If cars, carriages and horses went to heaven, The Royal Mews is where they would go. Tucked away behind Buckingham Palace, this is the ultimate stable for regal steeds and stately wheels and it reins supreme. And I’m sure Cinderella wouldn’t say neigh to trotting off in a Royal Carriage for her amorous rendez-vous with…
The Fan Museum
The Fan Museum is the UK’s only museum dedicated to fans and the craft of fan making. You’ll find this cultural gem in Crooms Hill, a winding road that connects the hustle and bustle of historic Greenwich to the Royal Observatory and Meridian Line. The museum spans two Grade II listed Georgian townhouses and is…
Horniman Museum & Gardens: A Guide
Many Londoners will never have heard of the Horniman Museum, one of the quirkiest museums in London and a historical and anthropological cabinet of curiosities. It’s home to the most famous Walrus in the world and you’ll even see a fossilised, ahem, merman. It houses a fabulous aquarium, one of the prettiest conservatories you will…
Sambourne House: A Victorian time capsule
Tucked behind the green door of Number 18 Stafford Terrace is Sambourne House a house museum which time forgot and an extraordinary five-storey cabinet of curiosities. You may have seen it before in Merchant Ivory’s A Room with a View or in Maurice. It’s the former family home of Punch cartoonist, Edward Linley Sambourne, his…
A Tour of Leighton House Museum
It’s safe to say that Leighton House in Kensington probably houses the most beautiful room in London. This historic house, once owned by celebrity artist of the day, Lord Frederic Leighton, has one of London’s showstopper interior gems, hiding an Arab Hall which looks like a Fabergé egg just had babies with Ali Baba’s cave….
Cultural things to do in London this September
Last updated on March 23rd, 2023Are you looking for a guide to what’s on in London this month? Get your September diaries out and get planning with my guide to some of the best cultural things to do in London this month including art exhibitions, theatre, events, opera and music. Londoness Loves: Cultural things to…
London’s alternative museums: 22 quirky & unusual museums you absolutely must see when you visit London
Last updated on November 21st, 2022Let’s go and discover some alternative museums in London: 22 must-see unusual, off-beat, historical and secret museums everyone should visit at least once in London You’ve done the Tower of London, the British Museum, Madame Tussauds and Westminster Abbey. But there’s so much more to London than our superstar tourist…
J.M.W Turner in London: Walk in Turner’s footsteps
Last updated on March 23rd, 2023Joseph Mallord William Turner was born, bred and died in London and was a Londoner through and through. During his lifetime he was one of the most celebrated figures in the country, the art critic John Ruskin referring to him as the “father of modern art.” Let’s follow Turner in…
What’s on in London after lockdown 2021
Last updated on January 23rd, 2023As London prepares to ease out of lockdown, museums, galleries and music venues are starting to come out of hibernation, and across our theatres, the lights will soon flicker back on. Here is a glimpse of what’s on in London after lockdown 2021, including some of the best art exhibitions,…
In Conversation with Venus at the National Gallery
Last updated on September 21st, 2021I’m Venus at Her Mirror, but some people call me the Rokeby Venus or the Toilet of Venus. You can just call me Venus. The little fellow holding my mirror and helping me with my toilette is my son, Cupid. Maestro Diego Velasquez’s bold brushstrokes poured life into this, my…