DK Travel : London : History & Culture

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National Portrait Gallery
Natural History Museum

The whole world of animals and minerals is vividly explained.

Earth Galleries, Natural History Museum

Decorative relief, Natural History Museum
Neal’s Yard

This delightful enclave is full of colour, with painted shop fronts, flower-filled window-boxes and oil-drums and cascades of plants tumbling down the walls. This is alternative London, with wholefoods and such alternative therapies as Chinese medicines, walk-in back rubs, acupuncture and self-esteem training. Try the wholesome bread and cakes at Neal’s Yard Bakery and be amazed by the variety of British cheeses on offer in nearby Neal’s Yard Dairy.
Old Compton Street

The main street in Soho is a lively thoroughfare both day and night. It is also the centre of London’s sex scene, and now the site of popular gay pubs, Compton’s of Soho and the Admiral Duncan. Soho’s vibrant streetlife spills into Frith, Greek and Wardour streets, where pubs, clubs, restaurants and cafés have pavement tables, often warmed by gas heaters in winter. Some, like Bar Italia in Frith Street and Balans Café at 34 Old Compton Street, are open 24 hours. Everywhere fills up when the evening’s performance at the Prince Edward Theatre ends. A delicious breakfast is to be had at Patisserie Valerie, and such long-standing shops as the Italian delicatessen I Camisi, and the Vintage House (700 whiskies in stock), give the area its village feel. Body tattooists are at work here, and fetish shops show that the sex industry still flourishes.

Old Compton Street

Bar Italia, Frith Street
Oranges and Lemons

“...say the bells of St Clement’s ”. This children’s song rhymes City churches, and is sung as part of a game.
Oscar Wilde

Dublin-born Wilde (1854–1900) dazzled London audiences with his plays, and society with his wit. He fell from grace when he was convicted of homosexual activity. His plays, such asLady Windermere’s Fan (1892) andThe Importance of Being Earnest (1895) are frequently revived.
Percival David Foundation of Chinese Art

Comprising around 1,700 pieces from the 10th–18th centuries, this is regarded as the finest collection of Chinese porcelain outside China. The collection was given to the University of London’s School of Oriental and African Studies in 1950 by the scholar Sir Percival David.
Peter Ackroyd

The biographer of Charles Dickens, Ackroyd (b.1949) turned to fiction to examine the lives of other Londoners, such as the architect Nicholas Hawksmoor and Oscar Wilde. Most ambitiously he wroteLondon: a Biography (2000).
Photographers’ Gallery

The main galleries of this major photographic showcase are at No. 8, where there is also a bookshop. At No. 5, a black-tiled building where the artist Sir Joshua Reynolds once lived, there is a small exhibition area, a café and a sale room offering vintage, modern and contemporary photographic work.
Piccadilly Circus

Designed by John Nash as a junction in Regent Street, the Circus is the endpoint of the street called Piccadilly. Its Eros statue – erected as a memorial to the Earl of Shaftesbury – is a familiar London landmark and a popular meeting place. Piccadilly Circus is also renowned for its neon advertising displays, which mark the entrance to the city’s entertainment district. On the south side of the Circus is the Criterion Theatre, next to Lillywhite’s – a leading sporting-goods store.