London Pictures, England
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What to Do in London, our top attractions, click to see photos along with compact, useful information.
Victoria and Albert Museum (free)
The British Museum (free)
Tate Britain (free)
Walking the South Bank (free)
London Eye (pay)
Natural History Museum (free)
Westminster Abbey (pay)
Tower of London (pay)
St Paul's Cathedral (pay)
Hyde Park and Serpentine Gallery (free)
Camden Lock Market, North London (free if you can resist the shopping or exceptional foodstalls)
Science Museum (free).
Best museums, free
London Museums are free, fascinating for all the family and full of information.
This is the British Museum's Great Court, in Bloomsbury.
London has an astonishing range of museums, stuffed with artefacts collected (some might say stolen!) over hundreds of years, lovingly catalogued, beautifully displayed and, incredibly, most are free. In addition, much as we love some other European museums none can equal the quality and clarity of information offered beside exhibits. And in English! Many are also awash with kid-friendly interactive displays, especially the Natural History, Science Museum and Tower of London.
The Tower of London does not come into this category as it's very commercial and more of an historical entertainment than a museum.
Best Art Galleries, mostly free
London's Art Galleries.
This is the National Gallery in Trafalgar Square.
London's selection and variety of art offerings matches their museums. They're also generally free, well informed and clearly labelled.
Bugbog's favourite gallery was Tate Britain. It's spacious, has a cornucopia of art from famous classics to hilarious, modern WTF! exhibits, and since it's a little out of the way it's untroubled by crowds.
We also quite like the drama of the Tate Modern, home to the world's most expensive painting at $108m, but found too many exhibits were just blah, though to be fair they rotate them regularly from their massive stash.
The National Gallery is a bit traditional for our liking but houses some of the world's most famous art while the National Portrait Gallery - just around the corner - is diminuitive and hardly a must-see, though the BP Awards entries are usually brilliant, fascinating or both.
Another couple of worthwhile art galleries, especially in the summer are Royal Academy of Arts (off Piccadilly) and its superbly diverse and amusing Summer Exhibition, packed with buyable art from both knowns and unknowns. Picture.
The other is tiny Serpentine Gallery in Kensington Gardens, Hyde Park. It's only easily reached by bus (9, 10, 52, 94, 148), car (largish parking nearby), taxi or a longish walk but often shows very avante-garde work and in the summer always has a new and peculiar pavilion custom designed by the latest futuristic architect (July to mid-October).
The London Eye, the city's most popular pay-for attraction.
South Bank, near Westminster Bridge.
Westminster Abbey
This is the Abbey's west side, with Big Ben peeking out on the left and Houses of Parliament on the light right.
St Paul's Cathedral, City of London.
The Tower of London, a riveting riverside castle-village founded around 1078 and home to the Crown Jewels and a bloody long history. Also photos of Tower Bridge on another page.
More London Photo pages:
The City of London is the original city more-or-less founded by the Romans and now London's financial and legal centre in the east that contains fine buildings both new and old, especially Tudor, one totally grotesque cultural centre called the Barbican, as well as St Paul's Cathedral, The Tower of London and the Museum of London
Buckingham Palace, particularly when the guards are changing. Find a spot near or even high on the Victoria memorial to get the best view. Going inside the palace is a pricey option. Outside is, of course, free.
The Houses of Parliament/the Palace of Westminster: the political centre of England, a massive Gothic building that's beautiful to see and possible to visit. Watch a political debate live!
South Bank: On a fine summer's evening this is a wonderful, almost traffic free walk beside the Thames River...
London Parks: Here are some photos of central London parks including maps and some attractions.
London Transport: For information on getting around London, the Tube, Oyster Cards, Congestion charges, cycling, overground rail, buses, taxis and so on.
London Theatres: A map of central London theatres as well as pictures of the beating dramatic heart of the city.
Camden Lock Market: Where old hippies go to die. A massive north London collection of absurd clothes, bizarre bric-a-brac and amazing ethnic foods.
London Travel Guide | London Weather | Travel to London from Europe
London suburbs | England Map | London Map
Londres Photos, Angleterre; London Fotos, Inglaterra; Foto di Londra, Inghilterra.
Also see: England Pictures
Bugbog Pages
