London (Fodor's 2012) - Fodor's [16]
FEELING PECKISH?
Gordon’s Wine Bar (47 Villiers St. | WC2N 6NE | 020/7930–1408 | www.gordonswinebar.com), the oldest in London, is hidden belowground among vaulted brick arches and bathed in candlelight. A range of bottles will suit any budget, and buffet food includes excellent beef.
There’s great food and drink all year at Inn the Park (St. James’s Park | SW1A 2BJ | 020/7451–9999 | www.innthepark.com) and the outdoor pinewood deck makes for fantastic people-watching in summer.
At the Vincent Rooms (Vincent Sq. | SW1P 2PD | 020/7802–8391 | www.thevincentrooms.com) the kitchen of a top catering college offers offers haute cuisine at bargain prices.
NEAREST PUBLIC RESTROOMS
If you get caught short in Westminster Abbey, paid loos (50p) are across the street at the bottom of Victoria Street. Banqueting House and the Queen’s Gallery have very elegant restrooms.
Top of Chapter | London Maps Contents
TOP ATTRACTIONS
Banqueting House.
Built on the site of the original Tudor Palace of Whitehall, which was (according to one foreign visitor) “ill-built, and nothing but a heap of houses,” James I commissioned Inigo Jones, one of England’s great architects, to undertake a grand building. Influenced during a sojourn in Italy by Andrea Palladio’s work, Jones brought Palladian sophistication and purity back to London with him. The resulting graceful and disciplined classical style of Banqueting House, completed in 1622, must have stunned its early occupants. In the quiet vaults beneath, James would escape the stresses of being a sovereign with a glass or two. His son Charles I enhanced the interior by employing the Flemish painter Peter Paul Rubens to glorify his father and the Stuart dynasty in vibrant painted ceiling panels. As it turned out, these allegorical paintings, depicting a wise monarch being received into heaven, were the last thing Charles saw before he was beheaded by Cromwell’s Parliamentarians in 1649. But his son, Charles II, was able to celebrate the restoration of the monarchy in this same place 20 years later. Banqueting House is also the setting for lunchtime classical concerts, held 1–2 pm. Call, or check the Web site for details. | Whitehall, Westminster | SW1A 2ER | 020/3166–6154 or 020/3166–6155, 020/3166–6153 concert information | www.hrp.org.uk | £4.80, includes audio guide, concerts from £20 | Mon.–Sat. 10–5, last admission 4:30. Closed Christmas wk. Liable to close at short notice for events so calling first is advisable | Charing Cross, Embankment, Westminster.
Fodor’s Choice | Buckingham Palace.
It’s rare to get a chance to see how the other half—well, other minute fraction—lives and works. But when the Queen heads off to Scotland on her annual summer holiday (you can tell because the Union Jack flies above the palace instead of the Royal Standard), the palace’s 19 State Rooms open up to visitors (although the north wing’s private apartments remain behind closed doors). With fabulous gilt moldings and walls adorned with masterpieces by Rembrandt, Rubens, and other old masters, the State Rooms are the grandest of the palace’s 775 rooms.
Palace Highlights
Inside the palace, the Grand Hall, followed by the Grand Staircase and Guard Room, gives a taste of what’s to follow: marble, gold leaf galore, and massive, twinkling chandeliers. Don’t miss the theatrical Throne Room, with the original 1953 coronation throne, or the sword in the Ballroom, used by the Queen to bestow knighthoods and other honors. Royal portraits line the State Dining Room, and the Blue Drawing Room is splendor in overdrive. The bow-shape Music Room features lapis lazuli columns between arched floor-to-ceiling windows, and