The primary building in the Tate art gallery network, the Tate Britain has long been one of the pillars of British art museums. Early in its history, the Tate was known as the National Gallery of British Art from its opening in 1897 to 1932, when it became, simply, the Tate Gallery. As the Tate […]
The London Fiver – Five Places to Visit for Isambard Kingdom Brunel
It might be an understatement to say that Isambard Kingdom Brunel was the most important engineer in England during the 19th Century. The Royal Albert Bridge, the Great Western Railway, the Maidenhead Railway Bridge, and the Clifton Suspension Bridge are just some of the structures in the UK attributable to him. Brunel helped to connect […]
London Alert: Explore the London Transport Museum Archive at the Acton Depot Open Weekend in April
The London Transport Museum in London has an enormous collection and they couldn’t possibly keep it all on display. So, they have a storage depot in Acton. It’s not normally open to the public. But on a few days of the year, it’s opened for general visitors. Here are the details for this year’s opening: […]
London Trip Planning: London 10 Newest Museums and Attractions for 2017
London is a city that is forever changing. That means that you’ll almost always find something new to do in London no matter how many times you’ve been there. The last few years have seen some really cool and innovative new attractions open in London; here are a few you should plan for your next […]
Great London Buildings – The Victoria & Albert Museum
Also known as the V&A, the Victoria & Albert Museum was founded in 1852 as a museum of art and design. Today, it is the largest of its kind in the world, with a permanent collection of more than 4.5 million works of art from a period of more than two thousand years. It sits […]
The London Fiver – Five London Literary Museums to Visit On Your Next Trip
Reading is a wonderful pastime. The stories contained in books can take us to faraway lands, poetry can give us emotion, and non-fiction books can give us knowledge. Of course, the authors of these works didn’t create in a vacuum, and the lives they led impacted their work. In London, several museums are dedicated to these […]
The Fiver – Five Lesser-Known London Museums To Visit On Your Next Trip To London
The Victoria & Albert Museum, British Museum, National Gallery and other major museums are visited by thousands of people every day. They constitute some of the country’s greatest tourist attractions and temples of knowledge. Yet, in a city such as London, there are many other museums that often go overlooked dedicated to all manner of […]
London Transport Museum Announces Major 2017 Exhibitions
We got this news a little too late to include in the 2017 London Annual but the London Transport Museum has announced their two major exhibitions for 2017. Here are the details from the London Transport Museum. Prize for Illustration 2017: Sounds of the City 19 May to 3 September 2017 Sounds of the City […]
Ten Interesting Facts about the Museum of London
Celebrating its 40th anniversary this year, the Museum of London is a repository of the city’s history from the area’s earliest Neolithic settlements to the present day. Doing something different than other museums of its time, architects Philip Powell and Hidalgo Moya laid out their design for the MOL in such a way that it […]
Great London Buildings: The Churchill War Rooms
The process of constructing the emergency centre began in 1938 when Sir Hastings Ismay ordered the Office of Works to survey Whitehall for a suitable location. That agency determined that the best place for this centre was the New Public Offices. The Office of Works concluded that the building was close to Parliament and possessed […]
London’s Newest Free Museum: Charterhouse – Former Monastery in the City of London Opening to the Public in December
London is getting a brand new museum in a place that is centuries old. Located in the heart of the City of London, Charterhouse is a former monastery that was turned into an alms house. Here are some more details on the history: Hidden away in the heart of Smithfields is an unknown tourist gem, […]
Ten Interesting Facts and Figures about London’s Natural History Museum
Celebrating its 135th anniversary this year, the Natural History Museum in London began when medical doctor Sir Hans Sloane permitted the British government to buy his vast collection of biological artefacts. The collection became part of the British Museum at Montagu House, but by the mid-19th Century, it became painfully obvious that the British Museum […]
New Exhibition on Design Coming to London Transport Museum
Design is part of our every day lives and we often don’t notice it. It’s also played a key role in London’s history. That’s the idea behind a new exhibition coming to the London Transport Museum later this month. From the London Transport Museum A new exhibition, Designology, opens at London Transport Museum on 20 […]
Video: A History of Smithfield – A Look at the Future Home of the Museum of London
There are big changes coming to a small area of the City of London (the original square mile bit of London). The Museum of London is going to be moving to the derelict Smithfield Market (and regenerating a very downtrodden area in the process). As part of their plan to move – the Museum of […]
London’s Secret Tube: The Mail Rail Tube System Opening to Public as Museum and Ride in Spring 2017
Did you know that there is a secret Tube line running underneath London? Well, it’s not so secret anymore and it’s going to be opening to the public. The Mail Rail was used by the Royal Mail to transport mail across London and was in use until 2003. Since then it has been dis-used but […]
Ten Interesting Facts about the Royal Observatory, Greenwich – The Home of the Prime Meridian
A pioneering place of British astronomy, the Royal Observatory in Greenwich has been observing the stars for hundreds of years. It owes its existence to a Who’s Who of 17th Century Britain, as it was commissioned by King Charles II and its location site chosen by Sir Christopher Wren in 1675. Since the Longitude Act […]
10 Interesting Facts and Figures about the Victoria and Albert Museum You Might Not Know
Founded in 1852, this museum of architectural and decorative arts was named after Queen Victoria and Prince Albert. One of the many buildings in Kensington that spotlights the pair’s love and patronage of the arts and sciences, it was part of the area known as “Albertopolis”, in the prince’s honour. Originally part of the Great […]
The London Fiver – Five of the Strangest Museums in London to Visit on Your Next Trip
A city such as London is filled to the brim with history, so much so that you can find a museum in the Greater London area that is dedicated to just about anything. While places like the British Museum, the Tower of London, and the National Gallery are must-visits, and places such as Pollock’s Toy […]
Londontopia Exclusive: Laura Porter Explores the New Sherlock Holmes Exhibition at the Museum of London “The man who lived and will never die”
Sherlock Holmes is a London icon so it is fitting that this exhibition is at the Museum of London. ‘The man who lived and will never die’ is based on a similar observation made by Orson Welles in 1938. This is the most comprehensive exhibition about the world’s most famous fictional consulting detective in over […]
Catalog of Humanity: 10 Interesting Facts and Figures about the British Museum You Probably Didn’t Know
The British Museum is one of the world’s foremost repositories of historical artifacts. Sir Hans Sloane founded it in 1753 and filled it much of his own collection. The first museum opened in 1759 in Montague House, which sat on the current museum’s site. Have a look at some of interesting facts about the museum […]
The Family Jewels: 10 Interesting Facts and Figures about the British Crown Jewels You May Not Already Know
The Crown Jewels. For centuries they have taken on a meaning of immeasurable wealth and high importance. We liken the things that matter most in our lives to these symbols of British royal power (including, for us blokes, a very special area indeed). If you have a chance, you can go have a look at […]
Londontopia is simply the website for people who love London. It was founded by Jonathan & Jackie Thomas from Anglotopia.net as a place to post articles solely focused on London and its environs. Keep up with all the latest London news at Londontopia! This site is geared towards people who love to visit London and our primary audience is North American but everyone is welcome!
