Important places in London-Royal Museums Greenwich

The National Maritime Museum (NMM) in Greenwich, England is the leading maritime museum of the United Kingdom, and it’s perhaps the largest museum of its kind in the world. The historic buildings forming part of the Maritime Greenwich World Heritage Site, also incorporates the Royal Observatory, Greenwich, and 17th-century Queen’s House .In 2012, Her Majesty The Queen formally approved Royal Museums Greenwich as the new overall title for the National Maritime Museum, Queen’s House, the Royal Observatory, Greenwich and the Cutty Sark. The museum is a non-departmental public body sponsored by the Departure for culture, Media and Sport. Like other publicly funded national museums in the United Kingdom, the National Maritime Museum does not levy an admission charge, although most temporary exhibitions do incur admission charges.

Since earliest times, Greenwich has had associations with the sea and navigation. It was a landing place for the Romans; Henry VIII lived here; the navy has roots on the waterfront; and Charles II founded the Royal Observatory in 1675; for "finding the longitude of places". The home of Greenwich Mean Time and the Prime Meridian since 1884, Greenwich has long been a centre for astronomical study, while navigators across the world have set their clocks according to its time of the day. The Museum has the most important holdings in the world on the history of Britain at sea, comprising more than two million items, including maritime art (both British and 17th-century Dutch), cartography, manuscripts including official public records, ship models and plans, scientific and navigational instruments, instruments for time-keeping and astronomy (based at the Observatory). Its British portraits collection is exceeded in size only by that of the National Portrait Gallery and its holdings relating to Vice-Admiral Horatio Nelson and Captain James Cook and, among many other individuals, are unrivalled.

It has the world's largest maritime historical reference library, including over 100,000 books, 20,000 pamphlets, 20,000 bound periodicals; including 200 current titles and 8000 rare books dating from 1474 to 1850. The Museum's Caird Library is a comprehensive specialist reference library and a rich research resource for all. The Library is open Monday to Friday, 10.00–16.45 (until 19.45 on Thursday), and 10.00–13.00 and 14.00–16.45 on Saturday.

An active loans program ensures that items from the collection are seen in the UK and abroad. Through its displays, exhibitions and outreach programs, the Museum also explores our current relationship with the sea and the future of the sea as an environmental force and resource.

By virtue of its pairing with the Royal Observatory, the Museum enjoys a unique conjunction of subjects (history, science and the arts), enabling it to trace the movement and accomplishments of people and the origins and consequences of empire. The outcome of the Museum's work is to achieve, for all its users at home and overseas, a greater understanding of British economic, cultural, social, political and maritime history; and its consequences in the world today.

The collection of the National Maritime Museum also includes items taken from Germany after World War II, including several ship models and paintings.

Are you considering visiting London and the U.K.? Then contact the London official visitor agency-Visit London and Partners at: 08701 566 366  visitorinfo@londonandpartners.com     

You can also contact the City of London Information Centre: Opposite St Paul's Cathedral:

City of London, Guildhall, PO Box 270, London, EC2P 2EJ     pro@cityoflondon.gov.uk

Telephone: 020 7606 3030

They can offer you credible, pursuable and realistic information and advice on the following fronts: Cheap flights to London, hotels in London, cheap hotels in London, boutique hotels in London, bed and breakfast in London, guest houses in London, holiday apartments in London, timeshare accommodation in London, youth hostels in London, transportation in London, bus tours in London, river tours in London, coach tours of the U.K., entertainment in London, tourist attractions in London etc.

Top Attractions in London-Victoria and Albert Museum

The Victoria and Albert Museum is usually abbreviated as the V&A Museum; and it is the world’s most extensive collection of decorative arts and design, housing a massive collection of 4.5 million objects. The museum was named after Prince Albert and Queen Victoria; and was established in 1852. It covers an area of 12.5 acres ((51,000 m²), and its collection span 5.000 years of art, from ancient times to the present day, in virtually every domain, including the cultures of Europe, North America, Asia and North Africa.

The holdings of ceramics, glass, textiles, costumes, silver ironwork, jewellery, furniture, medieval objects, sculpture, prints and printmaking, drawings and photographs, are among the largest, important and most comprehensive in the world. The museum possesses the world's largest collection of post- classical sculpture. The holdings of Italian Renaissance items are the largest outside Italy. The departments of Asia include art from South Asia, China, Japan, Korea and the Islamic World. The East Asian collections are among the best in Europe, with particular strengths in ceramics and metalwork, while the Islamic collection, alongside the British Museum, Musée du Lourvre in Paris; and Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York City, is amongst the largest in the Western world.

Set in the Brompton district of the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, with neighbouring institutions including the Natural History Museum and Science Museum, the V&A is located in what is termed London's «Albertopolis ", an area of immense cultural, scientific and educational importance. Since 2001, the museum has embarked on a major £150m renovation programme, which has seen a major overhaul of the departments, including the introduction of newer galleries, gardens, shops and visitor facilities. In line with other national British museums, entrance to the museum had been free since 2001.

The Victoria & Albert Museum is split into four Collections departments, Asia; Furniture, Textiles and Fashion; Sculpture, Metalwork, Ceramics & Glass and Word & Image. The museum curators care for the objects in the collection and provide access to objects that are not currently on display to the public and scholars.

The collection departments are further divided into sixteen display areas, whose combined collection numbers over 6.5 million objects, though not all items are displayed or stored at the V&A. There is a repository at Blythe House, West Kensington, as well as annex institutions managed by the V&A, while the Museum also lends exhibits to other institutions.

The museum has 145 galleries, but given the vast extent of the collections, only a small percentage is ever on display.

Are you considering visiting London and the U.K.? Then contact the London official visitor agency-Visit London and Partners at: 08701 566 366  visitorinfo@londonandpartners.com     

You can also contact the City of London Information Centre: Opposite St Paul's Cathedral:

City of London, Guildhall, PO Box 270, London, EC2P 2EJ     pro@cityoflondon.gov.uk

Telephone: 020 7606 3030

They can offer you credible, pursuable and realistic information and advice on the following fronts: Cheap flights to London, hotels in London, cheap hotels in London, boutique hotels in London, bed and breakfast in London, guest houses in London, holiday apartments in London, timeshare accommodation in London, youth hostels in London, transportation in London, bus tours in London, river tours in London, coach tours of the U.K., entertainment in London, tourist attractions in London etc.

Tourist Sites in London-London Science Museum

The Science Museum in London is one of the three major museums situated on Exhibition Road, South Kensington, London, in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea. The museum constitutes a principal attraction in London, visited by over 2.7 million people per year. The Science Museum does not charge for admission except in instances of provisional exhibitions, which usually require an admission fee.

A museum was founded in 1857 under Bennet Woodcroft from the collection of the Royal Society of Arts, and surplus items from the Great Exhibition as part of the South Kensington Museum, together with what is now the Victoria and Albert Museum. It included a collection of machinery, which became the Museum of Patents in 1858, and the Patent Office Museum in 1863. This collection contained many of the most famous exhibits of what is now the Science Museum. In 1883, the contents of the Patent Office Museum were transferred to the South Kensington Museum. In 1885, the Science Collections were renamed the Science Museum and in 1893, a separate director was appointed.  The Art Collections were renamed the Art Museum, which eventually became the Victoria and Albert Museum. When Queen Victoria laid the foundation stone for the new building for the Art Museum, she stipulated that the museum be renamed after herself and her late husband. This was initially applied to the whole museum, but when that new building finally opened ten years later, the title was confined to the Art Collections; and the Science Collections had to be dissociated from it. On June 26 1909, the Science Museum, as an independent entity, came into existence. The Science Museum’s present quarters, designed by Sir Richard Allision, were opened to the public in stages over the period 1919–28. This building was known as the East Block, whose construction began in 1913; and temporarily halted by World War I. As the name suggests, it was intended to be the first building of a much larger project, which was never realised.

The Science Museum now holds a collection of over 300,000 items, including such famous items as Stephenson’s Rocket, Puffing Billy (the oldest surviving steam locomotive), the first jet engine, a reconstruction of 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 (and the latter, preserved half brain), the first prototype of the 10,000-year Clock of the Long Now,  and documentation of the first typewriter. It also contains hundreds of interactive exhibits. A recent addition is the IMAX 3D Cinema showing science and nature documentaries, most of them in, 3-D and the Wellcome Wing which focuses on digital technology.  Entrance has been free since 1 December 2001.

The museum houses some of the many objects collected by Henry Wellcome around a medical theme. The fourth floor exhibit is called "Glimpses of Medical History", with reconstructions and dioramas of the history of practiced medicine. The fifth floor gallery is called "Science and the Art of Medicine", with exhibits of medical instruments and practices from ancient days and from many countries. The collection is strong in clinical medicine, biosciences and public health. The museum is a member of the London Museums of Health and Medicine.

The Science Museum has a dedicated Library, and until the 1960s, was Britain's National Library for Science, Medicine and Technology. It holds runs of periodicals, early books and manuscripts, and is used by scholars worldwide. It has for a number of years been run in conjunction with the Library of Imperial College, but in 2007, the Library was divided over two sites. Histories of science and biographies of scientists are still kept at the Imperial College in London. The rest of the collection which includes original scientific works and archives are now located in Wroughton, Wiltshire.

The Science Museum's medical collections have a global scope and coverage. Strengths include Clinical Medicine, Biosciences and Public Health. The new Wellcome Wing, with its focus on Bioscience, makes the Museum a leading world centre for the presentation of contemporary science to the public.

Some 170,000 items which are not on current display are stored at Blythe House in West Kensington. Blythe House also contains facilities including a conservation laboratory, a photographic studio, and a quarantine area where newly arrived items are examined.

The Science Museum also organises "Science Night", "all night extravaganza with a scientific twist". Up to 380 children aged between 8 and 11, accompanied by adults, are invited to spend an evening performing fun "science based" activities; and then spend the night sleeping in the museum’s galleries amongst the exhibits. In the morning, they're woken to breakfast and more science, watching an IMAX film before the end of the event.

Are you considering visiting London and the U.K.? Then contact the London official visitor agency-Visit London and Partners at: 08701 566 366  visitorinfo@londonandpartners.com     

You can also contact the City of London Information Centre: Opposite St Paul's Cathedral:

City of London, Guildhall, PO Box 270, London, EC2P 2EJ     pro@cityoflondon.gov.uk

Telephone: 020 7606 3030

They can offer you credible, pursuable and realistic information and advice on the following fronts: Cheap flights to London, hotels in London, cheap hotels in London, boutique hotels in London, bed and breakfast in London, guest houses in London, holiday apartments in London, timeshare accommodation in London, youth hostels in London, transportation in London, bus tours in London, river tours in London, coach tours of the U.K., entertainment in London, tourist attractions in London etc.

Tourist Attractions in London-London’s Natural History Museum

Originally part of the British Museum, the Museum of Natural History commenced with Sir Hans Sloane’s donation of collections to the country in 1753. Sloane, who was a physician, is said to have collected "natural curiosities".

When a second collection by botanist Joseph Banks (who travelled with Captain James Cook) was added to Sloane's collection, museum curators began to see a need for a separate location for these items.

A competition was held to determine the architect for the new building. The winner was Captain Francis Fowke who, unfortunately, died before he was able to complete his design. The honors then went to Alfred Waterhouse, who designed a German Romanesque structure that is now known as the Waterhouse Building.

The collections were moved to their new home in 1883, but it wasn't until 1963 that these and additional collections were considered a museum in their own right.

Waterhouse Building

Considered one of the best examples of Romanesque architecture in Britain, the Waterhouse Building has become a London landmark. Its high-spired towers soar above much of the skyline; and its huge grand façade - inspired by the basalt columns at Fingal's Cave in western Scotland, is awe inspiring.

 The most modern Victorian techniques were used for its construction, resulting in an iron and steel framework. The framework is hidden by beautifully decorated terra cotta façades. This structure is famous for its many terra cotta features, and Waterhouse's use of terra cotta as a building material was groundbreaking in Great Britain.

Don't forget to look up at the intricately painted ceiling panels in the Central Hall. Decorated with plants from all over the world, these gilded tiles all tell their own story.

The Exhibits

The museum's enormous collection of artifacts and specimen (over 70 million), covering life on earth, can be overwhelming. The museum is divided into different colour-coded zones, each focusing on a specific aspect of life on earth.

The collection of dinosaur skeletons is one of the museum's biggest attractions. There are several life-sized models in the Dinosaur hall; and you'll also encounter the skeleton of a Diplodocus in the central hall.

Also a favorite with visitors is a hall dedicated to large mammals, including an enormous model of a blue whale and several elephants. Other halls feature exhibitions on reptiles, fish, etc.

Another zone of the museum focuses on geology. Here, you can see the earth viewed from outer space; and a simulated earthquake and volcanic eruption. There's also a large collection of minerals and stones.

Are you considering visiting London and the U.K.? Then contact the London official visitor agency-Visit London and Partners at: 08701 566 366  visitorinfo@londonandpartners.com     

You can also contact the City of London Information Centre: Opposite St Paul's Cathedral:

City of London, Guildhall, PO Box 270, London, EC2P 2EJ     pro@cityoflondon.gov.uk

Telephone: 020 7606 3030

They can offer you credible, pursuable and realistic information and advice on the following fronts: Cheap flights to London, hotels in London, cheap hotels in London, boutique hotels in London, bed and breakfast in London, guest houses in London, holiday apartments in London, timeshare accommodation in London, youth hostels in London, transportation in London, bus tours in London, river tours in London, coach tours of the U.K., entertainment in London, tourist attractions in London etc.

Best Attractions in London-London’s National gallery

The National Gallery is one of London's most significant museums. It has a remarkable collection of paintings spanning the period between 1260 and 1900, with works from virtually all renowned artists of the era.

 At the beginning of the 19th century, king George IV realised that many European cities had opened impressive art museums to the public, such as the Louvre in Paris, the Vatican Museums in Rome and the Uffizi in Florence.

 George IV did not want Britain to be left behind and thus in 1824, he pushed a reluctant government into purchasing the house of the just deceased John Julius Angerstein, a rich Russian banker and art collector. The purchase included a valuable collection of 34 paintings with works from renowned artists such as Rembrandt and Rubens. The works were initially displayed in the banker's residence at Pall Mall.

Over the years, the collection expanded to one of the most prestigious in Europe. Over 2300 paintings are now on display in the monumental building at Trafalgar Square. The neoclassical building that now houses the museum was completed in 1838, after a much-criticised design by English architect William Wilkins. It was built at the then still to be developed Trafalgar Square, which had just been cleared. Plans to replace the building were never realised and in 1876, the museum was expanded with a new east wing. In the mid 1980s, plans for a new expansion were launched, but the modern design faced so much opposition - most notably from the Prince of Wales. Therefore, it was abandoned, and replaced with a more conventional building, known as the Sainsbury wing.

The National Gallery's collection includes European paintings from the 13th to the 19th century. The works are arranged in a more or less chronological order.

The museum's main entrance is at the Sainsbury wing, where you'll find the oldest paintings such as works by Giotto and Jan van Eyck. Late Renaissance works from Titian, Michelangelo and others can be found in the West wing. 17th Century paintings from Italy, Flanders, Spain and the Netherlands are displayed in the North wing, and features works from masters such as Rubens, Van Dyck, Rembrandt and Caravaggio. Paintings from the 18th and 19th century are on display in the East wing. Here, you'll find impressionist works as well as paintings by van Gogh, Seurat and Renoir.

Are you considering visiting London and the U.K.? Then contact the London official visitor agency-Visit London and Partners at: 08701 566 366  visitorinfo@londonandpartners.com     

You can also contact the City of London Information Centre: Opposite St Paul's Cathedral:

City of London, Guildhall, PO Box 270, London, EC2P 2EJ     pro@cityoflondon.gov.uk

Telephone: 020 7606 3030

They can offer you credible, pursuable and realistic information and advice on the following fronts: Cheap flights to London, hotels in London, cheap hotels in London, boutique hotels in London, bed and breakfast in London, guest houses in London, holiday apartments in London, timeshare accommodation in London, youth hostels in London, transportation in London, bus tours in London, river tours in London, coach tours of the U.K., entertainment in London, tourist attractions in London etc.

Top Attractions in London-The Tote Modern in London

The Tote Modern is a breathtaking gallery devoted to modern art. It’ is situated at Bankside London.

Many Britons view high culture with a fair deal of misgiving. Yet, this brilliant gallery designed to celebrate modern art constitutes a natural attraction for the punters and locals, as well as the tourists. It has been ranked among London's most-visited attractions.

Part of its appeal is the building itself, fashioned by architects Herzog and De Meuron from a vast disused power station on the Thames's south bank. In addition to blockbuster exhibits and live events, the gallery invites a prominent artist every year, to transform its cavernous turbine hall: Chinese artist and dissident Ai Wei Wei blanketed the space with 100 million hand-sculpted and painted porcelain sunflower seeds in 2010; British artist Tacita Dean paid homage to 35mm filmmaking in 2011, with her 11-minute loop of grainy, flickering images projected onto a towering screen at the rear of the hall.

It would be easy to spend the entire day in the gallery, but you might want to get out and walk around the neighborhood: Enter foodie heaven in nearby Borough Market, where the delis and restaurants are open all week and a farmer's market operates Friday and Saturday. Directly across the river from the Tate is St Paul’s Cathedral, Sir Christopher Wren's most celebrated building. To get there, you cross the £18.2 million Millennium Bridge, a suspension footbridge completed in 2000, which quickly gained the sobriquet the "Wobbly Bridge." (Though the wobble have since been fixed.)

Are you considering visiting London and the U.K.? Then contact the London official visitor agency-Visit London and Partners at: 08701 566 366  visitorinfo@londonandpartners.com     

You can also contact the City of London Information Centre: Opposite St Paul's Cathedral:

City of London, Guildhall, PO Box 270, London, EC2P 2EJ     pro@cityoflondon.gov.uk

Telephone: 020 7606 3030

They can offer you credible, pursuable and realistic information and advice on the following fronts: Cheap flights to London, hotels in London, cheap hotels in London, boutique hotels in London, bed and breakfast in London, guest houses in London, holiday apartments in London, timeshare accommodation in London, youth hostels in London, transportation in London, bus tours in London, river tours in London, coach tours of the U.K., entertainment in London, tourist attractions in London etc.

Visitor Attractions in London-The British Museum in London

The British Museum is one of the most fascinating museums in London, with an excellent collection of diverse and marvelling objects. Each year, the museum attracts millions of visitors both from abroad and within the United Kingdom itself.

The British Museum was established in 1753, with the donation of 71.000 objects from the rich collection of Sir Hans Sloane.

The Museum Building

Since its inception, the museum was situated at the site of the Montague House in Bloomsbury. Not too long, it became evident that this facility did not actually suffice to display and store the museum’s extensive collection of formidable objects. Plans were then made to enlarge the museum’s building. The first part of the building was the Townley Gallery for classical sculpture, but was later demolished so as to provide room for the Smirke Building, which has become the core part of the building first visible to visitors once they arrive on the premises.

The Smirke Building

The idea for the Smirke Building, designed by Sir Robert Smirke in Greek revival style, was conceived in 1823, but the addition was not completed until nearly 30 years later.

It was originally built to house the personal library of King George III. This new building was a quadrangle situated north of the Montague House. The south wing of the Smirke Building eventually replaced the old house.

A domed, circular reading room was added in 1857, and the White Wing, designed by architect John Taylor, was added 30 years later. King Edward VII's Galleries, a Beaux Arts style addition, became part of the British Museum in 1914.

Parthenon Galleries

The Parthenon Galleries, by American John Russell Pope, was built to house the Parthenon sculptures and opened in 1939. However, because of extensive damage suffered during World War II, the Great Court structure had to be rebuilt and was reopened in 1962. Another new wing, opened in 1980, housed public facilities like a restaurant and gift shop.

The Great Court

Finally, the Queen Elizabeth II Great Court opened in 2000. This two-acre square (8000 sq m), enclosed by a glass roof, creates an indoor courtyard with the museum's famed circular reading room in the center. This design made by Norman Foster and Partners makes it easier for visitors to find their way in the museum due to the large open space, very similar to the way the Easter Island Sculpture entrance area below the Louvre Pyramid in Paris works.

The Museum's Collection

The collection found at the British Museum constitutes a great source of fascination and edification for millions of visitors each year. Considering the museum’s largeness, many visitors take more than one day to explore it. Not all of the more than 7 million artifacts are on display, but much of the collection constantly rotates so you'll see something new with each visit.

Elgin Marbles

The Elgin Marbles, the collection of marble sculptures that were taken from the Parthenon in Athens, is one of the museum's most famous attractions. They are located in the purpose-built Parthenon Galleries. The sculptures, also known as the Parthenon Marbles, were obtained by Thomas Bruce, the 7th Earl of Elgin and diplomat in Constantinople in the Ottoman Empire, which at that time included Greece.

Earl Elgin obtained permission "to take away any pieces of stone with old inscriptions or figures thereon", to prevent any more damage by the Turkish. Lord Elgin's collection was at first displayed at his own house, but in 1816, the House of Commons decided to purchase the collection and handed it over to the British Museum.

Egyptian Collection

Another highlight of the British Museum is the extensive Egyptian collection. Besides many sarcophagi and statues, including an enormous one of Pharaoh Ramesses II, the collection is home to the famous Rosetta stone, used by Jean-François Champollion to decipher the hieroglyphic writing.  The text on the stone, created in 196 BC after the end of the Egyptian dynasties, is written in three different writings: Greek, hieroglyphic and demotic (a symplified form of hieroglyphic). The British Museum is also known for its very large and popular collection of Egyptian mummies and coffins. You can even find animal mummies here.

Assyrian collection

The Assyrian collection features relief carvings from the palaces of the Assyrian kings at Nimrud, Khorsabad and Nineveh. The enormous winged bulls from the palace of Sargon II are especially impressive.

Other departments

The many other departments in the museum include Africa, Oceania and the Americas; Sudan; Asia; Coins and Medals; Conservation, Documentation and Science; Greek and Roman Antiquities; the Middle East; Portable Antiquities and Treasure; Prehistory and Europe; and Prints and Drawings.

Are you considering visiting London and the U.K.? Then contact the London official visitor agency-Visit London and Partners at: 08701 566 366  visitorinfo@londonandpartners.com     

You can also contact the City of London Information Centre: Opposite St Paul's Cathedral:

City of London, Guildhall, PO Box 270, London, EC2P 2EJ     pro@cityoflondon.gov.uk

Telephone: 020 7606 3030

They can offer you credible, pursuable and realistic information and advice on the following fronts: Cheap flights to London, hotels in London, cheap hotels in London, boutique hotels in London, bed and breakfast in London, guest houses in London, holiday apartments in London, timeshare accommodation in London, youth hostels in London, transportation in London, bus tours in London, river tours in London, coach tours of the U.K., entertainment in London, tourist attractions in London etc.