The museum is located in the former Royal Bethlem Hospital for the mentally ill (from where the term ‘bedlam’ comes). The iconic guns at the front are 15 inch naval cannon, both used in action in WW2.
Guy's Tower is the tallest medical building in the world. The portion that sticks out at the top is a lecture theatre and when sitting at the very back you are sat over thin air.
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.
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 unusual street with either side linked by iron walkways at various levels, is where John Cleese was hung out of a window by Kevin Kline in a famous scene from ‘A Fish Called Wanda’.
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.
During World War Two the tube station was used as an air raid shelter. In 1943 a stampede, caused by the sound of anti-aircraft fire, resulted in 173 people being crushed to death in the stairwell.
This 18th century pub stands on the site of an earlier inn used by playwrights and actors of The Globe theatre. From here Samuel Pepys watched the Great Fire of 1666 destroy the city on the far bank.
Even if you are not visiting one of the many exhibitions and events organised here throughout the year, come to sit in its beautiful and quiet neoclassical courtyard away from London’s busy streets.
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.
The home of Greenwich Mean Time, and therefore where each day and year commences. The Observatory’s original function was to improve sea navigation through knowledge of astronomy.
This seventeenth-century building, which used to belong to the daughter of Rudyard Kipling, now houses the Hampstead Museum and a licensed buttery. Read more.
‘Paddington Bear’ was written by Michael Bond in 1958. His bear arrived here somehow from ‘deepest, darkest Peru’ and was named after the station. You can find a statue of him near the escalators.
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.
This road was used as the route for transporting bricks after the Great Fire of London in 1666, hence the name. It now boasts the greatest concentration of curry houses in Britain.
‘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.
Make sure you take the time to find the original Roman ruins in this shop (clue: have a look for the unusual window near the front door).
Under Guildhall you can see part of an amphitheatre built in 70.AD where Gladiators once fought it out to a roaring crowd. In 200.AD popularity increased so the theatre expanded to hold 6000 spectator
A coal-fired power station with 250 foot high chimneys stood here between 1893 and final demolition in the 1990s. The river supplied cooling water, and Thames barges brought coal and took away ash.
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!
