Built in 1703 for the Duke of Buckingham, George III acquired it in 1762 as a private house. It became an official royal residence in the reign of Queen Victoria, when it was greatly enlarged.
Our favourite bit: Room 5 - Sargent and Lawrence. Remarkable portraits from the early 20th Century. Then move into neighbouring Room 4 for Hogarth and London pictures.
Look out for the mosaic floors in the main entrance and stairwell. Fascinating. Work by the same artist can be seen at Tate Britain.
The V&A is the world’s largest museum of decorative art and design and holds 4.5 million objects. Henry Cole, the museum’s first director, printed the world’s first Christmas card in 1843.
Opened in 1881, the museum facade uses terracotta tiles which were resistant to the soot of Victorian London. The largest of the famous dinosaur skeletons in the central hall is a diplodocus.
Even if you are not visiting one of the many exhibitions and events organised here throughout the year, come to sit in its beautiful and quiet neoclassical courtyard away from London’s busy streets.
There’s nothing more quintessentially British than a classic Liberty of London print. Scoop up the iconic shirts and accessories for friends back home.
The Savoy Hotel, which completed a £220m renovation in October 2010, was the first hotel to have lifts when it opened in 1889. Its first chef, Auguste Escoffier, led to the verb ‘to scoff’, as in eat
Oxford Street’s biggest department store was opened by the American businessman Gordon J Selfridge in 1909, whose motto was ‘The customer is always right’.
