Destinations > Europe > England > London
West End
topBest Museums
British Museum
Great Russell Street, London WC1B
+44 (0)20 7323 8000, +44 (0)20 7323 8299
Daily 10am-5:30pm; Fridays until 8:30pm
Plan to spend a day with the kids here; they won't want to leave! The British Museum has one of world's greatest collection of antiquities. Start with the Egyptians, (the kids will love the mummies). Move onto the Greek and Roman antiquities. Break for lunch at the Great Court. Then go to the Library, where the kids can get a backpack full of games and take a peak at the Magna Carta and Shakespeare's first folio. There are often activities for the kids too. And tours. With so much to see and do, this is a museum you will come back to time and again.
National Gallery
Trafalgar Square, London WC2N
+44 (0)20 7747 2885
Open daily 10am-6pm; Fri 10am-9pm
Closed Jan 1, Dec 24-26
This gallery has over 2,300 Western European paintings from the 13th century to the 19th century Impressionists. Too much to see in one day, you may want to try one of the tours that are offered on a variety of themes.
National Portrait Gallery
Trafalgar Square, London WC2H 0HE
+44 (0)20 7312 2490
Sat-Wed 10am-6pm; Thu-Fri 10am-9pm
Closed Dec 24-26
This museum is not your typical art gallery. Here the subjects overshadow the artists. The faces in the portraits tell the history of Britain. You will see royals, great politicians, military leaders, thinkers, artists, writers, musicians, even pop icons. This was my daughter's favorite museum.
Somerset House
Strand, London WC2R
+44 (0)20 7845 4600
info@somersethouse.org.uk
Daily 10am-6pm
This gallery has great family programs in addition to wonderful exhibits. And in the wintertime, they flood the courtyard to create an ice skating rink.
Royal Academy of Arts
Burlington House,
Piccadilly,
London W1J 0BD
General enquiries: +44 (0)20 7300 8000
Tickets: +44 (0)84 4209 1919
10am-6pm Sat-Thu(last admission to galleries 5:30pm)
10am-10pm Fri (last admission to galleries 9:30pm)
The Academy is an independent, privately funded institution led by eminent artists and architects. The collection focuses on British art and artists and ranges from the 18th century to the present day. The RA also mounts a continuous program of internationally-acclaimed loan exhibitions – their annual Summer Exhibition is the largest open contemporary art exhibition in the world.
The Charles Dickens Museum
48 Doughty Street, London WC1N
+44(0)20 7405 2127
Open daily 10am-5pm
This museum occoupies the legendary author's former Bloomsbury home, where he wrote Oliver Twist and Nicholas Nickleby. Reopened in Dec 2012 after an exensive refurbishment, it displays the rooms as they would have looked during Dickens' lifetime. The expansion includes a visitor and learning center in the neighboring building.
topBest Galleries
Haunch of Venison
6 Burlington Gardens, London W1S 3ET
T +44 (0)20 7495 5050
F +44 (0)20 7495 4050
Email: london@haunchofvenison.com
A subsidiary of Christie’s, this gallery represents internationally renowned contemporary artists.
topBest Hotels
Corinthia Hotel
Whitehall Place,
London SW1A 2BD
Tel: +44 (0)20 7930 8181
This five-star hotel opened in April 2011. The Victorian-era exterior is original, but the interiors have been newly remodeled (at a cost of £300 million) and are modern, stylish and opulent. Very centrally located near Trafalgar Square, Westminster and Covent Garden. 294 rooms and suites, 2 restaurants, and a 3300-square-meter ESPA Life spa, the largest in London.
The Savoy
Strand, London WC2R
Tel: +44 (0)20 7836 4343
An icon since it first opened in 1889, this historic hotel overlooking the River Thames reopened in Oct. 2010 after a £100 million restoration.
topBest Restaurants
Yauatcha
15 Broadwick Street, London W1F
+44 (0)20 7494 8888
reservations@yauatcha.com
Mon-Fri 6-11pm; Sat 12-11pm; Sun 12-10pm
The Ivy
1-5 West Street, London WC2H
+44 (0)20 7836 4751
Mon-Sat 12-3pm, 5:30pm-12am; Sun 12-3:30pm, 5:30pm-11pm
Theater district. Pre-theater dinner available. Children welcome. Has better than average vegetarian menu.
Hakkasan
8 Hanway Place, London W1T
+44 (0)20 7927 7000
Reservations essential
Mon-Sun 12-3pm, 6-11:30pm
Theater district. 5:30pm seating for pre-theater dinner.
Roka Restaurant
(contemporary Japanese robatayaki cuisine)37 Charlotte Street, London W1T
+44 (0)20 7580 6464
info@rokarestaurant.com
Mon-Fri 12-3:30pm, 5:30-11:30pm; Sat 12:30-3:30pm, 5:30-11:30pm;
Sun 12:30-3:30pm, 5:30-10:30pm
Incognico
117 Shaftesbury Avenue, Cambridge Circus, London WC2H
+44 (0)20 7836 8866
incognicorestaurant@gmail.com
Mon-Sat 12-3pm, 5:30-11pm
Orso London
27 Wellington Street, The Strand, London WCZ
+44 (0)20 7240 5269
L'Atelier de Joël Robuchon
13-15 West Street, Covent Garden, London WC2H
+44 (0)20 7010 8600
info@joelrobuchon.co.uk
Daily 12-3pm, 5:30-11pm
Aqua London
240 Regent Street, (5th floor); entrance is at 30 Argyll Street opposite The Palladium
Tel: +44 (0)20 7478 0540
Email: reservation@aqua-london.com
The Aqua restaurant group started out in Hong Kong and Beijing and recently expanded to London. The Aqua story is all about “cutting edge cuisines, über-chic interiors and breathtaking views,” and no expense has been spared.
Aqua Kyoto
Contemporary Japanese food.
Aqua Nueva
Tapas and contemporary Spanish food. Overseen by acclaimed chef Alberto Hernandez, who trained under El Bulli’s legendary Ferran Adria.
topShopping
Covent Garden Markets
+44 (0)20 7836 9136
Mon-Sat 10am-7pm; Sun 11am-6pm
Bars, cafés & restaurants open at 9:30am
Closed Dec 25
A combination of two open-air markets as well as indoor shops and restaurants. The Apple Market in the courtyard is a flea market and crafts market, except on Monday when antiques are sold. The Jubilee Market is an antiques market on Mondays. Cheap clothes and books are sold there on the other days. The open-air markets are best in the mornings. Street performers.
topCharing Cross
Great bookstores and stationery stores. Kids found lots of Harry Potter treasures.
topTheatre
Tickets for all the London theaters
Concierge services at four-star hotels, can secure tickets. But many Londoners purchase their tickets at half price at the Ticket Booth on Leicester Square. Tickets for show day only, on a first come, first serve basis. Open from 10am-7pm.
Adelphi
18-20 Maiden Lane, The Strand, London WC2R
+44 (0)87 0403 0303
Cambridge
Earlham Street, London, WC2H
Criterion
2 Jermyn St., Piccadilly Circus, London SW1Y
Stage door: +44 (0)20 7839 8811
Box office: +44 (0)84 4847 1778
admin@criterion-theatre.co.uk
Dominion
268-269 Tottenham Court Road, London W1T
+44 (0)20 7636 2295
Fortune
Russell Street, Covent Garden, London WC2B
Her Majesty's Theatre
12 Waterloo Place, Westminster, London SW1Y
+44 (0)20 7850 8750
Lyceum
21 Wellington Street, London WC2E
Palace Theatre
109-113 Shaftesbury Avenue, London W1D
+44 (0)20 7494 5555
Palladium Theatre
8 Argyll Street, London W1A
+44 (0)20 7087 7599
Phoenix
110 Charing Cross Road, Covent Garden, London WC2H
+44 (0)87 0060 6629
Piccadilly Theatre
16 Denman Street, London W1D
+44 (0)20 7478 8800
Prince Edward
28 Old Compton Street, London W1D
+44 (0)20 7440 3020
Prince of Wales
Coventry Street, London W1D
Theatre Royal
Catherine Street, London WC2B
+44 (0)87 0890 1109
St.Martin's
West Street, Covent Garden, London WC2H
+44 (0)20 7836 1086