This underground headquarters was Winston Churchill’s command post during World War Two (even though he used to insist on going on to the roof to watch the bombing raids!).
This museum commemorates ‘the Lady of the Lamp’ who travelled to the Crimea to care for British soldiers in 1854, and went on to lay the foundations of modern nursing.
This WW2 cruiser, now a tourist attraction, took part in the sinking of the German battleship Scharnhorst and in the D-Day landings. Her guns are aimed at an M1 service station 12.5 miles away.
This grand Tudor palace was built by Henry VIII’s Lord Chancellor Cardinal Wolsey, but passed to the king in 1529. His 4th queen Catherine Howard is said to haunt the gallery outside the chapel.
The focus of mourning after the death of Diana, Princess of Wales in 1997, this was also the birthplace of Victoria, and where she was told she had become queen in 1837.
Although firstly a scientific organisation, this British institution houses numerous collection of plants and botanical information and as such is a living encyclopaedia on the plant kingdom.
Absolutely ridiculous; don't expect to go here to learn anything.. you will have fun though!
London Zoo was opened for Fellows of the Zoological Society of London in 1828, only opening to the public in 1847 to aid funding. It currently houses 755 species of animal.
This is one of the biggest aquariums in Europe that has impressive collections of more than 500 marine creatures. Don't miss the glass tunnel walkway and the Penguins Ice Adventure. Open 10am to 6pm.
Some people say the scariest thing here is the queue but, once you get in, there are plenty of sudden jolts and frights on hand to startle and amuse you.
Marie Tussaud, born in Strasbourg in 1761, made her first wax figure of the great French philosopher Voltaire in 1777. She opened a museum in London in 1835.
Attraction showcasing weird and wonderful items from around the world. It's open 10am-midnight daily (last admission 10.30pm) Read more.
The first national lottery was held in 1569, and the result was announced at the west door of (the old) St.Paul’s cathedral. It is unknown if the winner let it change him.
A proper 70mm IMAX theatre, this is a cheaper, less wellknown alternative to the BFI IMAX at Southbank and all the fake Odeon IMAX cinemas. Get here early to get good seats.
A reconstruction of the famous Elizabethan open-air theatre where Shakespeare worked, true to the spirit of the original, celebrating and educating about Shakespeare’s work.
The boat ride is fine and actually surprisingly quick and pleasant but the way of purchasing tickets at Grenwich is a complete and utter shambles!
This was ok. It was a cool view, and the engine room was interesting, but the actual exhibits were not as interesting as I'd hoped. (Very little to do with the actual bridge)
The new stadium is the second biggest in Europe behind Barcelona’s Camp Nou, but has the most toilets of any stadium in the world! (2618) The first concert held here was George Michael in 2007.
This arch, built in honour of the hero of the Battle of Waterloo, once formed a grand western entrance to London, but had to be moved aside in 1885 as it created a notorious traffic bottleneck.
This museum houses more than 80 vehicles including the first tubes, horse-drawn trams and the earliest motorised buses, plus iconic posters from the last 100 years.
Its sober Georgian exterior hides a secret – the decoration and furnishings preserved as they were in the lifetime of the printer Emery Walker (1851-1933), a great friend and mentor to William Morris.
The Duke of Wellington’s home was known popularly as Number One, London, because after entering London through the old Knightsbridge toll-gate it was the first house you passed.
This was the only part of Whitehall Palace, one of the greatest in Europe, not destroyed by the fire of 1698. Charles I was executed on a scaffold built at window-level outside this building.
In 1757 Benjamin Franklin was sent to London to protest at British policy towards the American colonies. This is where he lived for nearly 16 years, trying and failing to change government policy.
A really nice book shop full of old childhood favorites and interesting new publications. Also has a great collection of birthday cards.
The garden was leased to the Society of Apothecaries in 1722, so that ‘apprentices may the better distinguish good and useful plants from those that bear resemblance to them and yet are hurtfull.’
Built in 1729 by the third Earl of Burlington, this magnificent neo-Palladian villa showcases many stunning works of art and provides a stunning venue for entertaining
The museum here is on the site of the infamous Southwark prison known as the Clink, from which other prisons get their nickname. It was built in the 11th century, and torn down by rioters in 1780.
The brainchild of Sir Terence Conran, the world’s first modern design museum opened in 1989, devoted to every aspect of design ‘from furniture to graphics, and architecture to industrial design’.
Although the museum takes up all four floors of the house in which Johnson wrote his 'Dictionary', it’s the atmosphere that intrigues here. Read more.
This glamorous Art Deco London showpiece as built in 1936, next to the remains of a medieval royal palace, and surrounded by 19 acres of garden. A striking visit!
The world’s only museum dedicated to fans. It’s a tiny space consisting of two rooms with an overall collection of 3,500 antique fans, some of which date as far back as the eleventh century. Read more.
Founded by Zandra Rhodes, Bermondsey's very own celebration of the London (and international) rag trade. Read more.
Housed in two buildings at the Royal Artillery’s base abutting the Thames, the museum covers the history of guns and gunpowder from Ancient China to contemporary Iraq. Read more.
London's first art gallery, another great Fox & Squirrel recommendation! Once a home to abandoned children in the 18th C, also keep an eye out for their free garden concerts.
"While the main draw here is the pristinely preserved study, couch and all, this vast Hampstead house, where Freud and family lived after they escaped Austria in 1938, doubles as an art space." Read more.
The world’s first gardening museum is within the ex-church of St.Mary-at-Lambeth. The cemetery contains the graves of 17th century royal gardeners, and also Capt Bligh, of Bounty fame.
Francis Drake was knighted by Queen Elizabeth I on the ‘Golden Hinde’ in Greenwich Reach. The round-the-world ship was a popular attraction before it rotted away in the 1660s. Find your maritime story Read more.
Impress your friends by telling apart the 5 regiments of Foot Guards: Scots Guards have no plume, Grenadiers have white, Coldstream have red, Irish have blue, and Welsh have green and white.
Handel lived at no.25 between 1723 and his death in 1756, and composed his Messiah and Zadok the Priest among many other works here. The interior is now a faithful recreation from this period.
Amazing site for viewing part of history. They've done a brilliant job keeping things..just as they were. You get to see, where his theories were placed to paper first; Before they moved the world!
29 October: Visitors get a behind-the-scenes look at the working block where the regiment's horses are stabled, to see them groomed, watered and saddled ready for duty.
Recommended: Not for the faint hearted, this two-floor museum offers both a brilliantly intellectual and educational experience - with everything from bones to pickled guts. Yum yum! Read more.
If I have to be honest, its not really worth the ticket price to go beyond the ground floor, which you can wander around for free. It is run by English Heritage though, so a worthy cause.
Slick technology, impressive exhibits and overall a reasonably balanced presentation of religious versus cultural aspects of Judaism.
The London Canal Museum is housed in a former nineteenth-century ice warehouse used by Carlo Gatti for his famous ice cream, and it includes an exhibit on the history of the ice trade and ice cream. Read more.
If you are a fan of film & haven't visited the spiritual home of cinema in the UK (London Film Museum) you are missing out. Great day out alone or for the whole family :)
The Museum's basically 3 large rooms of custom cars & that is it, nothing more. Check the pictures online & you'll get an idea of what is there to see. Car mad kids will love to see the cars close-up.
This Palladian villa was built in the 1720s for the Countess of Suffolk, a mistress of George II. Here she would entertain the poet Alexander Pope and the satirist Jonathan Swift.
Built to commemorate the Great Fire of 1666, the height of the Monument is the same as its distance from the bakery on Pudding Lane where the fire started.
This 120-year history of consumerism, culture, design, domestic life, fashion, folly and fate, presented as a magnificently cluttered time tunnel of cartons and bottles, toys and advertising displays. Read more.
Get there for a tour, if you can, as they actually switch the machines on, many of which still work. Tuesday at 2.30pm, Friday 11.30am, Saturday 2.30pm and Sunday at 2.30pm (or 1pm if there's a film).
The oldest operating theatre in the country was rediscovered by chance during building work in 1957. There is sand under the floorboards to stop blood dripping through into the rooms below.
Attractions at the Royal Air Force Museum include 80 aircraft on display, an interactive area, a simulator ride and 'Our Finest Hour', a multi-media account of the Battle of Britain. Read more.
Horace Walpole, art historian and son of Prime Minister Sir Robert Walpole, built his ‘little Gothic castle’ over 30 years, recreating medieval styles that helped spearhead the Gothic revival.
The London home of the Duke of Northumberland is built on the site of a medieval nunnery. There in 1547 the coffin containing Henry VIII, en route to Windsor, exploded due to build up of gasses!
"Perhaps the most peaceful – and desolate – spot in London. By the Thames Barrier, there's a visitors' centre with no visitors..." Read more.
Nice little museum in the heart of Somerset House. You can admire some of Botticelli, Rubens, Cézanne, Van Gogh, Manet and Renoir paintings. Admission: only 3£ on Mondays.
This is the world’s first purpose-built art gallery and is a treasure. Small but packed with great paintings, a fine cafe and a short walk away from Dulwich Park. Read more.
In the early 18th century, Queen Anne kept a large string of horses and was instrumental in the founding of Royal Ascot where the opening race each year is still called the Queen Anne Stakes.
All weather winter derby - a great race, always good entries and all with the usual friendly professional Lingfield team.
"The best place to go bird-watching in the capital, from wetland birds and wildfowl to migrating ospreys. Free guided tours at 11am and 2pm, and you can join the wardens for feeding time at 3pm..." Read more.
The oldest regular fixture at the ‘home of cricket’ is the annual Eton vs Harrow schools match, played here since 1818. In the museum you can find the passing bird killed by a cricket shot in 1936.
13 August: An ancient landscape used as a military firing range for over a century until 2006, when it opened to the public as a nature reserve. Boardwalks take visitors out across the marshes.
The home of English rugby was built on the site of a market garden in 1908. ‘Swing Low, Sweet Chariot’ caught on after being sung by Douai schoolboys in 1988 as England beat Ireland.
This is the largest tennis museum in the world. As Wimbledon is known for the sport, this is home to impressive attractions about everything you need to know about tennis. Don't miss CentreCourt360.
Beautiful building built for the Prince Regent between 1787 and 1823. Offers different exhibitions throughout the year and a magical ice rink experience over the festive period
