London Off The Beaten Path Tips by mrclay2000

Baker Street Aficionados

For Sherlock Holmes buffs and other interested parties, the fictional residence of the famed detective exists today as a museum in northern London. Baker Street itself it not particularly stylish, but the subway station (Baker Street) is replete with countless silhouettes of the famed Sherlock Holmes silhouette.

Other Contact: Open 10-6 daily

Phone: 071-935 8866

The Bank of England

This massive structure is the 18th century repository of England's central (federal) bank, established in 1694, known popularly as "the Old Lady of Threadneedle St." Certain architectural embellishments later created a windowless front facade (in the interests of security). A museum adjacent tells the history of the bank.

Other Contact: Open M-F 10-5

Phone: 071-601 5545

Monument

This 202-foot tall fluted Doric column reputedly stands 202 feet from the spot where the Great Fire of 1666 began in Pudding Lane. Murals near the column (known as The Monument) detail the progress of the fire from start to finish.
Hours: Apr-Sep M-F 9-6, Sa-Su 2-6; Oct-Mar M-Sa 9-2 & 3-4

Other Contact: Tube: Monument

Phone: 071-626 2717

Grand Slam London

The village of Wimbledon (southwest London) hosts one of Tennis' Grand Slam events every summer. Accessible by British Rail and by the Tube, the famed Centre Court and the infamous Court #2 are surfaced both in grass and some of the greatest lore in tennis over the past 125 years.

Ship Ahoy!

Since its rescue from the scrapyards by the Imperial War Museum in 1971, the HMS Belfast has been open to the public as a museum. A Southampton-class cruiser from the late 1930s, its main attractions are the gun turrets and the fighting history of the ship, but cramped spaces and narrow gangways might make for some discomfort. Sitting alongside the Thames embankment above Tower Bridge, the cruiser is one of several London landmarks that illuminates at night.
Hours: Open daily Apr to Oct 10-5:30, Nov to Mar 10-4

Phone: 071-407 6434

Kensal Green Cemetery

Located far to the northwest of the greater London attractions, Kensal Green cemetery contains some of England's most illustrious names. Authors William Makepeace Thackeray, Anthony Trollope and Wilkie Collins are here (the latter buried alongside his mistress), as well as the 5th Duke of Portland, Blondin (the famous tightrope walker), the Duke of Sussex, the Duke of Somerset, and Leigh Hunt.

Other Contact: Tube: Kensal Green

Phone: 081-969 0152

Too Tight for State Carriages

The Marble Arch was originally erected in front of Buckingham Palace as a grand entrance, but proved too narrow for the state carriages. A few decades later it was brought here to Hyde Park, where it now commands a lonely island. Similar in appearance to the Arch of Constantine in Rome, the Arch stands near the former site of the Tyburn Tree, for centuries London's famous execution venue. There supposedly stands a marker on the local sidewalk where the Tree once stood, but a thorough search yielded (for me) nothing.

Royal Exchange

The Bank of England shares its recess on Threadneedle Street with the Royal Exchange, which joined the triumvirate of buildings at the same time as a plain equestrian statue of Wellington (1844). Together with the Bank, the pair compose the most prominent financial duo in the City.

Methodist (Central) Hall

This domed structure, located just down the street from the cloisters of Westminster Abbey, was built in 1912, and in 1946 became the first home of the General Assembly of the United Nations.