Dating from 1503, this was once the entrance to the Priory of the Knights of St.John. Later this was where the world’s first magazine, Gentleman’s Magazine, was printed from 1731.
This parish church was once part of a priory (including nearby St.Barts hospital) founded by the monk Rahere in 1123. He was inspired to do so by a vision he had of St.Bartholomew in Rome.
In Postman’s Park you can find a wall commemorating heroic self sacrifice, for those who would otherwise have no memorial. It was unveiled in 1900.
It’s easy to walk past the only surviving London house in which Dickens lived. You have to ring the doorbell to gain access to this unassuming townhouse. Read more.
The world's most famous 'secret museum', the SJSM can't be described without using the words bric-a-brac, labyrinthine, or cluttered. A must-see for anyone who hasn't been.
In the 18th century, a local pastry cook called William Rich was allegedly inspired by Wren’s tiered steeple to make a wedding cake in the same form. His multi-storeyed wedding cake was a triumph.
This museum houses more than 80 vehicles including the first tubes, horse-drawn trams and the earliest motorised buses, plus iconic posters from the last 100 years.
The collection includes remains of many rare and extinct animals, such as a dodo and the skeleton of the zebra-like quagga, which was hunted out of existence in the 1880s. Read more.
With its 80,000 exhibits, the Petrie (pronounced pee-tree) is bursting at its seams with items from the Nile valley dating back 5,000 years. Read more.
The London Canal Museum is housed in a former nineteenth-century ice warehouse used by Carlo Gatti for his famous ice cream, and it includes an exhibit on the history of the ice trade and ice cream. Read more.
A visit to the Geffrye Museum is about as close as it gets to travelling in time. Dedicated to interior design, it consists of a series of eleven lovingly recreated period living rooms. Read more.
Dedicated to Isambard Kingdom Brunel’s father, whose great achievement was the Thames Tunnel, ‘the eighth wonder of the world’, completed 1843 and still in use today.
Built in 1776, this handsome house contains an exceptional collection of 18th-century French furniture, painting and objets d'art, as well as an amazing array of medieval armour and weaponry. Read more.
This 120-year history of consumerism, culture, design, domestic life, fashion, folly and fate, presented as a magnificently cluttered time tunnel of cartons and bottles, toys and advertising displays. Read more.
10 chemical elements discovered here; 14 Nobel Prizes. A simply stunning history. But also a very welcoming, modern place with cafe, bar, restaurant and museum if you can get past the stuffy facade.
In October 2012 they have an archaeology exhibition: "Bison to Bedlam". Open 2 October to 27 October on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays from 11am to 7pm and Saturdays from 10am to 5pm.
