DK Travel : London : History & Culture

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Regent’s Park

The Prince Regent, later George IV, used John Nash for this ambitious urban plan.
Richmond

This attractive, wealthy riverside suburb, with its quaint shops and pubs and pretty lanes, is particularly worth a visit for its attractive riverside walks and its vast royal park. There is also a spacious Green, where cricket is played in summer, which is overlooked by the lovely restored Richmond Theatre and the early 18th-century Maids of Honour Row, which stands next to the last vestiges of an enormous Tudor Palace. For some history visit the local Museum, in the Old Town Hall, where the Tourist Information office is based.

Carving over entrance to remains of Richmond Palace

Restored façade of Richmond Theatre

Richmond alley
Riverside Studios

With a glorious location by the Thames at Hammersmith, this is a fascinating arts and media centre. An eclectic programme includes cinema, theatre, dance and the visual arts. Works of such innovators as Samuel Beckett and Peter Brook have premiered here. Once BBC studios, Riverside is still used to make TV shows. The pleasant café and bar are a draw in themselves.
Royal Academy of Arts

Major visiting art exhibitions are staged at Burlington House, home of Britain’s most prestigious fine arts institution. The building is one of Piccadilly’s few surviving 17th-century mansions – you can see the former garden front on the way up to the Sackler Galleries. Near the entrance to the galleries is Michelangelo’sMadonna and Child (1505) – part of the Royal Academy’s permanent collection and one of only four Michelangelo sculptures outside Italy. In the Academy’s popular, annual summer exhibition, new works by both established and unknown artists are displayed.
Royal Albert Hall

When Queen Victoria laid the foundation stone for The Hall of Arts and Sciences, to everyone’s astonishment she put the wordsRoyalAlbertbefore its name, and today it is usually just referred to as the Albert Hall. It is a huge, nearly circular building, modelled on Roman amphitheatres, and seats 7,000. Circuses, boxing matches and all manner of musical entertainments are held here, notably the Sir Henry Wood Promenade Concerts.

Royal Albert Hall
Royal Albert Hall

This distinctive, circular building was designed to resemble a Roman amphitheatre, and has a delicate Classical frieze around the exterior. The excellent acoustic inside makes this a premier venue for every kind of concert, including the “Proms”.
Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew

This former royal garden holds the world’s largest plant collection of around 30,000 specimens. Kew Palace and Queen Charlotte’s Cottage were used as residences by George III, whose mother, Princess Augusta, laid the first garden here. Take a Kew Explorer Bus tour of the gardens – you can get on and off it any time.

Queen Charlotte’s Cottage
Royal Court Theatre

The cream of new drama can be seen at this charming small theatre. Recently refurbished, both the main, and tiny upstairs theatre, are important London venues. Play “actor spotting” in the new restaurant and bar.
Royal Mews
Royal National Theatre

The Royal National Theatre company was founded in 1963 at the Old Vic under Laurence Olivier (later Lord Olivier).