is served with an egg timer be: modern, beautiful and useful. It carries up Shakespeare, whose great works were origi- operating theatre attached to the garret. so you can get the infusion just right. to 10,000 pedestrians each day. nally written for the Bankside playhouses, Here you’ll see the sharp, vicious-looking takes pride of place here. instruments 19th-century doctors used, 4 Golden Hinde and you’ll view the rough-and-ready condi- THE SOUTH BANK WALK Now that the Cutty Sark ( p183 ) is on sick leave, 6 City Hall tions under which they operated – without Walking Tour the Golden Hinde ( p130) is the only masted ship Nicknamed ‘the egg’ (or, more cheekily, ‘the antiseptic on a wooden table in what looks open to visitors in a city that was once the testicle’ because of its shape), this glass-clad like a modern lecture hall. Placards explain 1 County Hall Across Westminster Bridge from the Houses largest and richest port in the world. It’s tiny building ( p133 ) could also be likened to a space- how, without anaesthetic, surgeons had to but fascinating to visit. man wearing a helmet. It has an interior perform quickly on patients; one minute of Parliament, this monumental building ( p127) with its curved façade and colonnades was once spiral ramp ascending above the assembly to complete an amputation was reckoned 5 Southwark Cathedral chamber to the building’s roof, which has about right. A box of sawdust was placed home to the London County Council and then the renamed (1965) Greater London Council. Sometimes referred to as the ‘Cinderella of now been fitted with energy-saving solar beneath the table to catch the blood and English cathedrals’, Southwark ( p131 ) is often panels. guts and contemporary accounts record It now houses museums and hotels. the surgeons wearing frock coats ‘stiff and stinking with pus and blood’. Don’t eat 2 BFI Southbank lunch before visiting and you probably The long-awaited new headquarters of the won’t want it afterwards. British Film Institute ( p128) in South Bank is a mecca for film buffs and historians alike. It BRAMAH MUSEUM OF TEA & COFFEE screens thousands of films in four theatres Map p126 each year, and archived films are available for %7403 5650; www.bramahmuseum.co.uk; 40 watching in the new Mediatheque. Southwark St SE1; adult/child/senior & student/ family £4/3/3.50/10; h10am-6pm; tLondon 3 Millennium Bridge NEIGHBOURHOODS Bridge; w This pedestrian bridge ( p130 ) linking the north and NEIGHBOURHOODS This is a pleasant, nostalgic place to while south banks of the Thames, a slender ‘blade away half an hour – provided your visit does not coincide with the arrival of another tour group. Trace the route by which tea conquered the world, making its way to the WALK FACTS

THE SOUTH BANK THE SOUTH sitting rooms of Holland and England and Start Waterloo tube station BANK THE SOUTH further afield from the eastern seaports of End London Bridge tube station China; nearby Butler’s Wharf once handled Distance 1.5 miles 6000 chests of tea in a single a day. Or Duration Two hours simply enjoy the chintzy cornucopia of tea- Fuel stop Tas Pide ( p275 ) and coffee-drinking equipment, from floral

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p d a i n h d S te g K t r u s lo ro e o Borough o L y B o R ng S d t Lambeth La ugh Rd H North Boro R a W d d rp Bermondsey es ridge R e tminster B r 134 135 lonelyplanet.com lonelyplanet.com forefront of London, nay world, fashion dur- education. Tours – informative and enter- HYDE PARK TO CHELSEA ing the technicolour ’60s and anarchic ’70s, taining – can be organised by appointment. and continues to be trendy now, albeit in a Eating p251 ; Drinking p284 ; Shopping p226 ; Sleeping p351 more self-conscious way. The street begins at The area stretching from Hyde Park – the largest of London’s Royal Parks – to Chelsea is high- ALBERT & BATTERSEA BRIDGES Sloane Sq, to the north of which runs Sloane Map pp138–9 class territory. It’s all groomed trust-fund babes, blond boys in convertibles, multimillion-pound St, celebrated for its designer boutiques. property and glitzy shopping, and even though South Kensington encompasses a lot of the class, One of London’s most striking bridges, it isn’t all about eye candy: thanks to Prince Albert and the 1851 Great Exhibition, the area is the Albert is a cross between a cantilever also home to the Natural History ( p141) , Science ( p141) and Victoria & Albert ( p139) Museums. CHELSEA OLD CHURCH Map pp138–9 and a suspension bridge, buttressed to This is also one of London’s most sophisticated stretches, with sizable English, French, Italian %7795 1019; cnr Cheyne Walk & Old Church St SW3; strengthen it as an alternative to closure and Far Eastern communities all snuggled happily under the umbrella of prosperity. h1.30-5.30pm Tue-Fri & Sun; tSloane Sq; w in the 1960s. It was designed by Roland Chelsea has been one of London’s most fashionable precincts ever since chancellor Thomas This church is principally a monument to Mason Ordish in 1873, but later modified More moved here in the early 16th century. The ‘village of palaces’ became one of London’s most Thomas More (1477–1535), the former by the engineer Joseph Bazalgette, who desirable neighbourhoods, as it was close to chancellor (and now Roman Catholic saint) then built the companion Battersea Bridge the bustle of the City and Westminster yet still who lost his head for refusing to go along in 1890. Painted white and pink and with concealed behind a big bend in the river. Even with Henry VIII’s plan to establish himself fairy lights adorning its cables, it looks stun- when it was consumed by greater London in as supreme head of the Church of England. ning during the day and festive by night. the 20th century, it retained its aristocratic Original features include the More Chapel, and The booths at either end survive from the angle and managed to mix it with a bohemian More’s headless body is rumoured to be days when tolls applied. vibe, with the swinging ’60s scene starting at OBJECTS IN SOUTH KEN’S buried somewhere within the church. (His its main artery, King’s Rd. Chelsea didn’t miss MUSEUMS head, having been hung out on London ROYAL HOSPITAL CHELSEA Map pp138–9 out on a big slice of punk cred in the follow- Bridge according to the practice of the %7881 5200; www.chelsea-pensioners.co.uk; ing decade, either. These days its residents Cast of Michelangelo’s David ( p139 ) times, is now at rest a long way away in St Royal Hospital Rd SW3; admission free; h10am- still have among the highest incomes of any Diplodocus dinosaur skeleton ( p141 ) Dunstan’s Church, Canterbury.) noon & 2-4pm daily Apr-Sep, 10am-noon & 2-4pm London borough (shops and restaurants think Fashion Room ( p140 ) Outside is a gold statue of More, who Mon-Sat Oct-Mar; tSloane Sq; w that you do, too), and the community is as Ardabil Carpet ( p140 ) lived in Chelsea with his family in a prop- Designed by Christopher Wren, this superb NEIGHBOURHOODS NEIGHBOURHOODS cosmopolitan as the local football team. SimEx Simulator Ride ( p142 ) erty expropriated by Henry VIII after the structure was built in 1692 to provide Belgravia has had a reputation for elitism lord chancellor’s execution. shelter for ex-servicemen. Since the reign ever since it was laid out by builder Thomas Cubitt in the 19th century, with its white stuccoed of Charles II, it has housed hundreds of squares and charming, mainly residential streets and quaint cobbled mews. It’s also home to CHELSEA PHYSIC GARDEN Map pp138–9 war veterans, known as Chelsea Pension- numerous embassies and a few wonderful old-fashioned pubs. %7352 5646; www.chelseaphysicgarden.co.uk; ers. They’re fondly regarded as national Knightsbridge, once famous for highwaymen and raucous drinking, is now renowned for its

66 Royal Hospital Rd SW3; adult/concession £7/4; treasures, and cut striking figures in the HYDE PARK TO CHELSEA swanky shopping and for being a playpen for moneyed and perpetually tanned middle-aged HYDE PARK TO CHELSEA hnoon-5pm Wed, 2-6pm Sun Apr-Oct, noon-5pm dark-blue greatcoats (in winter) or scarlet men and ditzy young rich girls (though they’re not necessarily playing together). daily during the Chelsea Flower Show, 11am- frock coats (in summer) that they wear on Kensington High St, a lively blend of upmarket boutiques and chain stores, dominates the 3pm on Snowdrop Days (1st & 2nd Sun in Feb); ceremonial occasions. area of Kensington itself. North of here is Holland Park, a residential district of elegant town tSloane Sq; w houses built around a wooded park. The building, however, needs refurbish- Talk about discovering a secret garden in The utterly splendid Hyde Park ( p145) and Kensington Gardens – think of them as one big ing and at the time of writing the Chelsea the midst of an urban jungle. Established green entity – separate the glitz of Knightsbridge and Kensington from the noise and havoc of Pensioners Appeal was trying to raise £35 the West End, shooing the hoi polloi away with exclusive hotels and expensive shopping. by the Apothecaries’ Society in 1673 for million by 31 March 2008 in order to re- Finally, Victoria ( p146) . What can one say about this relatively drab neighbourhood which looks students working on medicinal plants and furbish the Long Wards residential wing, even less enticing after being grouped with the glam Kensington and Chelsea sisters? The one healing, this garden is one of the oldest as well as build a new Infirmary. If you’re attraction worth pausing for in Victoria is the candy-striped Westminster Cathedral, a couple of of its kind in Europe. And what’s more, passionate about the cause, you can buy hundred metres from the tube station. Apart from that, Victoria is best known as a transit area, Londoners are relatively ignorant of its a brick on the website and support the via its huge train and coach stations. There’s not all that much reason for staying unless you’re existence, which means that the many rare pensioners, or like Jack and Meg White of a backpacker availing yourself of its cheap and predominantly cheerless accommodation. And trees, shrubs and plants are yours for quiet the White Stripes, hold a gig and donate all while Victoria’s unattractiveness has a smidgen of character, Pimlico, on the other hand, while exploration. The fascinating pharmaceutical the proceeds to the fund. being posh in appearance, is as flat as a pancake in terms of personality. Thomas Cubitt built garden grows plants used in contemporary It’s usually possible to visit the museum most of it in the 19th century, but he had obviously put all his best ideas into creating swanky Western medicine; the world medicine gar- (which contains a huge collection of war Belgravia and couldn’t summon up much imagination for plain Pimlico. It does, however, have den has a selection of plants used by tribal medals bequeathed by former residents), as some excellent views across the river to the Battersea Power Station. peoples in Australia, China, India, New well as to look into the hospital’s Great Hall, Zealand and North America, and there’s a Octagon, Chapel and courtyards. Do note, an orange-seller turned actress at the Drury heady perfume and aromatherapy garden. however, that the hospital is off limits to CHELSEA & BELGRAVIA Lane Theatre by the name of Nell Gwyn. There is a statue of Sir Hans Sloane, the visitors when it is hosting events. KING’S ROAD Map pp138–9 Heading back to Hampton Court Palace of philanthropist who saved the garden from The Chelsea Flower Show takes place tSloane Sq or South Kensington an evening, Charles would make use of a going under in the early 18th century. here in May. For more on that, see www In the 17th century, Charles II set up a Chel- farmer’s track that inevitably came to be Opening hours are limited because the .rhs.org.uk. sea love nest here for him and his mistress, known as the King’s Rd. The street was at the grounds are still used for research and Call ahead for disabled access information. 136 137 lonelyplanet.com lonelyplanet.com 0 500 m guarantee that you’ll spend much longer HYDE PARK TO CHELSEA 0 0.3 miles than planned in this brilliant museum. The Marble Arch K D in St t g 32 a k S l Museum of Manufactures, as the V&A was L 33 v o y e o t e C Av C i Br i le e S i r arb u te u n a Lancaster Hyde Park Gdns M Ga s t v m nd d originally known when it started in 1852, s e erla n t n Gate b S o e t St r T 31 r C c t o T S en specialises in decorative art and design, e e k sv Bayswater c ng Rid roo ro t See e te d Ri rth G Ga er R The No er B n S Piccadilly ster wat Buck Hill Walk pp o Mayfair & nca Bays U St urd Circus Great Windmill St with four million objects collected over the La ss S o Marylebone ro P B ul o R C a lk u St Map p100 e r t g Lancaster Walk a t n years from Britain and around the globe. k ou A e t h M nt S W l L s S b Queensway ' A Old Bond St o t t e The Broad Wk e The Long y w Hyde Park u S m ll It was part of Prince Albert’s legacy to the g D i d d m B a d e u Water r t a r l a e o r c e F S ic B r v le P R y ll k t s t e e S e nation in the aftermath of the successful Hi S r S n g S w s le 16 e S t y e 23 Park La t le y m Kensington M r t er n South 's a S J t Gardens ay h t Great Exhibition of 1851, and its original St H C Bolton St St S t t S aims – which still hold today – were the Green J zon a Cur Park m St all e M ‘improvement of public taste in Design’ and Mayfair s King ll 's a 77 P S ‘applications of fine art to objects of utility’. 22 The Round t St James's Pond l The Serpentine al It’s done a fine job so far. P 24 Serp M a 30 ent 25 l 17 in e a e Rd Piccadilly Th With so many things on display, it’s c 82 e 11

A v Rotten Row Hyde Park wise to choose what you want to see and e Corner 35 St. James's Park Lake stick to it, otherwise it’s easy to get over- Constitutio 51 5 95 12 n Hill 46 The Flower Walk e Dr Knightsbridge 10 South Carriag or whelmed. As you enter under the stun- E 54 n n e Knightsbridge v n 42 K Knightsbridge s s e re Prince's o i e t k P n n G o l s a ning Dale Chihuly Chandelier you can pick up si ensingto r ng K r S e W m 86 a ton Rd Buckingham cag 27 t 75 C rd G i l in B De Vere S a 26 o lk Palace c l r i Gdns 2 a a map of the museum at the information e e Hyde Park Gate 55 s H G am

Knightsbridge a h Queen's Gate Mws r g G G 52 B 93 91 o n G ce Tothill St 7 s ki a Fran a y a 90 rave v c te tt dGate and ticket desk. (If the main entrance on R r u e t ort e P ns d B e nce Co elg n St James's Park ri e Q P 41 96 B o n 6 r G u Motcomb St P s l S 83 d Royal 48 P ala Cromwell Rd is too busy, there’s another e P c l l l r e R e 60 o 76 Low l o Sq S e d H

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C t o s l l e E u g St James’s,

G p n t t t for P r t x S G S r d e 1 c m a a ia a m r i a h t t h o d s v e Westminstert & Whitehall o e P r Imperial College r h b ic sider one of the free introductory guided tours t n C e L V i n V s o l e Rd 13 C 29 bi B 58 o Map pp96-7 R C l P H w h Stanford Rd t P t S l d t e n a i o C r P e o 88 n s d that leave the main reception area every n s d 21 34 a o B n 78 s G P d t en' 69 o h L t S e e d u C S Q a y a t l R Cornwa g a g ll o E 4 G s R a r a 36 dn v a W a m l v g l e e r s w d i n l i hour from 10.30am to 4.30pm. There is also l S E c i o t a i NEIGHBOURHOODS Thu c i s c NEIGHBOURHOODS S o t 62 a l l R n c l t e n n P S l a o a n S e r l r n Q o t q s 61 P n P F l Sq rloe t e to R family activities information; ask at one of P l S t l t 102 r d u q ell R e a o W s e t w e o d n Crom l t Belgravia n m Victoria e lv S e r e W S 85 Rd c r o S a i n u T e 45 t t l h E Gloucester Rd h h n South Eacea Pl h l c s ut il o the desks. T E b 57 o S M 66 g Ec w o Westminster e c n le R r i s r South Kensington Br to P q y 79 r n k i n G E dg 81 l S e e 98 c e Spread over nearly 150 galleries, the mu- South d P Pelha y a R l m S d t u V t o l 68 t D n t e o a ld ra S n u n ie u y e iv B x Kensington tf S co D t n ane l T h e C s c 19 t S a lo C c c t dn e um L t g S l B e a S seum houses the world’s greatest collection G A o 8 47 Sq P o 104 ll n s n s u 53 v Denbigh St i r n o t c e d l u t 89 B e d t m a P V G ng e a S r S ri ld rri r n l C tt n Se Hugh St d pt fie a s 84 e oa ry m 105 Sq d g a t H dn R r P n co Sloane e u le o e h of decorative arts, including ancient Chinese C G l99E l e y b y Eccleston o t R C d P P l E P y 97 S y y a L Sq S a d b O l 100 A r t l lw s v o W er h t e D 80 r t a 63 k h n w c a ceramics, modernist architectural draw- t r n i h HYDE PARK TO CHELSEA e 37 T HYDE PARK TO CHELSEA s o rw W l S Chelsea e 67 a C a

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n x an d 101 t e C s y lys R b ings, Korean bronze and Japanese swords, I E

d J 103 n e r Rd d S C B ro a n r d St u co St George's Dr o g e G o a n ale 3 lo li k t G C b m u lg n p 92 e a i d A o n 72 P i r S i S m t m y n r l a t l l l S u d v o o e e e B r e 18 t B t er e cartoons by Raphael, spellbinding Asian S Royal Frank 70 b B D y d e e C h n Pimlico ld P D t c h y e e e R d r O r 87 h d Ave T Row e P rl r y d G o R R u a a t Chelsea P s l e n la S See u v l s b y d o Sq l ’s ' e a d n t t and Islamic art, Rodin sculptures, gowns n e a E d t S g d a b S S Shepherd’s o E s h n r it S S us i a o t p t n v o K p B t Lu e n s r d Bush & Earl’s l u S o o id G G y 40 h y C from the Elizabethan era, dresses straight n s e H g e d 64 e a L Court Map G O l e A l o n 50 w t a Pimlico a d R r G s l S S y v v p177 n d t f d g il s i o e e s e R e from this year’s Paris fashion shows, ancient R t C C l r o d t s e n h h o d d 43 38 e n S d R u S r W 28 n c e R R R l t u q d k r s jewellery, a 1930s wireless set – and a lot l d d r c G e b e Churc i R B a 39 d s hi S f c m e h a t ll f t l P le e G d t e if a a R dn R r f h u mT b 74 R t s a e l f l S M S d G c u o E h t e S more stuff hidden in storage. h R F F 20 Gros a t d r e 73 P t a 59 The St ven t lo or a C rd St V l n Rd C t P S o o B t a h e a t O d n e l r r Level 1 is mostly devoted to art and c e e r i s L k a w im S d l I a k s f W t g F e i e le e r U t e l s k y 15 en a design from India, China, Japan and Korea, d t R p km o ban R n 49 o p S Em d w e t ea r els E S Ch as well as European art. The museum has d t 14 s i 56 ame F th Th e d r G R the best collection of Italian Renaissance n t Albert G s v n a Bridge h e o L un a m n w a n sculpture outside Italy, as well as excellent t L A Battersea e d Bridge r R R k d 's W de G King ne he P French, German and Spanish sculpture. v ey T e h Battersea Nine Elms C One of the museum’s highlights are the Cast Courts in Rooms 46a and 46b, containing NATIONAL ARMY MUSEUM Map pp138–9 try, conveying the horrors and perceived plaster casts collected in the Victorian era, %7881 2455, 7730 0717; www.national-army glories of war with a refreshing lack of KNIGHTSBRIDGE, such as Michelangelo’s David, which was -museum.ac.uk; Royal Hospital Rd SW3; admission meddling by modern technology. The best KENSINGTON & HYDE PARK acquired in 1858. The fig leaf you can see free but donations requested; h10am-5.30pm; pieces at the exhibition feature the life and VICTORIA & ALBERT MUSEUM around the back of the statue’s plinth is tSloane Sq; w times of the ‘Redcoat’ (the term for the Brit- Map pp138–9 said to have been used to protect Queen Suitably located next door to the Royal ish soldier from the Battle of Agincourt in %7942 2000; www.vam.ac.uk; Cromwell Rd SW7; Victoria’s sensibilities – the Queen was Hospital, this old-fashioned museum tells 1415 to the American Revolution), the tacti- admission free; h10am-5.45pm, to 10pm Wed & sufficiently shocked by the cast’s nudity the history of the British army from the per- cal battle at Waterloo between Napoleon last Fri of month; tSouth Kensington; w that the leaf was whipped out during royal spective of the men and women who put and the Duke of Wellington and a display When you come to see the V&A, give visits and covered the offending anatomy their lives on the line for king and coun- of the skeleton of Napoleon’s horse. yourself plenty of time, because we can by being hung on a pair of hooks. The 138 139 lonelyplanet.com The British Galleries, featuring every aspect opened in 2002, and focuses on taxonomy lonelyplanet.com HYDE PARK TO CHELSEA of British design from 1500 to 1900, is (the study of the natural world), with some INFORMATION SHOPPING (pp215–34) DRINKING (pp277–96) Belgian Embassy...... 1 D3 Butler & Wilson...... 37 B4 Coopers Arms...... 74 C5 on level 4. It includes The Three Graces, a 450,000 jars of pickled specimens shown Dutch Embassy...... 2 A3 Daisy & Tom...... 38 C5 Nag's Head...... 75 D2 famous marble statue by Antonio Canova, off during free guided tours every half-hour. easyEverything...... 3 C4 Designer's Guild...... 39 B5 Star Tavern...... 76 D3 and Henry VIII’s writing desk. The even-more-ambitious phase II of the easyEverything...... 4 E3 Habitat...... 40 C4 Windows of the World Bar...... 77 D2 The Architecture gallery is also on level 4, with Darwin Centre, estimated to cost more than French Consulate...... 5 D2 Harrods...... 41 C3 German Embassy...... 6 D3 Harvey Nichols...... 42 D2 NIGHTLIFE (pp297–310) descriptions of architectural styles, videos, £70 million, will showcase some 28 million Irish Embassy...... 7 E3 Heal's...... 43 C5 Pacha...... 78 E3 models and plans. The Photography collection insects and six million plants in ‘a giant Spanish Consulate...... 8 C4 Joseph...... 44 B4 is one of the country’s best, with more cocoon’, due to open in 2009. Spanish Embassy...... 9 D3 Lulu Guinness...... 45D3 ARTS (pp311–21) Miss Sixty...... 46 A2 Ciné Lumière...... 79 B4 than 500,000 images collected since 1852. The second part of the museum, the Earth SIGHTS (pp136–47) Peter Jones...... 47 D4 Royal Albert Hall...... (see 26) Among the highlights are the 19th-century Galleries, is a thoroughly contemporary affair, Albert Memorial...... 10 B2 Rigby & Peller...... 48 C3 Royal Court...... 80 D4 photographs of London by Lady Clementina exchanging the Victorian creakiness for a Apsley House...... 11 D2 Rococo...... 49 B5 Hawarden. sleek, modern design. The entrance lies on Australian War Memorial...... 12 D2 Steinberg & Tolkien...... 50 C4 SPORTS & ACTIVITIES (pp323–29) Brompton Oratory...... 13 C3 Urban Outfitters...... 51 A2 Queen Mother Sports Centre....81 F4 The V&A’s temporary exhibitions – such Exhibition Rd and its main hall’s black walls Chelsea Old Church...... 14 C5 Serpentine Lido...... 82 C2 as 2006/7’s Kylie, 2007’s Surreal Things, and are lined with crystals, gems and precious Chelsea Physic Garden...... 15 C5 EATING (pp235–75) New York Fashion – are compelling and rocks. Four life-size human statues herald Diana, Princess of Wales Amaya...... 52 D3 SLEEPING (pp339–61) the way to the escalator, which slithers up Memorial Playground...... 16 A1 Awana...... 53 C4 41...... 83 E3 bring lots of visitors (note admission fees Kensington Palace...... 17 A2 Bibendum...... (see 19) Aster House...... 84 B4 apply), so find out what’s on. It also has a through a hollowed-out globe into displays Kings Road...... 18 C4 Boxwood Café...... 54 D2 B+B Belgravia...... 85 E3 brilliant programme of talks, events and about our planet’s geological make-up. Michelin House...... 19 C4 Capital...... 55 C3 Baglioni...... 86 A2 club evenings, plus one of the best mu- Volcanoes, earthquakes and storms are National Army Museum...... 20 D5 Cheyne Walk Brasserie & Salon..56 C5 Blakes...... 87 B4 Natural History Museum...... 21 B3 Daquise...... 57 B3 Cadogan Hotel...... 88 D3 seum shops around. all discussed on the upper floor, but the Orangery...... 22 A2 Frankie's Italian Bar & Grill...... 58 C3 easyHotel Victoria...... 89 E4 star attraction inside the Restless Surface Peter Pan Statue...... 23 B1 Gordon Ramsay...... 59 C5 Gore...... 90 B3 NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM Map pp138–9 gallery, the Kobe earthquake mock-up – a model Princess Diana Memorial Jakob's...... 60 A3 Halkin...... 91 D3 of a small Japanese grocery shop that Fountain...... 24 B2 Jenny Lo's Tea House...... 61 E3 Hotel 167...... 92 A4 %7942 5725; www.nhm.ac.uk; Cromwell Rd SW7; Queen Elizabeth Gate...... 25 D2 Ken Lo's Memories Jumeirah Lowndes Hotel...... 93 D3 admission free, half-hourly tours of ‘wet’ zoological trembles in a manner meant to replicate Royal Albert Hall...... 26 B3 of China...... 62 E3 Knightsbridge Hotel...... 94 C3 the 1995 earthquake – is disappointingly

NEIGHBOURHOODS exhibits in the Darwin Centre free, book in advance; NEIGHBOURHOODS 27 La Poule au Pot...... 63 D4 95 D2 Royal Geographical Society...... B2 Lanesborough...... h10am-5.50pm Mon-Sat, 11am-5.50pm Sun; lame. Better exhibitions on the lower floors Royal Hospital Chelsea...... 28 D5 Lucio...... 64 B4 Levin...... 96 C3 focus on ecology, look at gems and other Science Museum...... 29 B3 Nahm...... (see 91) Luna Simone Hotel...... 97 F4 tSouth Kensington; w Serpentine Gallery...... 30 B2 Ognisko...... 65 B3 Morgan House...... 98 E4 The Natural History Museum is a mam- precious stones and explore how planets Speaker's Corner...... 31 D1 Olivo...... 66 E3 myhotel Chelsea...... 99 C4 are formed. Tyburn Convent...... 32 C1 Pimlico Road Number Sixteen...... 100 B4 moth institution dedicated to the Victorian pursuit of collecting and cataloguing, and The Wildlife Garden (open April to October, Tyburn Tree Site...... 33 C1 Farmers' Market...... 67 D4 Victoria Hostel...... 101 F4 admission £1.50) displays a range of British Victoria & Pizza Organic...... 68 B4 Wellington...... 102 F3 walking into the Life Galleries, in the 1880 HYDE PARK TO CHELSEA HYDE PARK TO CHELSEA Albert Museum...... 34 B3 Racine...... 69 C3 Windermere Hotel...... 103 E4 Gothic Revival building off Cromwell Rd, lowland habitats. Wellington 70 Roussillon...... D4 evokes the musty moth-eaten era of the To avoid crowds during school-term Arch...... 35 D2 Tom Aikens...... 71 C4 TRANSPORT (p385) time, it’s best to visit early morning or late Westminster Tom's Kitchen...... 72 C4 Green Line Bus Station...... 104 E4 Victorian gentleman scientist. The main Cathedral...... 36 F3 Tugga...... 73 B5 Victoria Coach Station...... 105 E4 museum building, with its blue and sand- afternoon, or early on weekend mornings coloured brick and terracotta, was designed year-round. museum’s then director, Henry Cole, com- carpets, glass and woodwork from the 8th- by Alfred Waterhouse and is as impressive missioned casts of Europe’s finest works of century Islamic caliphate up to the years as the towering diplodocus dinosaur skeleton in SCIENCE MUSEUM Map pp138–9 art. The casts have not only been a great before WWI. The pieces were collected the entrance hall. It’s hard to match any of %0870 870 4868; www.sciencemuseum.org.uk; visitor attraction, but they were used by art from Spain to Afghanistan, though the the exhibits with this initial sight, except for Exhibition Rd SW7; admission free, adult/concession students for many years. exhibition’s highlight is the gorgeous 16th- maybe the huge (but a bit tired-looking) IMAX Cinema £7.50/6, SimEx Simulator Ride £4/3, Room 40, the museum’s Fashion Room, is century Ardabil Carpet, the world’s oldest (and blue whale. Motionride simulator £2.50/1.50; h10am-6pm; among the most popular, with displays one of the largest) dated carpet, from Iran. Children, who are the main fans of this tSouth Kensington; w ranging from Elizabethan costumes to The newly replanted and landscaped museum, are primed for more primeval This is one of the most progressive and Vivienne Westwood gowns, dodgy 1980s Garden is a lovely shaded inner courtyard wildlife by the dinosaur skeleton, and yank accessible museums of its kind, and does Armani outfits and designs from this year’s where you can collect your thoughts. The their parents to the Dinosaur gallery to see the a terrific job of bringing to lustrous life a catwalks. A fascinating display of women’s original Refreshment Rooms dating from the roaring and tail-flicking animatronic T-rex subject that is often dull, dense and im- undergarments shows the ‘progress’ from 1860s (Morris, Gamble and Poynter Rooms) dinosaur, the museum’s star attraction (at penetrable for kids and adults alike. With the stifling and life-endangering corsets were redesigned by McInnes Usher McK- least from the kiddies’ point of view). five floors of interactive and educational from Victorian times to present-day Agent night Architects (MUMA) in 2006 and are The Life Galleries are full of fossils and exhibits, it’s informative and entertaining Provocateur’s sexy corsets, now coveted looking spectacular. MUMA is also renovat- glass cases of taxidermied birds, and the an- and has something to snag the interest of and life-affirming luxury fashion pieces. ing the V&A’s Medieval and Renaissance tiquated atmosphere is mesmerising. There every age group. The Islamic Middle East in the Jameel Gal- galleries, and were behind the Royal Acad- is also a stunning room on creepy crawlies, the The revamped Energy Hall, on the ground lery opened in 2006 after years of renova- emy of Arts restaurant, all of which puts it Ecology Gallery’s Quadrascope video wall and floor as you enter, concentrates on 11 ma- tions with more than 400 objects from the at the forefront of London’s new architec- the vast Darwin Centre of zoological speci- chines of the Industrial Revolution, showing Muslim world, including ceramics, textiles, ture and design. mens. The first phase of the Darwin Centre how the first steam engines such as Puffing 140 141 lonelyplanet.com Billy and Stephenson’s Rocket helped Britain don’; what other place can boast such an restored and opened up to the public as wood-panelled State Apartments dating lonelyplanet.com become ‘the workshop of the world’ in the address? Still one of London’s finest, Apsley a three-level exhibition space focusing on from William’s time and then the grander early 19th century. Animations show how House was designed by Robert Adam for London’s arches. The balcony affords unfor- apartments by Kent. the machines worked and are accompanied Baron Apsley in the late 18th century, but gettable views of Hyde Park, Buckingham Most beautiful of all the quarters is the by detailed overall explanations, including later sold to the first Duke of Wellington, Palace and the Houses of Parliament. Cupola Room, where the ceremony of initiat- a section on the Luddites who opposed the who lived here for 35 years until his death ing men into the exclusive Order of the march of technology. in 1852. The duke cut Napoleon down to MICHELIN HOUSE Map pp138–9 Garter took place and where Victoria was Of course, it’s impossible to miss the size in the Battle of Waterloo and is well 81 Fulham Rd SW3; tSouth Kensington baptised; you can see the order’s crest huge Energy Ring that now hangs over the known for lending his name to a practical, Even if you’re not up for dinner at Terence painted on the trompe l’oeil ‘domed’ ceil- open atrium from the gallery, Energy: if none too flattering, style of rubber boot. Conran’s wonderful restaurant Bibendum ing, which is actually flat. In 1947 the house was given to the Fuelling the Future, on the 2nd floor. Pop ( p253 ) in Michelin House, mosey past and The King’s Long Gallery displays some of nation, which must have come as a sur- up here to enter your name and answers have a look at the superb Art Nouveau the royal art collection, including the only prise to the duke’s descendants who still to several energy questions onto the elec- architecture. It was built for Michelin known painting of a classical subject by live here; 10 of its rooms are open to the tronic tickertape messages that run around between 1905 and 1911 by François Es- Van Dyck. On the ceiling William Kent the inside of the ring. On the same level public today as the Wellington Museum. painted the story of Odysseus but slipped The house itself is magnificent and retains pinasse, and completely restored in 1985. you will also find a re-creation of Charles Bab- The open-fronted ground floor provides up by giving the Cyclops two eyes. bage’s mechanical calculator (1832), the famous many of its original furnishings and collec- The King’s Drawing Room is dominated by tions. Wellington memorabilia, including space for upmarket fish and flower stalls, forerunner to the computer. the famous roly-poly Michelin Man ap- a monumentally ugly painting of Cupid and The 3rd floor is a favourite place for chil- his medals, some entertaining old cartoons Venus by Giorgio Vasari (1511–74), an Italian and his death mask, fill the basement pears in the modern stained glass, while dren, with its gliders, hot-air balloon and the lobby is decorated with tiles showing mannerist painter who used to brag about varied aircraft, including the Gipsy Moth, gallery, while there’s an astonishing collec- the speed at which he worked and was tion of china, including some of the Iron early-20th-century cars. The Conran Shop is in which Amy Johnson flew to Australia in also housed here. better known for his historical record of the 1930. This floor also features an adapted Duke’s silverware, on the ground floor. The Renaissance. There are splendid views of flight simulator that’s been turned into a stairwell is dominated by Antonio Canova’s the park and gardens from here; you can ‘Motionride’. Level 1 contains displays on staggering 3.4m-high statue of a naked Na- KENSINGTON PALACE Map pp138–9 also see the Round Pond, once full of turtles poleon, adjudged by the subject as ‘rather food and time, while the 4th and 5th floors %0870 751 5176; www.royalresidences.com; for turtle soup but now popular for sailing NEIGHBOURHOODS too athletic’. The 1st-floor rooms are deco- NEIGHBOURHOODS contain exhibits on medical and veterinary Kensington Gardens W8; adult/child/concession model boats. rated with paintings by Velàsquez, Rubens, history. £12/6/10, park & gardens free; h10am-4.30pm; The King’s Staircase is decorated with strik- Brueghel and Murillo, but the most inter- Nostalgic parents will delight in the old tQueensway, Notting Hill Gate or High St ing murals by William Kent, who painted esting is Goya’s portrait of the duke, which Kensington cars and the Apollo 10 command module. How- some years ago was discovered to have the himself in a turban on the fake dome. ever, both they and their children will prob- Kensington Palace is welded in people’s The Sunken Garden near the palace is at its face of Napoleon’s brother, Joseph Bona- memory mostly as the residence of the late ably most enjoy the hi-tech Wellcome Wing, prettiest in summer; the nearby Orangery,

HYDE PARK TO CHELSEA parte, beneath the duke’s. Apparently, the HYDE PARK TO CHELSEA Diana, Princess of Wales. The palace’s lawn which is spread over several floors at the artist had taken a punt on Napoleon win- designed by Vanbrugh and Hawksmoor as was covered with a mountain of flowers fol- back of the building. The SimEx Simulator Ride ning the Battle of Waterloo and had to do a free-standing conservatory in 1704, is a and IMAX Cinema are found within this wing, a quick ‘about face’ when news of Welling- lowing the death of the ‘people’s princess’ bright, if rather formal, place for tea. with the usual crop of travelogues, space ton’s victory arrived. in September 1997, an episode in history 1a Kensington Palace, formerly Princess adventures and dinosaur attacks in stun- that showed the Brits significantly loosen- Margaret’s apartment, can only be visited ning 3-D. There’s a superlative exploration ing the stiff upper lip and mourning the by guided tour, which should run on the Map pp138–9 of identity on Level 1 entitled Who am I?, plus WELLINGTON ARCH princess with an unprecedented sentimen- hour between 10.30am and 12.30pm and other hands-on displays for children. %7930 2726; www.english-heritage.org.uk; tality. A glimpse of Diana’s fetching frocks 2pm and 4pm. It features an exhibition of There are no guided tours on offer, but Hyde Park Corner W2; adult/student & child/senior in the Royal Ceremonial Dress Collection is always all the people who lived in the palace from h t you can pick up trail guides for children £3.20/1.60/2.40; 10am-5pm Wed-Sun; Hyde a highlight. the 18th to the 20th centuries. The space is (lighter cover for younger kids, darker cover Park Corner Of course, Kensington Palace already had to be used for other exhibitions, so check Opposite Apsley House in the little bit of for older ones) or get a guidebook for £2. a long history when Diana moved in after what’s on before you go (though it’s likely green space being strangled by the Hyde The Deep Blue Café on the ground floor of the her divorce from Prince Charles in 1996. to be something to do with Diana). Park Corner roundabout is England’s an- Wellcome Wing opens from 10.30am to swer to the Arc de Triomphe (except this Built in 1605, it became the favourite royal 5.30pm daily. one commemorates France’s defeat – residence under William and Mary of Or- KENSINGTON GARDENS Map pp138–9 specifically, Napoleon’s at the hands of ange in 1689, and remained so until George hdawn-dusk; tQueensway, High St Kensington APSLEY HOUSE (WELLINGTON Wellington). The neoclassical arch, erected III became king and relocated to Bucking- or Lancaster Gate MUSEUM) Map pp138–9 in 1826, used to be topped by a dispropor- ham Palace. Even afterwards the royals Immediately west of Hyde Park, across the %7499 5676; www.english-heritage.org.uk; 149 tionately large equestrian statue of Wel- stayed occasionally, with Queen Victoria Serpentine lake, these gardens are techni- Piccadilly W1; adult/child/concession incl audio tour lington, but this was removed in 1882 and being born here in 1819. cally part of Kensington Palace. The Palace £5.30/2.70/4; h10am-5pm Tue-Sun, last entry replaced some years later with the biggest In the 17th and 18th centuries, Ken- and the gardens have become something 4pm; tHyde Park Corner bronze sculpture in Britain, Peace Descend- sington Palace was variously renovated of a shrine to the memory of Princess Diana This stunning house was the first building ing on the Quadriga of War. by Sir Christopher Wren and William Kent, since her death. If you have kids, visit the one saw when entering the city from the For years the monument served as the so you’ll find yourself taking a self-guided Diana, Princess of Wales Memorial Playground, in the west and is therefore known as ‘No 1, Lon- capital’s smallest police station, but it was audio tour through the surprisingly small, northwest corner of the gardens. 142 143 lonelyplanet.com Art is also characteristic of these gardens: Glastonbury-style mud bath to a minimum, massive refurbishment was completed in in summer (around £5 per half-hour). Henry lonelyplanet.com George Frampton’s famous Peter Pan statue is and with park wardens patrolling the area 2004, however, installing air-conditioning, VIII expropriated the park from the Church close to the lake, south of the which is an to make sure visitors only delicately dip modernising the backstage areas, moving in 1536, after which it became a hunting attractive area known as Flower Walk and in their toes. Today there are no wardens the entrance to the south of the building ground for kings and aristocrats; later it be- also, near the main road that runs through around and visitors are managing by them- and fixing the acoustics. You can take a came a popular venue for duels, executions the park, are sculptures by Henry Moore selves; even if it’s not quite what Gustafson 45-minute guided tour (adult/concession £7.50/6.50; and horse racing. It became the first royal and Jacob Epstein. imagined, people seem to love it, mesmer- htours hourly 10am-2.30pm Fri-Tue) of the hall. park to open to the public in the early 17th ised as they are by the water’s flow both If the classical Proms aren’t your thing, century, and famously hosted the Great SERPENTINE GALLERY Map pp138–9 left and right from the fountain’s highest there’s pop, some rock and world music Exhibition in 1851. During WWII it became %7402 6075; www.serpentinegallery.org; point, or sunning themselves around it. concerts here too, as well as a circus and an enormous potato bed. Kensington Gardens W8; admission free; h10am- book readings. You’ll either love or hate the ornate Queen 6pm; tKnightsbridge; w ALBERT MEMORIAL Map pp138–9 Elizabeth Gate (designed by Giuseppe Lund The Serpentine Gallery may be a gentle- %7495 0916; 45min guided tours adult/concession ROYAL GEOGRAPHICAL SOCIETY and David Wynne in 1993) leading on to looking 1930s tea pavilion in the midst of £4.50/4; htours 2pm & 3pm 1st Sun of the month; Map pp138–9 Park Lane near Hyde Park Corner. The pale- the leafy Kensington Gardens, but it’s one of tKnightsbridge or South Kensington %7591 3000; www.rgs.org; 1 Kensington Gore green granite sweep of the new Australian London’s edgiest contemporary art galler- On the southern edge of Hyde Park and SW7; admission free; h10am-5pm Mon-Fri; War Memorial (Map pp138–9 ) nearby at Hyde Park ies. Artists including Damien Hirst, Andreas facing Kensington Gore, this memorial is as tSouth Kensington; w Corner is a little more restrained. Gursky, Louise Bourgeois, Gabriel Orozco and over the top as the subject, Queen Victo- A short distance to the east of the Royal Tomoko Takahashi have all exhibited here, ria’s German husband Albert (1819–61), Albert Hall is the headquarters of the Royal SPEAKERS’ CORNER Map pp138–9 and the gallery’s huge windows beam natu- was purportedly humble. Albert explicitly Geographical Society, housed in a Queen tMarble Arch ral light onto the pieces, making the space said he did not want a monument and Anne–style redbrick edifice (1874) easily The northeastern corner of Hyde Park is perfect for sculpture and interactive displays. ‘if (as is very likely) it became an artistic identified by the statues of explorers David traditionally the spot for oratorical acrobat- Every year a leading architect (who has monstrosity like most of our monuments, it Livingstone and Ernest Shackleton outside. ics and soapbox ranting. It’s the only place never built in the UK) is commissioned to would upset my equanimity to be perma- The society holds a regular talks pro- in Britain where demonstrators can assem- build a new pavilion between May and nently ridiculed and laughed at in effigy’. gramme (many after hours) and photogra- ble without police permission, a concession

NEIGHBOURHOODS September, which makes it the perfect time Ah, he didn’t really mean it, they reckoned, phy exhibitions, while the Foyle Reading Room granted in 1872 as a response to serious NEIGHBOURHOODS to visit. Past architects included Alvaro Siza, and got George Gilbert Scott to build the (%7591 3040; adult/student per day £10/free) offers riots when 150,000 people gathered to Oscar Niemeyer, Daniel Libeskind and Zaha 52.5m-high, gaudy Gothic monument access to the society’s collection of more demonstrate against the Sunday Trading Bill Hadid. Reading, talks and open-air screen- in 1872, featuring the prince thumbing than half a million maps, photographs, before Parliament. If you’ve got something ings take place here. through a catalogue for his Great Exhibi- artefacts, books and manuscripts. The en- on your chest, you can get rid of it here on tion, and surrounded by 178 figures repre- trance to the society is on Exhibition Rd. Sunday, although it’ll be largely loonies and

HYDE PARK TO CHELSEA PRINCESS DIANA MEMORIAL senting the continents (Asia, Europe, Africa religious fanatics you’ll have for company. HYDE PARK TO CHELSEA and America), as well as the arts, industry Nobody else will take much notice. FOUNTAIN Map pp138–9 HYDE PARK Map pp138–9 Kensington Gardens W8; tKnightsbridge or South and science. The monument was unveiled again in 1998 after being renovated at h5.30am-midnight; tHyde Park Corner, Marble Kensington Arch, Knightsbridge or Lancaster Gate MARBLE ARCH Map pp138–9 The drama surrounding this memorial huge expense. It’s particularly eye-catching tMarble Arch when lit up at night. London’s legendary park spreads itself over seems a predictably fraught postscript to a whopping 145 hectares of neatly mani- John Nash designed this huge arch in 1827. a life that itself often hovered between the cured gardens and wild, deserted expanses It was moved here, to the northeastern cor- Sun’s headlines, Greek tragedy and farce. ROYAL ALBERT HALL Map pp138–9 of overgrown grass. Spring prompts the ner of Hyde Park, from its original spot in Envisaged as a ‘moat without a castle’ %7589 8212; www.royalalberthall.com; Kensing- gorgeous Rose Gardens into vivacious front of Buckingham Palace in 1851, when (reflecting the Princess’s supposed spiritual ton Gore SW7; tSouth Kensington; w bloom, and summers are full of sunbathers, it was adjudged too small and unimpos- state?) draped ‘like a necklace’ (her ele- This huge, domed, redbrick amphitheatre picnickers, Frisbee-throwers and general ing to be the entrance to the royal manor. gance?) around Hyde Park near the Serpen- adorned with a frieze of Minton tiles is London populace who drape themselves There’s a one-room flat inside, London’s tine Bridge, this circular double stream had Britain’s most famous concert venue. The across the green. It’s the largest of London’s grandest bedsit. If you’re feeling anarchic, to be shut just a fortnight after it opened home of the BBC’s Promenade Concerts (or Royal Parks and a magnificent venue for walk through the central portal, a privilege in 2004. The inclusive design by Kathryn ‘Proms’; see p312 ) every summer, it was iron- open-air concerts, demonstrations and royal reserved for the royal family by law. Gustafson initially invited visitors, especially ically never meant to be a concert venue. occasions. Gun salutes are fired here and children, to wade in the fountain. But with Instead, this 1871 memorial to Queen soldiers ride through the park each morn- TYBURN TREE Map pp138–9 fans flocking to the site in an unseason- Victoria’s husband was intended as a hall ing on their way to Horse Guards Parade in tMarble Arch ably wet summer, the surrounding grass of arts and sciences, and consequently it Whitehall, while people on Rollerblades and A plaque on the traffic island at Marble became muddy and slippery, leaves choked spent the first 133 years of its existence bicycles impress passers-by with their tricks. Arch indicates the spot where the infamous the drains causing an overflow and several tormenting concert performers and audi- Hyde Park is separated from Kensing- Tyburn Tree, a three-legged gallows, once people were injured when they slipped on ences with its terrible acoustics. It was said ton Gardens by the squiggly L-shaped stood. An estimated 50,000 people were the smooth granite basin. that a piece played here was assured of an Serpentine lake, which was created when executed here between 1300 and 1783, A year later, the fountain was reopened immediate second hearing, so bad was the the Westbourne River was dammed in the many having been dragged from the Tower with a gravel path encircling it to keep the reverberation around the oval structure. A 1730s; it’s a good spot for pleasure boating of London. 144 145 lonelyplanet.com lonelyplanet.com TYBURN CONVENT Map pp138–9 hcathedral 7am-7pm, tower 9am-5pm Apr-Nov, 0 500 m THE HYDE PARK WALK 0 0.3 miles %7723 7262; www.tyburnconvent.org.uk; 8 9am-5pm Thu-Sun Dec-Mar; tVictoria; w D P Marble Arch END a o v Island C P r i a e c l u 9 h il Lancaster s John Francis Bentley’s 19th-century cathe- Hyde Park r Hyde Park Pl; admission free; tours of the crypt h H and Restaurant m berl k e Gdns n Gate G Speakers S s e d v & Bar R ate S t Bayswater t ra ater e w t 10.30am, 3.30pm & 5.30pm, call beforehand; dral is a superb example of neo-Byzantine I C ays Corner n B r 8 ide v ing h R T T te R rt e Ga The No c c r ter Swan tMarble Arch; w architecture: its distinctive candy-striped e n e ncas St e La lross . Cu Mayfair One of the buildings of this sorrowful and redbrick and white-stone tower features Bayswater

Buc S o u

silent place has the distinction of being prominently on the West London skyline. k Hill t Queensway h St t A S The Broad Walk Reformer’s Tree rm the smallest house in London, measuring This is the headquarters of the Roman u a ll Walk F i Kensington lk Peter Pan d H a Park La l e Lancaster Walk Statue Catholic Church in Britain, and while work Gardens W y just over a metre in width. A convent was 's e The Long S g t d Water on it started in 1895, and worshippers u Hyde established here in 1903, close to the site B Park n St of the Tyburn Tree gallows where many began attending in 1903, the church ran out Serpentine Curzo Serpentine Solar Kensington Boathouse The Round Shuttle Boat Catholics were executed because of their of money and the interior has never been Palace Queen Green Pond The Serpentine P 2 Ser Elizabeth faith during the 16th century, and which completed. In some ways, it’s London’s a pen l 7 tin a e R Gate c 4 3 d e Lido Holocaust later became a place of Catholic pilgrimage. version of Gaudí’s La Sagrada Familia in Bar- Memorial Hyde Pa A Café rk v Rotten Row Corner Palace e The crypt contains the relics of some 105 celona – a magnificent work in progress. Green 1 Wellington Hyde ParkCorner Arch martyrs, along with paintings commemo- Remarkably few people think to look e Flower Walk Th ge Dr Australian War Memorial 5 South Carria G Green ro Park rating their lives and recording their deaths. inside, but the interior is partly a stunning Ke E Knightsbridge Knightsbridge START s ns n Lowndes v in re Prince's g o n e ton ensington G G n n K Gate Rd i o s d t o St A closed order of Benedictine sisters lives variety of 100 types of marble and mosaic m r ns p 6 Knightsbridge P o m l r o e r d here, as they have for more than a century. and partly bare brick. The highly regarded B R stone carvings of the 14 Stations of the Cross BROMPTON ORATORY Map pp138–9 (1918) by Eric Gill and the marvellously the humble Prince Albert, Queen Victoria’s %7808 0900; 215 Brompton Rd SW7; h6.30am- sombre atmosphere make this a welcome WALK FACTS much-loved husband. 8pm; tSouth Kensington haven from the traffic outside. The views Start Hyde Park Corner tube station 6 Royal Albert Hall Also known as the London Oratory and the from the 83m-tall Campanile Bell Tower are End Marble Arch tube station Another memorial to Queen Victoria’s be- Oratory of St Philip Neri, this Roman Catho- impressive, and the fact that it has a lift will Distance 2.5 miles

NEIGHBOURHOODS loved husband, this is Britain’s most famous NEIGHBOURHOODS lic church was built in the Italian baroque have you thanking the heavens. Duration About 1½ hours concert hall ( p144) that’s seen more big names style in 1884. It has marble, candles and Seven Masses are said daily from Sunday Fuel stops Coffee and cake at the Lido Café, end- in its time than any other, including the statues galore, and Tony Blair is a regular. to Friday and five on Saturday. There’s a of-walk drink at the Swan or the Island Restaurant choral version of Blake’s Jerusalem that was There are six daily Masses on weekdays, gift shop and a café here, open 10am to & Bar one at 6pm on Saturday, and nine between 4.30pm daily. held to celebrate the granting of the vote to 7am and 7pm on Sunday. women.

h HYDE PARK TO CHELSEA Fountain. Stop in at the Lido Café ( 9am-7.30pm HYDE PARK TO CHELSEA THE HYDE PARK WALK Apr-Oct, 9am-4pm Nov-Mar). 7 Kensington Palace LINLEY SAMBOURNE HOUSE Map p177 Princes Diana’s former home and a long- % Walking Tour 7602 3316; www.rbkc.gov.uk/linleysambourne 3 Princess Diana Memorial Fountain standing royal residence ( p143) , this is where you house; 18 Stafford Tce W8; adult/child/concession 1 Hyde Park Corner Despite early teething problems, this con- can stop off and take a look at the permanent £6/1/4; htours at 11.15am, 1pm, 2.15pm, 3.30pm Climb the monumental Wellington Arch ( p142) crete ‘necklace’ of water ( p144) sitting on perfectly and temporary exhibitions and the stunning Sat & Sun; tHigh St Kensington for great views and, in the same small square manicured lawn is a popular chill-out spot interior, before surrendering to one of the Tucked away behind Kensington High St, of green, you will find the rather tasteful wall today. Water flows from the highest point in park’s many stretches of grass. this was the home of Punch political car- of eucalypt green granite of the Australian War both directions, into a small pool at the bot- toonist and amateur photographer Linley Memorial (p145 ) . Nearby, the ornate – some say tom. Bathing is forbidden, although you are 8 Lancaster Gate Sambourne and his family from 1874 to too ornate – Queen Elizabeth Gate (p145 ) was com- allowed to dip your feet. There’s plenty more to see in the park, if you 1910. It’s one of those houses whose own- missioned to honour the late Queen Mother. have time, stamina and the strength of will ers never redecorated or threw anything The aromatic, relaxing and beautifully colour- 4 Serpentine Gallery to resist merely having a snooze on the grass away. What you see is pretty much the typi- ful rose garden is one of the more magical This former teahouse is now one of the city’s or stopping in at the Swan (%7262 5204; 66 Bays- cal home of a well-to-do Victorian family: places in London. best contemporary art galleries ( p144) , housing water Rd W2; h10am-11pm) or the Island Restaurant dark wood, Turkish carpets and rich stained many interesting exhibitions and summer pa- & Bar (%7551 6070; Lancaster Tce W2; hnoon-11pm). glass. Visits are by 90-minute guided tour 2 The Serpentine vilions designed by world’s leading architects. Other well-known features include the Peter only (with all but the first guide in period Keep to the lake’s northern side and inter- The space is small enough to get around be- Pan Statue (p144 ) . costume). rupt your walk by renting a paddle boat from the Serpentine boathouse (%7262 1330; adult/child per fore any kids accompanying you get bored. 9 Cumberland Gate 30min £5/2,per 1hr £7/3; h10am-4pm Feb & Mar, 10am-6pm 5 Albert Memorial In the northeastern corner of the park, near VICTORIA & PIMLICO Apr-Jun, 10am-7pm Jul & Aug, 10am-5pm Sep & Oct, 10am- Gilded and enormous, the grandness of the Marble Arch tube station, there’s also the Tyburn WESTMINSTER CATHEDRAL Map pp138–9 5pm Sat & Sun Nov). Serpentine solar shuttle boat The Albert Memorial ( p144) is in stark contrast with Tree ( p145) and, of course, Speakers’ Corner (p145 ) . %7798 9055; www.westminstercathedral.org (ticket £3/£1.50; hshuttles every half hr from noon-5pm), .uk; Victoria St SW1; cathedral admission free, uses only solar power to get you from the tower adult/concession £3/1.50, audioguides £2.50; boathouse to the Princess Diana Memorial 146 147 lonelyplanet.com lonelyplanet.com ST JOHN’S GATE Map p150 Clerkenwell has quite a radical history. An CLERKENWELL, SHOREDITCH & tFarringdon area of Victorian-era slums (the so-called SPITALFIELDS What looks like a toy-town medieval gate Rookery), it was settled by mainly Italian im- cutting across St John’s Lane turns out to migrants in the 19th century. Modern Italy’s Eating p254 ; Drinking p284 ; Shopping p227 ; Sleeping p354 be the real thing. It dates from the early founding father Garibaldi dropped by in This area of northeast London is the city’s ground zero of cool, and its success at the expense 16th century but was heavily restored 1836, and during his European exile, Lenin of other nightlife areas such as Soho continues to astound pretty much everyone. It’s made up 300 years later. During the Crusades, the edited 17 editions of the Russian-language of Clerkenwell, just north of the City; Shoreditch and its northern extension Hoxton, an area Knights of St John of Jerusalem were Bolshevik newspaper Iskra (Spark) from here (roughly) between Old St tube station and just east of Shoreditch High St; and Spitalfields, soldiers who took on a nursing role. In in 1902–03. Copies of the newspaper have centred around the market of that name and Brick Lane, Banglatown’s main thoroughfare. Clerkenwell they established a priory that been preserved in today’s library, along The Shoreditch/Hoxton phenomenon began in the late 1990s, when creative types chased originally covered around 4 hectares. The with a host of other socialist literature. Non- out of the West End by prohibitive rents gate was built in 1504 as a grand entrance members are free to look around between began buying warehouses in this then urban to their church, St John’s Clerkenwell in St 1pm and 2pm, but you need to become a wasteland, abandoned after the collapse of the John’s Sq. member (£10 per year, £6 day fee but usu- fabrics industry. Within a few years the area Although most of the buildings were ally valid for up to a week) to use the library was seriously cool, boasting superslick bars, destroyed when Henry VIII dissolved every or borrow any of its 150,000 books. cutting-edge clubs, galleries and restaurants priory in the country between 1536 and that catered to the new media-creative- CLERKENWELL, SHOREDITCH & 1540, the gate lived on. It had a varied SHOREDITCH & HOXTON freelance squad. The fact that it was in walk- afterlife, not least as a Latin-speaking coffee ing distance of the City and its high-spending, SPITALFIELDS house run, without much success, by Wil- WHITE CUBE GALLERY Map p150 heavy-drinking denizens didn’t hurt. Dennis Severs’ House ( p152) liam Hogarth’s father during Queen Anne’s %7930 5373; www.whitecube.com; 48 Hoxton Yet despite the bursting of the dotcom Geffrye Museum ( p151) reign. The restoration dates from the period Sq N1; admission free; h10am-6pm Tue-Sat; bubble, and the general expectation that the Spitalfields Market (opposite & p233 ) when it housed the Old Jerusalem Tavern tOld St Shoreditch scene would collapse under the St John’s Gate (opposite ) in the 19th century. A pub of (almost) that Alongside Charles Saatchi, owner of the erst- weight of its own trucker hats, the regenerated White Cube Gallery ( opposite ) name can now be found round the corner while Saatchi Gallery, the White Cube’s Jay

NEIGHBOURHOODS area is flourishing stronger than ever. The on Britton St (see p285). Jopling was the man responsible for bring- NEIGHBOURHOODS entire neighbourhood remains rough enough Inside St John’s Gate is the small Order of ing Britart to the public’s attention in the around the edges to feel a bit of an adventure, but even the partial redevelopment of Spitalfields St John Museum (%7324 40005; www.sja.org 1990s. He worked with a young Damien Hirst before Saatchi came on the scene, show- Market hasn’t stopped it in it tracks, and it remains one of London’s best nightlife scenes. .uk/museum; St John’s Lane EC1; admission free; cased the works of sculptor Antony Gormley Historic Clerkenwell lies in the valley of the River Fleet (from where the ‘clerks’ well’ the h10am-5pm Mon-Fri, to 4pm Sat; tFarringdon; w) (responsible for Gateshead’s huge Angel of neighbourhood is named after sprang), although the river itself has long been bricked over (see which recounts in three galleries the history

the North sculpture and Event Horizon, in CLERKENWELL, SHOREDITCH & SPITALFIELDS p129). Like Shoreditch, Clerkenwell has profited enormously from redevelopment since the late of the knights and their properties around CLERKENWELL, SHOREDITCH & SPITALFIELDS which 31 metal casts of the sculptor’s naked 1980s, and many once-empty warehouses have been converted into expensive flats and work the world, and of their successors, the mod- body were perched on the edge of buildings spaces. Clerkenwell is still a great place to see historic landmarks from throughout London’s his- ern British Order of St John and the St John surrounding the South Bank) and married tory, including magnificent Smithfield Market, St John’s Gate and St Bartholomew’s Church. Ambulance brigade. It also offers a potted artist Sam Taylor-Wood. White Cube is now history of Clerkenwell in photographs and from eating meat and took vows of silence, firmly part of Britain’s ‘new establishment’ documents. CLERKENWELL broken only for three hours on Sunday. but shows by Damien Hirst, Tracey Emin and Definitely try to time your visit for one CHARTERHOUSE Map p150 During the Reformation, the monastery other less well-known artists mean it’s always %7251 5002; Charterhouse Sq EC1; admission £10; was oppressed, with at least three priors of the guided tours (adult/senior £5/4; htours worth coming just to have a look. There’s hguided tours 2.15pm Wed Apr-Sep; tBarbican hanged at Tyburn and a dozen monks 11am & 2.30pm Tue, Fri & Sat) of the gate and the another White Cube in St James’s (see p71). or Farringdon sent to Newgate, where they were chained restored church remains. This includes the You need to book nearly a year in advance upright and died of starvation. King Henry fine Norman crypt with a sturdy alabaster to see inside this former Carthusian monas- VIII confiscated the monastery in 1537, monument commemorating a Castilian SPITALFIELDS tery, whose centrepiece is a Tudor hall with and it was purchased in 1611 by Thomas knight (1575); a battered monument por- Across Commercial St from the church is a restored hammer-beam roof. Its incredibly Sutton, known at the time as the ‘richest traying the last prior, William Weston, as the late-Victorian Spitalfields Market ( p233) . popular two-hour guided tours held six commoner in England’. Sutton – of Sutton a skeleton in a shroud; and stained-glass Until 1991 this was London’s main fruit and months a year begin at the 14th-century House ( p158 ) fame – opened an almshouse windows showing the main figures in the vegetable market. Its proximity to Hoxton gatehouse on Charterhouse Sq, before for destitute gentlemen; some three dozen story. You’ll also be shown the sumptuous and Shoreditch means the Sunday market going through to the Preachers’ Court (with pensioners (known as ‘brothers’) live here Chapter Hall where the Chapter General of here is still the market of the moment, but three original monks’ cells in the western today and lead the tours. To obtain tickets, the Order meets every three months. with young clothes designers and produc- wall), the Master’s Court, the Great Hall and send a stamped self-addressed envelope, ers of trendy furniture and ornaments selling the Great Chamber, where Queen Elizabeth a covering letter giving at least three dates KARL MARX MEMORIAL LIBRARY their wares. I stayed on numerous occasions. when you would like to visit and a cheque Map p150 The monastery was founded in 1371 by made payable to ‘Charterhouse’ to Tour %7253 1485; www.marxlibrary.net; 37a Clerken- BRICK LANE Map p150 the Carthusians, the strictest of all Roman Bookings, Charterhouse, Charterhouse Sq, well Green EC1; admission free; h1-6pm Mon-Thu Immortalised in Monica Ali’s award-winning Catholic monastic orders, who refrained London EC1M 6AN. Feb-Dec; tFarringdon eponymous novel, Brick Lane is the centre- 148 149 lonelyplanet.com NEIGHBOURHOODS CLERKENWELL, SHOREDITCH & SPITALFIELDS 151 B3 F2 E3 F1 E2 D3 E2 C3 E2 E2 C3 C3 C3 C3 E3 F3 B4 E2 F3 D2 E2 E2 E2 E2 C4 E2 E2 E2 A1 B3 B2 C2 10am- 70 71 72 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 73 74 75 76 77 78 79 80 81 82 83 84 85 86 87 88 89 90 91 92 100 101 h (pp339–61) (pp311–21) (pp323–29) (pp331–37) (pp297–310) Old St or Liverpool t Map p150 p150 Map NIGHTLIFE ARTS SPORTS & ACTIVITIES GAY & LESBIAN SLEEPING Joiners Arms...... Trailertrash at On the Rocks...... City YMCA London...... Express by Holiday Inn...... Finsbury Residences...... Hotel Saint Gregory...... Hoxton Hotel...... Malmaison...... Rookery...... Zetter...... Jerusalem Tavern...... Jerusalem Loungelover...... 77) Bar...... (see Mother Last...... Old Blue Slaughtered Lamb...... T Bar...... Vibe Bar...... Ye Olde Mitre...... 333...... 93 Feet East...... Aquarium...... Bar Music Hall...... Cargo...... Charlie Wright's International Bar...... Comedy Café...... Fabric...... Favela Chic...... Herbal...... Plastic People...... Scala...... Turnmills...... Sadler's Wells...... Ironmonger Baths...... A3 B2 F2 E2 E2 E2 C3 D2 E2 E2 E2 F3 E1 F3 F3 E2 B2 B3 B3 B2 E3 E1 D2 B3 F3 E2 C3 F3 B3 E2 C3 F3 C4 F3 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 64 65 66 67 68 69 7739 9893; www.geffrye-museum.org.uk; 136 (pp235–75) (pp277–96) w The museum is devoted to domestic museum is devoted The 1830. The brewery stopped producing beer stopped brewery 1830. The in 1989, and in the 1990s became home to a host of independent music businesses, small shops and hip clubs and bars. St; Kingsland Rd E2; admission by donation; % GEFFRYE GEFFRYE MUSEUM Definitely Shoreditch’s most accessible Shoreditch’s Definitely sight, this 18th-century ivy-clad series of almshouses with a herb garden draws you in immediately. renovated with each recently interiors, room of the main building furnished to 5pm Tue-Sat, noon-5pm Sun; Vat EATING DRINKING Aki...... Cay Tre...... Clark's...... Coach & Horses...... Coffee@Brick Lane...... Eagle...... Exmouth Market...... Eyre Brothers...... F Cooke...... Fifteen...... Flâneur...... Green & Red...... Hoxton Apprentice...... Le Café du Marché...... Les Trois Garçons...... 37) Medcalf...... (see 14) Mesón Los Barriles...... (see 42) Moro...... (see Quality Chop House...... Real Greek...... St John...... St John Bread & Wine...... Smiths of Smithfield...... 14) Square Pie Company...... (see Strada...... (see 46) Tas Firin...... 1001...... (see 40) Bar Kick...... Bedroom Bar...... Bricklayers Arms...... Café Kick...... (see 37) Cargo...... (see 81) Charterhouse Bar...... Dragon Bar...... Dreambagsjaguarshoes...... Foundry...... George & Dragon...... Golden Hart...... Ambassador...... 14) Café...... (see Arkansas Bacchus...... Bake...... Brick Lane Beigel Café 1001...... 14) Canteen...... (see . B4 E2 F3 F3 F3 B3 B3 B3 E2 E2 E2 F2 E4 A2 D3 C3 F4 B4 B3 E3 E1 F4 B3 F3 F3 C3 F4 F3 E2 F3 B3 F3 F3 C3 F2 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 p259 ) ( (pp148–54) (pp215–34) Just past Hanbury St is the converted Just past Hanbury St is the converted CLERKENWELL, SHOREDITCH & SPITALFIELDS SHOREDITCH CLERKENWELL, INFORMATION SIGHTS SHOPPING Clerks' Well...... House...... Dennis Severs' Geffrye Museum...... Great Mosque...... Karl Marx Memorial Library...... Museum of Immigration & Diversity...... Old Truman Brewery...... Order of 13) St John Museum...... (see St John's Gate...... Spitalfields Market...... Vat House...... White Cube Gallery...... Absolute Vintage...... Antoni & Alison...... Brick Lane...... Brick Lane Market...... Clerkenwell Green Association...... Columbia Road Flower Market...... Hatton Garden...... Hoxton Boutique...... Junky Styling...... Labour & Wait...... Laden Showrooms...... Leather Lane Market...... Lesley Craze Gallery...... Magma...... No-one...... Spitalfields Market...... (see 14) Start...... Start...... Sunday UpMarket...... (see 12) Tatty Devine...... Verde's...... Eastman Dental Hospital...... Eastman Britannic House...... Charterhouse...... Christ Church, Spitalfields...... Church of St Ethelreda......

. This was once London’s Old Truman Brewery. This House and the Director’s brewery largest on the left harks back to 1740, the old House across the road with its hexagonal bell tower is early 19th century, and the from House next to it dates Engineer’s piece of a thriving Bengali community in lane The nicknamed Banglatown. an area itself is one long procession of curry and with sari and balti houses intermingled and fabric shops, Indian cookery stores Sadly, outlets selling ethnic knick-knacks. the once high standard of cooking in the curry houses is a distant memory, so you’re off trying subcontinental probably better cuisine in Whitechapel

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0 500 500 0 m m 150 lonelyplanet.com NEIGHBOURHOODS CLERKENWELL, SHOREDITCH & SPITALFIELDS lonelyplanet.com lonelyplanet.com show how the homes of the relatively GREAT MOSQUE Map p150 proach from Liverpool St, you’ll see the new 2 Absolute Vintage affluent middle class would have looked Jamme Masjid; 59 Brick Lane E1; tLiverpool St development, which, although trying to main- Check out the tons of vintage shoes in this from Elizabethan times right through to the The best example of the changes in popula- tain an independent spirit and not hosting excellent shop ( p231) . There are colours and end of the 19th century. A postmodern- tion that this area has experienced over the mega-chains, lacks the old market’s rugged sizes for all, with shoes ranging from designer ist extension completed in 1998 contains past several centuries is this house of wor- and spontaneous atmosphere. Enter the old vintage to something out of your grandma’s several 20th-century rooms (a flat from the ship on Brick Lane. Built in 1743 as the New market building and get lost among the many storage. Clothes for men and women line the 1930s, a room in the contemporary style of French Church for the Huguenots, it served clothes, furniture and food stalls. back of the shop. the 1950s, a 1990s converted warehouse as a Methodist chapel for a time until it was complete with Ikea furniture) as well as a transformed into the Great Synagogue for 3 Sunday Up Market lovely herb garden, gallery for temporary Jewish refugees from Russia and central exhibits, design centre with works from the WALK FACTS Having lost valuable stall space with the new Europe in 1899. In 1975 it changed faiths development, the young designers moved local community, shop and restaurant. yet again, becoming the Great Mosque. Best time Sunday mornings Another development has been the Start Liverpool St tube station their market ( p233) inside the Old Truman exquisite restoration of a historic almshouse End Old St tube station Brewery. The new space is brilliant – not CHRIST CHURCH, SPITALFIELDS as crowded, with wonderful clothes, music interior (adult/under 16yr £2/free). It’s the absolute Map p150 Distance 2 miles attention to detail that impresses, right Duration One hour and crafts, and the excellent food hall (on %7247 7202; www.christchurchspitalfields.org; the Brick Lane end) has worldwide grub, down to the vintage newspaper left open Commercial St E1; h11am-4pm Tue, 1-4pm Sun; Fuel Stops Food stalls at the back of Sunday Up Mar- on the breakfast table. The setting is so ket, Brick Lane Beigel Bake (p258) drink at Hoxton Sq from Ethiopian veggie dishes to Japanese tLiverpool St delicacies. fragile, however, that this small almshouse Diagonally opposite Spitalfields market is only open twice a month (usually on a on the corner of Commercial and Fournier Wednesday and Saturday). 0 200 m Sts is this restored church, where many of SUNDAYS AT SPITALFIELDS & SHOREDITCH 0 0.1 miles

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while they smell cooking and hear creak- ow l t a synagogue in the back garden in 1869. In Bateman's R S u Willow G t b St re ing floorboards, their ‘hosts’ always remain at R keeping with the house’s multicultural past, E o as w t Leonard St te tantalisingly just out of reach. It’s a unique S r Yard it now houses a Museum of Immigration & rstone St t n New Inn h St eathe e S churc F l S Red 7 c p t and intriguing proposition by day, but the a ip Diversity, whose carefully considered exhib- n h r e St e uk P C L La b lere St Holywell Rd ire St ‘Silent Night’ tours by candlelight every its are aimed at both adults and children. a een Sclate hesh T Bethnal Gr r St 6 C t Bunhill S Monday evening (booking essential) are an Unfortunately the house is in a terrible Fields pworth St Scru St h E tton g C i

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Crispin Pl by such street names as Fleur-de-Lis St and S Liverpool r 1 Spitalfields Market t t i Fournier S c St S Street rushfield St k eage ou B Hen Nantes Passage. There are yet more re- th Station L This is London’s best market ( p233) , and any Pl a St nd St cksa stored Georgian houses along Fournier St. Londoner’s Sunday-morning joy. As you ap- Fashion Chi Moorgate 152 153 lonelyplanet.com 4 Old Truman Brewery market shoppers on Sunday and Shoreditch lonelyplanet.com This was the biggest brewery in London by clubbers by night. THE EAST END & DOCKLANDS the mid-18th century, and the Director’s House on the left dates from 1740. Next to 8 Columbia Road Flower Market Eating p258 ; Drinking p287 ; Shopping p229 ; Sleeping p355 the 19th-century old Vat House is the 1830 Every Sunday from dawn market stalls sell The East End district of Whitechapel may lie within walking distance of the City, and neigh- Engineer’s House and a row of former stables. freshly cut flowers, plants and orchids for Lon- bourhoods to the north and east such as Bethnal Green and Mile End be just one and two The brewery shut down in 1989 and is now doners’ gardens and window sills. The earlier tube stops away respectively, but the change of pace and style is extraordinary. Traditionally part of Sunday Up Market. you arrive, the better the market ( p233 ), though this was working-class London, an area settled by wave upon wave of immigrants, giving it a the best bargains are to be had later on (around curious mixture of French Huguenot, Irish, 5 Brick Lane noon). Make a beeline for the food stalls behind Jewish and Bangladeshi cultures, all of which In 1550 this was just a country road leading the main flower sellers for an exotic snack of can still be felt to varying degrees today. to brickyards, and by the 18th century it had fried king prawns and sweet chilli sauce. Rundown and neglected in the early 1980s, been paved and lined with houses and cottages the East End is starting to look up in places. inhabited by the Spitalfields weavers. Today 9 Geffrye Museum Signs of wealth have started to trickle into the this vibrant street ( p149) is taken up almost en- A small estate of Victorian houses, this fas- areas around Whitechapel and Aldgate East. THE EAST END & DOCKLANDS tirely by touristy curry houses. All the street cinating museum ( p151 ) is devoted to English Property prices have risen enormously in Mile names are in Bengali as well as English. furniture through the ages. End your walk in End, Bethnal Green and Bow, and there’s even Canary Wharf Tower ( p161) the lovely glass café in the back, and have a been a growing focus on ramshackle Hackney Museum in Docklands ( p161) 6 Brick Lane Market look at the museum’s aromatic herb garden. and Dalston, which will find itself with a sta- Ragged School Museum ( p159 ) Sundays at Brick Lane around the now de- tion once the East London line extension is Tower Hamlets Cemetery ( p159 ) funct Shoreditch tube station are the best 10 Hoxton Square completed in 2010. V&A Museum of Childhood (p158 ) place to find good bargains for clothes, but Walk back down Old St and pop into Hox- Anyone interested in modern, multicultural the market ( p233) is particularly good for fur- ton Sq on the way. Check out the green and London should visit the East End. Alongside a niture. Saunter down Cheshire St for little join the crowds having a drink outside if the couple of interesting museums you’ll find some of London’s best-value Asian cuisine in Whitechapel, boutiques featuring new designers and vintage weather is good. as well as some of its most colourful markets. You may also want to pop into the trend-setting Whitechapel Art Gallery or take a dip in the beautifully renovated London Fields Lido.

NEIGHBOURHOODS collections. NEIGHBOURHOODS 11 White Cube Gallery Cobbled from the warehouses, docks and basins that made London so fabulously wealthy 7 Brick Lane Beigel Bake The first (of the two) creations of Britart from the 18th century onward, the Docklands, the East End’s southern extension, today is a At the far end of Brick Lane, this excellent pioneers Jay Jopling and his wife Sam Tay- world of contrasts. Eye-catching bridges across docks and futuristic buildings dominate the bagel business ( p258) was started by some of the lor-Wood, herself one of Britain’s more prom- skyline; it really is today’s view of London’s future. But it is also an area rich in history, too, Jewish families who originally settled in the inent contemporary artists, this gallery ( p149 ) and the Museum in Docklands brings it all to life.

neighbourhood and still live here. It oper- always has something fun or controversial CLERKENWELL, SHOREDITCH & SPITALFIELDS ates 24 hours a day and is always busy: with hanging on its pristine white walls. Research Tower and a street-facing café. & DOCKLANDS END EAST THE WHITECHAPEL The Whitechapel Art Gallery was founded The East End’s main thoroughfare, in 1901 by Victorian philanthropist Samuel Whitechapel High St, hums with a cacoph- Barnett to bring art to the people of East ony of Asian and African languages, its busy London and it has made its name putting shops selling everything from Indian snacks on exhibitions by both established and to Nigerian fabrics and Middle Eastern jewel- emerging artists, cartoonists and archi- lery, as the East End’s multitudinous ethnic tects, including Gary Hume, Robert Crumb groupings rub up against each other. It’s still and Mies van der Rohe. Its ambitiously a chaotic and poor place, but it’s one full of themed shows change every couple of life and should not be missed. months; check the programme online. Enter from Angel Alley. WHITECHAPEL ART GALLERY Map p156 %7522 7888; www.whitechapel.org; 80-82 WHITECHAPEL BELL FOUNDRY Whitechapel High St E1; admission free; h11am- Map p156 6pm Wed-Sun, to 9pm Thu; tAldgate East; w %7247 2599; www.whitechapelbellfoundry.co It’s all change at the Whitechapel Art .uk; 32-34 Whitechapel Rd E1; tours per person £8; Gallery as it doubles its size by expanding htours 10am & 2pm Sat, shop 9.30am-4.15pm into a disused library next door. During Mon-Fri; tAldgate East that time, one of the capital’s more in- The Whitechapel Bell Foundry been stand- teresting contemporary art galleries be- ing on this site since 1738, although an ear- comes the Whitechapel Laboratory, with lier foundry nearby is known to have been changing exhibitions, live music, poetry, in business in 1570. Both Big Ben (1858) talks and film. The new space will contain and the Liberty Bell (1752) in Philadelphia three new galleries, an Education and were cast here, and the foundry also cast a 154 155 lonelyplanet.com lonelyplanet.com 0 500 m THE EAST END 0 0.3 miles THE EAST END INFORMATION Burberry Factory Shop...... 21 B1 Captain Kidd...... 40 B5 Homerton Hospital...... 1 C1 Fabrications...... (see 20) Cat & Mutton...... 41 B2 51 d Homerton R Royal London Hospital...... 2 B4 Ridley Road Market...... 22 A1 Dickens Inn...... 42 A5 Dove Freehouse...... (see 35) 1 29 SIGHTS (pp155–59) EATING (pp235–75) Grapes...... 43 C5 Hackney

Kingsland High St Downs K East London Mosque...... 3 A4 Broadway Market...... (see 20) Prospect of Whitby...... 44 B5 e Dalston n w Execution Dock...... 4 B5 Café Spice Namaste...... 23 A5 Royal Inn on the Park...... 45 C2 Kingsland ston L a Hackney 12 Dal o Central r Hackney t Great Synagogue...... 5 A4 Empress of India...... 24 C2 Royal Oak...... 46 A3 h y Kingsland 22 Homerton R Idea Store...... 6 B4 Frizzante@City Farm...... 25 A3 B G d all's Pond raham Rd 21 Rd Mile End Park...... 7 C4 Green Papaya...... 26 B2 NIGHTLIFE (pp297–310) d d R Ragged School Museum...... 8 C4 Lahore Kebab House...... 27 B4 Bethnal Green Working Men's London slan

Cas St George's Town Hall Building...9 B5 Little Georgia...... 28 A3 Club...... 47 B3 Fields t

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i d Fields t Trinity Green Almshouses...... 14 B4 New Tayyab...... 33 B4

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e d 31 V&A Museum of Childhood...... 15 B3 Ridley Road Market...... (see 22) ARTS (pp311–21) R R 16 d d 20 45

n Victoria Park...... 16 C2 Roman Road Market...... 34 D3 Arcola Theatre...... 51 A1

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i K 35 Rd Whitechapel Bell Foundry...... 18 A4 Thai Garden...... 36 B3 GAY & LESBIAN (pp331–37) ord ld F 38 O William Booth Statue...... (see 14) Wapping Food...... 37 B5 White Swan...... 52 C4 Women's Library...... 19 A4 28 34 Cambridge G DRINKING (pp277–96) SLEEPING (pp339–61) r Rd Heath o ey C v ckn e SHOPPING (pp215–34) Bistrotheque...... 38 B2 RCA City 25 Ha a m R Bow b d d Broadway Market...... 20 B2 Blind Beggar...... 39 B4 Hotel...... 53 A4 r d R i R Grand Union Canal d an d g om 48 n 46 e R a l H s 36 g t 15 h building facing Library Pl is a large mural Map p156 n bia WOMEN’S LIBRARY i Colum t St 47 Rd K se R d Gos ow R n Rd d Bethnal B Old St l Gree commemorating the Cable St riots that %7320 2222; www.thewomenslibrary.ac.uk; Old Bethna Green

NEIGHBOURHOODS took place here in October 1936. The British NEIGHBOURHOODS C Castle St E1; admission free; h9.30am-5pm Tue, R Mile o l d u R w b d End G n fascist Oswald Mosley led a bunch of his E r E Wed & Fri, to 8pm Thu, 10am-4pm Sat; tAldgate a ea Sclate St le st t Brick r shire i 13 er St Che 49 M S n t Lane Blackshirt thugs into the area to intimidate East; w t S C Market o h p g Stepney p the local Jewish population, but they were i V Cemetery e Just round the corner from the Whitechapel a r

H Green f l l i Spitalfields e a d h S 14 R l n 39 B d d c t resoundingly repelled by local people – c n C E e t 7 r Art Gallery, the Women’s Library, part of e e R i l p i i o c M n d d R 6 e m k e d y r G Jews and non-Jews alike. m o L Whitechapel r 8 the London Metropolitan University, is a a d e h e R e el n S r ap 2 THE EAST END & DOCKLANDS END EAST THE c ch You’re now also deep in Jack the Ripper & DOCKLANDS END EAST THE i ite unique repository for all manner of books a h N M l W B id S 18 3 e u d t 53 w r territory. In fact, the serial killer’s first victim l 17 5 33 d and documents related to women’s his- e e s Aldgate R t H e t o x 30 d u S East 50 Whitechapel (of five), Mary Ann Nichols, was hacked to n t R tory. It contains a reading room open to d d sd 19 it Commercial Rd death on 31 August 1888 on what is now ch L C Limehouse the public, as well as archive and museum WhitechapelM e High St m Aldgate a M a a 27 n 52 Durward St, north of (and just behind) n n n Fenchurch i Com n m s ercial Rd collections, and organises talks and special o h e o S Streetc n r l r t u l Shadwell Limehouse Whitechapel tube station. h i ot E Stationc e sc S as n S re t In d e t s P t DLR dia ock R exhibitions (last seen – Prostitution: What’s F S t St 23 D R ble t Cable St 9 Ca St Along Whitechapel Rd itself, the criminal S d Tower Mint Westferry Going On?). The building is a modern Royal 10 32 DLR Hill Tower Gateway Glamis Rd 43 connections continue through the cen- ighway Poplar DLR The H l take on the former Goulston Square Wash E ld e a n Tower of st hfie 37 turies. Just before the intersection with S mit Tobacco n West India London Dock u House, one of the oldest public baths in 11 T Quay DLR Cambridge Heath Rd sits the Blind Beggar 44 e h See t London. i e Greenwich Canary Wapping h er Rd Pub (%7247 6195; 337 Whitechapel Rd), where the 42 r lt g Wapping Sa d (Closed until e & Southeast Wharf i r h Potters 2010) t London B T notorious gangster Ronnie Kray shot dead h o r a Heron Fields m R Map Park e es p180 Quay's West w d Surrey George Cornell in 1966, in a turf war over T o 40 R DLR India oo T 4 le el Water Nature BETHNAL GREEN & HACKNEY y n Docks S u control of the East End’s organised crime. t r Rotherhithe Reserve B He was jailed for life and died in 1995. Bethnal Green, the poorest district of London After the intersection with Cambridge during Victorian times, and sprawling Hack- new bell for New York City’s Trinity Church, WHITECHAPEL ROAD Map p156 Heath Rd, this traditionally poor area’s his- ney – whose Saxon name, from haccan (to kill damaged in the terrorist attacks of 11 Within a few minutes’ walk of Whitechapel tory takes a more philanthropic turn, with with an axe or sword) and ey (river), indicates September 2001. The 1½-hour guided tours tube station you’ll find the large East London a place of battle – make up the ‘proper’ East on Saturday (children under 14 years not a statue of William Booth, who established his Mosque (46-92 Whitechapel Rd E1) and behind it on Salvation Army Christian Mission here in End and can lay claim to being among the permitted) offer a revealing insight into a Fieldgate St the Great Synagogue (1899). distinguished old trade, but bookings are 1865, and the Trinity Green Almshouses, poor- most ethnically diverse areas of the capital Cable St, just south of Whitechapel Rd, essential. During weekday trading hours houses built for injured or retired sailors in with sizable populations of Afro-Caribbeans, you can view a few small exhibits in the towards Wapping, is where you’ll find the 1695. The two rows of almshouses run at Turks, Kurds and Orthodox Jews. While nei- foyer or buy bell-related items from the former St George’s Town Hall building (236 Cable St right angles away from the street, facing a ther district is on the tourist trail, both repay shop. E1), now a library. On the east wall of the village-type green and chapel. a visit amply. 156 157 lonelyplanet.com and Grove Rds and the Grand Union Canal. Some 270,000 souls were laid to rest here lonelyplanet.com COCKNEY RHYMING SLANG Landscaped to great effect during the mil- until the cemetery was closed for burials lennium year, it now incorporates a go-kart in 1966 and turned into a park and nature Some visitors arrive in London expecting to find a city populated by people conversing in cockney à la Dick Van Dyke track, a children’s centre for under-10s, reserve. Today it is a quiet, restful site, its in Mary Poppins. Traditionally the cockneys were people born within earshot of the Bow Bells – the church bells of St areas for public art, an ecology area, an Victorian monuments slowly being con- Mary-le-Bow. Since few people live in the City, that means most cockneys are East Enders. indoor climbing wall and a sports stadium. sumed by creepers. The term cockney is often used to describe anyone speaking what is also called estuarine English (in which ‘t’ and The centrepiece, though, is architect Piers ‘h’ are routinely dropped). In fact the true cockney language also uses something called rhyming slang, which may Gough’s ‘green bridge’ linking the northern HOUSE MILL Map p64 have developed among London’s costermongers (street traders) as a code to avoid police attention. This code replaced and southern sections of the park over common nouns and verbs with rhyming phrases. So ‘going up the apples and pears’ meant going up the stairs, the %8980 4626; www.housemill.org.uk; Three Mill busy Mile End Rd. The bridge itself is actu- Lane, Three Mills Island E3; adult/student & senior ‘trouble and strife’ was the wife, ‘telling porky pies’ was telling lies and ‘would you Adam and Eve it?’ was would you ally yellow – the ‘green’ refers to the trees believe it? Over time the second of the two words tended to be dropped so the rhyme vanished. Few – if any – people £3/1.50; h11am-4pm Sun May-Oct, 11am-4pm and shrubs that have been planted along 1st Sun of Mar, Apr, Nov & Dec; tBromley-by-Bow still use pure cockney but many still understand it. You’re more likely to come across it in residual phrases like ‘use your its walkway. loaf’ (‘loaf of bread’ for head), ‘ooh, me plates of meat’ (feet) or ‘’e’s me best china’ (‘china plate’ for mate). In 2007 a The only remaining one of a trio of mills TV personality described a car he had test-driven as lacking power, being ‘a bit ginger beer’. ‘Beer’ rhymes with ‘queer’ that once stood on this small island in the and he was upbraided for using language offensive to homosexuals. RAGGED SCHOOL MUSEUM Map p156 River Lea, the House Mill (1776) operated %8980 6405; www.raggedschoolmuseum.org as a sluice tidal mill, grinding grain for a .uk; 46-50 Copperfield Rd E3; admission by dona- nearby distillery, until 1940. Tours, which V&A MUSEUM OF CHILDHOOD behind a large mural of an eye in the attic), tion; h10am-5pm Wed & Thu, 2-5pm 1st Sun of run according to demand and last about Map p156 what was originally known as Bryk Place month; tMile End 45 minutes, take visitors to all four floors %8983 5200, recorded information 8980 2415; when built in 1535 could have been tragi- Both adults and children are inevitably of the mill and offer a fascinating look at cally lost to history, but it’s since been put www.vam.ac.uk/moc; cnr Cambridge Heath & Old charmed by the Ragged School Museum, traditional East End industry. There’s a small under the care of the National Trust and Ford Rds E2; admission free; h10am-5.45pm; a combination of mock Victorian school- café and shop on-site. tBethnal Green; w magnificently restored. room – with hard wooden benches and Housed in a renovated Victorian-era build- The first historic room you enter, the desks, slates, chalk, inkwells and abacuses VICTORIA PARK Map p156 ing which has won a Royal Institute of Linenfold Parlour, is the absolute highlight, – on the 1st floor, and social history mu- hdawn-dusk; tMile End NEIGHBOURHOODS British Architects (RIBA) award for outstand- where the Tudor oak panelling on the walls seum below. ‘Ragged’ was a Victorian term NEIGHBOURHOODS ing design, this museum is aimed at both has been carved to resemble draped cloth. used to refer to pupils’ usually torn, dirty If you want a little more green than Mile kids – with its activity rooms and corners of Other notable rooms include the panelled and dishevelled clothes, and the museum End Park affords, head north from Mile child-friendly, interactive exhibits, games Great Chamber, the Victorian study, the celebrates the legacy of Dr Joseph Bar- End tube along Grove Rd, until you reach and toys – and nostalgia-seeking grown- Georgian parlour and the intriguing mock- nardo, who founded the first free school 87-hectare Victoria Park. This leafy expanse ups who come to admire the antique doll up of a Tudor kitchen. There’s a shop and for destitute East End children in this has lakes, fountains, a bowling green, ten-

pleasant café on site. nis courts, a deer park and much more. It THE EAST END & DOCKLANDS END EAST THE houses, model trains, teddy bears and other building in the 1860s. & DOCKLANDS END EAST THE toys arranged thematically. In fact, the mu- During term time, the museum runs a was the East End’s first public park when seum, part of the Victoria & Albert Museum schools programme, where pupils are taught it opened in 1845 and came about after a MILE END & VICTORIA PARK reading, writing and arithmetic by a strict local MP presented Queen Victoria with a in South Kensington and here since the A busy junction where the Docklands meet school ma’am in full Victorian regalia called petition of 30,000 signatures. During WWII 1860s, is home to one of the largest and Hackney and the inner city meets Bow and Miss Perkins; and if you’re very good – the park was largely closed to the public oldest collections of toys in the world. From Stratford Marsh, Mile End and vicinity is no talking up the back, there – you can and was used as an anti-aircraft shelling carved ivory figures (one – a ‘paddle doll’ an increasingly popular residential area with dates back to 1300 BC) to stuffed animals, watch and listen to these lessons from the site as well as an interment camp for Italian some decent bars and restaurants, a unique and then German prisoners of war (POWs). from Meccano to Lego and from peep park that straddles the Mile End Rd and a glassed-off gallery. On the first Sunday of shows to Viewmasters and video games, more traditional one in the enormous and the month, the Victorian lesson is offered to childhood artefacts from around the world gorgeous expanse of Victoria Park, the East the general public at 2.15pm and 3.30pm. It’s great fun. DOCKLANDS are on display in this cheery museum. End’s biggest and most attractive green lung. You’d probably never guess it while gazing up There’s not a whole lot to attract the general at the ultramodern skyscrapers that dominate SUTTON HOUSE Map p156 traveller here, but anyone staying in the area TOWER HAMLETS CEMETERY PARK the Isle of Dogs and Canary Wharf, but from %8986 2264; www.nationaltrust.org.uk; 2 or interested in East End history will find Map p156 the 16th century until the mid-20th century & 4 Homerton High St E9; adult/child/family their time very profitably spent. Just east, %0790 418 6981; www.towerhamletscemetery this area was the industrial heartland of the £2.70/60p/£6; h12.30-4.30pm Thu-Sun early Feb- over the busy A12 motorway, is Stratford .org; Southern Grove E3; admission free; h7am- London docks. Here cargo from global trade late Dec; dHackney Central, g38, 106 or 394 and Olympic Park (www.london2012.org), where most dusk; tMile End or Bow Rd was landed, bringing jobs to a tight-knit, It’s difficult to imagine well-heeled Tudor of the events of the 2012 London Olympics Opened in 1841, this 13-hectare cemetery working-class community. Even up to the noblemen such as Thomas Sutton, founder will be held. was the last of the so-called Magnificent start of WWII this community still thrived, of the Charterhouse almshouse ( p148 ), living Seven, then-suburban cemeteries (includ- but then the docks were badly firebombed in ’ackney, but as East London’s oldest MILE END PARK Map p156 ing Highgate and Abney Park in Stoke during the war. surviving house proves, they did, and in www.mileendpark.co.uk; tMile End Newington) created by an act of Parliament After the Blitz the docks were in no condi- some style too. Abandoned and taken over The 32-hectare Mile End Park is a long, nar- in response to London’s rapid population tion to cope with the postwar technological by squatters in the 1980s (who have left row green space wedged between Burdett growth and overcrowded burial grounds. and political changes as the British Empire 158 159 lonelyplanet.com evaporated. At the same time, enormous new cued from bankruptcy twice. Now, however, lonelyplanet.com bulk carriers and container ships demanded newspaper groups and financial behemoths WAPPING & LIMEHOUSE deep-water ports and new loading and un- have moved in – with Citigroup and HSBC loading techniques. From the mid-1960s dock boasting their own buildings – and, more In his 16th-century A Survey of London, John Stow described Wapping High St as a ‘filthy strait passage, with alleys of closures followed one another as fast as they than a quarter-century after it was begun, the small tenements or cottages’. It’s a far cry from that today; the converted warehouses and lofts that line the brick road had opened, and the number of dock workers Docklands is emerging as the mini-Manhattan now contain luxury flats that are among the most desirable in East London. dropped from as many as 50,000 in 1960 to it was envisaged as. The area was traditionally home to sailors and dock workers. One of the most important historic sites is Execution about 3000 by 1980. Dock (Map p156 ) near the old river police station at Wapping New Stairs. This is where convicted pirates were hanged The financial metropolis that exists today and their bodies chained to a post at low tide, to be left until three tides had washed over their heads. ISLE OF DOGS Map p160 There isn’t much to Limehouse, although it became London’s first Chinatown in the late 19th century when some 300 was begun by the London Docklands De- Pundits can’t even really agree on whether velopment Corporation (LDDC), a body sailors from the South China coast settled, and was also mentioned in Oscar Wilde’s The Picture of Dorian Gray (1891), this is an island, let alone where it got its when the protagonist passed by this way in search of opium. The most notable attraction is St Anne’s, Limehouse established by the Thatcher government in name. Strictly speaking it’s a peninsula of the free-wheeling 1980s to take pressure for (Map p160 %7987 1502; cnr Commercial Rd & Three Colt St). This was Nicholas Hawksmoor’s earliest church and land on the northern shore of the Thames, still boasts the highest church clock in the city. In fact, the 60m-high tower is still a ‘Trinity House mark’ for identifying office space off the City. This rather artificial although without modern road and trans- community had a shaky start. The low-rise shipping lanes on the Thames (thus the Royal Navy’s White Ensign flag flying). Although the English baroque church port links it would almost be separated was completed in 1725, it was not consecrated until 1730. There is a curious pyramid in the west churchyard that may toy-town buildings had trouble attracting ten- from the mainland at West India Docks. At be connected with the architect’s supposed interest in the occult. ants, the Docklands Light Railway – the main the same time, etymologists are still out to transport link – had teething troubles and lunch over the origin of the island’s name. the Canary Wharf Tower itself had to be res- Some believe it’s because the royal kennels were located here during Henry VIII’s reign. MUSEUM IN DOCKLANDS Map p160 Others say it’s a corruption of the Flemish %0870 444 3856, recorded information 0870 444 0 400 m dijk (dike), recalling the Flemish engineers DOCKLANDS 0 0.2 miles 3857; www.museumindocklands.org.uk; Warehouse who shored up the area’s muddy banks. t No 1, West India Quay E14; adult/student & under l

o 4 C It can be agreed, however, that the h e All 16yr/senior £5/free/3; 10am-6pm, to 9pm 1st e d Limehouse r ock R t East India D Saints h S centrepiece of the Isle of Dogs is Canary T DLR Thu of month; tCanary Wharf or DLR West India East Wharf. If you want to see how the isle Westferry India Quay; w DLR DLR NEIGHBOURHOODS Na NEIGHBOURHOODS rrow once looked, check out Mudchute Park & Farm Housed in a converted 200-year-old ware- St 5 Blackwall DLR (%7515 5901, 7531 4334; www.mudchute.org; Pier St house once used to store sugar, rum and h 3 B E14; admission free; 9.30am-4.30pm; DLR Mudchute), coffee, this museum offers a comprehen- la West India Poplar 6 c k 9 Floating Bridge Quay DLR DLR w an urban farm with livestock, an educa- sive overview of the entire history of the a ll T tional centre and events to the southeast. u Thames from the arrival of the Romans in Poplar n Canary Wharf n 8 Dock e Cabo l AD 43. But it’s at its best when dealing with t Sq 1 ( Canary B N THE EAST END & DOCKLANDS END EAST THE l e & DOCKLANDS END EAST THE Blackwall a w Wharf ck CANARY WHARF Map p160 specifics close by such as the controversial Basin w ) DLR a S O2 S ll o a transformation of the decrepit docks into M T u l (Millenium t t u Canary Wharf Heron t e d n h a n r

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d R DLR le B r a but on a sunny day you can head for the tlement of Londinium and works its way r d i e tt g Millwall n a in o n b Park b open-air cafés and bars of West India Quay. downwards through the ages. Keep an eye ia d r e R a t H S W d You can get here on the DLR but the gran- open for the scale mode of the old London es R tfe s r es ry d N deur of Sir Norman Foster’s sleek Canary Bridge and the Rhinebeck Panorama (1805– Deptford NapierAve R er R d hest ers Manc nd 10), a huge mural of the upper Pool of Island Sau Pelton Rd Wharf Underground station (Jubilee line) Gardens DLR is a better introduction to this dynamic London that has been likened to the view Greenwich district. from the top of the London Eye ( p125 ). 160 161 lonelyplanet.com lonelyplanet.com ST KATHARINE’S DOCK Map p156 TRINITY BUOY WHARF Map p160 DLR station; along the 20-minute walk www.skdocks.co.uk; tTower Hill %7515 7153; www.trinitybuoywharf.com; you’ll pass a bird sanctuary at East India WALK FACTS h Dock Basin. With its cafés and restaurants, St Orchard Pl E14; 10am-6pm Sat & Sun; DLR East Start Tower Hill tube station Katharine’s Dock makes an ideal spot to India End Whitechapel tube station London’s only lighthouse, built for Michael pause for a brief rest after a morning’s Distance 2.5 miles Faraday in 1863, is located at this brown WAPPING & WHITECHAPEL sightseeing at Tower Bridge or the Tower Duration About two hours field site about a mile northeast of Canary of London. There’s a row of twee shops WALK Fuel stop Mirch Masala ( p259 ) and a popular pub called the Dickens Inn Wharf. Also here is the unusual Container ( p288 ) but it’s more entertaining just admir- City, a community of artists’ studios made Walking Tour ing some of the opulent luxury yachts in from brightly painted shipping contain- 1 St Katharine’s Dock 4 Cable Street ers, stacked side by side and one on top the marina. If you pass under Tower Bridge from the This street ( p156) where ropes were manufac- of the other. The web designers, architects Sadly, the dock’s history is rather less Tower of London on foot you’ll soon come tured in the late 18th century – it was once and other creative tenants even have their appealing than its appearance. Some 1250 to this symbolic ‘entrance’ to the Docklands. as long as the standard English measure for own balconies. Also here is the much loved St Katharine’s ( opposite ) was the first of the London cable (180m or 600ft) – was the site of the ‘insanitary’ houses and a brewery were American-style Fat Boy’s Diner (%7987 4334; razed and 11,300 people made homeless to docks to be renovated following its closure celebrated Cable St riots that evicted British h9.30am-4.30pm Mon-Sat), which was moved in 1968. fascists from the East End. make way for its creation in 1828. Its cur- here from Spitalfields Market in 2001. rent incarnation, which happened after the The wharf is open to the public daily and 2 Execution Dock 5 Tower House docks closed, dates from the 1980s. is clearly signposted from the East India Among the more famous people who died at This enormous building (41 Fieldgate St E1) recently this notorious site ( p161) just off Wapping High redeveloped as an apartment block was once 0 200 m St is one Captain William Kidd, hanged here WAPPING & WHITECHAPEL WALK 0 0.1 miles a hostel and then dosshouse whose residents

V in 1701 for piracy. A nearby landmark is the included Lenin, Stalin and authors Jack Lon- a Rd ll nd Princelet St a Whitechapel e E n il Captain Kidd pub (p288 ) . don and George Orwell. The last describes it c M t e ow S R Fournier St G e R END en u d v r g a in detail in his Down and Out in Paris and rushfield St e ta R B a n t t o S S d o 3 St George-in-the-East n M q London (1933). sa r d St ick e l N n C ashio Ch x O F e

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162 163 lonelyplanet.com lonelyplanet.com open-air theatre in Queen Mary’s Gardens round pool. The most popular penguin, NORTH LONDON where Shakespeare is performed during Roxy Rockhopper – who likes to be picked up the summer months, ponds and colourful and cuddled – has her own myspace page: Eating p261 ; Drinking p288 ; Shopping p229 ; Sleeping p355 flowerbeds, rose gardens that look spectac- www.myspace.com/roxyrockhopper. North London is a vast place taking in a wealth of smaller neighbourhoods, most of which are ular in June, football pitches and summer Other highlights include Butterfly Paradise, ancient villages that have slowly been drawn into London’s dark matter over the centuries as games of softball. Into Africa and Meet the Monkeys. The Victorian the agglomeration has expanded. On the western side of the park is the bird house was scheduled to open at Easter Starting north of the Euston Rd, this region of the capital includes King’s Cross and Camden impressive London Central Islamic Centre & Mosque 2008, after extensive renovations, and the Town – two names both likely to elicit a response from Londoners. King’s Cross has historically (%7724 3363; www.iccuk.org; 146 Park Rd NW8; big cats’ living area is up for renovations been one of the capitals nastiest urban blights, but a redevelopment of the tube station, the tMarylebone), a huge white edifice with a in 2009. opening of the beautiful St Pancras International train terminal ( p169) and the slow but thorough glistening dome. Provided you take your A great way to visit the zoo is by canal urban renewal going on elsewhere is mak- shoes off and dress modestly you’re wel- boat from Little Venice or Camden, but you ing King’s Cross more and more desirable, come to go inside, although the interior is can also reach it by walking along the canal although it’s fair to say it’ll be a while before fairly stark. towpath. There’s a delightful children’s zoo, we’re all meeting there for drinks. Camden is which is built almost entirely from sustain- an even stranger beast – much reviled among LONDON ZOO Map p168 able materials, and busy programmes of Londoners for its touristy market and ‘crusty’ events and attractions (such as elephant locals, outside of the Lock and away from NORTH LONDON %7722 3333; www.zsl.org/london-zoo; Regent’s Park NW1; adult/child/concession bathing and penguin feeding) throughout Camden High St the area is actually a won- Hampstead Heath ( p170 ) the year. derful place full of great bars, restaurants and £14.55/11.40/13.20; h10am-5.30pm mid- British Library ( p167 ) Mar–Oct, to 4pm Nov-Jan, to 4.30pm Feb–mid-Mar; some architectural gems. It’s a typical London Highgate Cemetery ( p170 ) phenomenon that two such different experi- tBaker St or Camden Town CAMDEN Camden Market ( opposite ) Established in 1828, these zoological gar- ences can be had in one area. Kenwood House (p171 ) CAMDEN MARKET Map p168 Reactions are nearly always universally pos- dens are among the oldest in the world. This is where the word ‘zoo’ originated and cnr Camden High & Buck Sts NW1; h9am-5.30pm itive to the posh neighbourhoods of Primrose Thu-Sun; tCamden Town or Chalk Farm Hill, Belsize Park and Hampstead, in as much as very few of us can afford these lovely, leafy after a patchy period in the 1990s, London NEIGHBOURHOODS Zoo has become one of the most progres- Although – or perhaps because – it NEIGHBOURHOODS slices of urban village life, although many of us would like to. With their quiet, unpretentious stopped being cutting-edge several thou- gentility there’s little surprise that these are the preferred neighbourhoods for the superstar sive in the world. The zoo is in the middle of a long-term modernisation plan and the sand cheap leather jackets ago, Camden classes. Luckily we can all visit Primrose Hill and Hampstead Heath (just don’t try going for a market gets a whopping 10 million visitors walk in Belsize Park as there is no actual parkland there!). emphasis is now firmly placed on conserva- tion, education and breeding, with fewer each year and is one of London’s most pop- Highgate, on the other side of massive Hampstead Heath, is London’s highest point and pos- ular attractions. What started out as a col- sibly its most gorgeous urban village. Seriously posh, Highgate is a charming place where locals species and more spacious conditions. lection of attractive craft stalls by Camden NORTH LONDON have developed freakishly large calf muscles from all that uphill walking. Nearby Crouch End The newest developments have brought NORTH LONDON Gorilla Kingdom, a £5.3 million project that Lock on the Grand Union Canal now ex- and Muswell Hill are less expensive but retain a very well-off middle-class feel, while scruffier tends most of the way from Camden Town village Stoke Newington in Hackney is a wonderful blend of hippies, yuppies, gay and lesbian involves a gorilla conservation programme in Gabon with the aim of providing habitat tube station to Chalk Farm tube station to couples and pockets of Orthodox Jews and Turkish Muslims, all living in the most unlikely the north. You’ll find a bit of everything but of harmonies. for Western gorillas and protecting them by providing the local communities and in particular a lot of tourist-oriented tat (see North London covers a vast swathe of the city and is most easily reached from the centre of p232 for more information). It’s completely town, rather than by travelling between the separate areas. Hampstead and Highgate should former poachers with work in the pro- gramme. The zoo now has three gorillas – mobbed at the weekend, and something be everyone’s first choice for the sheer breadth of things to see and do. North London also preferably avoided on those days. includes one of the city’s largest and most wonderful outdoor spaces, genteel Regent’s Park, Bobby, Zaire and Effie – who live on their which features famous London Zoo and has the wonderful Regent’s Canal running along its own island, and their space measures 1600 northern edge. sq metres. They are fascinating and gentle JEWISH MUSEUM Map p168 creatures, with very distinct (and strong) %7284 1997; www.jewishmuseum.org.uk; the buildings along the Outer Circle, and in personalities that are fantastic to observe. Raymond Burton House, 129-131 Albert St NW1; REGENT’S PARK particular from the stuccoed Palladian man- The Clore Rainforest Lookout and Nightzone is adult £3.50, student & child £1.50, senior £2.50, REGENT’S PARK Map p166 sions he built on Cumberland Tce. another excellent addition, with sloths, family £8; h10am-4pm Mon-Thu, to 5pm Sun; %7486 7905; h5am-dusk; tBaker St or Like many of the city’s parks, this one monkeys and other creatures wandering tCamden Town; w Regent’s Park was used as a royal hunting ground, and freely among the visitors inside the humid, This branch of the Jewish Museum exam- The most elaborate and ordered of Lon- then as farmland, before it was used as a tropical-climate room. The monkeys are ines Judaism and Judaistic religious prac- don’s many parks, Regent’s was created place for fun and leisure during the 18th especially happy to roam – they see it as tices in the prestigious Ceremonial Art Gallery, around 1820 by John Nash, who planned century. These days it’s a well-organised their territory, so watch out! and the story of the Jewish community to use it as an estate upon which he could but relaxed, lively but serene, local but The elegant and cheerful Penguin Pool, in Britain from the time of the Normans build palaces for the aristocracy. Although cosmopolitan haven in the heart of the designed by Berthold Lubetkin in 1934, is to the present day through paintings, the plan never quite came off – like so city. Among its many attractions are the one of London’s foremost modernist struc- photographs and artefacts in the History many at the time – you can get some idea London Zoo, the Grand Union Canal along tures, although the penguins didn’t like it Gallery. There’s also a gallery for temporary of what Nash might have achieved from its northern side, an ornamental lake, an and are now bathing at a more ordinary exhibitions.

164 165 lonelyplanet.com NEIGHBOURHOODS NORTH LONDON

167 D6 C4 D3 C5 D3 A3 B4 B3 B2 C1 B3 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 Ulysses (pp311–21) (pp323–29) (pp339–61) (pp297–310) John Ritblat , which spans , the 65,000-volume , the 65,000-volume Spaniard's Inn...... Spaniard's Wrestlers...... Barfly@the Monarch...... Bull & Gate...... Cecil Sharp House...... Forum...... 20) Enterprise...... (see Everyman Hampstead...... Hampstead Theatre...... 8) Kenwood House...... (see Hampstead Heath Ponds...... 12) Parliament Hill Lido...... (see Hampstead Village Guest House...... 25) La Gaffe...... (see Melia White House...... NIGHTLIFE ARTS SPORTS & ACTIVITIES SLEEPING King’s Library C5 C4 B4 C5 A4 A3 A3 C4 C4 C4 C4 B3 A3 D4 C4 B3 C4 D1 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 (pp235–75) (pp277–96) Most of the complex is devoted to storageMost of the complex is devoted such as You can hear historic recordings, At the centre of the building is the of the building the centre At collection of the insane George III, which collection of the insane George son, George to the nation by his was given IV, in 1823 and is now housed in a six- To the tower. 17m-high glass-walled storey, the library’s excellent are left as you enter bookshop and exhibition galleries. also sev- are there but and scholarly research, eral public displays including the Gallery: Treasures of the British Library continent. every millennia and almost three Among the most important documents the Magna Carta (1215); the Codex are here of the text Sinaiticus, the first complete in the 4th in Greek written New Testament, the first Bible (1455), century; a Gutenberg type; movable using book printed Western Folio (1623); manuscripts First Shakespeare’s authors by some of Britain’s best-known Eliot George Jane Austen, Carroll, Lewis (eg some of the Hardy); and even and Thomas lyrics. Beatles’ earliest hand-written Edison made by Thomas the first one ever, from in 1877, James Joyce reading and Nelson Mandela’s famous speech at the Rivonia trial in 1964, at the National Sound publication as well as historical manu- publication as well as historical from the British scripts, books and maps some 186 miles library counts Museum. The and levels of shelving on four basement some 12 million volumes when it will have capacity. the limit of its storage reaches wonderful

w 8349 % EATING DRINKING Jin Kichi...... La Gaffe...... Lemonia...... 26) Manna...... (see Marine Ices...... Nando's...... Trojka...... Wells Tavern...... Woodlands...... At Proud...... Bartok...... Boogaloo...... 24) Hollybush...... (see Queen's...... Rosslyn Delicatessen...... Rosslyn Stables...... Belgo Noord...... Black & Blue...... Engineer...... Market...... Finchley Farmers' King’s Cross; Finchley Central) Finchley (Map p64 ; p64 (Map B3 B6 D4 A3 B3 A3 B2 D2 C1 B3 B1 B6 C5 B3 C3 C5 B2 t

t 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 Map p168 Map (pp164–73) (pp215–34) 10.30am-5pm Mon-Thu, 10.30am-5pm Mon-Thu, h Jewish Museum, Finchley switchboard 7444 1500, visitor servicesswitchboard 7412 10am-6pm Mon & Wed-Fri, 9.30am-8pm Tue, It is the nation’s principal copyright The NORTH LONDON NORTH Alfie's Antiques Market...... Highgate Wood...... Keats House...... Kenwood House...... Islamic Centre & London Central Mosque...... London Zoo (Entrance)...... No 2 Willow Road...... Parliament Hill Lido...... Regent's Park...... Sculptures by Henry Moore & Barbara Hepworth...... Camden Canal Market...... Louis Patisserie...... Royal Free Hospital...... Royal Free Burgh House...... Fenton House...... Hampstead Heath...... Entrance...... Highgate Cemetery INFORMATION SIGHTS SHOPPING The British Library moved to these to these British Library moved The spanking-new between King’s premises in 1998, and at Stations Cross and Euston a cost of £500 million it was Britain’s most building, and not one that is expensive Colin St John Wilson’s loved; universally brick, which of straight lines of red exterior was akinPrince Charles reckoned to a building’, is certainly not to ‘secret-police people who don’t like But even all tastes. the building from the outside can’t fault the spectacularly cool and spacious interior. British library and stocks one copy of every 7332; www.bl.uk; 96 Euston Rd NW1; admission free; 9.30am-5pm Sat, 11am-5pm Sun; KING’S CROSS & EUSTON & EUSTON CROSS KING’S BRITISH LIBRARY h 1143; Sternberg Centre, 80 East End Rd N3; adult/child/ 80 East End 1143; Sternberg Centre, concession £2/free/1; 10.30am-4.30pm Sun except Aug; houses the museum’s social-history col- lections, including the oral-history and and hosts chang- photographic archives, collection Its permanent ing exhibitions. of the tailoring includes reconstructions and cabinet-making workshops from the East End, as well as a Holocaust exhibition focusing on the experience of one Jewish Briton who survived Auschwitz. %

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NORTH LONDON LONDON NORTH r a C Maida West Hampstead West Thameslink 166 lonelyplanet.com NEIGHBOURHOODS NORTH LONDON lonelyplanet.com NEIGHBOURHOODS NORTH LONDON 169 B2 C4 C4 B4 A3 B4 D3 B3 A3 B2 D1 A3 A2 A3 F2 A3 D2 F1 D2 F1 D3 A3 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 64 65 66 67 68 69 70 71 Map p168 Map (pp311–21) (pp331–39) (pp339–61) (pp297–310) Map p168 Map reading rooms at NIGHTLIFE ARTS GAY & LESBIAN SLEEPING International...... Carling Academy Islington...... Carling Cross...... Dublin Castle...... Egg...... Garage...... Jazz Café...... Lock...... Jongleurs Camden Koko...... Uncle Sam's Bar...... Underworld...... Union Chapel...... Vortex Jazz Club...... Almeida Theatre...... Rio Cinema...... Screen on the Green...... Black Cap...... 66 Camden Square...... Ashlee House...... Clink...... Premier Travel Inn...... St Christopher's Inn Camden...... YHA St Pancras A3 A3 D3 D3 E2 D2 C4 D3 A2 D3 A4 E3 A3 D3 D2 D3 D3 D2 D2 A3 D3 A4 D3 D2 A4 B4 A3 C4 King’s Cross St Pancras 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 t 7843 4250; www.stpancras.com; Euston Rd 7713 0836; www.canalmuseum.org.uk; 12-13 10am-4.30pm Tue-Sun & bank holidays; King’s Cross (pp277–96) % % NW1; New Wharf Rd N1; adult/child/student 3/1.50/2; ST PANCRAS INTERNATIONAL If you use the tube for any length of time, through King’s you’ll pass chances are station, in which case you Cross St Pancras should rise to the surface out and check Gothic this fabulously imposing Victorian which was built as a hotel masterpiece, Gilbert George architect by the renowned train shed behind the Scott in 1876. The into the stun- façade has been converted now International, ning new St Pancras high- departure for HS1 (or Eurostar) point Brussels and Lille. speed services to Paris, LONDON CANAL MUSEUM h t worthwhile quirky but very This museum (with a is housed in an old ice warehouse and at 10.30am and 3pm Saturday of the another that and library’s public areas, includes a visit to one of the the main 11.30am and 3pm Sunday. Call number to make a booking.

ex- docu- Giraffe...... Glas...... Market...... Islington Farmers' Le Mercury...... Mango Room...... Masala Zone...... Mestizo...... Metrogusto...... Ottolenghi...... Ravi Shankar...... Snazz.Sichuan...... Bar Vinyl...... Big Chill House...... Crown & Goose...... Edinboro Castle...... Elbow Room...... Elk in the Woods...... Embassy...... Medicine Bar...... Ruby Lounge...... Salmon & Compass...... Castle's...... Market...... Chapel Bhel Poori House...... Diwana Cambridge...... Duke of El Parador...... 28) Fishworks...... (see Gallipoli...... Gallipoli Again...... DRINKING Pearson GalleryPearson D2 B4 A3 C3 B4 D2 A2 D3 E2 C4 E3 C4 C4 D3 A3 A2 A3 D2 D3 B4 A2 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 10 11 12 13 14 Turning the Pages Turning (adult/child £8/6.50) (pp215–34) (pp235–75) (pp165–70,172) , where the selections are the selections are , where Philatelic Exhibition, next John to the Workshop of Words, Sounds & Images The The Access to the reading rooms is by read- rooms Access to the reading guided tours are There NORTH LONDON: CAMDEN & ISLINGTON & CAMDEN LONDON: NORTH SIGHTS SHOPPING EATING St Pancras International...... Costumes & Annie's Vintage 10) Textiles...... (see Aria...... Camden Lock Market...... 2) Camden Market...... (see Camden Passage Market...... Haggle Vinyl...... Housmans...... Past Caring...... Acorn House...... Addis...... Afghan Kitchen...... Asakusa...... Bar Gansa...... 10) Breakfast Club...... (see Café Corfu...... Cantina Italia...... Casale Franco...... British Library...... Market...... Camden Collection of Modern Estorick Italian Art...... Euston Fire Station...... Jewish Museum...... London Canal Museum......

hibit allows you a ‘virtual browse’ through important several including the Sforza texts and a Book of Hours, the Diamond Sutra notebook. da Vinci Leonardo Ritblat Gallery, is based on collections established in 1891 with the bequest of Collection, and now consists of the Tapling including postage than 80,000 items, more stamps, postal stationery and and revenue country from almost every covers first-day and from all periods. at 3pm Monday, Wednesday and Friday Archive Jukeboxes The changed regularly. of writing and ments the development word communicating through the written the work of early examining by carefully The and bookbinders. scribes, printers on dif- recordings sound section compares media, from early-20th-century wax ferent The cylinders to modern CDs. hosts some sensational special exhibitions, in Six A Life from ‘Oscar Wilde: ranging Acts’ to ‘Chinese Printing Today’. for details er’s pass only. See the website of how to apply for one and the conditions that need to be met.

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0 400 m m 400 168 lonelyplanet.com NEIGHBOURHOODS NORTH LONDON lonelyplanet.com lonelyplanet.com deep well where the frozen commodity was HIGHGATE CEMETERY Map p166 with five types of bat, 12 of butterfly and 80 ings by the likes of Gainsborough, Reynolds, stored) dating from the 1860s and traces %8340 1834; www.highgate-cemetery.org; different kinds of spider. It also has a huge Turner, Hals, Vermeer and Van Dyck and is the history of Regent’s Canal, the ice busi- Swain’s Lane N6; adults/under 16yr £2/free, plus £1 clearing in the centre for sports, a popular one of the finest small collections in Britain. ness and the development of ice cream for a camera; h10am-5pm Mon-Fri, 11am-5pm playground and nature trail for kids and a Robert Adam’s Great Stairs and the through models, photographs, exhibits and Sat & Sun Apr-Oct, 10am-4pm Mon-Fri, 11am-4pm range of activities – from falconry to bat- library, one of 14 rooms open to the public, archive documentaries. The ice trade was Sat & Sun Nov-Mar; tHighgate watching – throughout the year. are especially fine. The Suffolk Collection huge in late Victorian London, and 35,000 Most famous as the final resting place of occupies the 1st floor. It includes Jacobean tonnes of it were imported from Norway Karl Marx and other notable mortals, High- KEATS HOUSE Map p166 portraits by William Larkin and royal Stuart in 1899. gate Cemetery is set in 20 wonderfully wild %7435 2062; www.keatshouse.org.uk; Went- portraits by Van Dyck and Lely. and atmospheric hectares with dramatic worth Pl, Keats Grove NW3; adult/under 16yr/ The Brew House Café has excellent grub, and overdecorated Victorian graves and concession £3.50/free/1.75; h1-5pm Tue-Sun; from light snacks to full meals (mains HAMPSTEAD & HIGHGATE sombre tombs. It’s divided into two parts. tHampstead or dHampstead Heath around £7), and plenty of room on the HAMPSTEAD HEATH Map p166 On the eastern side you can visit the grave Undergoing redevelopment at the time of lovely garden terrace. %7485 4491; tHampstead, dGospel Oak or of Marx. It’s an amusing coincidence that writing and due to reopen in late 2008, this Hampstead Heath, g214 or C2 to Parliament Hill buried opposite is the free-market econo- elegant Regency house was home to the NO 2 WILLOW ROAD Map p166 Fields mist Herbert Spencer – Marx and Spencer, golden boy of the Romantic poets from 1818 %7435 6166, 0149 475 5570; www.national to 1820. Never short of generous mates, Sprawling Hampstead Heath, with its roll- does it ring a bell? This slightly overgrown trust.org.uk; 2 Willow Rd NW3; admission £4.90; Keats was persuaded to take refuge here by ing woodlands and meadows, is a million and wild part of the cemetery is a very hnoon-5pm Thu-Sat Apr-Oct, noon-5pm Sat pleasant walk but it’s merely the overflow Charles Armitage Brown, and it was here that Mar & Nov, guided tours at noon, 1pm & 2pm; miles away – well, approximately four he met his fiancée Fanny Brawne, who was – from the City of London. It covers 320 area. It’s the wonderfully atmospheric west- tHampstead or dHampstead Heath ern section of this Victorian Valhalla that is literally the girl next door. Keats wrote his Fans of modern architecture will want to hectares, most of it woods, hills and mead- most celebrated poem, Ode to a Nightingale, ows, and is home to about 100 bird species. the main draw. To visit it, you’ll have to take swing past this property, the central house a tour and deal directly with the brigade of while sitting under a plum tree in the garden in a block of three, designed by the ‘struc- It’s a wonderful place for a ramble, espe- (now replaced) in 1819. Original documents sometimes stroppy silver-haired ladies who tural rationalist’ Ernö Goldfinger in 1939 cially to the top of Parliament Hill, which such as the poet’s letters and the original run the cemetery and act like they are the as his family home. Although the architect offers expansive views across the city and is Bright Star manuscript will be on display as home guard defending it from the Ger- was following Georgian principles in creat-

NEIGHBOURHOODS one of the most popular places in London NEIGHBOURHOODS part of the redevelopment. The house is ing it, many people think it looks uncannily to fly a kite. Alternatively head up the hill in mans (eyes straight, shoulders back, chest dripping with atmosphere, thanks in part to out, march!). It is a maze of winding paths like the sort of mundane 1950s architecture North Wood. the collection of Regency furniture amassed you see everywhere. They may look similar If walking is too pedestrian for you, leading to the Circle of Lebanon, rings of here in recent years. Rather than supplying tombs flanking a circular path and topped now, but 2 Willow Rd was in fact a forerun- another major attraction is the bathing pamphlets or audioguides, the staff here tell ner; the others were mostly bad imitations. ponds (separate beautiful ones for men and with a majestic, centuries-old cedar tree. stories about Keats and the house as you The guides are engaging and gladly point The interior, with its cleverly designed women and a slightly less pleasant mixed wander around, perhaps examining the ring NORTH LONDON storage space and collection of artworks by NORTH LONDON pond). Sections of the heath area are also out the various symbols of the age and the he gave Fanny (which she wore for the rest eminent dead occupying the tombs, includ- Henry Moore, Max Ernst and Bridget Riley, laid out for football, cricket and tennis. of her life) or the bust of Keats, which is set is certainly interesting and accessible to all. Those of a more artistic bent should make ing the scientist Michael Faraday and the at the poet’s exact height: barely 1.5m! a beeline to Kenwood House ( opposite ) but stop dog-show founder Charles Cruft. ‘Dissenters’ American visitors might like to know that (non–Church of Englanders) were buried BURGH HOUSE Map p166 to admire the sculptures by Henry Moore and the house was originally saved and opened way off in the woods. Tours (£3, plus per camera %7431 0144; www.burghhouse.org.uk; New End Barbara Hepworth on the way. to the public in 1925 largely due to the £1) depart 2pm Monday to Friday (book Sq NW3; admission free; hnoon-5pm Wed-Fri & If you work up a thirst, there’s no better donations of Keats’ devotees in the US. ahead by phone) and every hour 11am to Sun, 2-5pm bank holidays, by appointment Sat; place to quench it than at the atmospheric – 4pm Saturday and Sunday (no bookings). tHampstead and possibly haunted – Spaniard’s Inn ( p290 ), KENWOOD HOUSE Map p166 The cemetery still works – the most %8348 1286; www.english-heritage.org.uk; If you happen to be in the neighbourhood, which has a fascinating history and a terrific recent well-known addition was Russian this late-17th-century Queen Anne mansion beer garden. Hampstead Lane NW3; admission free; hhouse dissident Alexander Litvinenko, who was 11am-5pm Apr-Oct, to 4pm Nov-Mar, the Suf- houses the Hampstead Museum of local history, By day and night the West Heath is a done away with under most sinister cir- a small art gallery and the delightful Buttery gay cruising ground that is so well es- folk Collection (upstairs) 11am-4.30pm Thu-Sun; h cumstances in 2006 with the radioactive tArchway or Golders Green, then g210; w Garden Café ( 11am-5.30pm Wed-Sat), where you tablished that the police often pitch up can get a decent and reasonably priced isotope Polonium 210 over tea in a Mayfair Hampstead’s most impressive sight is this in the evenings to protect the men who lunch (sandwiches £5). hotel (see p48) – and closes during burials, magnificent neoclassical mansion, which spend their nights here. On South Green, so you might want to call ahead just to be opposite Hampstead Heath station, is one stands at the northern end of the heath in sure it will be open. a glorious sweep of landscaped gardens FENTON HOUSE Map p166 of Britain’s oldest lavatories, which was leading down to a picturesque lake, around %7435 3471; www.nationaltrust.org.uk; Windmill built in 1897 and restored in 2000. This HIGHGATE WOOD Map p166 which classical concerts take place in sum- Hill, Hampstead Grove NW3; adult/child £5.20/2.60; was gay playwright Joe Orton’s lavatory of hdawn-dusk; tHighgate mer (see p312 ). The house was remodelled h2-5pm Wed-Fri, 11am-5pm Sat & Sun Apr-Oct, choice for ‘cottaging’ (cruising for gay sex). With more than 28 hectares of ancient by Robert Adam in the 18th century, and 2-5pm Sat & Sun Mar; tHampstead George Orwell worked in a bookshop op- woodland, this park is a wonderful spot for rescued from developers by Lord Iveagh One of the oldest houses in Hampstead, posite the toilets and doubtless used them a walk any time of the year. It’s also teem- Guinness, who donated it and the wonderful this late-17th-century merchant’s residence now and then for their originally intended ing with life, and some 70 different bird collection of art it contains to the nation in has a charming walled garden with roses purpose. species have been recorded here, along 1927. The Iveagh Bequest contains paint- and an orchard, fine collections of porce- 170 171 lonelyplanet.com lonelyplanet.com lain and keyboard instruments – including The park in which it stands sprawls over 0 500 m a 1612 harpsichord played by Handel – as some 196 hectares consisting of public HAMPSTEAD & HIGHGATE WALK 0 0.3 miles Queen's

well as 17th-century needlework pictures gardens, a nature conservation area, a deer e Wood

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and original Georgian furniture. park and various sporting facilities includ- s 5

p e o v ing a boating lake, pitch-and-putt golf h A s Highgate d i R B n Golf o course and skate park, making it a great n e o Course d t h l g T e n h ISLINGTON place for a family outing. i S n 4 n i ESTORICK COLLECTION OF MODERN W D Highgate en Boogaloo Map p168 ew ITALIAN ART Hampstead o od A STOKE NEWINGTON Golf rc R % d h 7704 9522; www.estorickcollection.com; 39a Course w a ABNEY PARK CEMETERY Map p64 y

Canonbury Sq N1; adult/concession £3.50/2.50; R h11am-6pm Wed-Sat, noon-5pm Sun; tHigh- %7275 7557; Stoke Newington Church St N16; d

admission free; h8am-dusk; dStoke Newing- W bury & Islington i ld Highgate w

The only museum in Britain devoted to Ital- ton, g73, 106 or 243 o o

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North ian art, and one of the leading collections of Unfairly dubbed ‘the poor man’s Highgate’ R d Wood by some, this magical place was bought up Hampstead Highgate High futurist painting in the world, the Estorick Heath To Extension 3 St Archway Collection is housed in a listed Georgian and developed by a private firm from 1840 Ken e Station k Gv Wood ar P th (200m) house and stuffed with works by such to provide burial grounds for central Lon- u Waterlow y o ro S z Park don’s overflow. It was the first cemetery for it D greats as Giacomo Balla, Umberto Boccioni, Stock F a END r t Pond m

Gino Severini and Ardengo Soffici. The col- dissenters and many of the most influential o Highgate u t Cemetery h lection of paintings, drawings, etchings and London Presbyterians, Quakers and Baptists Kenwood 6 P Ladies' a r sculpture, amassed by American writer and are buried here, including the founder of the Pond k Bird H i l art dealer Eric Estorick and his wife Salome, Salvation Army, William Booth, whose grand l N Sanctuary o r also includes drawings and a painting by tombstone greets you as you enter from th E n the even more famous Amedeo Modigliani. Church St. Since the 1950s the cemetery has d Hampstead Highgate M W Men's il Heath lf a ie Well-conceived special exhibitions might been left to fend for itself and, these days, is y 2 Pond ld L NEIGHBOURHOODS concentrate on Italian divisionism or a as much a bird and plant sanctuary as a de- West a NEIGHBOURHOODS Heath a Vale of Men's L collection of classic Italian film posters. The Bathing ins lightfully overgrown ruin. The derelict chapel Health Highgate Swa museum also encompasses an extensive li- at the heart of the park could be straight out Pond Pond Ponds H e Mixed H brary, café and shop. Highly recommended. a of a horror film, and the atmosphere of the i B t East Heath Parliament g r h R East Bathing h a d Hill g n S Pond whole place is nothing short of magical. Heath a c t t h e k H R i W d ll ll Hampstead e Ponds

NORTH LONDON MUSWELL HILL & CROUCH END NORTH LONDON W

e Hampstead HAMPSTEAD & HIGHGATE WALK s Parliament ALEXANDRA PARK & PALACE Map p64 i Willow R k Rd Hill l al a W Fields %8365 2121; www.alexandrapalace.com; Alexan- n Hampstead Gospel sk ll g a 1 i Walking Tour o l H Oak r F d F H e Gospel dra Palace Way N22; Alexandra Palace START a ir 1 No 2 Willow Rd m h Gve p s ts Oak stea n Kea Built in 1873 as North London’s answer to d H w Hampstead Drop into this fascinating slice of modernism ch Row igh o Keats Chur S D Heath Crystal Palace, Alexandra Palace suffered on your way to nearby Hampstead Heath. Here t House the ignoble fate of burning to the ground you’ll find Ernö Goldfinger’s pioneering inter- 4 Highgate Village only 16 days after opening. Encouraged by national modernist apartment block ( p171 ), run by the Wandering up the hill to London’s highest attendance figures, investors decided to formidable dames of the National Trust. Just WALK FACTS rebuild and it reopened just two years later. don’t say that it looks like any other modern natural point, it’s hard not to be seduced in- Start Hampstead tube station Although it boasted a theatre, museum, building – it really was the first. stantly by Highgate Village, with its charming End Archway tube station lecture hall, library and Great Hall with one of shops, pubs and cafés. Distance 5 miles the world’s largest organs, it was no match 2 Hampstead Heath Duration Three hours for Crystal Palace. It housed German POWs One of London’s most lovely open spaces, the 5 Highgate Wood Fuel stop Boogaloo ( p289 ) during WWI and in 1936 the world’s first TV hills and woods of this gorgeous, rambling park Take a stroll in the thick foliage of this charm- transmission – a variety show called Here’s ( p170) are enough to inspire anyone to poetry ing wood ( p170) , where you can combine a walk Looking at You – took place here. The palace (and of course Keats lived just nearby; see with plenty of other activities including bird- the late 19th century – you can walk down burned down again in 1980 but was rebuilt p171 ). Enjoy the view from Parliament Hill watching (although look out for the butterflies Swain’s Lane to London’s most famous burial for the third time and opened in 1988. Today and cool off in the swimming ponds or in the and even bats at dusk). Kids will especially love ground ( p170) . Here lie Karl Marx, George Elliot, ‘Ally Pally’ (as it is affectionately known, even fabulous Parliament Hill Lido ( p325) . the nature trail, and the sports activities avail- Christina Rossetti and recent arrival Alexan- though locals are paying increased council able at the heart of the wood are excellent. der Litvinenko in some wonderful surround- rates since it was rebuilt) is a multipurpose 3 Kenwood House ings. Be sure to take the West Cemetery tour conference and exhibition centre with addi- On the northern edge of the heath, this grand 6 Highgate Cemetery as while it’s a pain to have to visit in a group, tional facilities, including an indoor ice-skat- mansion ( p171) houses two superb collections of Wandering down Highgate Hill – and you it’s only here that you understand why High- ing rink, the panoramic Phoenix Bar & Beer British art, features some gorgeous interiors only ever want to walk down this hill, it was, gate is London’s most desirable place to be Garden and funfairs in summer. and has lovely gardens to walk in, all for free. after all the site of Europe’s first cable car in dead. 172 173

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which takes in the famous Long Room, radio, but you should also look out for WEST LONDON

174 175 lonelyplanet.com lonelyplanet.com 0 200 m WEST LONDON WEST LONDON: SHEPHERD’S BUSH & EARL’S COURT 0 0.1 miles

P a Pl l SIGHTS (pp174–76) Green Olive...... 19 D2 ARTS (pp311–21) n a Wood La See to c ing e Holland Park West London ns 11 B Kensal Green Cemetery...... 12A1 Harlem...... 0C3 Electric Cinema...... 41 B3 C r G Ke u Map a n d 12 m 23 s n Shepherd's w s Lord's Cricket Ground...... 2 E1 Jason's...... 21 D2 Gate...... 42 C4 e p175 p The Round v d K i T c c A e k Bush k e e Pond r n Kensington Place...... 22 C4 Notting Hill Coronet...... 43 C4 a d G T U P Bedford Gdnsel n Kensington x d fi h brid lan H ef s d ge ol h e i n Palace e Rd H i S c n 42 SHOPPING (pp215–34) Levantine...... 23 E3 ll H T s g Palace B Kensington R o d r t r n o o Blenheim Books...... 3 B3 Mandalay...... 24 E2 SPORTS & ACTIVITIES (pp323–29) t C n a o h R A n d u Green i d Holland c A Books for Cooks...... (see 4) Mandarin Kitchen...... 25 D4 Lord's Cricket Ground...... (see 2) 7 25 S r W h d t c b h d m i of R s b Park ess k k o 44 uch 8 40 o D S Ceramica Blue...... 4 B3 Notting Hill Farmers' Market....26 C4 Porchester Baths...... 44 D3 w n o d's Wk ha n t for t d s Bed l d A Ke o 34 R b nsin G r g Coco Ribbon...... 5 B3 Nyonya...... 27 C4 17 d u P g ton W 9 ford Gdns r 28 h y Rd 26 in y l P M il l 10 a a li R l Honest Jon's...... 6 B2 Ottolenghi...... 28 C3 SLEEPING (pp339–61) y m R d a Goldhawk Rd d o k c r W High St e Music & Video Exchange...... 7 C4 Royal China...... 29 D4 Cardiff Hotel...... 45 E3 e e W r G or G e 5 r Kensington t m d a s P d li i e il gh t

h l n R Paul & Joe...... 8 C3 Taqueria...... 30 C3 Colonnade...... 46 D1 lc s Ph e

I t

' G 2 s a t i d Rd S r L l Portobello Road Market...... 9 B3 Garden Court Hotel...... 47 C3 R o h a ry g o

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Rellik...... 10 B2 DRINKING (pp277–96) Gate Hotel...... 48 C4 H rk o e M t M g V Kensington o in s s l t l s lla a a n E Vi e Retro Woman...... 11 C4 Castle...... 31 B3 Guesthouse West...... 49 C3 e n r (Olympia) n K d r o l Rd d Stanford Holland Pa o d w g as

in ill R b e S a A V R e d

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r Olympia tr Gdns d i S am 33 Prince Alfred...... 34 D2 Lennox...... 52 C4 B c E Lexh

’ ro k e a Gloucester Rd s o W k k ro rl G G b 38 EATING (pp235–75) Twelfth House...... 35 C4 Miller's Residence...... 53 C3 B re a ’s en r arde em u w ns P d C Cromwell Rd South s i R c o a Arancina...... (see 27) Warrington Hotel...... 36 D1 New Linden Hotel...... 54 C3 h d L k Earl's R ur Red eld l fi Kensington R L R l d Aurio i wTe t 21 R C&R Restaurant...... 13 C3 Westbourne...... 37 C2 Oxford London Hotel...... 55 E3 d d sg d Court m e y t R T a ro m R a C s ith ce r C p 31 d w s s 32 dn ns st le n l' n G Gd Churrería Española...... 14 D3 Pavilion Hotel...... 56 F3 rsm l e t e ar d ld n Hamme Rd W o K E G fie gto Gliddon n 36 Ct rin 27 P n ar Costa's Fish Restaurant...... 15 C4 NIGHTLIFE (pp297–310) Portobello Gold...... 57 B3 St l 39 to H y ing Edith s s rb K Rd d rk n he Hammersmith G d R a d et Couscous Café...... 16 D3 Cherry Jam...... 38 D2 Portobello Hotel...... 58 B4 unterst l R 41 ir B G W s one R al P v ns n 19 Rd d mw o 35 d d 30 Rd Cro h b n G G Electric Brasserie...... (see 41) Neighbourhood...... 39 B2 Royal Park...... 59 E3 Gw dwr st il re lto Rd en We b s T q Bo 43 on Talgarth Rd West each Gdn t S pt Geales...... 17 C4 Notting Hill Stylotel...... 60 E3 13 s C 16 rom Kensington 37 Earl's Court rl' B T T n Cha a ld h h

e e E E O e Bo e

Gourmet Burger Kitchen...... 18 C3 Arts Club...... 40 C4 Vancouver Studios...... 61 C3 Barons P Bar Rd l o C e in n's Court 24 a L to u l a V

r 14 i n o Court l l r t Q l e l d t s h r i G on e t a s r le l i C e le e s C 15 r k er N e B m d o y o o s R s e rt R r r St h le H lt d t 22 e o e e a R h d a nes R E e r n m g F d r c c s the famous weather vane in the shape of a painter belonging to the Olympian move- i n o d e West n l u m i d e i r l f T r d a B d West Brompton R f c t R R e e H d R d rt Father Time and the remarkable tentlike ment. The ground floor is decorated in an 1 N d G a d NEIGHBOURHOODS Brompton c NEIGHBOURHOODS o a h Rd r 20 r t und m d a ho e C modern Mound Stand. Arabic style, with the exquisite Arab Hall rey a O G n n d d n S s r R R rambe g e If d B a a ie There’s limited disabled access. Call added in 1879 and densely covered with r g l d r d R Rd R a R e on d v d w Rd ct Rd e ahead for details. blue and green tiles from Rhodes, Cairo, bro lie a 3 is Lil R elm Rd R D ns rd d Damascus and Iznik (Turkey) and a foun- 18 t A lfo SR a d P rd ne H e e o y a v R f l ld ll la s a d G a e t H R m tain tinkling away in the centre. Even the n D o H ay a a m F t a n lh L a KENSAL GREEN CEMETERY Map p175 n r a u R r 29 h t u m d i o W r l l R s T d a h m R F u wooden latticework of the windows and F a d Fulham e Chelsea

WEST LONDON WEST M BUSH & EARL’S SHEPHERD’S LONDON: WEST COURT Harrow Rd, Kensal Green W10; tours £5; htours m re Broadway u t R Village n S Daw F gallery was brought from Damascus. The P s e es d ul re Rd ha L a t t m e in d W d o 2pm Sun; tKensal Green l y B r A R B wa a road r R t Fulham te i c R i a t s a a 's house contains notable pre-Raphaelite e d w H t th a e n g R See n r n n Thackeray and Trollope are among the emi- R r i d r w f i u o a K d Southwest B o paintings by Burne-Jones, Watts, Millais and Barnes o r R d d d London R l nent dead folk at this huge and handsome d R e Map d ha Lord Leighton himself. Restoration of the ic d Victorian cemetery, which made a name for p205 Walham M R back garden has returned it to its Victorian Green itself in the 19th century as the place where splendour – as has work on the stairwell the VIPs preferred to RIP. Supposedly based and upstairs rooms. on the Cimetière du Père-Lachaise in Paris, the cemetery is distinguished by its Greek WEST LONDON: SHEPHERD'S BUSH & EARL'S COURT BROMPTON CEMETERY Map p177 Revival architecture, arched entrances and INFORMATION Krungtap...... 14 D3 SPORTS & ACTIVITIES (pp323–29) % Charing Cross Hospital...... 1 A3 Lou Pescadou...... 15 D3 Chelsea Football Club...... 29 D4 the outrageously ornate tombs that bear 7352 1201; www.royalparks.gov.uk; Old Bromp- h easyEverything...... 2 C2 Mr Wing...... 16 D3 K Spa...... (see 34) testimony to 19th-century delusions of ton Rd SW5; tours £3; 8am-dusk, tours Sun; tWest Brompton Patio...... 17 A1 grandeur. Ambitious two-hour tours start SIGHTS (pp176–78) River Café...... 18 A4 SLEEPING (pp339–61) As London’s vast population exploded in from the Anglican chapel in the centre of Brompton Cemetery...... 3 D4 Tendido Cero...... 19 D3 Ace Hotel...... 30 B3 the 19th century, seven new cemeteries Leighton House...... 4 C2 Barmy Badger Backpackers...... 31 C2 the cemetery. opened, among them Brompton Cemetery, Linley Sambourne House...... 5 C2 DRINKING (pp276–96) base2stay...... 32 D2 Atlas...... 20 C3 easyHotel Earl's Court...... 33 D2 a long expanse running between Fulham Rd SHOPPING (pp215–34) Prince of Teck...... 21 D2 K West...... 34 B1 LEIGHTON HOUSE Map p177 and Old Brompton Rd. There is a chapel and Orsini...... 6 C2 Troubadour...... 22 D3 Mayflower...... 35 D3 %7602 3316; www.rbkc.gov.uk; 12 Holland Park colonnades at one end, modelled after St Shepherd's Bush Market...... 7 A1 Windsor Castle...... 23 C1 Merlyn Court Hotel...... 36 D2 Rd W14; adult/concession £3/1; h11am-5.30pm Troubadour Delicatessen...... (see 22) Philbeach Hotel...... 37 C3 Peter’s in Rome. While the most famous resi- Urban Outfitters...... 8 D1 NIGHTLIFE (pp297–310) Rockwell...... 38 D2 Wed-Mon; tHigh St Kensington dent is Emmeline Pankhurst, the pioneer of Earl's Court Exhibition Centre...24 C3 Rushmore...... 39 D3 Leighton House sits on a quiet street near women’s suffrage in Britain, the cemetery is EATING (pp235–75) Shepherd's Bush Empire...... 25 A1 St Christopher's Shepherd's Holland Park, like a secret beauty that has most interesting as the inspiration for many Blah Blah Blah...... 9 A1 Bush...... 40 B1 Bush Bar...... 10 A1 ARTS (pp311–21) Twenty Nevern Square...... 41 C3 to be sought out and appreciated. De- of Beatrix Potter’s characters. A local resident Churchill Thai Kitchen...... 11 C1 Bush Theatre...... 26 A1 Vicarage Hotel...... 42 D1 signed in 1866 by George Aitchison, this in her youth before she moved to the north, Esarn Kheaw...... 12 A1 Lyric Hammersmith...... 27 A3 YHA Earl's Court...... 43 D3 was the home of Lord Leighton (1830–96), Potter seems to have taken many names Gate...... 13 A3 Opera Holland Park...... 28 C1 YHA Holland House Hostel...... 44 C1 176 177 lonelyplanet.com lonelyplanet.com from the deceased of Brompton Cemetery 1960s concrete structure. Visit is by two- and immortalised them in her world-famous hour guided tour only and bookings of two GREENWICH & SOUTHEAST LONDON books. Names to be found include Mr Nut- days in advance are essential (no children kin, Mr McGregor, Jeremiah Fisher, Tommy under 10 years, nine tours daily). You’ll see Eating p269 ; Drinking p292 ; Shopping p234 ; Sleeping p360 Brock – and even a Peter Rabbett. BBC News and Weather Centres as well as Southeast London by and large feels like a succession of small villages, and that’s exactly what Tours depart 2pm Sunday from the studios where shows are being made, and many of these suburbs were until as recently as the late 19th century. Although there’s evidence South Lodge, near the Fulham Rd entrance. keep your eyes peeled all the while, be- of early prehistoric settlements in areas such cause you’re very likely to spot a celebrity as Forest Hill, Greenwich and Woolwich, for BBC TELEVISION CENTRE Map p64 wandering around the corridors – we saw millennia this area was merely on the fringes %0870 603 0304; Wood Lane W12; tour admis- Yoko Ono, Alice Cooper (!) and Jonathan of the big city. sion adult/student & child over 10yr £9.50/8.50; Ross. You can also go and watch the re- Greenwich, right on the banks of the Thames, tWhite City; w cording of certain shows for free at one of is something of an exception in this. Packed If you’re interested in TV production, this is the BBC’s many London studios, though with splendid architecture, it has strong connec- GREENWICH & SOUTHEAST the perfect chance to visit the vast complex you’ll have to book in advance. Log on tions with the sea, science, sovereigns and – of LONDON of studios and offices that bring the BBC’s to www.bbc.co.uk/whatson/tickets to see course – time. Ever since it was decided to make Horniman Museum ( p185 ) TV programmes to the world. TVC, as it’s what’s on during your stay. You’ll also need Greenwich the prime meridian of longitude, National Maritime Museum ( below ) known to BBC staff, is a pretty monstrous to book for disabled access. Greenwich Mean Time has dictated how clocks and watches around the globe are set. Red House ( p186) Now a Unesco World Heritage Site, Royal Observatory ( p181) Greenwich’s leafy green expanses and white Thames Flood Barrier ( p184 ) wedding-cake buildings give it an air of sem- irural gentility. This tranquil aura continues, although to a lesser degree, as you venture further southeast, into a London that few out-of- towners see: places such as Blackheath, with its 110-hectare expanse of open common; Eltham, which boasts an Art Deco palace alongside one of a slightly more elite pedigree, dating back to the 14th century; and Dulwich, site of Britain’s oldest public art gallery. NEIGHBOURHOODS A lot edgier are the areas of Deptford and New Cross just west of Greenwich. Here you’ll NEIGHBOURHOODS find a district in transition as was, say, Shoreditch a decade a go. Music studios are opening up in what used to be garages, galleries and art centres are squeezing between pie ’n’ mash and kebab shops, and pubs are turning into bars.

1873. Considerately, Wren altered his plans,

WEST LONDON WEST GREENWICH splitting the college into two perfectly formed LONDON & SOUTHEAST GREENWICH Greenwich (gren-itch) lies to the southeast of halves, to allow uninterrupted views of the central London, where the Thames widens Thames from the Queen’s House. and deepens, and there’s a sense of space that Virtually everything in Greenwich can be is rare elsewhere in the city. Quaint, villagelike easily reached from the Cutty Sark DLR sta- and boasting the Royal Observatory and the tion. A quicker way to get here from central fabulous National Maritime Museum, Green- London, however, is via one of the mainline wich has been on Unesco’s list of World Herit- trains from Charing Cross or London Bridge. age Sites (as Maritime Greenwich) since 1997. An alternative from Docklands is to use the A trip there will be one of the highlights of historic 390m-long foot tunnel running under any visit to London, and you should certainly the Thames, built in 1902. The lifts down to allow a day to do it justice, particularly if you the tunnel are open from 7am to 7pm Mon- want to head down the river to the Thames day to Saturday and from 10am to 5.30pm Flood Barrier. on Sunday. Otherwise you’re facing between Greenwich is home to an extraordinary in- 88 and 100 steps down and – shudder – up terrelated cluster of classical buildings; all the (open 24 hours). great architects of the Enlightenment made their mark here, largely due to royal patron- age. In the early 17th century, Inigo Jones NATIONAL MARITIME MUSEUM built one of England’s first classical Renais- Map p180 sance homes, the Queen’s House, which still %8858 4422, recorded information 0870 781 stands today. Sir Christopher Wren built the 5189; www.nmm.ac.uk; Romney Rd SE10; admis- Royal Observatory in 1675–76 and, with his sion free; h10am-5pm Sep-Jun, to 6pm Jul & Aug; acolyte Nicholas Hawksmoor, began work 20 dGreenwich or DLR Cutty Sark; w years later on the Royal Hospital for Seamen, Though it hardly sounds like a crowd- which became the Royal Naval College in pleaser, this museum designed to tell the 178 179 lonelyplanet.com NEIGHBOURHOODS GREENWICH & SOUTHEAST LONDON 181 hourly Thames Map p180 Map h 10am-5pm , which Peter HarrisonPeter Map p180 Map h p162 ), or by (

Greenwich or DLR d 8312 8565; adult/child £6/4; 8312 8565; adult/child TrinityBuoy Wharf p184 ). ( %

( 8269 4747; www.oldroyalnavalcollege.org; King North Greenwich If you want to get a good view of what The 120-seat state-of-the-artThe Mon-Sat, 12.30-5pm Sun; William Walk SE10; admission free; OLD ROYAL NAVAL COLLEGE COLLEGE NAVAL OLD ROYAL two main rooms open to the are There Hall and public at the college – the Painted O2 (MILLENNIUM DOME) Drawdock Rd SE10; wwp.millennium-dome.co.uk; t of 2000, having Since it closed at the end to attractfailed miserably in its bid 12 mil- tent–shaped lion visitors, the huge circus from the Millennium Dome O2 (renamed for the most in 2005) was, until recently, part Bon It has now hosted unemployed. concerts and Barbara Streisand and Jovi exhibition called Tutankhamun a massive but the Pharaohs, of and the Golden Age that was little consolation (or cash) for Anschutz Entertainment Group, developers whose bid for it to house Britain’s first by supercasino had been rejected regional of the future The that year. the government elephant on Greenwich 380m-wide white to build that cost £750 million Peninsula a year just to than £5 million (and more than look a lot brighter does keep it erect) it did, and it is now scheduled to host the 2009 World Gymnastics Championships and the artistic gymnastics and basketball of the 2012 Olympic. events at the technology in tent was the latest turn of the millennium, you can see it from Docklands or taking cruise to the Thames River a Flood Barrier shows 1-4pm Mon-Fri, Sun) 11am-4pm Sat & south of the Royal Observatoryopened just laser has a £1 million digital in June 2007, on heavens projector that can show entire its bronze-cladthe inside of roof and is the Along with theme most advanced in Europe. tracing the history galleries are shows, there displays on of astronomy and interactive of gravity. such subjects the effects visiting the unique Camera Obscura. An Obscura. Camera unique the visiting project £15 million ambitious has added astronomy exploring galleries four new search for one on the including and time, longitude. Planetarium % Cutty Sark ). p182 w Map p180 Map 10am-5pm Sep-Jun, to 6pm Jul h Greenwich or DLR Cutty Sark; d 8858 4422, recorded information 0870 781 The globe is divided between east and The at the time ball day at 1pm the red Every The exhibits are arranged by theme, arranged by theme, are exhibits The catered are environmentally minded The In 1675 Charles II had the Royal Observa- tory built on a hill in the middle of Green- that astronomy be intending wich Park, at sea (see used to establish longitude The Octagon Room, designed by Wren, Octagon Room, designed by Wren, The where and the nearby Sextant Room are (1646–1719), the first John Flamsteed astronomer royal, made his observations and calculations. west at the Royal Observatory, and in the Meridian Courtyard foot you can place one either side of the meridian line and straddle the two hemispheres. top of the Royal Observatory continues to drop as has done since 1833. You can still and spy on views of Greenwich get great tourists at the same time by your fellow 5189; www.rog.nmm.ac.uk; Greenwich Park SE19; 5189; www.rog.nmm.ac.uk; Greenwich Park admission free; ROYAL ROYAL OBSERVATORY long and convoluted history of Britain as as of Britain history convoluted and long impressive is the most nation a seafaring moment you From the Greenwich. sight in magnifi- to this the entrance through step be won building you’ll cent neoclassical as you progress And it just gets better over. Court Neptune glass-roofed through the building. of this three-storey into the rest Art Maritime London, Explorers, focusing on highlights Visual much more. and Sea and built in 1732 barge golden state include the Prince of Wales, and the huge for Frederick, 1. The on level ship’s propeller installed tunic that Britain’s museum also owns the sea-faring hero, Horatio Nelson, greatest fatally shot was wearing when he was (including the actual bullet), plus a replica used by explorer James Caird of the lifeboat handful of his men Ernest Shackleton and a help in Antarctica. on their epic mission for exhibit on level for with the Your Ocean history, health 2, examining the science, firing a Kids will love of the sea. and future exhibit or manoeu- cannon in the All Hands vring a tanker into portthe state- by using of-the-art 3. Even on level bridge simulator fashionistas will be wowed by Rank and exhibit Style (uniforms) and the Passengers of and the mock-up posters (classic travel the cocktail bar of a cruise ship). & Aug; % C3 C3 A3 D3 B4 C3 C3 A1

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22 GREENWICH & SOUTHEAST LONDON & SOUTHEAST GREENWICH o R GREENWICH & SOUTHEAST LONDON SIGHTS INFORMATION Ranger's House...... Royal Observatory...... Peter Harrison Planetarium...... Queen's House...... O2 (Millennium Dome)...... Old Royal Naval College...... Painted Hall...... Greenwich Park...... National Maritime Museum...... Nelson Room...... (see 9) College...... Cutty Sark...... Fan Museum...... Chapel at Old Royal Naval Greenwich Tourist Office...... Rotherhithe Southwark (Closed until 180 lonelyplanet.com NEIGHBOURHOODS GREENWICH & SOUTHEAST LONDON lonelyplanet.com lonelyplanet.com This building was first called the ‘House of FAN MUSEUM Map p180 THE LONG ROAD TO LONGITUDE Delight’ and that’s certainly still true. The %8305 1441; www.fan-museum.org; 12 Crooms first Palladian building by architect Inigo h It was the challenge of the century. Establishing latitude – the imaginary lines that girdle the earth from north to south – Hill SE10; adult/7-16yr & senior £4/3; 11am- Jones after he returned from Italy, it’s far d was child’s play; any sailor could do that by looking at the height of the sun or the Pole Star on the horizon. Finding 5pm Tue-Sat, noon-5pm Sun; Greenwich or DLR more enticing than the art collection in it, Cutty Sark; w longitude, however, was an entirely different matter and had stumped astronomers from the Greeks to Galileo. even though that contains some Turners, As it takes 24 hours for the earth to complete one revolution of 360°, one hour is one twenty-fourth of a revolution – The world’s only museum entirely devoted Holbeins, Hogarths and Gainsboroughs. to fans has a wonderful collection of ivory, or 15°. By the 16th century astronomers knew that longitude could be found by comparing local time with the reading The house was begun in 1616 for Anne of a clock set at the time of home port or another place of known longitude. But that meant two reliable clocks, ones tortoiseshell, peacock-feather and folded- of Denmark, wife of James I. However, fabric examples alongside kitsch battery- that would keep accurate time as the ship pitched and shook and the temperature rose or fell. Such technology was it wasn’t completed until 1635, when it unavailable until the 18th century. powered versions and huge ornamental became the home of Charles I and his Welsh fans. The 18th-century Georgian Reading longitude inaccurately lengthened sea voyages, cost shipping companies money and increased the number queen, Henrietta Maria. The Great Hall is the of sailors’ deaths due to scurvy and accidents, as islands, rocks and reefs appeared almost out of nowhere. In 1714 Par- town house in which the collection resides principal room – a lovely cube shape, with also has a Japanese-style garden with an liament offered a prize of £20,000 – a king’s ransom in the 18th century – to anyone who could discover a method of a helix-shaped Tulip Staircase and a gallery finding longitude accurate to within 30 miles. It’s a long story – one wonderfully (and briefly) told by Dava Sobel in her Orangery (half-/full tea £3.50/4.50; h3-5pm Tue & Sun) on level 3, where marine paintings and por- serving afternoon tea. book Longitude – but Yorkshire clockmaker John Harrison was eventually awarded the prize for a marine chronometer traits from the National Maritime Museum’s tested from 1761 to 1762 by the Royal Observatory at Greenwich. fine art collection are shown. In 1884 the observatory’s contribution in solving the longitude riddle was acknowledged when an international GREENWICH PARK Map p180 conference in Washington designated ‘the meridian passing through the centre of the transit instrument at the Observa- %8858 2608; www.royalparks.gov.uk; hdawn- tory of Greenwich as the initial meridian for longitude’, or the prime meridian. Greenwich Mean Time (GMT) was then RANGER’S HOUSE Map p180 dusk;dGreenwich or Maze Hill, DLR Cutty Sark accepted worldwide as the universal measurement of standard time. %8853 0035; www.english-heritage.org.uk; This is one of London’s largest and loveli- Greenwich Park SE10; adult/under 5yr/5-15yr/senior est parks, with a grand avenue, wide-open & student £5.50/free/2.80/4.10; h10am-5pm Sun- spaces, a rose garden, picturesque walks the chapel – which are accessed through Off the Upper Hall is the Nelson Room, Wed Apr-Sep; dGreenwich or DLR Cutty Sark and impressive views across the River the new visitors centre and adjoining originally designed by Nicholas Hawks- This elegant Georgian villa in the southwest Thames to the Docklands from the top of Greenwich Tourist Information Centre in moor, then used as a smoking room and corner of Greenwich Park was built in 1723 the hill. Covering a full 74 hectares, it is the NEIGHBOURHOODS the Pepys Building. They’re in separate recently refurbished. For a week over and once housed the park’s ranger. It now oldest enclosed royal park and is partly NEIGHBOURHOODS buildings because when Christopher Wren Christmas 1805, this is where the brandy- contains a collection of 650 works of art (me- the work of Le Nôtre, who landscaped the was commissioned by William and Mary soaked (for embalming purposes, of dieval and Renaissance paintings, porcelain, palace gardens of Versailles for Louis XIV. It to build a naval hospital here in 1692, he course) body of the great naval hero lay, silverware, tapestries etc) amassed by one contains several historic sights, a teahouse, before his state funeral at St Paul’s. Today designed it in two separate halves so as Julius Wernher, a German-born railway engi- a café and a deer park called the Wilder- the room boasts a replica of the statue atop not to spoil the view of the river from the neer’s son who struck it rich in the diamond ness in the southeast corner.

Queen’s House ( right ), Inigo Jones’ miniature Nelson’s column in Trafalgar Sq plus other GREENWICH & SOUTHEAST LONDON & SOUTHEAST GREENWICH fields of South Africa in the 19th century. LONDON & SOUTHEAST GREENWICH masterpiece to the south. memorabilia. If you want to view this room DEPTFORD & NEW CROSS Map p180 Built on the site of the Old Palace of Pla- you must join one of the 90-minute guided centia, where Henry VIII was born in 1491, tours (%8269 4799; adult/under 16yr £4/free; htours CUTTY SARK Map p180 Like most world-class cities where property the hospital was initially intended for those 11.30am & 2pm) of the Jacobean undercroft of %8858 2698; www.cuttysark.org.uk; Cutty Sark is more valuable than bullion, London has wounded in the victory over the French at the former palace of Placentia leaving from Gardens SE10; dGreenwich or DLR Cutty Sark a plethora of ‘up-and-coming’ areas and La Hogue. In 1869 the building was con- the Painted Hall. Rust and rot had been eating away at this neighbourhoods, many of which simply end verted to a Naval College. Now even the The chapel in the Queen Mary Building, Greenwich landmark, the last of the great up going away. That doesn’t seem to be the navy has left and the premises are home opposite, is decorated in a lighter rococo clipper ships to sail between China and case with Deptford and its southern exten- to the University of Greenwich and Trinity style. The eastern end of the chapel is England in the 19th century, and she was sion, New Cross, just over the Deptford Creek College of Music. dominated by a painting by the 18th- undergoing £25 million repair work when west of Greenwich. In recent years it’s be- The Painted Hall is one of Europe’s great- century American artist Benjamin West disaster struck in May 2007. A fire, believed come something of a ‘Shoreditch South’ and est banquet rooms. In the King William showing The Preservation of St Paul after to have been deliberately set, damaged nicknamed Rocklands due to its many music Building, it has been covered in decorative Shipwreck at Malta. It’s certainly a beautiful about 50% of the vessel. Luckily half of the studios and shops, art galleries, the cel- ‘allegorical Baroque’ murals by artist James room, but it’s more famous for its organ ship’s furnishings and equipment, including ebrated Laban ( p313 ) dance institute and other Thornhill, who also painted the cupola of St and acoustics. If possible come on the first the mast, had been removed for conserva- cultural centres and creative outlets. But this Paul’s Cathedral. The mural above the Lower Sunday of the month, when there’s a free tion and were safe. The tragedy struck a neighbourhood’s sights – most famously the Hall show William and Mary enthroned 50-minute organ recital at 3pm, or time chord among the citizens of the capital Elizabethan playwright Christopher Marlow amid symbols of the Virtues. Beneath Wil- your visit for sung Eucharist, every Sunday of this traditionally seagoing nation and was stabbed to death here during a drunken liam’s feet, you can see the defeated French at 11am. contributions to bring the ship back to life brawl – are best seen on foot (see p186 ). king Louis XIV grovelling with a furled flag began to pour in. We are assured that the in hand. Up a few steps is the Upper Hall, QUEEN’S HOUSE Map p180 Cutty Sark will rise, phoenixlike, from the BLACKHEATH where George I is depicted with his family %8858 4422, recorded information 0870 781 ashes but it will take time and lots more dBlackheath on the western wall. In the bottom right- 5189; www.nmm.ac.uk; Romney Rd SE10; admis- money. All donations are gratefully ac- Though it might appear on the map as hand corner Thornhill drew himself into the sion free; h10am-5pm Sep-Jun, to 6pm Jul & Aug; cepted; see www.justgiving.com/cuttysark a southern extension of Greenwich Park, picture, pointing towards his work. dGreenwich or DLR Cutty Sark fire for details. Blackheathand the ‘village’ of that name 182 183 lonelyplanet.com lonelyplanet.com to the southeast is very much a world of ing, and with global warming increasing is North Greenwich, from where you can £4.40/free/3.30; h10am-5pm Tue-Fri, 11am-5pm its own. Known locally as the ‘Hampstead the city’s vulnerability to rising sea levels pick up bus 472 or 161. Sat & Sun; dWest Dulwich; w of the south’, this 110-hectare expanse of and surge tides, the barrier is likely to be Boats also travel to and from the bar- The UK’s oldest public art gallery, the open common has played a greater role in of growing importance in coming years. rier, although they don’t land. From West- Dulwich Picture Gallery was designed by the history of London than its much big- Under construction for a decade and com- minster it’s a three-hour round trip; from the idiosyncratic architect Sir John Soane ger sister to the north. The Danes camped pleted in 1982, the barrier consists of 10 Greenwich it takes just one hour. From between 1811 and 1814 to house Dul- here in the early 11th century after having movable gates anchored to nine concrete April to October direct services run by wich College’s collection of paintings by captured Alfege, the archbishop of Canter- piers, each as tall as a five-storey building. Thames River Services (%7930 4097; www.west Raphael, Rembrandt, Rubens, Reynolds, bury, as did Wat Tyler before marching on The silver roofs on the piers house the minsterpier.co.uk; adult/child/senior/family one way Gainsborough, Poussin, Lely, Van Dyck and London with tens of thousands of Essex operating machinery to raise and lower the £8.70/4.35/7/24, return £11/5.50/9/30.25) leave West- others. It’s a wonderful, atmospheric place and Kentish men during the Peasants’ gates against excess water. They make a minster Pier on the hour from 10am to 3pm but with scarcely a dozen rooms to hang Revolt in 1381. Henry VII fought off Cor- surreal sight, straddling the river in the lee (leaving Greenwich from 11am to 4pm), the artwork, wall space is limited and it nish rebels here in 1497, and the heath of a giant warehouse. Just opposite on the passing the O2 (Millennium Dome) along is difficult to view some of the paintings was where Henry VIII met his fourth wife, north bank of the Thames is the 7-hectare the way. From November to March there’s a properly. Unusually, the collectors, Noel Anne of Cleaves, in 1540 (he had agreed to Thames Barrier Park. reduced service from Westminster between Desenfans and painter Sir Peter Francis marry her based on a portrait by Holbein, The reason why London needs such a 10.40am and 3.20pm. See the website for Bourgeois, chose to have their mauso- but disliked her immediately in the flesh flood barrier is that the water level has been exact times. leums, lit by a moody lumière mystérieuse and divorced her six months later). Later it rising by as much as 60cm per century, while (mysterious light) created with tinted became a highwaymen’s haunt, and it was the river itself has been narrowing; in Roman FIREPOWER, THE ROYAL ARTILLERY glass, placed among the pictures. An annexe not until the area’s development in the late times it was probably around 800m wide at MUSEUM Map p64 (additional £3) contains space for temporary 18th century – the lovely Paragon, a crescent the site of today’s London Bridge while now %8855 7755; www.firepower.org.uk; Royal Arsenal, exhibitions – last seen: Canaletto in Eng- of Georgian mansions on the southeastern it’s barely 250m, with constant pressure to Woolwich SE18; adult/5-15yr/senior & student/family land 1746–1755. Free guided tours of the edge of the heath, was built to entice ‘the develop the foreshores. The Thames tide £5/2.50/4.50/12; h10.30am-5pm Wed-Sun Apr-Oct, museum are available at 3pm on Saturday right sort of people’ to move to the area rises and falls quite harmlessly twice a day, 10.30am-5pm Fri-Sun Nov-Mar; t North Greenwich and Sunday. – that Blackheath was considered safe. The and once a fortnight there’s also a stronger then g161, 422 or 472, dWoolwich Arsenal The museum is a 10-minute walk north- name of the heath is derived from the col- ‘spring’ tide. The danger comes when the Not a place for pacifists or those of a nerv- wards along Gallery Rd, which starts almost NEIGHBOURHOODS NEIGHBOURHOODS our of the soil, not from its alleged role as spring tide coincides with an unexpected ous disposition, Firepower is a shoot-’em- opposite West Dulwich station. Bus P4 links burial ground during the Black Death, the surge, which pushes tons of extra water up display of how artillery has developed the gallery with the Horniman Museum ( below ). bubonic plague of the late 14th century. upriver. The barrier has been built to prevent through the ages. The History Gallery traces Today the windswept heath is a pleasant that water pouring over the riverbanks and the story of artillery from catapults to HORNIMAN MUSEUM Map p64 place for a stroll, a spot of kite-flying or a flooding nearby houses. Some 300 people nuclear warheads, while a multimedia ex- %8699 1872, 8699 2339; www.horniman.ac.uk; hibit called Field of Fire tries to convey the 100 London Rd SE23; admission free; h10.30am- drink at one of a pair of historic pubs to the were drowned on the east coast and the GREENWICH & SOUTHEAST LONDON & SOUTHEAST GREENWICH south. The heath is also the starting point Thames Estuary in 1953 when the Thames experience of artillery gunners from WWI to 5.30pm Mon-Sat, 2-5.30pm Sun; dForest Hill; w LONDON & SOUTHEAST GREENWICH for the London Marathon in April. burst its banks. Today environmentalists are Bosnia in a 15-minute extravaganza. There’s This museum is an extraordinary place, To reach Blackheath from Greenwich Park, already talking about a bigger, wider dam- a Gunnery Hall packed with weapons from comprising the original collection of walk southward along Chesterfield Walk ming mechanism further towards the mouth the 20th century and a Medals Gallery with wealthy pack rat tea merchant Frederick and past the Ranger’s House (or southward of the river, before the current barrier comes 7000 pieces. The Command Post at the end John Horniman, who had the Art Nouveau on Blackheath Ave and through Blackheath to the expected end of its design life in 2030. of the tour includes both a climbing wall building with clock tower and mosaics spe- Gate) and then cross Shooters Hill Rd. The barrier looks best when it’s raised, and paintball range (£1.50 each, or £2.50 cially designed to house it in 1901. Today for both). The whole place is loud and reek- and the only guaranteed time this happens it encompasses everything from a dusty ing of adrenaline – and the kids just can’t is once a month, when the mechanisms are stuffed walrus and voodoo altars from Haiti get enough of it. Reach the Royal Arsenal checked. For exact dates and times, ring and Benin to a mock-up of a Fijian reef and CHARLTON & WOOLWICH by rail from Charing Cross or London From early Iron Age hill forts to mammoth or check the website of the Thames Barrier a wonderful collection of concertinas. Bridge or on bus 161, 422 or 472 from the On the ground and 1st floors is the gates in the Thames designed to prevent flood- Information Centre (%8305 4188; www.environme ing, humankind has been determined to leave North Greenwich tube station. Natural History Gallery, the core of the nt-agency.gov.uk; 1 Unity Way SE18; admission to barrier Horniman collection with the usual animal a mark on these areas over the centuries. One free, admission to downstairs information centre adult/ of the most enduring landmarks has been the skeletons and pickled specimens. In the child/senior £2/1/1; h11am-3.30pm Oct-Mar, 10.30am- DULWICH & FOREST HILL basement you’ll find African Worlds, the Royal Arsenal, which followed Henry VIII’s 4.30pm Apr-Sep). Tucked away in the wide expanse of South royal dockyards out here in the 16th and 17th first permanent gallery of African and Afro- If you’re coming from central London, London that the tube fails to reach, Dulwich Caribbean art and culture in the UK. The centuries. When it was finally closed in 1994, take a train to Charlton from Charing (dull-itch) and Forest Hill are leafy, quiet sub- it made way for a museum. Music Gallery next door has instruments Cross or London Bridge. Then walk along urbs with some fine architecture and an air of from 3500-year-old Egyptian clappers and Woolwich Rd to Eastmoor St, which leads gentility. Both boast outstanding museums early English keyboards to Indonesian THAMES FLOOD BARRIER Map p64 northward to the centre. If you’re coming well worth a trip out here. gamelan and Ghanaian drums, with touch tNorth Greenwich or dCharlton, then g161, from Greenwich, you can pick up bus 177 screens so you can hear what they sound 177, 180 or 472 or 180 along Romney Rd and get off at the DULWICH PICTURE GALLERY Map p64 like and videos to see them being played The sci-fi-looking Thames Flood Barrier Thames Barrier stop (near the Victoria Pub, %8693 5254; www.dulwichpicturegallery.org.uk; in situ. The Centenary Gallery traces the is in place to protect London from flood- 757 Woolwich Rd). The closest tube station Gallery Rd SE21; adult/student & child/senior history of the museum’s first 100 years. The 184 185 lonelyplanet.com lonelyplanet.com new aquarium is small but state of the art. DANSON HOUSE Off Map p64 studios with regularly changing art exhibitions, learn more about new developments in ship- The café, with seating in the stunning con- %8303 6699; www.dansonhouse.com; Danson including Art in Perpetuity (%8694 8344; www.aptstu building. The original party dude, Peter stayed servatory, is a delight as are the surround- Park, Bexleyheath DA6; adult/senior & student dios.org; 6 Creekside SE8) and Creekside Artists (%8297 with diarist John Evelyn and his drunken par- ing hillside gardens with views of London. £5/4.50; h11am-5pm Wed, Thu, Sun & Mon & 2053; www.creeksideartists.co.uk; 8-12 Creekside SE8). ties badly damaged the writer’s house. To get here from Forest Hill station, turn bank holidays late Mar-Oct; dBexleyheath, then left out of the station along Devonshire 20min walk southwest 2 Laban 4 St Nicholas Church Rd and then right along London Rd. The This Palladian villa was built by one John What is acknowledged as the largest and This late-17th-century church (%8691 3161; Dept- museum is about 500m on the right. Boyd, the son of a sugar trader and himself best equipped contemporary dance school ( p313) in ford Green SE8) contains a memorial to playwright an East India Company director, in 1766. A Europe is housed in an award-winning £23- Christopher Marlowe, who was murdered in ELTHAM 10-year restoration to bring the house back million plastic-clad building (2003) at the Deptford in a tavern brawl at the age of 29 in Eltham was the favoured home of the Plan- to its original Georgian style was completed northern end of Creekside designed by the 1593. The fight supposedly broke out over tagenet kings. But after the Tudors switched in 2005, aided by the discovery of a series same architects who did Tate Modern. Highly the royal favours to Greenwich, the palace of fine watercolours of the interiors by the innovative are the turf-covered mounds of they built here lay neglected for more than second owner’s daughter in 1805. High- debris cleared from the site in the forecourt. WALK FACTS five hundred years. Only when the wealthy lights include the dining room’ s numerous Start New Cross rail station Courtauld family arrived in the 1930s to build reliefs and frescoes celebrating love and 3 Statue of Peter the Great End Deptford rail station their fabulous home were the remains of the romance, the library and music room with This intriguing statue (end of Glaisher St SE8) com- Distance 1.5 miles original Eltham Palace restored. its functioning organ, the dizzy-making spi- memorates the four-month stay of Tsar Peter Duration Two hours ral staircase accessing the upper floors and I of Russia, who in 1698 came to Deptford to ELTHAM PALACE Map p64 the Victorian kitchens (open occasionally). The English Garden is a delight, and on the 0 200 m %8294 2548; www.english-heritage.org.uk; off DEPTFORD & NEW CROSS WALK 0 0.1 miles Court Rd SE9; adult/under 5yr/5-15yr/concession large lake in Danson Park, which is flanked £7.90/free/4/5.90; h10am-5pm Sun-Wed Apr-Oct, by some splendid Art Deco houses along 11am-4pm Sun-Wed Nov, Dec, Feb & Mar, closed Danson Rd to the east, you can rent rowing 3 boats (%8303 2228; 30/60min £5/7.50; h9.30am- Jan; dEltham; w G

l

a

i NEIGHBOURHOODS 5pm Sat & Sun Sep-Jun, daily Jul & Aug) and kayaks s NEIGHBOURHOODS No fan of Art Deco should miss a trip to h

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(15/30min £1.50/2.50). reen S

Eltham Palace, not so much for the remnants t of the palace building itself but for the fabu- G Ev el tford lous Courtauld House on its grounds. yn 4 RED HOUSE Off Map p64 R

d Dep The house was built between 1933 and %8304 9878; www.nationaltrust.org.uk; 13 Red 1937 by the well-to-do textile merchant House Lane, Bexleyheath DA6; adult/5-15yr/family Creek Rd Stephen Courtauld and his wife Virginia; GREENWICH & SOUTHEAST LONDON & SOUTHEAST GREENWICH £6.40/3.20/16; h10.45am-4.15pm Wed-Sun Mar- LONDON & SOUTHEAST GREENWICH from the impressive entrance hall with its 5 y St ide Dec; dBexleyheath, then 20min walk south Albur ks ee dome and huge circular carpet with geo- Cr From the outside, this redbrick house built Deptford D 2 metric shapes to the black-marble dining e by Victorian designer William Morris in ardens p t Mary Ann G f room with silver-foil ceiling and burlwood- o

r 1860 conjures up a gingerbread house in d

veneer fireplace it appears the couple had C

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St Paul’s r T taste as well as money. They also, rather c arves Church h Wa bear all the elements of the Arts and Crafts S d y fashionably for the times, had a pet lemur, t R

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Deptford m Gothic art here, some religious symbolism END r cal murals and a bamboo ladder leading o to the ground floor, for the spoiled (and there. Furniture by Morris and the house’s N designer Philip Webb are in evidence, as Ha'penny Hatch vicious) ‘Mah-jongg’ is also on view. Albany

e Creekside d

are paintings and stained glass by Edward i

Little remains of the 14th- to 16th- s Artists

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e e century palace where Edward IV entertained Burne-Jones. Entry is by guided tour only, r C Art in Greenwich and Henry VIII spent his childhood before which must be prebooked. The surrounding 1 Perpetuity decamping for Greenwich, apart from the gardens were designed by Morris ‘to clothe’ restored Great Medieval Hall. Its hammer- the house. Don’t miss the well with a coni- cal roof inspired by the oast houses of Kent. beam roof is generally rated the third best d t R S h START ig D in the country, behind those at Westminster h H e c v r h on u ic sh N h Hall and Hampton Court Palace. New ew w ire Cro C n D Cross ss R e r DEPTFORD & NEW CROSS d d e r r o G f t p e BEXLEYHEATH WALK D Deptford Egerton Dr Formerly known as Bexley New Town and Walking Tour Bridge dominated by an expanse of open space, this at- 1 Creekside tractive suburban development east of Eltham This cobbled street running parallel to Dept- contains two important historic houses. ford Creek is lined with galleries and artists’ 186 187 lonelyplanet.com lonelyplanet.com who was to pay the bill but it is generally the south is the baroque St Paul’s Church (%8692 believed that Marlowe was in the employ of 7449; Mary Ann Gardens SE8), built in 1730. SOUTH LONDON the Elizabethan intelligence service. 6 Deptford Market Eating p270 ; Drinking p293 ; Shopping p234 5 Albury Street This colourful market (%8691 8725; Deptford High St Londoners still talk as if the Thames was the huge barrier between north and south that it was This delightful street is lined with Georgian SE8; h8.30am-3pm Wed, Fri & Sat) is held in the centre in the Middle Ages. In fact, the psychological gulf between the two banks is as wide as ever; buildings that once housed Deptford’s naval of Deptford three days a week. Southwest is the most people in North London (and that’s officers, including (it is said) Lord Nelson and Albany (%8692 4446; www.thealbany.org.uk; Douglas Way most Londoners) refuse to believe there’s Lady Hamilton. Notice the exquisite wood SE8), a busy arts and community centre with anything of importance across the river. But carvings decorating may of the doorways. To comedy, music and theatre productions. it really isn’t so grim down south. In recent years even former North Londoners have discovered there’s something rather pleasant about the more affordable property prices and SOUTH LONDON relaxed lifestyle of the river’s former B-list side Battersea Park ( p201 ) (referring, of course, to the number of place Battersea Power Station ( p201 ) names beginning with that letter such as Bat- Carling Academy Brixton ( p308 ) tersea, Brixton, Balham and so on). Imperial War Museum ( below ) Anarchic and artistic Brixton is without Lambeth Palace ( p198 ) a doubt the most interesting area. Besides coming here to go clubbing, to a attend a gig at the Carling Academy Brixton (p308 ) or to catch a film at the historic Ritzy (p316 ) , probably the best way to taste the area’s Afro-Caribbean flavour is to visit Brixton Market (p242 ) . Clapham has long been the flag-bearer for South London style, with upmarket restaurants and bars lining its High Street since the 1980s. Attention has started to focus more recently on Battersea, with its magnificent park and the announced conversion of the monolithic Battersea NEIGHBOURHOODS Power Station. Kennington has some lovely streets lined with Georgian terraced houses, so it NEIGHBOURHOODS can only be a matter of time before the gentrification of ‘Little Portugal’ – its southern exten- sion of Stockwell – begins. Lambeth can boast both the episcopal seat of the Church of England and one of London’s finest museums.

GREENWICH & SOUTHEAST LONDON & SOUTHEAST GREENWICH Although the museum’s focus is of- SOUTH LONDON LAMBETH ficially on military action involving British The name Lambeth translates as ‘muddy land- or Commonwealth troops during the 20th ing place’, attesting to the fact that this, like century, it gives ‘war’ a wide interpretation. nearby Waterloo, was largely marsh land and So it not only has serious discussion of the polder dams until the 18th century. Appar- two world wars, Korea and Vietnam, but ently, the only notables brave enough to live also covers the Cold War, ‘secret’ warfare (ie here earlier were archbishops of Canterbury, spying) and even the war on apartheid in who began coming and going in barges from South Africa. waterside Lambeth Palace in the 13th century. The core of the six-floor museum is It was the arrival of bridges and the railways a chronological exhibition on the two centuries later that finally connected Lambeth world wars on the lower ground floor. In to London. the Trench Experience you walk through the grim day-to-day reality of life on the IMPERIAL WAR MUSEUM Map p198 Somme front line in WWI, and in the more %7416 5320; www.iwm.org.uk; Lambeth Rd hair-raising Blitz Experience you cower SE1; admission free; h10am-6pm; tLambeth inside a mock bomb shelter during a WWII North; w air raid and then emerge through ravaged Despite the threatening pair of 15in naval East End streets. guns outside the front entrance to what was On the upper floors you find the two once Bethlehem Royal Hospital, commonly most outstanding – and moving – sec- known as Bedlam, this is for the most part a tions: the extensive Holocaust Exhibition (not very sombre, thoughtful museum. Most of recommended for under 14s) on the 3rd its exhibits are given over to exploring the floor, and a stark gallery called Crimes against human and social cost of conflict. Humanity devoted to genocide in Cambodia,

188 197 lonelyplanet.com lonelyplanet.com SOUTH LONDON 0 400 m the palace is not usually open to the public, 0 0.2 miles the gardens occasionally are; check with a BRIXTON W a ‘We gonna rock down to Electric Avenue,’ t Victoria e n tourist office for details (see p400). r e l Th o o am g Embankment o und es d Charing ro d B sang Eddy Grant optimistically in 1983, about n i B e G r Gardens pp r l Tate Modern o Cross r a i U L B

d c g Embankment k one of London’s first shopping streets (1888) e

f Southwark HMS Belfast W t r S Too S i o ley

a u MUSEUM OF GARDEN HISTORY rd th S h o r w t Golden Jubilee s to be lit by electricity. (It’s just to the left as i f ar t m k London e a S Potters

R t Ct Map p198 h South S Bridge Bridge o d La t Fields a vington S T you exit Brixton tube station.) But the Clash’s l r St S o l Bank n ll t t o upe S T le Park w Ro ho y %7401 8865; www.museumgardenhistory.org; St d h m S Jubilee a S g a t ‘Guns of Brixton’ took a much darker tone R l n i s See l Southwark Unio t Gardens H Guy's S e S Waterloo t t Mary-at-Lambeth, Lambeth Palace Rd SE1; admis- St James’s, r u t C h Hospital e d East he g when referring to community discontent with Westminster d T R See The u e Waterloo o h & Whitehall v d owsfie sion free, requested donation £3; 10.30am-5pm l k W St South Bank r Sn ld r d R s e t o y B o r ck S the police that provoked the riots of the 1980s. Map County a o co e b e

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a k t R h d Westminster d n r s West a g In a city holding out the broad attractions mins d s ter c e R a u W s w ro e edgy, vibrant, multicultural potpourri of a Bridge t h L W y s t 2 d e e li o o s r u B n d R t y S G g S of Kew Gardens, the modest Museum of a m o Swan St t t d ro ry in a Borough S T r L a e e B u st B rin a R neighbourhood. ct c er Lambeth North gh Rd H ity a n a rou t e a l B Bo n a S Garden History housed in the church of

S ri o y r t g a C d K g t p D d P e Rd a e i

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a t o N L C Park L o n t s S ously green-thumbed. Its trump card is a n e R R R d o m invasion. But Brixton remained an isolated, m c Rd d West kin a a eth g h the charming knot garden, a replica of a h M b 3 t Square k 5 am S T L B far-flung village until the 19th century, when a r s o Gardens d W o e r N k l R e 17th-century formal garden, with topiary s w

6 D y t s h K r a Elephant & en e L n t a amb Rd g the new Vauxhall Bridge (1810) and the rail- eth H a a m Castle Bri h P hedges clipped into an intricate, twirling dge t p n e S l e ways (1860) linked it with central London. E t t S ts am m t ath O design. Keen gardeners will enjoy the dis- k u h l d B C d n

R The years that most shaped contemporary a n K o Heygate St b t e plays on the 17th-century Tradescant père k n g 7 sey St n

m o t n Lambeth n

t i E R Brixton, however, were the post-WWII ‘Win- a Wan g a b Black Princ L w 10 W d t n e 8 and fils – a father-and-son team who were l l r k n to i i g N a e n t W n i l b n P w drush’ years, when immigrants arrived from M S l ll e Rd n n o e n t o a e S gardeners to Charles I and Charles II, globe- A s K to r h r a K li t x n e h e l Portland St D u P m P the West Indies in reply to the British gov- y A R a C l r a T Vauxha d o d w trotters and enthusiastic collectors of exotic V o R n u a St g Gooding s rt C k M t t ernment’s call for help in solving the labour e le r Kennington as S S n a a E t plants (they introduced the pineapple to St a v P B ke V y e ra a a ll K r g l B u 12 S 9 S n a g x e t n shortage of the time. (Windrush was the name ri h St t o z in dg al 13 n t a S K London). Nongardeners might like to pay e l a n g t t ngton L n S ni i i d en n w NEIGHBOURHOODS 16 OK o R of one of the leading ships that brought these NEIGHBOURHOODS D n r g r S F e v n ld their respects to Captain William Bligh (of i t u t M Vauxhall a e e e d o i r l f R h K l s H n d n y ar a W i o n immigrants to the UK.) A generation later l m R n c a e a g St a lb mutinous Bounty fame), who is buried here y y d e A d fo B R rd ningto s L Bondway 14 S n n the honeymoon period was over, as economic lm a h t e O (he lived and died nearby at 100 Lambeth E t K ne r 1 v l i o a 4 P N 15 Lawn La l decline and hostility between the police and w s s e Rd). The excellent café has vegetarian food. d Mi d Vauxhall n n le R s S g Burgess a t particularly the black community (who ac- h Park t See A W e Park Nine t b F Brixton, e Oval S Kennington n C m tim counted for only 29% of the population of Elms a Clapham & a a L n Open R m FLORENCE NIGHTINGALE MUSEUM h Battersea d

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Space b u in

SOUTH LONDON l hw Brixton at the time) led to the riots in 1981, SOUTH LONDON e

o Map Bet S P r p200 w Map p198 y d e C e r R a John Ruskin St 1985 and 1995. These centred on Railton Rd Oval Pl m Camberwell l D lf b l Wilco o a m e % r R 7620 0374; www.florence-nightingale x Cl se P a d rw t R d R h el m Rd and Coldharbour Lane. d p l N da n n la e y .co.uk; St Thomas’s Hospital, 2 Lambeth Palace o w W C t d R x ll R d Since then the mood has been decidedly i sa Thorn r Vas Rd SE1; adult/senior, student & child/family e Rd B more upbeat. Soaring property prices have £5.80/4.80/16; h10am-5pm Mon-Fri, to 4.30pm Sat & Sun; tWestminster or Waterloo; w sent house-hunters foraging in these parts, Attached to St Thomas’s Hospital, this small and pockets of gentrification sit alongside the p202 SOUTH LONDON museum tells the story of feisty war heroine more run-down streets (see ).

SIGHTS (pp197–202) EATING (pp235–75) SPORTS & ACTIVITIES (pp323–29) Florence Nightingale (1820–1910), who led a Brit Oval...... 1 B4 Dragon Castle...... 8 C3 Brit Oval...... (see 1) team of nurses to Turkey in 1854 during the Florence Nightingale Museum....2 A2 Kennington Tandoori...... 9 B3 BATTERSEA & WANDSWORTH Imperial War Museum...... 3 B2 Lobster GAY & LESBIAN (pp331–37) Crimean War. There she worked to improve Against the looming shell of the Battersea Kennington Park...... 4 B4 Pot...... 10 C3 Area...... 12 A3 conditions for the soldiers before returning Power Station, this area southwest along the Lambeth Palace...... 5 A2 Crash...... 13 A3 to London to set up a training school for Museum of Garden History...... 6 A2 NIGHTLIFE (pp297–310) Fire...... 14 A4 Thames was a site of industry until the 1970s. Wansey St Ministry Hoist...... 15 A4 nurses at St Thomas’s in 1859. So popular did Now its abandoned factories and warehouses Housing...... 7 C3 of Sound...... 11 C2 Vauxhall Tavern...... 16 A3 she become that baseball card–style photos have been replaced by luxury flats. Even resi- of the gentle ‘Lady of the Lamp’ were sold dents from well-heeled Chelsea are defecting Yugoslavia and Rwanda (not recommended favourite – the role of animals in conflicts during her lifetime. There is no shortage of across the Thames to what estate agents like for under 16s). The 2nd floor features war from WWI to the present day. revisionist detractors who dismiss her as a to call ‘Chelsea South’. paintings by the likes of Stanley Spencer ‘canny administrator’ and ‘publicity hound’; Wandsworth, the poorer working-class sib- and John Singer Sargent. LAMBETH PALACE Map p198 Nightingale was, in fact, one of the world’s ling of more affluent Battersea immediately Audioguides to the permanent collection Lambeth Palace Rd SE1; tLambeth North first modern celebrities. But the fact remains downriver, has similarly gentrified in recent cost adult/concession £3.50/3. Temporary The redbrick Tudor gatehouse beside the she improved conditions for thousands of years. You’ll hear the area repeatedly referred exhibits, which charge an admission fee, church of St Mary-at-Lambeth leads to soldiers in the field and saved quite a few to as ‘nappy valley’. Apparently Wandsworth cover such topics as war reporting, cam- Lambeth Palace, the London residence of lives in the process. We can hardly think of a has the highest birth rate of any borough in ouflage and modern warfare and – our the Archbishop of Canterbury. Although more glorious achievement. London. 198 199 lonelyplanet.com NEIGHBOURHOODS SOUTH LONDON C4 E3 E4 A3 A3 C3 E4 C3 E4 201 Gal- 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 7924 7924 (pp311–21) (pp323–29) (pp331–37) (pp297–310) % ( 11am-5pm 11am-5pm Map p205 Map h Pump House 10am-5pm Apr-Oct, , because of their h White House...... Brixton...... Carling Academy 16) Dogstar...... (see Fridge...... Jongleurs Battersea...... 22) Mass...... (see Battersea Arts Centre...... House...... Clapham Picture Ritzy...... Brockwell Park Lido...... Two Brewers...... NIGHTLIFE ARTS SPORTS & ACTIVITIES GAY & LESBIAN toast rack A1 B3 E3 C3 E3 A1 B2 C4 E4 E3 B2 E3 C3 C3 C3 D4 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 8871 7572; www.wandsworth.gov.uk/gallery; 8871 7572; www.wandsworth.gov.uk/gallery; % ( (pp277–96) Wandsworth Common or Clapham Junction A recent refurbishment has seen the has seen the refurbishment A recent alignment. Baskerville, Hend- Dorlcote, and Routh Rds are erson, Nicosia, Patten a blue There’s houses. lined with Georgian plaque at 3 Routh Rd, home to the former David Lloyd George. British prime minister WANDSWORTH COMMON than the overgrown Wilder and more nearby common in Clapham, Wandsworth Common is full of couples pushing prams on a sunny day. On the common’s west- ern side is a pleasant collection of streets known as the CLAPHAM Clapham omnibus’ – The so-called ‘man on the the hypo- English civil law’s definition of since the turn person thetical reasonable left this century – has largely the 20th of d and of a duel in 1829 between the Dukeand of a duel in 1829 between of who accused Wellington and an opponent him of treason. and reinstated 19th-century landscaping spruced up. terraces the grand riverside of Britain the same time, the Festival At the spectacu- gardens, including pleasure been restored. Fountains, have lar Vista lakes, plenty of sporting are facili- There ties, an art space called the lery Battersea Park SW11; admission free; SW11; admission free; Battersea Park Wed-Sun) and a small Children’s Zoo adult/2-15yr/ 5826; www.batterseaparkzoo.co.uk; family £5.95/4.50/18.50; to 4pm Nov-Mar). , dawn- Map p200 Map h Peace Pagoda Peace Satay Bar...... (see 36) Satay Bar...... (see Verso...... Babalou...... Brixton Bar & Grill...... Dusk...... Plan B...... Prince of Wales...... So.uk...... Tim Bobbin...... White Horse...... Butcher & Grill...... Butcher Cay...... Cinnamon Fujiyama...... Grafton House...... Lounge Café...... Ramsome's Dock...... Buen Ayre...... Santa Maria del Dogstar...... (see 16) Dogstar...... (see Battersea Park d B1 C1 B1 B4 C4 B1 B1 E3 E3 E3 C3 E3 E3 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 89 DRINKING 10 11 12 13 Map p200 Map (pp215–34) (pp235–75) (pp199–202) Battersea Park d 8871 7530; www.batterseapark.org; SOUTH LONDON: BRIXTON, CLAPHAM & BATTERSEA CLAPHAM BRIXTON, LONDON: SOUTH SIGHTS SHOPPING EATING Pump House Gallery...... Brixton Market...... Brixton Village...... 11) Bullfrogs...... (see Joy...... Oliver Bonas...... Asmara...... Bamboula...... 8) Brixton Market...... (see Battersea Park...... Battersea Power Station...... Battersea Children's Zoo...... Clapham Common...... Holy Trinity Church...... Peace Pagoda...... BATTERSEA BATTERSEA PARK dusk; stretch of greenery 50 hectares These between Albert With and Chelsea Bridges. and sculptures its Henry Moore BATTERSEA BATTERSEA POWER STATION www.batterseapowerstation.com; from Pink generation to an entire Familiar with the Floyd’s 1977 Animals album cover, a four smokestacks somewhat resemble that Power Battersea table turned upside down, and reviled. loved Station is a building both Built by Giles Gilbertchim- Scott with two added in neys in 1933 (the other two were 1955), it ceased operations in 1983 and since propos- been innumerable have then there 2006 it In November it a new life. als to give was sold to yet another group of developers; International, ones, Parkview the previous years a dozen than had owned it more to demolish the from 1993 and had wanted of the struc- chimneys and turn the ‘nave’ into a 24-hour entertainment complexture cin- shops, retail hotels, with restaurants, seems future power station’s The emas etc. plan’ isas uncertain as a new ‘master as ever proposal sug- though one sensible redrawn, new gests that it house the government’s established to Institute, Technologies Energy into combating new technologies research change. climate %

erected in 1985 by a group of Japanese erected Hiroshima Day, Buddhists to commemorate its tranquil appearance belies a bloody of an assassina- past. It was once the site on King Charles II in 1671 tion attempt

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C P SOUTH LONDON: BRIXTON, CLAPHAM & BATTERSEA CLAPHAM BRIXTON, LONDON: SOUTH 200 lonelyplanet.com NEIGHBOURHOODS SOUTH LONDON lonelyplanet.com lonelyplanet.com neighbourhood. Today Clapham is the home history. Off Kennington Lane, just west of its 0 300 m of well-heeled young professionals in their intersection with Kennington Rd, lies a lovely BRIXTON WALK 0 0.1 miles 20s and 30s, who eat in the area’s many res- enclave of leafy streets – Cardigan St, Court- Brixt ion Rd Vale on Stat ntia P START l taurants, drink in its many bars and generally ney St and Courtney Sq – with neo-Georgian Brixton END drive up property prices. It was the railways houses. They’re not really worth travelling to 1 La ur rbo that originally conferred on Clapham its sta- see, but make a nice diversion should rain Sandmere Rd ha et ld Mark Co tus as a home for everyday commuters from interrupt play at the Oval just south. ton Tce Reliance ow Electric La R righ S Corrance Rd B o Arc A m Ballater Rd the late 19th century. Clapham Junction is Lounge t e C l a r o le Café n y n Tri 2 t t c d i H o still the largest rail interchange in Britain, Plato Rd S Gdns R c a nity ft n Map p198 o o r R KENNINGTON PARK e n hc l us t o o R Rd d R h n n un d and in 1988 the tragic site of one of Britain’s e lto Sa t r Oval R R i

n d d worst rail disasters. g P t o This unprepossessing space of green has a o r d n e Acre La Reaching further back in history, the area R n great rabble-rousing tradition. Originally a d Kellett Rd Rd was first settled after the Great Fire of London Rd common, where all were permitted entry, Mervan l Baytree Rd l in 1666, when noted diarist Samuel Pepys and i it acted as a speakers’ corner for South H

n later explorer Captain James Cook, among o dbourne R t Effra Rd London. During the 18th century, Jacobite B Su d x R i r St r a a il n B t others, escaped the desecration of the City to r o

a rebels trying to restore the Stuart monarchy k n t s h R o Ha l y d m build homes here. Its name dates back much e ter d were hanged, drawn and quartered here, v R R e e d ll n

R e further still; it’s from Anglo-Saxon for ‘Clap-

d and in the 18th and 19th centuries, preach- R w

Matthew's Rd d 3 rn

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pa’s farm’. S ers used to deliver hellfire-and-brimstone Rush Ba Common speeches to large audiences here; John Pde H ra orsf ord Eff CLAPHAM COMMON Map p200 Wesley, founder of Methodism and an an- Rd Chaucer Rd d R tislavery advocate, is said to have attracted Tre Morval Rd tClapham Common nt Rd r L e y s h n

a Brixton Water La This large expanse of green is the heart of some 30,000 followers. After the great Lambe e m rt R p d S D Chartist rally on 10 April 1848, where mil- R u the Clapham neighbourhood. Mentioned d Jo lw se ic ph h both by Graham Greene in his novel The lions of working-class people turned out to in R St Saviour's e d A A NEIGHBOURHOODS Rd r v NEIGHBOURHOODS End of the Affair and Ian McEwan in his demand the same voting rights as the mid- Ramillies Cl od e en e R brilliant Atonement, it’s now a venue for dle classes, the royal family promptly fenced d 5 Blenheim many outdoor summer events (see http:// off and patrolled the common as a park. Gdns Fairmont Brockwell s Rd

claphamhighstreet.co.uk). The main thor- t Park T

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oughfare, Clapham High St, starts at the Map p198 Rd l BRIT OVAL Waterworks s e B e H common’s northeastern edge and is lined % Jebb Ave ec 0871 246 1100; www.surreycricket.com; Surrey Rd h i l ryR d l Rosebe a d l

SOUTH LONDON e SOUTH LONDON with many of the bars, restaurants and R County Cricket Club SE11; test matches £45, last d 4 shops for which people principally come to Th nbury Rd En day £10, county fixtures £5-10; hbooking office or Wingford Rd d ll ym io Clapham. However, for a simple stroll it’s E n 9.30am-12.30pm & 1.30-4pm Mon-Fri Apr-Sep; lm R d Som P much more pleasant to explore the more e ar tOval rs k Brixton Hi R d upmarket streets of Clapham Old Town, a short rton Rd Rush Home to the Surrey County Cricket Club, Dumba Common distance northwest of the tube station, and the Brit Oval is London’s second cricketing Clapham Common North Side at the common’s venue after Lord’s ( p174 ). As well as Surrey door is the Brixton Library (%7926 1056; Brixton Oval SW2) northwesternmost edge. matches, it also regularly hosts interna- built in 1892 by industrialist/philanthropist Sir On the corner of Clapham Park Rd and tional test matches. The season runs from WALK FACTS Henry Tate, the man who gave London the Tate Clapham Common South Side you’ll find April to September. Start Brixton tube station the Holy Trinity Church (1776). This was home Gallery and the world the sugar cube. End Brixton tube station to the Clapham Sect, a group of wealthy Distance 2.75 miles evangelical Christians that included William BRIXTON WALK 3 Rush Common Duration 2½ hours Wilberforce, a leading antislavery cam- An act of Parliament in 1806 declared a wide Fuel stop Lounge Café ( p270 ) paigner, active between 1790 and 1830. Walking Tour strip along the eastern side of Brixton Hill to The sect also campaigned against child 1 Brixton Market be ‘proscribed land’ on which nothing could labour and for prison reform. At London’s most exotic market ( p242 ), you can be built. Over the years, however, tracts of it women to a military prison. It now houses a drink in the heady mix of incense and the were illegally walled off to create private front mixture of remand and sentenced prisoners. smells of the exotic fruits, vegetables, meat gardens. It is now being restored as common land K E N N I N G T O N , O V A L & and fish on sale. It’s also a good place to splash (Brixton Hill SW2) but remains patchy in areas. 5 Brixton Windmill out on African fabrics and trinkets. Built for one John Ashby in 1816, this is the STOCKWELL 4 Brixton Prison closest windmill (Blenheim Gardens SW2) to central Lon- Only cricket-lovers and those who set up home 2 Ritzy Serving a number of courts in South London, don still in existence. It was later powered by gas here will really venture into this neck of the London’s second-oldest movie house (after Brixton Prison (%8588 6000; Jebb Ave SW2) started life and milled as recently as 1934. It’s been refitted woods. It centres on Kennington Park, which the Electric Cinema in Camden), the Ritzy ( p316) as the Brixton House of Correction in 1819 with sails and machinery for a wind-driven mill isn’t that much to look at but has an interesting opened as the Electric Pavilion in 1911. Next and has done time as everything from a jail for but is not open to the public at present. 202 203 lonelyplanet.com lonelyplanet.com to the race in the pubs and restaurants in LONDON WETLAND CENTRE Map p205 SOUTHWEST LONDON the area and along the Thames Path. Barnes %8409 4400; www.wwt.org.uk; Queen Elizabeth’s is less well known and more villagey in feel. Walk SW13; adult/4-16yr/senior & student/family Eating p272 ; Drinking p294 ; Shopping p234 ; Sleeping p361 Its former residents include author Henry £7.95/4.50/6/19.95; h9.30am-6pm Mar-Oct, Although southwest London is a little far out if you’re only in London for a long weekend, it’s Fielding. 9.30am-5pm Nov-Feb, to 8pm Thu Jun-late Sep; the perfect place to base yourself for a longer stay. Anyone wanting to get out of London for The best way to approach Putney is to fol- tHammersmith then g283 (Duck Bus), 33, 72 the day without too much trouble or expense low the signs from Putney Bridge tube sta- or 209, or dBarnes; w should take a trip here, and for people who tion for the footbridge (which runs parallel One of Europe’s largest inland wetland aren’t big-city fans but need to be in London, to the rail track), admiring the gorgeous riv- projects, this 43-hectare centre run by the it’s a great place to stay. erside houses, with their gardens fronting the Wildfowl & Wetlands Trust was transformed During the day much of southwest London Thames, and thereby avoiding the tatty High from four Victorian reservoirs in 2000 and is a quiet residential area; you’ll see lots of Street until the last minute. Alternatively, attracts some 140 species of birds as well young mothers out pushing prams and doing SOUTHWEST LONDON catch the train from Vauxhall or Waterloo to as 300 types of moths and butterflies. From their shopping. This is the best time to enjoy Buddhapadipa Temple ( p213 ) Putney or Barnes stations. the Visitor Centre and glassed-in Observa- the area’s many green spaces: walk along the Hampton Court Palace ( p211 ) Thames Path from Putney Bridge to Barnes, Kew Gardens ( p209 ) 0 500 m sup on a pint by Parson’s Green or picnic on The Thames ( p209 ) SOUTHWEST LONDON 0 0.3 miles Hammersmith Barnes Common. Barons Earl's Court S London Wetland Centre ( opposite ) Talgarth R y d Court Rd d It’s at night that the area comes alive. Ful- n n d e n to R g e P p e e n West s 13 id e li a om y g' 17 r u ll r Burtonis Q o i Kensington S in ham is a very popular place to go out in town, B r R s West B K a e t h C d ld Chelsea Court it r Brompton d O R R m s 23 e O with a plethora of good pubs, bars and restaurants. Putney and Barnes like to think that they’re r G d m e 21 c a a m Rd d li lh k Chelsea See n f u l m llie s fe e a little more refined, though a trip to any of the pubs on the High Street on a Saturday night a Li F y Physic H T Shepherd’s B h S Garden 1 e t a Bush & a will put paid to that notion. m West E u Earl’s Court S f A d t o B e G r l Brompton i t r b s t Map u k i e h al d Further afield the well-to-do have been retreating from the city to the palaces and villas of n r W g t p177 t G ne B 14 e ey B a e r v h r t e C id te Children's London’s riverside boroughs for more than 500 years, and its appeal to those wishing to escape G g r A Daw 5 v e s es Fulham e l Zoo Rd e a b Broadway e r the more frenetic pace of life in zones 1 and 2 is still very much apparent. Chiswick, Richmond H t F Battersea a B

NEIGHBOURHOODS 20 NEIGHBOURHOODS u 16 Eel rw a B l t Park h R o t r 3 o 10 Chelsea e i and Kew in particular offer an expensive slice of village life far removed from the crowds of d 6 d a Brook d r m Creek s g S e Commom e Wetland t a e P central London. Twickenham is the home of English rugby while Hampton boasts what is To Bull’s R Centre v a Chelsea B l d d e a Parsons R r Head (500m) W e i Wk n c Harbour g d th's a id g be e Green a arguable the most ambitious palace in the country. Wimbledon and its enormous common is en Eliza g r ue n b e Battersea Q e R t 22 d s d 19 New King's Rd R

R s e rk

w d a W P another place for an afternoon idyll. d o sea r er Barnes s Walham t att p' h B Rd o h e B s v Fulham Green i r s A i B d e L a pretty walled garden and, detached from g a m e t

2 a c h SOUTHWEST LONDON FULHAM R h SOUTHWEST LONDON m d the main house, a Tudor Revival chapel T o r Fulham and Parson’s Green merge neatly into e Putney Bridge designed by Butterfield in 1866. R one neighbourhood that sits comfortably in Clapham d You can learn about the history of the Junction t a curve of the Thames between Chelsea and 9 S h Hill palace and its inhabitants in the palace g der 12 i Laven Hammersmith. While the attractive Victorian U 15 H pp museum. Guided tours (%7736 3233; tickets er Ri 8 y chmo e nd R 11 n Putney 18 terraces and riverside location have drawn a d t £5; htours 2pm 2nd & 4th Sun, 3rd Tue), which u Train e P tersea Ris very well-to-do crowd, Fulham’s blue-collar depart a couple of times a month on Station Bat roots are still evident in the strong tradition 7 Sunday, usually take in the Great Hall, the East Putney of support for Fulham Football Club. Victorian chapel, Bishop Sherlock’s Room 4 and the museum and last about 1¼ hours. Wandsworth FULHAM PALACE Map p205 The palace has been undergoing extensive Common %7736 8140; www.fulhampalace.org; Bishop’s refurbishments in recent years so there may Ave SW6; admission free; hpalace & museum be some changes in the tour. noon-4pm Mon & Tue, 11am-2pm Sat, 11.30am- The surrounding land, once totalling 3.30pm Sun, garden dawn-dusk daily; tPutney almost 15 hectares but now reduced to just SOUTHWEST LONDON Bridge; w over five, forms Bishop’s Park, and consists INFORMATION Enoteca Turi...... 9 B3 White Horse...... 19 B2 Summer home of the bishops of London of a shady promenade along the river, a Chelsea & Westminster Hospital..1 C1 Lots Road Pub & Dining Room..10 C2 bowling green, tennis courts, a rose gar- Ma Goa...... 11 B3 NIGHTLIFE (pp297–310) from 704 to 1973, Fulham Palace is an SIGHTS (pp204–206) Olé...... (see 11) 606 Club...... 20 C2 interesting mix of architectural styles set in den, a café and even a paddling pond with Fulham Palace...... 2 B2 beautiful gardens and, until 1924, enclosed fountain for cooling off in on a hot day. London Wetland Centre...... 3 A2 DRINKING (pp277–96) ARTS (pp311–21) Wandsworth Common...... 4 D3 Coat & Badge...... 12 B3 Riverside Studios...... 21 A1 by the longest moat in England. The oldest Dove...... 13 A1 part to survive is the little redbrick Tudor PUTNEY & BARNES EATING (pp235–75) Fiesta Havana...... 14 C1 SPORTS & ACTIVITIES (pp323–29) gateway, but the main building you see Putney is best known as the starting point of Blue Elephant...... 5 C1 Jolly Gardeners...... 15 B3 Fulham Football 22 A2 today dates from the mid-17th century and Blue Kangaroo...... 6 C2 Mitre...... 16 B2 Club...... 23 B1 the annual Oxford and Cambridge Boat Race Chakalaka...... 7 B3 Old Ship...... 17 A1 Queen's was remodelled in the 19th century. There’s ( p192 ), held each spring. There are references Chosan...... 8 B3 Ship...... 18 C3 Club...... 23 B1 204 205 lonelyplanet.com lonelyplanet.com tory overlooking the ponds, meandering Sun, to 2pm Sat Apr-Oct; dChiswick or paths and boardwalks lead visitors around tTurnham Green; w OF RAKES & HARLOTS: HOGARTH’S WORLD the grounds, taking in the habitats of its This is a fine Palladian pavilion with an William Hogarth (1697–1764) was an artist and engraver who specialised in satire and what these days might be many residents, including ducks, swans, octagonal dome and colonnaded portico. considered heavy-handed moralising on the wages of sin. His plates were so popular in his day that they were actually geese and coots and the rarer bitterns, It was designed by the third Earl of Burling- pirated, leading Parliament to pass the Hogarth Act of 1735 to protect copyright. They provide us with an invaluable herons and kingfishers. There’s even a large ton (1694–1753) when he returned from his look at life (particularly among the lowly) in Georgian London. colony of parakeets, that may or may not grand tour of Italy, fired up with enthusi- The Marriage-á-la-Mode series satirises the wantonness and marriage customs of the upper classes, while Gin Lane be the descendants of caged pets. By no asm for all things Roman. Lord Burlington was produced as part of a campaign to have gin distillation made a crime (as it did under the Gin Act of 1751). It shows means miss the Peacock Tower, a three- used it to entertain friends and to house his drunkards lolling about in the parish of St Giles in Soho, with the church of St George’s Bloomsbury clearly visible in storey hide on the main lake’s eastern library and art collection. the background. His eight-plate series A Harlot’s Progress traces the life of a simple woman from her arrival in London edge. Though there are half-a-dozen hides Inside, some of the rooms are so grand as country lass to convicted (and imprisoned) whore; some of the plates are set in Drury Lane. In A Rake’s Progress, the sprinkled elsewhere around the reserve, as to be almost overpowering. The dome of debauched protagonist is seen at one stage being entertained in a Russell St tavern by a bevy of prostitutes, one of the tower is the mecca for the more seri- the main salon has been left ungilded and whom strokes his chest while the other relieves him of his pocket watch. The women’s faces are covered with up to a ous birders, who will be happy to point out the walls are decorated with eight enor- half-dozen artificial beauty marks, which were all the rage at the time. what they’ve spotted. Free daily tours, which mous paintings. In the Blue Velvet Room Hogarth’s works can also be seen at Hogarth’s House as well as the National Gallery, Tate Britain and in Sir John are led by knowledgeable and enthusiastic look for the portrait of Inigo Jones, the Soane’s Museum in Holborn, which owns the original of A Rake’s Progress. staff members and are highly recom- architect much admired by Lord Burlington, mended, depart at 11am and 2pm daily. over one of the doors. The ceiling paintings are by William Kent, who also decorated works as the haunting Gin Lane, Marriage- earldom. This started centuries of royal asso- the Kensington Palace State Apartments. à-la-mode and a copy of A Rake’s Progress ciation with the area; the most famous local, CHISWICK Lord Burlington also planned the house’s (see the boxed text, above ). Here you’ll also Henry VIII, acquired nearby Hampton Court Notwithstanding the abomination of the A4 original gardens, now Chiswick Park sur- find the private engravings Before and Palace from Cardinal Wolsey after the latter’s motorway, which cuts off the riverside roads rounding the house, but they have been After (1730), commissioned by the Duke of fall from grace in 1529, while his daughter from the centre, Chiswick (chiz-ick) is still a much altered since his time. The restored Montagu and bearing Aristotle’s immortal Elizabeth I died here in 1603. pleasant southwest London suburb that does Cascade waterfall is bubbling again after aphorism Omne Animal Post Coitum Triste not deserve the flak it gets for its well-heeled being out of action for years. NEIGHBOURHOODS (Every creature is sad after intercourse). RICHMOND GREEN Map p208 NEIGHBOURHOODS residents and unfeasibly grand mansions. The house is about a mile southwest of Although the house and grounds are at- A short walk west of the Quadrant where Chiswick High Rd itself is an upmarket yet the Turnham Green tube station and 750m tractive, very little original furniture remains you’ll emerge from the tube is the enor- uninspiring main drag, full of pubs and twee northeast of the Chiswick train station. so this is really a destination for ardent mous open space of Richmond Green with shops with the odd decent restaurant. There Hogarth fans. its mansions and delightful pubs. Crossing will be little to waylay you here, so best head Map p64 HOGARTH’S HOUSE the green diagonally will take you to what straight over to the park and Chiswick House, % SOUTHWEST LONDON 8994 6757; www.hounslow.info/hogarthshouse; FULLER’S GRIFFIN BREWERY Map p64 remains of Richmond Palace, just the main SOUTHWEST LONDON up to Hogarth Lane and Hogarth House or Hogarth Lane W4; admission free; h1-5pm Tue- down Church St to the riverfront. %8996 2063; www.fullers.co.uk; Chiswick Lane entrance and redbrick gatehouse, built in Fri, 1-6pm Sat & Sun Apr-Oct, 1-4pm Tue-Fri, 1-5pm South W4; adult/14-18yr (no tasting) £6/4.50; 1501. You can see Henry VII’s arms above Sat & Sun Nov, Dec, Feb & Mar; tTurnham Green htours 11am, noon, 1pm & 2pm Mon & Wed-Fri; the main gate: he built the Tudor additions CHISWICK HOUSE Map p64 Home between 1749 and 1764 to artist tTurnham Green or dChiswick to the edifice, although the palace had % 8995 0508; www.english-heritage.org.uk; Chis- and social commentator William Hogarth, Of interest to anyone who enjoys bitter been in use as a royal residence since 1125. wick Park, Burlington Lane W4; adult/child/senior & this house now showcases his caricatures and/or wants to see it being made and/or student £4.20/2.10/3.20; h10am-5pm Wed-Fri & and engravings, including such famous would like to engage in a comprehensive RICHMOND PARK Map p208 tasting session, Fuller’s is now the last working brewery extant in London. You %8948 3209; www.royalparks.gov.uk; admission can visit only on the 1½-hour guided tour, free; h7am-dusk Mar-Sep, from 7.30am Oct-Feb; THAMES PATH which must be booked in advance by t/dRichmond, then g65 or 371 The Thames Path National Trail is a long-distance trail stretching from the river’s source at Thames Head near Kemble in phone. At just over 1000 hectares (the largest the Cotswolds to the Thames Flood Barrier, a distance of some 184 miles. It’s truly magnificent, particularly in its upper urban parkland in Europe), Richmond Park reaches, but tackling the entire course is for the truly ambitious (and indefatigable). The rest of us walk sections of it, offers everything from formal gardens and such as the 16-mile section from Battersea to the barrier, which takes about takes about 6½ hours of waking). A much RICHMOND ancient oaks to unsurpassed views of cen- more manageable section for afternoon strollers, taking about 1½ hours, is the 4-mile one between Putney Bridge and If anywhere in London could be described as tral London 12 miles away. It’s easy enough Barnes Footbridge. The initial stretch along the Embankment that runs north from Putney Bridge on the southern bank a village, Richmond – with its delightful green to escape the several roads that cut up the of the river is always a hive of activity, with rowers setting off and returning to their boat clubs and punters from nearby and riverside vistas – is it. Centuries of history, rambling wilderness, making the park an pubs lazing by the water. The majority of the walk, though, is intensely rural – at times the only accompaniment is the some stunning Georgian architecture and the excellent spot for a quiet walk or picnic, call of songbirds and the gentle swish of old Father Thames (yes, we are still in London). From the footbridge Chiswick graceful curve of the Thames has made this even in summer when Richmond’s riverside train station is about three quarters of a mile to the northwest. one of London’s swankiest locales, home to can be heaving. Such is the magic of the Full details of these and other sections of the Thames Path can be found in Lonely Planet’s Walking in Britain (3rd ageing rock stars and city high-flyers alike. place, it somehow comes as no surprise to edition) or visit the National Trails (www.nationaltrail.co.uk/thamespath) website. Another useful source is the River Richmond was originally named Sheen, happen upon herds of more than 600 red Thames Alliance’s Visit Thames (www.visitthames.co.uk) site. but Henry VII, having fallen in love with the and fallow deer basking under the trees. place, renamed the village after his Yorkshire Be advised that the creatures can be less 206 207 lonelyplanet.com lonelyplanet.com 0 500 m ple tomb is on the southern boundary wall also a pleasant place for an idle wander; watch SOUTHWEST LONDON: RICHMOND 0 0.3 miles of the cemetery. out for cricket matches played on central Kew To Richmond 12 Shee Station (50m) n Rd 13 Green in summer. a 6 9 L S ce St heen Rd d la e 10 Across a mighty bend in the Thames is R a rg THE THAMES P 7 eo Rd m ld G ise a O 15 rad h t Pa Brentford, essentially nondescript except n n S The stretch of the riverbank from Twicken- 17 io C e Red L d k h c R i u for sprawling Syon Park and its magnificent

s w r ham Bridge down to Petersham and Ham is T 1 c n rd h e 11 ya e house. ne R d u i d one of the prettiest in London. The action T V R Q 5 o e w h s T g Pa n is concentrated around Richmond Bridge, an th 19 R i i K ch KEW GARDENS Map p64 m original structure from 1777 and London’s o n d d R %8332 5655; www.kew.org; Kew Rd TW9; adult/ H ile oldest surviving crossing, only widened for il St d l s s R riar under 17yr/senior & student £12.25/free/10.25; St Margaret F traffic in 1937. The lovely walk to Petersham is often overcrowded in nice weather; best hgardens 9.30am-6.30pm Mon-Fri, to 7.30pm Sat & Sun Apr-Aug, 9.30am-6pm Sep & Oct, 9.30am- d s to cut across Petersham Meadows and continue R e nd o m e hm Nig al 4.15pm Nov-Feb, glasshouses 9.30am-5.30pm c a h Ri P ti g a on to Richmond Park if it’s peace and quiet h n e L T t 18 e April-Oct, 9.30am-3.45pm Nov-Feb; t/dKew 4 rs you seek. There are several companies near h a m Gardens; w l Richmond Bridge, including Richmond Boat R il l H d l i Sawyer's Royal Botanic Gardens at Kew is one of the H Hire (%8948 8270), that offer skiff hire (adult/ r e t r most popular visitors’ attractions in Lon- R a iv child £4/2 per hour, £12/6 per day). e G r

L & Duchess' Wood don, which means it can get very crowded r a a St 14 8 16 during summer, especially at weekends. Richmond Park HAM HOUSE Map p64 Spring is probably the best time to visit, % 8940 1950; www.nationaltrust.org.uk; Ham St, but at any time of year this 120-hectare Ham TW10; adult/5-15yr/family £9/5/22, gardens expanse of lawns, formal gardens and Pen Ponds only £3/2/7; hhouse 1-5pm Mon-Wed, Sat & Sun 3 greenhouses has delights to offer. As well late Mar-Oct, gardens 11am-6pm Mon-Wed, Sat & as being a public garden, Kew is an impor- Sun; t/dRichmond, then g371; w NEIGHBOURHOODS tant research centre, and it maintains its NEIGHBOURHOODS Known as ‘Hampton Court in miniature’, INFORMATION reputation as the most exhaustive botanical Richmond Tourist Office...... 1 A1 EATING (pp235–75) Ham House was built in 1610 and became Chez Lindsay...... 11 B1 collection in the world. home to the first Earl of Dysart, an un- SIGHTS (pp207–209) Don Fernando's...... 12 B1 Its wonderful plants and trees aside, Isabella Plantation...... 2 D4 FishWorks...... 13 B1 lucky individual who had been employed Pembroke Lodge...... 3 B3 Petersham Nurseries Café...... 14 B3 Kew has several specific sights within its Petersham Meadows...... 4 B2 Prince as ‘whipping boy’ to Charles I, taking the Richmond Bridge...... 5 A1 DRINKING (pp277–96) Charles' borders. Assuming you come by tube and

Spinney punishment for all the king’s wrongdoings. SOUTHWEST LONDON Richmond Green...... 6 A1 Cricketers...... 15 B1 enter via Victoria Gate, you’ll come almost SOUTHWEST LONDON Richmond Palace Remains...... 7 A1 Dysart Arms...... 16 B3 2 Inside it’s furnished with all the grandeur St Peter's Church...... 8 B3 White Cross...... 17 A1 you might expect; the Great Staircase is a immediately to a large pond overlooked by the enormous Palm House, a hothouse of SHOPPING (pp215–34) SLEEPING (pp339–61) magnificent example of Stuart woodwork- Toko...... 9 B1 Petersham...... 18 B2 metal and curved sheets of glass dating YDUK...... 10 B1 Richmond Park Hotel...... 19 B1 ing. Look out for ceiling paintings by An- tonio Verrio, who also worked at Hampton from 1848 and housing all sorts of exotic Court Palace, and for a miniature of Eliza- tropical greenery; the aerial walkway offers than docile in rutting season (May to July) ST PETER’S CHURCH Map p208 beth I by Nicholas Hilliard. Other notable a birds’-eye view of the lush vegetation. and when the does bear young (September %8940 8435; Church Lane, Petersham TW10; paintings are by Constable and Reynolds. Just northwest of the Palm House is the and October). It’s a great place for bird- admission free; h3-5pm Sun; t/dRichmond, The grounds of Ham House slope down tiny but irresistible Water Lily House (hMar- watchers too, with a wide range of habitats, then g65 to the Thames, but there are also pleasant Dec), dating from 1852 and the hottest from neat gardens to woodland and as- This wonderful Norman church has been a 17th-century formal gardens. Just opposite glasshouse at Kew. sorted ponds. place of worship for 1300 years and parts the Thames and accessible by small ferry is Further north is the stunning Princess Coming from Richmond, it’s easiest to of the present structure date from 1266. Marble Hill Park and its splendid mansion. of Wales Conservatory, opened in 1987 and enter via Richmond Gate or from Peter- It’s a fascinating place, not least for its There is partial disabled access. Call for housing plants in 10 different computer- sham Rd. Take a map with you and wander curious Georgian box pews, which local more information. controlled climatic zones – everything around the grounds; flower-lovers should landowners would rent while the serving from a desert to a mangrove swamp. In the make a special trip to Isabella Plantation, a staff and labourers sat in the open seats in tropical zone you’ll find the most famous of stunning woodland garden created after the south transept. Against the north wall KEW & BRENTFORD Kew’s 38,000-odd plant species, the 3m- WWII, in April and May when the rhodo- of the chancel is the Cole Monument, which Kew will be forever associated with World tall titan arum, or ‘corpse flower’, which is dendrons and azaleas are in bloom. depicts barrister George Cole, his wife and Heritage–listed Botanic Gardens, headquar- overpoweringly obnoxious-smelling when Pembroke Lodge (h10am-5.30pm summer, to child, all reclining in Elizabethan dress ters of the Royal Botanical Society and boast- it blooms in April. Just beyond the con- 4.30pm winter), the childhood home of Ber- – an unusual design for an English church. ing one of the world’s finest plant collections. servatory is Kew Gardens Gallery bordering Kew trand Russell, is now a café set in a beauti- Of interest to Canadians, St Peter’s is the A day at Kew Gardens will appeal even to Green, which houses exhibitions of paint- ful 13-hectare garden and affording great burial place of Captain George Vancouver, those with no knowledge of plants and flow- ings and photos mostly of a horticultural views of the city from the back terrace. who was laid to rest here in 1798; his sim- ers. This smart Southwest London suburb is theme. 208 209 lonelyplanet.com Heading westwards from the gallery Just across the Thames from Kew Gardens, iting or storing some 10,000 items related to do it justice, bearing in mind that if you lonelyplanet.com you’ll arrive at the redbrick Kew Palace (adult/ Syon House started life as a medieval to the sport. come by boat from central London the trip under 17yr/senior & student £5/2.50/4; h10am-5.30pm abbey named after Mt Zion, but in 1542 will have already eaten up half the day. late Mar-late Oct), a former royal residence once Henry VIII dissolved the order of Bridgettine MARBLE HILL HOUSE Map p64 Like so many royal residences, Hamp- known as Dutch House and built in 1631. nuns who were peacefully established here %8892 5115; www.english-heritage.org.uk; Rich- ton Court Palace was not built for the It was the favourite home of George III and and had the abbey rebuilt into a handsome mond Rd TW1; adult/under 15yr/senior & student monarchy at all. In 1515 Cardinal Thomas his family; his wife, Queen Charlotte, died residence. (In 1547, they say, God got his £4.20/2.10/3.20; h10am-2pm Sat, to 5pm Sun, Wolsey, Lord Chancellor of England, built here in 1818. The palace underwent exten- revenge when Henry’s coffin was brought guided tours noon & 3pm Tue & Wed Apr-Oct; dSt himself a palace in keeping with his sense sive renovations for almost a decade and to Syon en route to Windsor for burial and Margaret’s, Richmond; w of self-importance. Unfortunately, even reopened in 2006; don’t miss the Georgian burst open during the night, leaving the This is an 18th-century Palladian love nest, Wolsey couldn’t persuade the pope to rooms restored to how they would look in king’s body to be set upon by the estate’s originally built for George II’s mistress grant Henry VIII a divorce from Catherine 1804 and Princess Elizabeth’s wonderful hungry dogs.) Henrietta Howard and later occupied by of Aragon and relations between king doll’s house. The house from where Lady Jane Grey Mrs Fitzherbert, the secret wife of George and chancellor soured. Against that back- Other highlights include the Temperate ascended the throne for her nine-day reign IV. The poet Alexander Pope had a hand in ground, you only need to take one look at in 1553 was remodelled in the neoclassical the palace to understand why Wolsey felt House, the world’s largest ornamental glass- designing the park, which stretches down style by Robert Adam in the 18th century obliged to present it to Henry, a monarch house, and nearby Evolution House, tracing to the Thames. Inside you’ll find an exhibi- and has plenty of Adam furniture and oak not too fond of anyone trying to muscle plant evolution over 3500 million years; the tion about the life and times of Henrietta, panelling. The interior was designed along in on his mastery, some 15 years later. The idyllic Queen Charlotte’s Cottage (h10am-4pm Sat and a collection of early-Georgian furniture. gender-specific lines, with pastel pinks and hapless Wolsey was charged with high & Sun Jul & Aug) was another place popular To get there from St Margaret’s station, purples for the ladies’ gallery, and mock treason but died before he could come to with ‘mad’ George III and his wife. Don’t turn right along St Margaret’s Rd. Then take forget to see the Japanese Gateway and the Roman sculptures for the men’s dining trial in 1530. room. The estate’s 16-hectare gardens, the right fork along Crown Rd and turn As soon as he acquired the palace, celebrated 10-storey Pagoda (1761), de- left along Richmond Rd. Turn right along signed by William Chambers. including a lake and the landmark Great Henry set to work expanding it, adding the Conservatory (1820), were landscaped by Beaufort Rd and walk across Marble Hill Great Hall, the exquisite Chapel Royal and the Just north is the Marianne North Gallery Park to the house. It is also easily accessible featuring paintings on a botanical theme. Capability Brown. Syon Park is filled with all sprawling kitchens. By 1540 this was one kinds of attractions for children, including by pedestrian ferry from Ham House ( p209 ). It’s

NEIGHBOURHOODS of the grandest and most sophisticated NEIGHBOURHOODS Marianne North was one of those indomit- a 25-minute walk from Richmond station. able Victorian female travellers who an adventure playground, aquatic park and palaces in Europe, but Henry only spent an trout fishery. There is partial disabled access. Call for average three weeks a year here. In the late roamed the continents from 1871 to 1885, more information. painting plants and trees along the way. 17th century, William and Mary employed The results of her labour now cover the Sir Christopher Wren to build extensions. TWICKENHAM The result is a beautiful blend of Tudor and walls of this small purpose-built gallery. The As Wimbledon is to tennis, so Twickenham HAMPTON ‘restrained baroque’ architecture. SOUTHWEST LONDON Orangery near Kew Palace contains a restau- Out in London’s southwestern outskirts, the SOUTHWEST LONDON is to rugby, and you’ll find one of the few mu- Tickets are on sale in the shop to the left rant, café and shop. wonderful Hampton Court Palace is pressed seums in the world devoted to the sport here. as you walk up the path towards the main If you want a good overview of the gar- Bushy Park (www.royalparks Otherwise there’s not much to detain you in up against 445-hectare Trophy Gate. Be sure to pick up a leaflet listing dens, jump aboard the Kew Explorer minitrain this quiet and pretty Middlesex suburb aside .gov.uk), a semiwild expanse with herds of red the daily program, which will help you plan (adult/under 17yr £3.50/1), which allows you to from the delights of fine Marble Hill House and fallow deer. your visit. This is important as some of the hop on and off at stops along the way. The overlooking the Thames. free guided tours require advance booking. full circuit takes about 40 minutes. HAMPTON COURT PALACE Passing through the main gate you ar- You can get to Kew Gardens by tube MUSEUM OF RUGBY Map p64 %0870 751 5175; www.hrp.org.uk/Hampton rive first in the Base Court and then the Clock or train. Come out of the station and walk %0870 405 2001; www.rfu.com/microsites/mu CourtPalace; Hampton Court Rd, East Molesy KT8; Court, named after the fine 16th-century straight (west) along Station Ave, cross Kew seum/index.cfm; Twickenham Stadium, Rugby Rd all-inclusive ticket adult/5-15yr/senior & student/ astronomical clock that still shows the sun Gardens Rd and then continue straight TW1; stadium guided tour & museum adult/child/ family £13/6.50/10.50/36; h10am-6pm late revolving round the earth. The second along Lichfield Rd. This will bring you to family £10/7/34, museum only on match days March-Oct, to 4.30pm Nov-late Mar; dHampton court is your starting point; from here you Victoria Gate. Alternatively, from April to (match ticket holders only) £3; h10am-5pm Court; w can follow any or all of the six separate October, boats run by the Westminster Passen- Tue-Sat, 11am-5pm Sun; tHounslow East, then London’s most spectacular Tudor palace is sets of rooms in the complex. Here behind ger Services Association (%7930 2062; www g281, or dTwickenham; w the 16th-century Hampton Court Palace, the colonnade you’ll also find the useful .wpsa.co.uk) sail from Westminster Pier to Kew This museum, which will clearly appeal located in the city’s suburbs and easily Introductory Exhibition, explaining what’s where Gardens up to four times a day (see p387 ). only to rugby-lovers, is tucked behind reached by train from Waterloo Station. and how the compound functions. the eastern stand of the stadium. Relive Here history is palpable, from the kitchens The stairs inside Anne Boleyn’s Gateway SYON HOUSE Map p64 highlights of old matches in the video where you can see food being prepared lead up to Henry VIII’s State Apartments, includ- %8560 0881; www.syonpark.co.uk; Syon Park, theatre, take a tour of the grounds and and the grand living quarters of Henry VIII ing the Great Hall, the largest single room Brentford TW7; adult/5-16yr/student & senior/family visit the museum collection. Tours depart to the spectacular gardens complete with in the palace, decorated with tapestries £8/4/7/18, gardens only adult/concession/family at 10.30am, noon, 1.30pm and 3pm Tues- a 300-year-old maze. This is one of the best and what is considered the country’s £4/2.50/9; h11am-5pm Wed, Thu & Sun late Mar- day to Saturday and at 1pm and 3pm on days out London has to offer and should best hammer-beam roof. The Horn Room, Oct, gardens 10.30am-4pm or 5pm; tGunnersbury Sunday. NB: there are no tours on match not be missed by anyone with any interest hung with impressive antlers, leads to the ordGunnersbury, then g237 or 267 days. The museum itself is very rich, exhib- in British history. Set aside plenty of time Great Watching Chamber where guards 210 211 lonelyplanet.com controlled access to the king. Leading off though the Queen’s Audience Chamber has walk to the palace entrance. The palace can in 1830 and of the India-rubber ball in the lonelyplanet.com from the chamber is the smaller Pages’ a throne as imposing as that of the king. also be reached from Westminster Pier in 1850s. It’s a state-of-the-art presentation, Chamber and the Haunted Gallery. Arrested Also worth seeing are the Georgian Rooms central London twice daily on riverboats with plenty of video clips to let fans of the for adultery and detained in the palace in used by George II and Queen Caroline on operated by Westminster Passenger Services game relive their favourite moments. The 1542, Henry’s fifth wife Catherine Howard the court’s last visit to the palace in 1737. Association (%7930 2062; www.wpsa.co.uk) from museum houses a tearoom and a shop sell- managed to evade her guards and ran The first rooms you come to were designed April to October. This is a great trip if the ing all kinds of tennis memorabilia. screaming down the corridor in search of to accommodate George’s second son, the weather is good, but be aware that it takes the king. Her woeful ghost is said to do the Duke of Cumberland, whose bed is woe- three hours. For details see p387. BUDDHAPADIPA TEMPLE same thing to this day. fully tiny for its grand surroundings. In the %8946 1357; www.buddhapadipa.org; 14 Calonne Further along the corridor you’ll come Cartoon Gallery, the real Raphael Cartoons Rd SW19; admission free; htemple 1-6pm Sat, to the beautiful Chapel Royal, built in just (now in the Victoria & Albert Museum; p139 ) used W I M B L E D O N 8.30-10.30am & 12.30-6pm Sun, grounds 8am- nine months and still a place of worship to hang; nowadays you have to make do For a few weeks each June the sporting world’s 9.30pm summer, to 6pm winter; tWimbledon, after 450 years. The blue-and-gold vaulted with late-17th-century copies. attention is fixed on the quiet southern suburb then g93 ceiling was originally intended for Christ Beyond the Cartoon Gallery are the of Wimbledon, as it has been since 1877 (see A surprising sight in a residential neigh- p328 Church, Oxford, but was installed here Queen’s Private Apartments: her drawing room ). Then the circus leaves town and Wim- bourhood half a mile from Wimbledon instead, while the 18th-century reredos was and bedchamber, where she and the king bledon returns to unremarkable normality. Village, this is as authentic a Thai temple carved by Grinling Gibbons. would sleep if they wanted to be alone. That said, it’s a pleasant little place, and the as ever graced this side of Bangkok. The Also dating from Henry’s day are the de- Particularly interesting are the Queen’s Wimbledon Lawn Tennis Museum will excite Buddhapadipa Temple was built by an as- lightful Tudor kitchens, again accessible from Bathroom, with its tub set on a floor cloth any tennis fan, even in darkest December. sociation of young Buddhists in Britain and Anne Boleyn’s Gateway and originally able to soak up any spillage, and the Oratory, opened in 1982. The wat (temple com- to rustle up meals for a royal household an attractive room with its exquisite 16th- WIMBLEDON COMMON pound) boasts a bot (consecrated chapel) of some 1200 people. The kitchens have century Persian carpet. www.wpcc.org.uk; tWimbledon, then g93 decorated with traditional scenes by two been fitted out to look as they might have Once you’re finished with the palace in- Running on into Putney Heath, Wimbledon leading Thai artists. Remember to take your done in Tudor days and palace ‘servants’ terior there are still the wonderful gardens Common covers 460 hectares of South shoes off before entering. turn the spits, stuff the peacocks and frost to appreciate. Carriage rides for up to five London and is a wonderful expanse of To get to the temple take the tube or the marzipan with real gold leaf. Don’t miss people around the gardens are available; NEIGHBOURHOODS open space for walking, nature trailing train to Wimbledon and then bus 93 up to NEIGHBOURHOODS the Great Wine Cellar, which handled the they cost £10 and last 20 minutes. Look and picnicking. There are a few specific Wimbledon Parkside. Calonne Rd leads off 300 barrels each of ale and wine consumed out for the Real Tennis Court, dating from the sights on Wimbledon Common, however, it on the right. here annually in the mid-16th century. 1620s and designed for real tennis, a rather including Wimbledon Windmill (%8947 2825; To the west of the colonnade in the different version of the game from that Clock Court is the entrance up to the Wolsey played today. In the restored 24-hectare www.wimbledon windmillmuseum.org.uk; Windmill Rd SW19; adult/child £1/50p; h2-5pm Sat, 11am-5pm RICHMOND WALK

Rooms and the Young Henry VIII Exhibition. To Riverside Gardens, you’ll find the Great Vine. SOUTHWEST LONDON the east of the colonnade you’ll find the Planted in 1768, it’s still producing just Sun late Mar-Oct; tWimbledon), a fine smock Walking Tour SOUTHWEST LONDON stairs to the King’s Apartments, completed under 320kg of grapes per year; it’s an old mill (ie octagonal-shaped with sloping 1 Richmond Green by Wren for William III in 1702. A tour of vine, no doubt about it, but not the world’s weatherboarded sides) dating from 1817 With its lovely houses and crowds of families the apartments takes you up the grand oldest, as they say it is here (that one is in which now contains a museum with work- playing ball games, it’s easy to imagine this King’s Staircase, painted by Antonio Ver- Slovenia). The Lower Orangery in the gardens ing models on the history of windmills and beautiful stretch of grass as the site of jousting rio in about 1700 and flattering the king houses Andrea Mantegna’s nine Triumphs milling. It was during a stay in the mill in contests during the Middle Ages. The path by comparing him to Alexander the Great. of Caesar paintings, bought by Charles I in 1908 that Robert Baden-Powell was in- across the green (p207 ) takes you to the meagre Highlights here include the King’s Presence 1629; the Banqueting House was designed spired to write parts of his Scouting for Boys. remains of Richmond Palace, where Queen Eliza- Chamber, which is dominated by a throne for William III and painted by Antonio On the southern side of the common, beth I spent her final years. backed with scarlet hangings. The King’s Verrio. Look out, too, for the iron screens the misnamed Caesar’s Camp is what’s left of a Great Bedchamber, with a bed topped with designed by Jean Tijou. roughly circular earthen fort built in the 5th 2 Richmond Bridge ostrich plumes and the King’s Closet (where No-one should leave Hampton Court century BC, which proves that Wimbledon London’s oldest river crossing still in use and His Majesty’s toilet has a velvet seat) should without losing themselves in the famous was settled before Roman times. dating back to 1777, this five-span masonry also not be missed. (and recently renovated) 800m-long maze, bridge ( p209 ) gracefully curves over the Thames William’s wife, Mary II, had her own sepa- which is made up of hornbeam and yew WIMBLEDON LAWN TENNIS towards Twickenham. Just before it, along one rate Queen’s State Apartments, which are acces- and planted in 1690. The average visitor MUSEUM of the loveliest stretches of the Thames, is tiny sible up the Queen’s Staircase, decorated takes 20 minutes to reach the centre. The %8946 6131; www.wimbledon.org; Gate Corporation Island, which has been colonised by William Kent. When Mary died in 1694, maze is included in entry, although those 3, Church Rd SW19; adult/child/concession by flocks of feral parakeets (see London Wet- work on these rooms was incomplete; they not visiting the palace can enter the maze £8.50/4.75/7.50, museum & tour £14.50/11/13; land Centre, p205 ). were finished during the reign of George II. for £3.50 (£2/10 for children/families). Last h10.30am-5pm, spectators only during champi- The rooms are shown as they might have admission is at 5.15pm in summer and onships; tWimbledon, then g93 3 Petersham Meadows been when Queen Caroline used them for 3.45pm in winter. This museum is of specialist interest, dwell- These meadows fronting the Thames and at entertaining between 1716 and 1737. In There are trains every half-hour from Wa- ing as it does on the minutiae of the history the foot of Richmond Hill are still grazed by comparison with the King’s Apartments, terloo direct to Hampton Court station (30 of tennis playing, traced back here to the cows. At the southern end is St Peter’s Church those for the queen seem rather austere, al- minutes), from where it’s a three-minute invention of the all-important lawnmower ( p208) , a Saxon place of worship since the 8th 212 213 lonelyplanet.com © Lonely Planet Publications Planet Lonely © © Lonely Planet Publications. To make it easier for you to use, access to this chapter is not digitally © Lonely Planet Publications. restricted. we think it’s fair to ask you to use it for personal, non-commercial purposes In return, to a peer-to-peeronly. In other words, please don’t upload this chapter site, mass email it to everyone it. See know, or resell you a longer way of saying the terms and conditions on our site for the above - ‘Do the right thing with our content.’ 0.2 miles 300 m 4

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S 214 Parliament. cludes St Paul’s Cathedral about 10 miles way – cludes St Paul’s by an act of in the country to be protected 5 Richmond Hill Hill has Richmond The view from the top of and poets and for centuries painters inspired in- still beguiles. It is the only view – which tuous green space. Established by Edward I space. tuous green in the 13th century, this un- are There little since that time. changed London. of to the centre views broken 4 Richmond Park 4 Richmond Park Petersham Gate Georgian interior. Georgian century, which containscentury, which an unusually laid out

lonelyplanet.com CHAPTER TITLE SOUTHWEST LONDON