One of the greatest things about London is that most of the museums are free. Government funding and charitable donations ensure that many of London’s best musuems are obligated to keep entry to the general public free (but they can charge extra for special exhibitions). This makes many of the museums more accessible to those […]
London Alert: The Courtauld Gallery is Closing for 2 Years – Visit by September!
It’s pretty common for London’s museums to be variously closed while renovations are done. Next up is the Courtauld Gallery, the art gallery located in Somerset House. This small gallery is often overshadowed by the bigger National Gallery and National Portrait Gallery, practically across the street but it’s home to some amazing art. As with […]
Exhibition Alert: My Visit to the New James Cook Exhibition at the British Library – Review
On my final day in England for my trip over to cover the Royal Wedding, I decided to pop into London and visit an exhibition I really didn’t want to miss. The British Library just launched a new exhibition about the voyages of James Cook, putting them into context and showcasing the discoveries he and […]
Westminster Abbey Gets a New Tower
Westminster Abbey is a living building. It’s been constructed, altered and added to over its over 1,000 years of history. It is not a static building, stuck in time. And the big news is that Westminster Abbey has officially added a new tower to the building. The newly named Weston Tower, so named after the […]
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 […]
London Alert: Next Schedule of Hidden London Tours Revealed – Tickets Go On Sale April 6th
Hidden London tours are some of our favorites. We’ve been on two – in fact planned two trips around them. They’re an excellent opportunity to explore bits of London that are normally closed off to visitors. You can read about one of our tours here. I received an email this morning outlining the next schedule […]
Laura’s London: New Digger Deeper and Crossrail Secrets Exhibitions at the London Transport Museum
The London Transport Museum in Covent Garden has a new permanent gallery exploring the history of tunneling and a new temporary exhibition about Crossrail opening on 23 March 2018. Both are part of the national programme to celebrate the Year of Engineering 2018. Digging Deeper Gallery On the ground floor of the museum, this new […]
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 […]
Event Alert: Visit the London Transport Museum’s Acton Depot – Open Weekend in April
The London Transport Museum is one of our favorites in London, but the museum in Covent Garden is but a sliver of their entire collection. They store the whole collection in the Acton Depot, and occasionally it’s opened to the public. LTM has notified us that this year’s open weekend will take place on April 21st […]
London Transport Museum Gets Two Major New Galleries in 2018
The London Transport Museum is one of our favorites in London and now we have another excuse to visit again. They’re opening two major new galleries in 2018. First up is Digging Deeper, opening March 23rd, a new permanent gallery dedicated to London’s tunneling history from Brunel to Crossrail. Second is the Future Engineers Gallery, opening […]
Westminster Abbey To Get New Dedicated Museum
Westminster Abbey, the place where Britain’s kings and queens have been crowned for almost a thousand years will be home to London’s newest museum later this year. From Travel GBI: Known as the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee Galleries, the space will display more than 300 historic and artistic treasures from the abbey’s collection to tell the 1,000-year […]
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 […]
London’s Newest Free Museum: The London Mithraeum Opens – Roman Temple of Mithras in London
Back in the 1960s when a new high rise was being built in the City of London, they found a Roman Temple – the Temple of Mithras. It was an astonishing find and a treasure from London’s Roman History. The temple was preserved, poorly in the open air as the building was built around it. […]
London Alert: Christmas Events at the London Transport Museum
The London Transport Museum is one of our favorite museums in London and they’re getting into the holiday spirit this year with a ton of Christmas related events. Here are the details: All aboard for Festive Fun at London Transport Museum from 1 December 2017 until5 January 2018. Families can visit Santa’s Secret Hideaway or […]
London Closure Notice: Ripley’s Believe It or Not in Piccadilly Circus Has Closed Permanently
This news came a little too late for us to include in the 2018 London Annual, but Ripley’s Believe it or Not in Piccadilly Circus has closed permanently. Though a note on their website says they are looking to relocate the collection. I’ve never been a fan of this attraction, it was showing it’s age […]
Laura’s London: Exploring London’s Newest Museum – The Secret Mail Rail and The Postal Museum
Mail Rail is London’s newest subterranean heritage attraction. Open from 4 September 2017; the disused postal railway tunnels have been brought back to life as a visitor ride for the first time in their 100 year history. This miniature railway was the world’s first driverless, electric railway and was never intended for passengers. While The […]
Natural History Museum: Dippy Departs – Say Hello to Hope the Blue Whale
A big change has occurred at the Natural History Museum in London. Dippy the Dinosaur is now gone after 136 years (and has gone on tour around Britain) and has been replaced by a massive skeleton of a Blue Whale that the museum has named Hope. The public unveiling is today, and from tomorrow visitors […]
London Alert: Hidden London Tours Are Back – Explore London’s Abandoned Tube Stations
Last year we explored Aldwych abandoned Tube station on a Hidden London Tour – and wrote about the experience here. Hidden London tours are a unique chance to explore the bits of London that have been closed off to the public. Most of these tours are run on a limited basis and sell out up to […]
Event Alert: Rare Chance to Ride Old London Underground Steam Trains This July and September
The London Transport Museum is offering up a rare chance to ride on old London Underground Stram trains this July and September. Here are the details: Step back in time and enjoy the nostalgia of travel in bygone times during London Transport Museum’s Summer Steam events at Epping Ongar Heritage Railway in July and in […]
Great London Buildings – The Tate Britain
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 […]
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!
