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Now housed in a spectacular new building in St Pancras, the British Library holds copies of everything published in Britain, as well as many historical publications from around the world. Members have free access to these, while non-members can enjoy the magnificent space and the regular exhibitions put on here. A dazzling, permanent display in the John Ritblatt Gallery includes the earliest map of Britain (1250), a Gutenberg Bible (1455), Shakespeare’s first folio (1623), Handel’sMessiah (1741) and many breathtaking illuminated manuscripts. The glass walls in the core of the building reveal the huge leather volumes from the King’s Library, donated by George III. There are regular talks and events, a café, restaurant and, of course, a well-stocked bookshop.

At 190 m (620 ft), this was the tallest building in London when it opened in 1965. Sadly, the revolving restaurant on top has been closed, for security reasons, but the Tower Tavern in Cleveland Street has a good large-scale diagram explaining the tower’s constituent parts (as well as hand-pulled beer).

This very un-English, Italianate church was established by a Catholic convert, John Henry Newman (1801–90). He introduced England to the Oratory, a religious institute of secular priests founded in 16th-century Rome. The building, designed by Herbert Gribble, opened in 1884, with many of its treasures imported from Italy.

Brompton Oratory interior

Built in 1703, Burgh House houses Hampstead Museum, which has a good selection of local books and a map of the famous people who have lived in the area. The panelled music room is used for art exhibitions, concerts and meetings, and there is a pleasant café with garden tables.

This arcade of bijou shops was built in 1819 for Lord George Cavendish of Burlington House (see Royal Academy of Arts) to prevent people from throwing rubbish into his garden. The arcade is patrolled by uniformed beadles who make sure that no unseemly behaviour, such as whistling, takes place.

During the dark days of World War II, Winston Churchill and his War Cabinet met in these rooms beneath the Government Treasury Chambers. They have been kept just as they were left in 1945, with sandbags piled up outside and colour-coded phones. Take a guided audio tour through the rooms where ministers plotted the course of the war or visit the Churchill Museum which opened here in 2005.