DK Travel : London : Places of interest

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Savoy Hotel

London’s first grand hotel was built in 1897. Its Chinese lacquered “ascending rooms” were the first elevators in Europe. Oscar Wilde objected to the new-fangled built-in plumbing: he wanted to ring for his hot water like a gentleman. Adjoining the hotel is the art nouveau Savoy Theatre, built on the site of the medieval Savoy Palace.
Science Museum

Traces the history of scientific and technical innovation
Science Museum
Shakespeare’s Globe

To see a Shakespeare play at the reconstructed Globe is a magical experience. Seated in three tiers, open to the skies, the audience is encouraged to heckle and shout as they did in Shakespeare’s day. Except when a matinee is playing, visitors to the exhibition next door are given guided tours of the theatre by staff.
Shakespeare’s Globe

This modern reconstruction in oak, thatch and 36,000 handmade bricks is near the site of the original Globe Theatre, which burned down in 1613. The centre of the theatre is uncovered, so performances only happen during part of the year, but there is an interesting exhibition, plus a café and restaurant with river views.
Shepherd Market

The market was named after Edward Shepherd who built a two-storey house here in around 1735. Today, this pedestrianized area in the heart of Mayfair is a good place to visit on a summer evening for a drink or meal. Ye Grapes, dating from 1882, is the principal pub, while local restaurants include L ’Artiste Musclé, Le Boudin Blanc and The Village Bistro. During the 17th century, an annual May Fair was held here, giving the area its name.
Sherlock Holmes Museum

Take a camera when you visit here so you can have your picture taken sitting by the fire in the great detective’s front room, wearing a deerstalker hat and smoking a pipe. This museum is great fun, brilliantly reconstructed with some excellent touches. A Victorian policeman stands guard outside, uniformed maids let you in and, upstairs, wax dummies (including the villainous Moriarty) re-enact moments from Holmes’s most famous cases.
Sir John Soane’s Museum

A particular pleasure of this unique museum is watching visitors’ faces as they turn a corner and encounter yet another unexpected gem. Sir John Soane, one of Britain’s leading 19th-century architects, crammed three adjoining houses with antiques and treasures, displayed in the most ingenious ways. The basement crypt, designed to resemble a Roman catacomb, is particularly original.The Rake’s Progress (1753), a series of eight paintings by Hogarth, is another highlight. The houses are on the northern side of Lincoln’s Inn Fields, the heart of legal London, where gowned and bewigged lawyers roam. Lincoln’s Inn, on the east side of the square, is one of the best preserved Inns of Court in London, part of it dating from the 15th century.

Sir John Soane’s Museum
Soho Square

This pleasant square, spiked with palms, is popular at lunchtime, after work and at weekends, when there’s always a friendly atmosphere, especially in summer. With the most fashionable address in London, many of the square’s buildings are now occupied by film companies. On the north side is a church built for French Protestants under a charter granted by Edward VI in 1550. The redbrick St Patrick’s, on the east side, sometimes has music recitals. On the corner of Greek Street is the House of St Barnabas in Soho, a charitable foundation in an 18th-century building which is occasionally open to visitors.
Somerset House

Once a grand riverside palace, and later home to the Navy Board, Somerset House is now partly occupied by the Civil Service. A large amount of the building, though, is open to the public. Aside from the Courtauld Gallery it houses the Gilbert Collection of decorative art and the Hermitage Rooms, which display a collection of art from the Hermitage Museum in St Petersburg, Russia.