DK Travel : London : History & Culture

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Westminster Abbey

London’s most venerable and most beautiful church, the scene of coronations and royal weddings and the resting place of monarchs.
Westminster Abbey
Westminster Cathedral

The main Roman Catholic church in England is in a fearless Byzantine style, designed by John Francis Bentley and completed in 1902. It has an 87-m (285-ft) campanile, which can be climbed for a great view of the city. Mosaics and marble decorate the interior, which has the widest nave in Britain.
Whitechapel Art Gallery

This excellent gallery has a reputation for showing cutting-edge contemporary art from around the world. The Whitechapel has launched the careers of David Hockney, Gilbert and George and Anthony Caro. Behind the Art Nouveau façade there is also a great bookshop and café.
Wigmore Hall

Concerts in the Wigmore Hall have a middle-European quality to them, particularly the September Sunday morning Coffee Concerts. Nobody is here to be seen – they are only here for the music, which they know and love. The accoustically wonderful hall was built in 1901 by the Bechstein piano company, which had showrooms next door.
William Hogarth

The great painter of London life (1697–1764, see Tate Britain) was used to the gritty life of the city and called his house near Chiswick “a little country box by the Thames”.
Wimbledon Lawn Tennis Museum

With a view of the famous Centre Court, the museum tells the story of tennis, from its gentle, amateur beginnings to its exciting professional status today. The first tennis championship were held in Wimbledon in 1877.
Windsor Knot

The stylish Duke of Windsor, who abdicated the throne in 1938, gave the world a wide tie knot.
Wolfgang A Mozart

The German composer (1756–91) wrote his first symphony, aged eight, while at No. 180 Ebury Street.
Zadie Smith

Her first novel,White Teeth , about Asian immigrants in north London, made Smith (b.1975) an overnight sensation in 1999. Wickedly funny, it has remarkably well-drawn portraits of London life.