History was made today in Parliament Square, located directly across from the Palace of Westminster. For 200-years great leaders have been honoured with a statue in front of the Houses of Parliament. Lincoln, Churchill, Gandhi, Mandela are just a few of the names. But one thing all those names had in common was that they […]
Trafalgar Square: The Fourth Plinth Has a New Artwork – Replica of Statue Destroyed by ISIS
Goodbye, giant Thumb’s Up, hello Lamassu. The fourth plinth is one of the best public art projects in London. Every few years, a new artwork is put on display on the empty fourth plinth in Trafalgar Square (empty for a statue that was never made). It’s prime place directly in front of the National Gallery is a […]
Trip Planning: Top 10 Exhibitions To Plan Your 2018 Trips to London Around
Editor’s Note: This article is made up of extracts from the 2018 London Annual Guide to London in 2018 written by London expert Laura Porter. It’s a massive article – over 20 print pages – too big to post here in one go. We still have copies of the Annual – you can get them […]
The New Piccadilly Circus Billboard: A Review
In this article, I’m going to review a billboard. But not just any billboard, the most famous billboard in the world. Well, in London at least. I’m talking about, of course, the new electronic billboard that has replaced the previous iconic billboards at the heart of Piccadilly Circus. First some terminology – in Britain they […]
Laura’s London: Charles I: King and Collector – Royal Academy Exhibition Review – New Exhibition Alert!
Charles I had one of the most extraordinary and influential art collections. For the first time since the 17th century, this landmark exhibition at the Royal Academy has brought together the astounding treasures that changed the taste of the nation. Charles I: King and Collector reunites 140 of the most important works of art, ranging […]
Great London Buildings – The Old BBC Television Centre
Now a symbol of London’s ever-changing nature as new development takes over; Television Centre was once home to the UK’s most beloved dramas, comedies, and cultural programs. It was constructed specifically to be the BBC’s first dedicated television broadcasting studios and would oversee the news and such memorable shows as Blue Peter, Doctor Who, Top […]
Laura’s London: Lumiere London Review – Was It Worth It? Yes, Yes It Was.
Lumiere London brought over fifty light installations to six areas of central London for the UK’s largest light festival. (But you knew that already, surely, as you saw my Lumiere London preview, didn’t you?) I went out on the first night to see the fun. Something to Compare As we had Lumiere London here in 2016 […]
Lumiere London 2018 – The Incredible Festival of Lights Returns to London – Preview
In London later this week? This you’re in for a treat. Lumiere London was last here in January 2016 and everyone is really looking forward to it returning this month. Even though I live in London, last time I booked a hotel stay in central London so I could walk to see a lot of […]
Laura’s London: New Exhibition Report – Charles II: Art and Power at the Queen’s Gallery, Buckingham Palace
After over a decade of austere Cromwellian rule, the restoration of the monarchy in 1660 led to a resurgence of the arts in England. The court of Charles II became the centre for the patronage of leading artists and the collecting of great works of art. This served not only as decoration for the royal […]
Anglotopia Imports Alert: New Products Live – Custom Wentworth Jigsaw Puzzles – Gold Hill, Churchill, Paintings and More!
We’ve been working on this for quite some time and we’re really excited about it. Exclusive to Anglotopia we’ve commissioned three custom puzzles from Wentworth Puzzles, a company based in Wiltshire, England that specializes in making beautiful wooden puzzles. Each 250 piece puzzle will come in a beautiful box from Wentworth and you can store […]
The London Fiver – Five Interesting Pieces of Public Art in London
As John Cleese famously said in the “Michaelangelo and the Pope” sketch from Monty Python’s Flying Circus, “I don’t know much about art, but I know what I like.” Art can take many forms, some of which we may not quite understand. Regardless of whether we “get it” or not, public art has been shown […]
London Art: St Pancras Gets Beautiful New Art Installation – The Interpretation of Movement
One of the coolest things to happen since St Pancras Station was refurbished a few years ago was that they regularly have new art installations. They’ve just unveiled the latest one called The Interpretation of Movement (a 9:8 in blue). About the work: The Interpretation of Movement (a 9:8 in blue), 2017, will be Conrad Shawcross’ […]
Great London Buildings – The Tate Modern
There’s an old line from Monty Python’s Flying Circus that goes, “I don’t know much about art, but I know what I like.” Modern art may certainly seem strange to a lot of people, due to the fact that it can include just about anything, doesn’t necessarily depict traditional subjects, and can utilise some unusual […]
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 […]
London Alert: The Painted Hall in Greenwich is Closing for 6 Months
The Painted Hall, at the Old Royal Naval College, one of the Jewels of Greenwich will be closing for 6 months from Sunday. This is one of the most amazing things you need to see in Greenwich but if you’re planning on seeing it for the next 6 months, remove it from your itineraries. Why […]
Londonism: Clapham Common Tube Station Overtaken by Cats
Now, this is a lovely news story. Clapham Common Tube Station in London has been overtaken by cats. Citizens Advertising Takeover Service (CATS) ran a crowdfunding campaign on Kickstarter to raise funds to remove all the ads in a Tube Station and replace them with pictures of cats. They were a success and now the […]
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 […]
Art Utopia: 10 Interesting Facts and Figure about the National Gallery You Might Not Know
Established in 1824, the National Gallery was established a response to the increase of art purchases by the British government. The first building used for it was No. 100 Pall Mall, the former townhouse of the late John Julius Angerstein, whose estate also contributed to the Gallery’s collection. Construction on the current Gallery building began […]
London Alert: Britain’s National Gallery Bans the Use of the Selfie Stick
The most annoying photographic device ever created has been officially banned from the National Gallery in London. The selfie stick is no longer allowed to be used within the museum, they are now classed in the same category as tripods – which are also banned. According to the BBC: The gallery says it has placed […]
Fourth Plinth: Trafalgar Square Gets a New Statue – This Time a Horse
It’s time for a new statue on the Fourth Plinth in Trafalgar Square. As many of you may know, they change the statue every few years, giving artists a chance to do something unique with the place. The last statue was a giant blue cockerel. The chicken has given away to a giant horse skeleton […]
Classic London Double Decker Bus Gets a Giant Knitted Sweater
The soft drink company 7up has teamed up with Magda Sayeg, the pioneer of urban knitting to do what she does best – yarn bombing. Watch as she and her team transform an old London Routemaster into the colourful Number 7up Bus, with endless lengths of yarn knitted into vibrant designs. Magda and the Number […]
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!
