The original Globe Theatre, where many of William Shakespeare's plays were first staged, burned to the ground in 1613. Nearly 400 years later, it was rebuilt not far from its original site. Read more.
The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle: There was no 221B Baker Street when Doyle first published Holmes, but this museum is likely to now be where he imagined it so long ago.
A collection of clowning ephemera and a small selection of Clown International's face-painted eggs, all curated by unpainted clowns. Seems to be open the first Friday of each month from 12pm to 5pm.
The British Museum began from the collection of naturalist Sir Hans Sloane which he left to the nation on his death in 1753. Now it houses 7 million objects including more than 100 Egyptian mummies.
‘Platform 9 and 3/4 ‘ is a site of pilgrimage for fans of Harry Potter, as this is the place of departure for the Hogwarts Express. A luggage trolley ‘disappearing’ through a wall marks the spot.
You can enter Tate Modern for free except for major exhibitions or events. Tote Modern open from 10:00am until 6:00pm on week days.
An art museum on Trafalgar Square, definitely take one of the free guided tours at 11:30AM or 2:30PM. Get there via Charing Cross stop on the Bakerloo or Northern lines.
Really cool graveyard with lot of famous people... Little too expensive 4£ per person.
Exhibits include a pair of handcuffs used by Harry Houdini and the props used by HRH Prince Charles when he took his exam to become a member. Read more.
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 building dates back to the 16th century and is thought to have inspired Charles Dickens’s antique shop of the same name. The name was created by Dickens though, later adopted by the shop.
At this old operating theatre near London Bridge, occasional tours recount grisly tales of primitive medical treatments. Amputations without anaesthetic were common, painful deaths frequent.
Designed as a "living museum," the house is arranged to make visitors feel as if they've interrupted the residents. You'll see burning candles and uneaten meals, and you'll even hear voices. Read more.
An incarceration museum on the spot of possibly the oldest prison in England.
A charming 17th-century alley lined with secondhand bookstores and antiquarian shops.
A narrow staircase gives way to cabinets stuffed with dolls, bears, toy theatres, puppets, mechanical toys and even a 4,000-year-old Egyptian mouse made from Nile clay. Read more.
English antique dealers with a taste for the unusual. When you step into The Vault you will be in another world full of marvels safely kept because it was previously the private bank Coutts.
"A product placement time tunnel that snakes from decade to decade, with walls stacked like supermarket shelves, with original Dairy Milk wrappers, Marmite jars and 1930s Mars and KitKat bars..." Read more.
This hatters has been here since 1764, and supplied the hat that Wellington wore at the Battle of Waterloo in 1815. This shop commissioned Thomas Bowler to make the first bowler hat in 1849.
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.
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.
Tate Britain is built on the site of the 19th century Millbank Prison. Between 1816 and 1868, this is where thousands of convicts began their journey to the penal colonies of Australia.
Est. 1698. Wine and spirits merchant that invented The King's Ginger for Edward VII to warm him up on his joyrides through the countryside.
Great views of Central London from the lookout, views that would rival those from Primrose Hill.
The Science Museum was founded in 1857 with objects shown at the Great Exhibition held in the Crystal Palace.
For the wildest and most random of nights, this club has to be seen to be believed. Check out the website for whats on, or just take the risk and prepared to be surprised as you rock up.
The oldest pub in London, RE-built in 1666 after a lil fire- and it's barely been touched since. Twain, Dickens and Conan Doyle were regulars at various points and my late grandfather used to run it
Named after an old collier that used to moor alongside, this pub dates back to 1520 and was known as the ‘Devil’s tavern’ because of all the smugglers and other unsavoury characters that used it.
Beautifully preserved 16th-c coaching inn, with lots of tables in bustling courtyard to take in the galleried exterior. Read more.
This cosy riverside pub dates back to the 16th century, and boasts the smallest bar in England – 4 foot 2 inches by 7 foot 10 inches.
5 December: Thought to be the oldest pub in Covent Garden, the Lamb & Flag dates back to at least 1623. Poet John Dryden was mugged in the alleyway outside & the upstairs bar is named after him.
24 September: London's first coffee house - Bowman's - stood here before the Jamaica Coffee House took its place in the 1670s. It was later rebuilt as the Jamaica Wine House.
Est. as a licensed pub in 1674. The building had been an establishment at that location since the thirteenth century. Last rebuild of building was in 1900.
The Golden Lyon tea and coffee house opened here in 1717, making this the oldest shop in Britain in the same trade on the same spot. They’ve also got the oldest corporate logo in the world, est.1787!
Fortnum and Masons claim to have invented the Scotch egg here in 1738, for the picnic hampers of lords and ladies heading out of London by coach along Piccadilly.
Perhaps it's because Wilton's has been operating in London since 1742 that it just feels so... British. It's definitely an upscale experience but you get what you pay for.
In this bar they know everything there is to know about Jack the Ripper! Come find out the names of his victims and enjoy a beer in this bar dating from 1752.
Pubs were here since the 1500s, this one may date to the 18th. Once major cock fighting venue before its ban in England and Wales in 1849; still has architectural remnants despite 1860s remodel.
Est. 1757. Obscure among older pubs. Serves Bass beer and English classics, including calves liver and bacon, Edwardian pork chop, and Gammon and tomato. Friendly and inexpensive.
London's oldest restaurant hasn't changed much since it opened in 1798 and we aren't complaining. Try the traditional steak & kidney pie, buttery on the outside and tender on the inside.
The exclusive Simpson’s in the Strand restaurant opened in 1828 as a chess club and coffee house. It became known as the home of chess and attracted all the great players of the age.
Established in 1837, within Brown's Hotel. Agatha Christie was inspired to write “At Bertram’s Hotel” here.
Est. 1845 to refresh prison warders serving at the Millbank Penitentiary. Now contains a "spying room" which provides a good view of the headquarters of the Secret Intelligence Service.
Est. Early to Mid-19th Century. Won infamy during the fifties and sixties as the hangout for London’s inner circle of master criminals and celebrities. The Great Train Robbery was planned here.
Est. 1862. Oldest 'fast food' restaurant in the East End, serving traditional pie & mash in parsley sauce liquor, with jellied eel.
Est. 1867 by Auguste Kettner, chef to Napoleon III. It has changed hands and guises in drastic fashion in its life time. Now proclaims to be “all about affordable glamour.”
1880s pub, reworked in 1957 to integrate the Festival of Britain Sherlock Holmes exhibit as a theme, including a detailed replica of Holmes' apartment.
First opened in 1887 this place has seen a number of coffee fads come and go. It's a shop rather than a cafe, but they do offer great takeaway coffee. It's a good place to find some rare coffee beans!
Auguste Escoffier invented the Peach Melba at the Savoy Hotel in 1893, dessert of peaches, vanilla ice cream and raspberry sauce. The Savoy also invented the Omelette Arnold Bennett in 1929.
One of the only Savoy Hotel restaurants that still serves Peach Melba, which was invented at the Savoy. The Foyer has been used for the Savoy's tea service for over 100 years.
Est. 1889. London's oldest existing seafood restaurant. Fine shellfish and quaintly British puddings. The signature beverage — a Sweetings Black Velvet (Guinness and champagne) — has many fans
Est. 1900. Vintage Art Deco workers' cafe offering one of the best and cheapest full English breakfasts in London.
Opened in 1927, Veeraswamy's is said to be the oldest surving Indian restaurant in the UK. Famous diners have included Ghandi, Charlie Chaplin, Marlon Brando and the Prince of Wales.
Est. 1939, oldest Indian restaurant in East London and one of the oldest in the city. At the same location since it opened.
Est. 1946. Oldest North Indian restaurant in the U.K., serving up characteristic Punjabi cuisine.
Open 24/7, this bakery exudes a rough Cockney charm. Main attractions: salt beef and an entertaining customer mix.
Fun set up with 80s and 90s deco - bowl of cereal was surprisingly tasty and not too 'American' sweet. Nice place for a snack or indulgent hot chocolate/milkshake with friends
There are tweeting birds and a forest like atmosphere. The décor is only an introduction to the weird and wonderful world downstairs. http://barchick.com/best-place-to-throw-a-party-in-london/
Decked out in complete and utter old world decadence, the Victorian Bath House is an exclusive, themed bar in London that's opened its doors to douse you in some vintage elegance.
Est. 1897. Popularized 1909 when Rupert Brooke, Virginia Woolf, John Keynes, Forster, Bertrand Russell, Augustus John and Ludwig Wittgenstein became the so called Grantchester group.
Est. 1654. Reputedly the oldest continually working coffee house in all of Europe.
Dates back to the 6th Century and is the oldest church established in England.
Used as far back as the Iron Age up through WWII, a roman lighthouse still stands next to a castle built by Henry II in 1179-1188.
The Historic Dockyard is a must-see when visiting Portsmouth. Explore HMS Victory, HMS Warrior 1860, the Mary Rose Museum, National Museum of the Royal Navy, Action Stations and take a Harbour Tour. Read more.
The Bridge Tea Room dates back to 1675 and is a double winner of UK’s top Tea Place award.
Lovely ruins in the middle of the city, which makes it easy to do a variety of things in Glastonbury all at the same time. Look for the placard indicating where King Arthur’s grave was found in 1191
One of the oldest public houses in Britain. Great selection of ales. When I worked in Nottingham centre in the "hobbit building" we regularly held bored meetings in there. We went when we were bored.
Great Britain’s only hat-making museum. You can experience the industry’s history through its many stages, from when was a boutique operation up until making hats became a mass-produced endeavor.
A true Yorkshire gem! Check out the North Yorkshire Moors Railway as its steam engines power their way through some of the UK's most magnificent countryside. A special treat for the kids at Xmas when
Built in 1899, unlike its American parallels, this amusement pier has largely retained its old fashioned architecture and character.
