Top 10 Places to visit in London

The British Museum – the world's oldest public museum – boasts more than 8 million items, from the stone tools of early man to comtemporary 20th-century prints.

The collection began with the bequest of physician and antiquarian Sir Hans Sloane in 1753. Then, through the 18th and 19th centuries, travellers and emissaries, such as Captain James Cook, Lord Curzon and Charles Townley, augmented the set with treasures from around the globe.

The present building was completed in 1852; the Great Courtyward, with its striking glass roof, is the building's defining feature. The Reading Room, which was also restored to its original design at this time, boasts prominent past visitors, such as Karl Marx, George Bernard Shaw and Mahatma Gandhi.

London’s most famous residence, and one of its best recognized landmarks, opulent Buckingham Palace was built as a town house for the first Duke of Buckingham around 1705.

In 1825, George IV commissioned John Nash to extend the house into a substantial palace, welcoming its first resident, Queen Victoria, from 1837.

The decadent site is now home to the present Queen, as well as copious eager tourists, cameras in hand. Of the 775 state rooms, 19 are open to the public during summer, as are many of the grand palatial parks and gardens. 

An amazing feat of engineering, the world’s tallest cantilevered observation wheel offers fascinating views over the whole of London.

Towering above the Thames, opposite the Houses of Parliament, it was built to celebrate the millennial year, and has proved enormously popular since.

Its 32 enclosed capsules each hold 25 people; a rotation takes 30 minutes and, on a clear day, you can see up to 40 km (25 miles) across the capital and the south of England.

The National Gallery houses around 2,300 pictures, forming one of the greatest collections in the world.

Containing pieces by the most influential painters of the main European schools, the set was acquired by the government from John Julius Angerstein in 1824, and moved to the present building (also home to the National Portrait Gallery) in 1838.

The controversial Sainsbury Wing, built in 1991, houses the excellent early Renaissance collection, as well as temporary blockbuster exhibitions.

There are some 70 million specimens in the city's compelling Natural History Museum.

Originally the repository for items brought home by Charles Darwin and Captain Cook’s botanist, Joseph Banks, among others, the museum combines traditional displays with innovative, hands-on exhibits.

With crowd-pleasers such as the impressive dinosaur collection and the life-sized model of a blue whale, it remains one of London’s most popular museums.

Still a hub for research, it employs more than 300 scientists and librarians, and is dedicated to various sustainability and biodiversity projects.

This is the great masterpiece of Christopher Wren, who rebuilt the city’s churches after the Great Fire of 1666.

Completed in 1711, St Paul's was England’s first purpose-built Protestant cathedral, and shares many similarities with St Peter’s in Rome, most notably its ornate dome. One of its bells, Great Paul, was the largest in Europe until the bell cast for the 2012 Olympics.

The cathedral has a reputation for fine music, and draws its choristers from the prestigious St Paul’s Cathedral School.

Packed with interactive exhibits, the Science Museum tracks centuries of fascinating development.

The collection showcases how Britain led the Industrial Revolution, with looms and steam engines, navigation and early flight. It also houses displays on contemporary science, climate change and cutting-edge technologies, with many awe-inspiring spectacles in the hi-tech Wellcome Wing.

The museum is now also home to Media Space, an exciting new photography and art gallery exploring the relations between art and science. 

Closely affiliated with Tate Britain, Tate Modern – one of London’s most exciting galleries – is housed in the old Bankside power station, on a riverside site opposite the city.

Large enough for huge installations, the frequently-changing galleries provide an airy space for the collection of international modern art. This includes works by Dalí, Picasso, Matisse and Warhol, as well as pieces by acclaimed contemporary artists.

In 2016 a new building will be added to the complex, in order to hold even more world-class artwork, and also provide further social space onsite.

The Tower of London, the city’s great riverside fortress, is usually remembered as a place of imprisonment, but it also has a more glorious past.

Originally a moated fort, the White Tower was built for William I (the Conqueror), with construction beginning around 1078.

Enlarged by later monarchs – including Henry VIII, who famously sent two of his wives to their deaths on Tower Green – it eventually became home to the city arsenal, the Crown Jewels, a menagerie and the Royal Mint.

A glorious example of Medieval architecture on a truly grand scale, former Benedictine church Westminster Abbey stands on the south side of Parliament Square.

Founded in the 11th century by Edward the Confessor, it survived the Reformation and continued as a place of royal ceremonials.

Queen Elizabeth II’s coronation was held here in 1953, as was Princess Diana’s funeral in 1997. It was also the venue for the much-anticipated wedding of Prince William to Catherine Middleton in April 2011.

Source: https://www.traveldk.com/article/top-10-things-to-do-in-london/ DK Eyewitness Top 10 Travel Guide: London, available in the UK and the US.