‘Billionaires Boulevard’ tells you all you need to know about local property prices. Indian steel magnate Lakshmi Mittal, the richest man in Europe, bought Nos.18-19 for £70 million in 2005.
Hyde Park was a favourite venue for duellists in the 18th and 19th century, including the brutal 1712 duel between the Duke of Hamilton and Lord Mohun in which they hacked each other to death.
Oxford Street’s biggest department store was opened by the American businessman Gordon J Selfridge in 1909, whose motto was ‘The customer is always right’.
Built in 1703 for the Duke of Buckingham, George III acquired it in 1762 as a private house. It became an official royal residence in the reign of Queen Victoria, when it was greatly enlarged.
Soho is home to Europe’s largest Chinatown, which developed in the 1970s. Earlier generations of London’s Chinese population had centred around the docks of Limehouse.
The British Museum has more than 7 million objects from every continent, some of which have been controversial. Read more.
One of the gallery’s most famous pictures is the Chandos portrait, which is said to be of William Shakespeare by his friend Richard Burbage. But some dispute its provenance.
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.
To mark the 50th birthday of the Royal Air Force in 1968, Flight Lt. Allan Pollock flew his Hawker jet under the walkway of Tower Bridge. This unauthorised stunt won him a court martial.
The Bankside Power Station was built as a ‘cathedral of power’ in 1963, but closed in 1981. It reopened as one of Europe’s finest modern art galleries in 2000. The Turbine Hall is 35m high.
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.
The hotel opened in 1904, named after the Swiss hotelier César Ritz who also opened Ritz hotels in Paris (1898) and Madrid (1910). He was known as ‘king of hoteliers, hotelier to kings’.
One of the world's great museums. To avoid the queues, use the 'secret' entrance on Exhibition Road.
Look out for the mosaic floors in the main entrance and stairwell. Fascinating. Work by the same artist can be seen at Tate Britain.
