WhyWaitForever - London
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WhyWaitForever - London - Sights
This page contains links to the famous attractions and theme parks, palaces and abbeys , museums, parks and day trips in and around London.
WhyWaitForever - London - Gallery has links to pictorial themes showing some of the treats of London.
London is full of theatres and shows WhyWaitForever - London - Theatre has links to shows, theatres, venues and ticket agencies.
Revelling in some of the highest glories of the cultural ascent of man, at times, does need to be put in context and tempered by addressing the baser desires of the material world WhyWaitForever - London - Shops has links to the famous shops....for what some call retail therapy.
A tourist in London becomes a Londoner. The tourist sights in London are visited by Londoners. Parents and grandparents hand over to their little darlings those familiy stories and personal experiences that were handed down to them. London is so large and so varied with so many attractions close by that Londoners can't help but make the attractions into close family friends.
For those new to London a tour on a bus, by foot or on a river bus gives an excellent introduction to London. See the sightseeing tours section on the WhyWaitForever - London - Travel page. The maps section on the WhyWaitForever - London - Travel page might make it easy to understand where the sights are. Most Londoners find where they are by reference to the river and to the bus and tube maps see the transport section on the WhyWaitForever - London - Travel page.
Attractions
- Golden Hinde
On the south bank near London Bridge a replica of Sir Francis Drakes ship that attacked the Spaniards on the Spanish Main and sailed around the world.
- Madame Tussauds
Life sized contemporary figures in wax.
- Sherlock Holmes
In Baker Street where the fictional character was supposed to have rooms.
- The Clink
On the site of the notorious prison near London Bridge.
- The London Dungeon
The ghoulish, mawkish cellars near London Bridge.
- The Trocadero
The lively meeting place near Piccadilly.
- Alton Towers
The site of many a maths and physics school trip.
- Chessington
World of Adventures theme park.
- Legoland
In Windsor the land of the little brightly coloured bricks.
- Thorpe Park
I liked the train and the farm.
- Globe
Recreation of Shakespeare's original Globe theatre.
- London Eye
This is the big wheel turning slowly round and round.
- Tower Bridge
The definitive bridge of London.
Festivals and Shows
- Brick Lane
A feast of East End, Asian, Bengali and Jamaican culture, September.
- Dance Unbrella
Autumn annual international festival of contemporary dance.
- Ideal Home
In spring the Daily Mail Ideal Home Show.
- London Film
A celebration of cinema, films and movies, November.
- London Marathon
In April one of the largest for professional and fun runners.
- Lord Mayor's Show
Every November a spectacle of floats and marching bands.
- Motor Show
Every other year staged in London.
- Notting Hill
The largest multi-cultural carnival in Europe, August Bank Holiday.
- Thames
A celebration of the river, September.
Palaces, Abbeys, Cathedrals and Houses
- Royal Palaces
Residencies including Buckingham Palace and Windsor.
- Historic Palaces
Royal Palaces including the Tower of London and Hampton Court.
- Westminster Abbey
The burial place of great kings, lords and commoners.
- Westminster Cathedral
The majestic brick building in Victoria.
- St Paul's Cathedral
A magnificent building and architectural wonder.
- Houses of Parliament
A beautiful building and the sound of Big Ben.
Museums, Institutes and Galleries
The collection of museums and galleries located in London are second to none. They cover all periods and all interests. Those listed are the main ones but there are many more.
- Bank of England
Museum of gold, currency and money in the heart of the City of London.
- Bramah Museum
Tean and Coffee Museum south of the river near the Tower of London dedicated to tea and coffee without which the power of London might not have been so great.
- British Film Institute
The world of film (movies) and television.
- British Library
All printed material published in the UK.
- British Museum
This has the Egyptian mummies, the Elgin marbles from the Parthenon and major collections. The Reading Room has been refurbished and a magnificent glass dome protects the inner courtyard. This place is an absolute joy and must rank as the leading world museum.
- Canal Museum
Near Kings Cross a museum dedicated to canals, barges and watercraft.
- Commonwealth Institute
In Holland Park the international organsation that represents the interests of a quarter of the peoples of the globe. Now sadly closed.
- Courtauld Institute of Art
A major centre for study of Western Art located in Somerset House on the Strand.
- Design Museum
On the South Bank near Tower Bridge.
- Dulwich Gallery
In south London a jewel of a picture gallery.
- Fan Museum
In Greenwich a museum dedicated to fans and fan making.
- Florence Nightingale
Museum dedicated to the Crimean War nurse situated near Parliament in Lambeth Palace Road.
- Freud
Museum dedicated to the giant of psychoanalysis in Finchley, North London.
- Geffrye Museum
English domestic interiors in Kingsland Road.
- Garden History
In Lambeth Palace just south of Parliament.
- Gilbert Collection
A museum of the decorative arts at Somerset House.
- Hayward Gallery
A place for the visual arts on the South Bank in a "brutalist" style building.
- Horniman Museum
A lovely museum in South London.
- Imperial War
The museum of the two world wars south of the river. This museum manages The Cabinet War Rooms a bunker under Whitehall, HMS Belfast a battle cruiser moored opposite the Tower of London and Duxford Air Museum which includes the American Air Museum in Cambridge.
- ICA
Institute of Contemporary Arts.
- Kew Bridge Steam Museum
Near Key Gardens there is nothing finer than seeing how Victorian steam engines built up the prosperity of London.
- Lisson Gallery
British and International Contemporary Art.
- London Transport
All forms of transport in the heart of the Covent Garden.
- Museum of London
This has lots and lots about London.
- National Army Museum
In Chelsea the army from the 15th Century to the present day.
- National Gallery
This has lots of lovely pictures.
- Natural History
This has the stuffed animals the dinosaurs and the dodo.
- National Maritime Museum
In Greenwich the largest maritime museum in the world.
- National Portrait Gallery
Collection of the likenesses of famous British men and women.
- Public Records
UK public records office.
- RAF Museum
The Royal Air Force Museum in Hendon and Cosford.
- Royal Academy
This has themed exhibitions of the visual arts.
- Science Museum
Science and technology and buttons to press.
- Serpentine Gallery
In Kensington Gardens by the Serpentine Lake.
- Sir John Soane's Museum
In Lincoln's Inn Fields an amazing Victorian house.
- Somerset House
A magnificent building for art and scupture. This building includes the Hermitage Rooms which contains visiting exhibits from the famous museum in St Petersburg, Russia.
- Tate Gallery
Modern paintings and sculpture.
- Victoria and Albert
Furniture, clothes and musical instruments, a treasure. This museum manages the Bethnal Green Museum of Childhood, between Buckingham Palace and Hyde Park on Consitution Hill the Wellington Museum at Apsley House and in the heart of theatreland near the Royal Opera House the Theatre Museum Covent Garden.
- Wallace Collection
Includes a collection of magnificent French 18th-century paintings.
- Whitechapel Art Gallery
East of the City near Aldgate East tube station.
- William Morris Gallery
A giant in Victorian furnishing and interiors.
Parks, Forests, Rivers and Heritage
- British Waterways
Over 2000 miles of canals and navigable rivers.
- English Heritage
Protects the historic environment including monuments.
- Epping Forest
The forest north of London.
- Kew Gardens
The Royal Botanical Gardens Kew.
- Lee Valley
The River Lea stretching to the Herts Essex border.
- London Aquarium
The collection of aquatic life in the old County Hall.
- London Zoo
Conservation and the variety of life for all to see and wonder at.
- National Trust
Places of historic interest or natural beauty.
- RHS
Royal Horticultural Society for gardens and gardening.
- The Royal Parks
The beautiful Royal parks of London.
- Wildfowl and Wetlands
The new London area for web footed, feathered folk.
Places to visit
Within London or within a short journey of London are large numbers of places to visit to fire the imagination. The places listed here are the official web sites of the "must see" places if you were visiting from abroad. Some of the theme parks would perhaps be better appreciated by a school aged exchange student.
These are tiring places. It is worth planning your visit. The length of your visit depends on who you are and how long you linger. Consult the web sites for tour times and access details.
In some places there are advantages in buying your tickets in advance of your visit perhaps over the Internet. There may be a separate and shorter queue to collect the tickets and to enter.
A London View
London is the centre. Outside London are the home counties, the shire counties and the regions. Everyone sees the world from the perspective of history. Nowhere is history so omnipresent, reinforcing and reassuring.
At first sight the main defining events 1066, Henry V, the Armada, the Indian Mutiny, Waterloo, Khartoum, the Boxer Rebellion, the Boer War, the Somme, El Alamein and the Falklands are all military actions. In fact it is the social struggles, Magna Carta, Wat Tyler, the Reformation, the Enlightment, Emancipation, the Industrial Revolution, Reform Bills, Union Rights that have had an even more lasting impact.
If you are visiting London for the first time a little quiet reading beforehand will add much.
WhyWaitForever - London - Newspapers has links to the newspaper and magazines and other information sources like the British Library that Londoners use to find themselves.
WhyWaitForever - London - Television has links to the UK and European television channels that Londoners spend hours watching.
WhyWaitForever - London - Radio has links to the radio stations that Londoners spend less and less hours listening to. The Home Service and the Light Programme have long since faded from the spectral firmament.