Forget the foreign plunder and head into the East wing for the fascinating Enlightenment galleries.
Chortle your way round this amusing little museum, which displays British cartoons, caricatures, comics and animations. Read more.
All good stuff, but our favourite section is the first-floor gallery by the escalator (Room 32). Remarkable 20th Century portraiture from the likes of Sutherland, Spear and Freud. Read more.
Perfect place to take visiting parents. Be sure to check out the Nelson Stair near the toilets.
Look out for the mosaic floors in the main entrance and stairwell. Fascinating. Work by the same artist can be seen at Tate Britain.
I'm a bit of a London transport geek, and this is a great museum, and a really cool building, designed a couple of years ago by Vivienne Westwood. Apparently. Read more.
Even if you aren't interested in shopping, all the street performers make it feel like a carnival and worth the visit.
As the home of the Queen, the palace is usually closed to visitors, but you can view the interior for a brief period each summer while the Windsors are away on their holidays. Read more.
So, it's totally touristy, ok, but it's still the heart of London. You can just sit here and think about how lucky you are to be in such an awesome city.
Love the spongy seats. Listen out for sciency types having a chinwag. The free wifi is great, but they're clamping down on over-use, especially at lunch time.
Look out for the "Evil" Ron Weasley doll hidden in Diagon Alley. Was originally used in "Order of the Phoenix" but was deleted from as they thought it would scare children. Worth finding it!
As one of the largest parks in London, this place has so much great views and attractions in store. Don't miss the famous Speakers' Corner, the Holocaust Memorial, and the Princess Diana's Memorial.
"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.
Big Ben refers to the 13 ton bell in the clock tower of Westminster Palace. Opinion is divided as to whether it was named after the then Commissioner of Works, or a famous prize-fighter of the time.
A tour of the Houses of Parliament should be on everyone’s to-do list. It takes just over an hour and really gives you a witty insight into the British Government system, art, and history as well.
You definitely want to get hold of the info booklet, or you're just looking at artfully arranged junk. The Richard Wilson room at the back is spectacular...in a stationary, gloopy way.
The V&A is one of the world's most magnificent museums, its foundation stone laid on this site by Queen Victoria in her last official public engagement in 1899. Read more.
The cultural significance of Westminster Abbey is hard to overstate. Its popularity can only have increased since the wedding in April 2011 of Prince William and Catherine Middleton. Read more.
The future isn’t possible without innovative design and efficient use of scarce resources. The Design Museum upholds its mantra by showing the best of design and architecture - A lesson in lifestyle
Currently the third tallest Ferris wheel in the world (the tallest when built in 1999, but now behind Singapore and Nanchang), it moves at 0.6mph, and you can see 25 miles from the top.
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.
Walking up all the stairs might get you crazy but do it for the view which is incredible!
Tate Modern does weekend after-hours gallery-going extremely well, opening till 10pm on Fridays and Saturdays. Read more.
The best place to visit if you want to learn more about London’s history. And of course it houses the Crown Jewels, the most famous jewellery collection in the world
"Perhaps the most peaceful – and desolate – spot in London. By the Thames Barrier, there's a visitors' centre with no visitors..." Read more.
Home to one of the world's finest collections of children's toys, dolls' houses, games and costumes. Read more.
Head into the permanent exhibition to see original hand-written lyrics to Hard Day's Night scrawled by Lennon on the back of a first birthday card to his son.
Wild and undulating, the grassy sprawl of Hampstead Heath makes a wonderfully untamed contrast to the manicured lawns and flowerbeds found elsewhere in the capital. Read more.
Take a few minutes, even in winter, to explore the central Rose Garden. Lots of flowers with silly names, and plenty of sculpture.
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.
Though not everyone is a fan of the recent redevelopment of Spitalfields (particularly those pushed out by the rising rents), the market has been afforded a new lease of life. Read more.
Eyes left for Horse Guards, the grand 18thC Palladian-style HQ of the Household Cavalry & the exercise ground of Horse Guards Parade. Posing with the mounted troopers on Whitehall is a tourist's love Read more.
