There are over 240 museums in London. Many of them are the best of the world and offer free entrance. Oh, I envy those people live in london!

View Larger Map

1. British Museum

The British Museum is the best known museum of human history and culture. Its collections are  among the largest and most comprehensive in the world and originate from all continents, illustrating and documenting the story of human culture from its beginning to the present.

Address: Great Russell Street, London WC1B 3DG
Website: The British Museum
Opening hours: Open everyday 10:00am-17:30pm (Open late Thursday and Friday)

2. Tate Modern & Tate Britain

Tate Modern & Tate Britain are part of the Tate gallery network, together with Tate Liverpool and Tate St Ives. Tate Britain was the first established of these museums, opening in 1897. It houses a substantial collection of the work of J.M.W. Turner. The Tate Modern is Britain’s national museum of international modern art.

Address:
Tate Modern: Bankside, London SE1 9TG ; Tate Britain: Millbank, London SW1P 4RG
Website:
Tate Modern & Tate Britain
Opening hours:
Tate Modern:
Open Sunday – Thursday 10.00–18.00 ; Open Friday and Saturday 10.00–22.00
Last admission into exhibitions 17.15 (Friday and Saturday 21.15)

Tate Britain:
Open daily 10.00–17.50 ; Exhibitions open 10.00–17.40
Open until 22.00 on the first Friday of each month for Late at Tate Britain

3. National Gallery

Founded in 1824, National Gallery houses a rich collection of over 2,300 paintings dating from the mid-13th century to 1900 in its home on Trafalgar Square.

Address: Trafalgar Square, London WC2N 5DN
Website: National Gallery
Opening hours:
Daily 10am-6pm ; Wednesday 10am-9pm (Closing commences 5 mins before time stated)
Closed 1 January and 24-26 December.

4. Natural History Museum

The museum is a world-renowned centre of research, specialising in taxonomy, identification and conservation. It is home to life and earth science specimens comprising some 70 million items within five main collections: Botany, Entomology, Mineralogy, Palaeontology and Zoology.

Address: Cromwell Road, London SW7 5BD
Website: Natural History Museum
Opening hours:
Backpacks are available between 10.00 and 17.00. (Backpacks are free of charge, but you need to supply a refundable credit card deposit of £25.)

5. Science Museum

The Science Museum now holds a collection of over 300,000 items and hundreds of interactive exhibits, some of must-see including Stephenson’s Rocket, Puffing Billy (the oldest surviving steam locomotive), the first jet engine, a reconstructionof Francis Crick and James Watson’s model of DNA, some of the earliest remaining steam engines, a working example of Charles Babbage’s Difference engine, the first prototype of the 10,000-year Clock of the Long Now, and documentation of the first typewriter.

Address: Exhibition Road, South Kensington, London SW7 2DD
Website: Science Museum
Openning hours: open 7 days a week from 10.00 to 18.00 except 24 to 26 December.

6. Victoria and Albert Museum

Named after Prince Albert and Queen Victoria, Victoria and Albert Museum is the world’s largest museum of decorative arts and design, housing a permanent collection of over 4.5 million objects. Its collection spans 5000 years of art, from ancient times to the present day, in virtually every medium, from the cultures of Europe, North America, Asia and North Africa.

Address: Cromwell Road, London SW7 2RL
Website: Victoria and Albert Museum
Opening Hours:
10.00 to 17.45 daily ; 10.00 to 22.00 Fridays (selected galleries remain open after 18.00. ).
Closed at 24, 25 & 26 December

7.  Museum of London

The Museum of London documents the history of London from the Prehistoric to the present day.

Address: London Wall, London EC2Y 5HN
Website: Museum of London
Openning Hours:
Mon to Sun: 10am-6pm ; Last admission: 5.30pm ; Closed: 24 to 26 December
Museum of London now opens until 9pm on the first Thursday of each month

8. Royal Observatory Greenwich

Founded by Charles II in 1675, Royal Observatory Greenwich is one of the most important historic scientific sites in the world. It’s the home of Greenwich Mean Time and the Prime Meridian line, that means by international decree, the official starting point for each new day, year and millennium.

Address:Greenwich, London SE10 9NF
Website:
Openning hours:
open daily, 10.00–17.00 ; Last admission at 16.30 ; Last planetarium show at 16.00 ; closed at 24–26 December.
close early on 31 December and open late on 1 January and for the London Marathon

You can visit National Maritime Museum and Queen’s House at Greenwich together, They are all free entrance.

9. the British Library

It is one of the world’s largest research libraries, holding over 150 million items in all known languages and formats; The Library’s collections include around 25 million books, along with substantial additional collection of manuscripts and historical items dating back as far as 300 BC.

Website: the British Library
Address & Openning hours: the British Library locations & opening times

10. Sir John Soane’s Museum

Sir John Soane’s Museum was formerly the house and studio of the neo-classical architect Sir John Soane. Now it’s a museum of architecture,  It holds many drawings and models of his projects and the collections of paintings, drawings and antiquities that he assembled.

Address: 13 Lincoln’s Inn Fields, London, WC2A 3BP
Website: Sir John Soane’s Museum
Openning hour:
Tuesday to Saturday inclusive, 10-5. Also on the first Tuesday evening of each month, 6-9 pm. Closed Sunday, Monday, Bank holidays and Christmas Eve.

Copyright © iwalku2.com All Rights Reserved

Related posts

• The Travel Guide Of London’s Ceremony Of Changing The Guard (3)
• How Can I Contact The Queen Elizabeth II? (6)
• Ceremony Of Changing The Guard At Horse Guards Parade, London (3)

Queen Elizabeth’s Golden Jubilee footprint is setting near the Westminster Abbey.
A monument on the ground is a great idea. She is always so close with her people.

Queen Elizabeth II was 76 years old in 2002, when she celebrated her Golden Jubilee. She was the oldest monarch to celebrate a Golden Jubilee.

I don’t know much about Queen Elizabeth II. But I know she is a good Queen, A good wife and a good mother.

She is not so faraway from us. You can contact The Queen with various ways:

1. Letter (If you want receive a reply):
You can write to Her Majesty at the following address:
Her Majesty The Queen
Buckingham Palace
London SW1A 1AA

2. eMail: (can’t promises individual replies)
You can email The Queen through this web site: email to the Queen Elizabeth II

3. Phone (You can’t expect Her Majesty herself answer your call of course)
tel: (+44) (0)20 7930 4832(during working hours)

Copyright © iwalku2.com All Rights Reserved

Related posts

• Top 10 Free Entrance London Museums (9)
• The Travel Guide Of London’s Ceremony Of Changing The Guard (3)
• My Da Vinci Code Walking Tour At London (18)

I read Dan Brown’s mystery novel The Da Vinci Code just before I visited London. So a Da Vinci Code tour was on my schedule.
Walking from the hotelＩlived at the Tower Bridge, I started my Da Vinci Code Tour.

View Larger Map
Wolf’s Da Vinci Code Walking Tour At London

Wolf’s Da Vinci Code Walking Tour At London:

A. Tower Bridge

The place where I lived in London.

B. Temple Church

The Church built by the Knights Templar, the order of crusading monks founded to protect pilgrims on their way to and from Jerusalem in the 12th century.

Dan Brown’s description :
Temple Church had been so named in honor of Solomon’s Temple, from which the Knights Templar had extracted their own title, as well as the Sangreal documents that gave them all their influence in Rome. Tales abounded of knights performing strange, secretive rituals within the Temple Church’s unusual sanctuary.

Role in Da Vinci Code:
Sophie and Langdon came here to find an absent orb on one of the 10 knights’ tombs under the misleading of Leigh Teabing.

C. The National Gallery

Owns the greatest collections of Western European painting in the world, Including Da Vinci’s second version of Madonna of the Rocks ( The Virgin of the Rocks).
These pictures belong to the public and entrance to see them is free.

D. King’s College Library

The Maughan Library of King’s College is just a short walk from Temple Church. It is octagonal with a round table in the middle just as the novel described. But the University won’t keen on visitors without library cards.

Role in Da Vinci Code:
After losting the keystone , Robert and Sophie rush from Temple Church via Temple Underground station to the King’s College Library. They found the cule about the tomb of Sir Isaac Newton here.

E. St. James’s Park

St. James’s Park is the oldest of the Royal Parks of London. It is bounded by Buckingham Palace, St. James’s Palace, Horse Guards and Birdcage Walk. It was used for deer hunting by Henry VIII, it’s now the place which hosts royal celebrations.

Role in Da Vinci Code:
The Teacher arranged a meeting with his accomplice Rémy here, then he killed Rémy with lethal cognac. He choosed St. James’s Park because it was the right place near the Westminster Abbey, which housed the knight’s tomb.

F. Westminster Abbey

Westminster Abbey is the traditional place of coronation and burial site for English and later British monarchs. It is currently a Royal Peculiar. Most Kings, Queens and aristocrats of England were buried here.

Role in Da Vinci Code:
Sophie and Langdon came to find the tomb of Sir Isaac Newton. They discoded the code at last. Teabing was also arrested here.

G: Opus Dei’s London Headquarters

It is situated on Orme Court, opposite Kensington Gardens.

Role in Da Vinci Code:
Under the misleading of the Teacher, Silas hided himself in the London headquarters of the Opus Dei. But the police found him soon, he accidentally injured mentor Bishop Aringarosa on his way escape.

H. Biggin Hill Airport

You can take flying lessons or an helicopter ride over London from Biggin Hill Airport. Darwin and Churchill’s former residences also nearby there.

Role in Da Vinci Code:
Sophie and Langdon arrived London at Biggin Hill Airport by the private jet of Leigh Teabing. But the police were already waiting for them there…

I only walked from A to F. The Opus Dei’s London Headquarters and Biggin Hill Airport was too far to me, Maybe I could visited it next time.

Copyright © iwalku2.com All Rights Reserved

Related posts

• The Travel Guide Of London’s Ceremony Of Changing The Guard (3)
• How Can I Contact The Queen Elizabeth II? (6)
• Ceremony Of Changing The Guard At Buckingham Palace, London (13)

Changing of the Guard is one of the oldest and most famous ceremonies of London. Buckingham Palace is not the only place to see this kind of ceremony. Actually,There are several chances you can enjoy.

The Travel Guide Of London’s Ceremony Of Changing The Guard

Changing the Guard also know as Guard Mounting, It’s the process of a new guard exchanging duty with the old guard.

• Buckingham Palace

Ceremony Of Changing The Guard takes place at 11.30 am at Buckingham Palace. and lasts about 45 minutes. There is no Guard Mounting in very wet weather. It is held daily from May to July, and on alternate dates throughout the rest of the year.

June 2008 – daily
July 2008 – daily
August 2008 – odd days (1,3,5 etc)
September 2008 – even days (2,4,6 etc)

How to get there:
By Subway, Victoria, Green Park, and Hyde Park Corner
By bus: 11, 211, 239, C1 and C10, stop at Buckingham Palace Road.

Tel. +44.(0)20.7766.7300

• Windsor Castle

The ceremony takes place at 11.00 am at Windsor Castle. For most of the year ceremony of changing the guard takes place on alternate dates, but it is held daily (except Sundays) from April to July.

June 2008 – daily
July 2008 – odd days
August 2008 – even days (2,4,6 etc)
September 2008 – odd days (1,3,5 etc)

• Horse Guards Parade

At Horse Guards Arch, Changing of the Guard takes place daily at 11.00 am (10.00 am on Sundays) and lasts about half an hour.

• Tower of London

Daily at 11.30am.

Related posts:

Ceremony Of Changing The Guard At Buckingham Palace, London
Ceremony Of Changing The Guard At Horse Guards Parade, London

Copyright © iwalku2.com All Rights Reserved

Related posts

• Ceremony Of Changing The Guard At Horse Guards Parade, London (3)
• Ceremony Of Changing The Guard At Buckingham Palace, London (13)
• Top 10 Free Entrance London Museums (9)

I decided to take a long walk that morning, From the Tower Thistle Hotel I lived, which located beside the London Tower Bridge, to someplace as far as I could walk.
After three hours’ promenade, At the right time 10:40am, I arrived the Horse Guards Parade. Yes! I caught the moment of the Ceremony of Changing The Guard!

There is a changing of the guard by the Queens Life Guard from the Household Cavalry at Horse Guards Parade every morning at 11.00am(Sun 10:00am)

It’s said the Horse Guards Parade was the only routeway to Buckingham Palace until 1841. Maybe that’s the reason why there’s a daily ceremony here.

Ceremony Of Changing The Guard takes place on the parade ground when the new team of Horse Guards arrives from Hyde Park barracks and forms up on the south side and the old team forms up on the north side. If the new team carries with Royal Standards and trumpeters perform the Royal Salute, It means the Queen is in residence in London

Horse Guards Parade was a special place in London. Each June it holds probabaly the biggest ceremonial of the year in Britain, the Trooping the Colour ceremony for the Queen’s official birthday. It’s also the place where the beach volleyball competition is going to be held during the 2012 London Olympics.

For more information:
The Guide Of London’s Ceremony Of Changing The Guard
Ceremony Of Changing The Guard At Buckingham Palace, London

Copyright © iwalku2.com All Rights Reserved

Related posts

• The Travel Guide Of London’s Ceremony Of Changing The Guard (3)
• Top 10 Free Entrance London Museums (9)
• How Can I Contact The Queen Elizabeth II? (6)

Ceremony of changing the guard (Guard Mounting) in front of Buckingham Palace draws thousands of london visitors to watch everyday.
I love the music accompanied by a Guards band.

The Queen’s Guard usually consists of Foot Guards, in their traditional full-dress uniform of red tunics and bearskins. It said these handsome soldiers are drawn from five regiments of Foot Guards in the British Army: the Scots Guards, the Irish Guards, the Welsh Guards, the Grenadier Guards and the Coldstream Guards. Maybe that’s means “United Kingdom”.

The ceremony was accompanied by a Guards band. It’s said the music played ranges from traditional military marches, traditional national music to pop songs. I don’t know much about their traditional music, But I enjoy them.

There were only two sentries at the front of the Buckingham Palace that day, That means the Queen was not in residence, If she was there, there would be four sentries.

For more information:
The Guide Of London’s Ceremony Of Changing The Guard
Ceremony Of Changing The Guard At Horse Guards Parade, London

Copyright © iwalku2.com All Rights Reserved

Related posts

• The Travel Guide Of London’s Ceremony Of Changing The Guard (3)
• My Da Vinci Code Walking Tour At London (18)
• Ceremony Of Changing The Guard At Horse Guards Parade, London (3)

A red double decker bus, as the icon of London, together with David Beckham, Appeared at yesterday’s Beijing Olympic Games closing ceremony, as the headline of eight-minute Olympic handover performance.
My first London tour was in July 2004, Those Red Double Decker Buses did not retire then, So I was asked by iWalk to write something about this icon of London.

Double decker buses are very popular in the United Kingdom, The most famous of them is red double decker buses in London. They almost appeared in every film about London within last 50 years.

The red double decker bus in London was named the Routemaster bus, Let me introduce it’s history in short words:

1947–1956:
was developed by a team led by Douglas Scott

1956:
was introduced to London

1956-1981:
The heyday of Routemaster operation

From the 1980s:
many of the surplus Routemasters were sold to other operators or transferred to training fleets

9 December 2005:
the last official running day

From above, We know the Routemaster saw continuous service in London until 2005, In all, 2,876 Routemasters were built, and about 1,300 still in existence. Because people love them so much, Some of them were reconstructed into a Bar or restaurant. And other of them got the second chance in Honshu,Hague, Moscow, Paris, Barbados and Jamaica.

Currently, There are two heritage routes in central London remain use Routemasters in order to appeal to tourists:

Heritage route 9:
Royal Albert Hall — Hyde Park Corner — Piccadilly Circus — Trafalgar Square — Strand — Aldwych.

Heritage route 15:
Trafalgar Square — Strand — Aldwych — Fleet Street — Cannon Street — Monument — Tower Hill.

These red red double decker buses were specially restored from remaining examples, But with new clean environmental engines and modern electrics and sealed windows.

I think Olympics already gave it a new chance. People all over the world would feel wonderful to travel London by a 50 years old London icon in the Olympic year.

If you love them, You can also buy a model from the souvenir shops along Oxford Street.

Copyright © iwalku2.com All Rights Reserved

Related posts

• Top 10 Free Entrance London Museums (9)
• The Travel Guide Of London’s Ceremony Of Changing The Guard (3)
• My Da Vinci Code Walking Tour At London (18)