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their quality that they are worth a detour off the Strand to see. The work of 18th-century Scottish architects and interior designers (John, Robert, James, and William Adam, known collectively as the Adam brothers), the original development was damaged in the 19th century during the building of the embankment, and mostly demolished in 1936 to be replaced by an Art Deco tower. The original houses still standing are protected, and give a glimpse of their former grandeur. Nos. 1–4 Robert Street and Nos. 7 and 10 Adam Street are the best. At the Royal Society of Arts (8 John Adam St. | 020/7930–5115 | www.thersa.org | Free | 1st Sun. of month, 10–1), you can see a suite of Adam rooms; no reservations are required. | The Strand, Covent Garden | WC2N 6AA | Closed weekends | Charing Cross, Embankment.

Benjamin Franklin House.

Opened to the public for the first time in 2006, this architecturally significant 1730 house is the only surviving residence of American statesman, scientist, writer, and inventor Benjamin Franklin, who lived and worked here for 16 years preceding the American Revolution. The restored Georgian town house has been left unfurnished, the better to show off the original features—18th-century paneling, stoves, beams, bricks, and windows. Older children (under 16 admitted free) particularly enjoy the Student Science Centre, an interactive display of scientific experiments that contrasts historical with modern knowledge. There’s also a glass harmonica (which Franklin invented while living there) and a scholarship center with a complete collection of Franklin’s papers. On Monday you can take a guided tour focusing on the architectural details of the building. | 36 Craven St., Covent Garden | WC2N 5NF | 020/7839–2006, 020/7925–1405 booking line | www.benjaminfranklinhouse.org | £7 | Wed.–Sun. noon–5.

Leicester Square.

Looking at the neon of the major movie houses, the fast-food outlets, and the disco entrances, you’d never guess that this square (pronounced Lester) was a model of formality and refinement when it was first laid out around 1630. By the 19th century it was already bustling and disreputable, and although today it’s not a threatening place, you should still be on your guard, especially at night—any space so full of people is bound to attract pickpockets, and Leicester Square certainly does. Although it retains some residual glamour as the site of red-carpet film premieres, Londoners generally tend to avoid this windswept plaza, crowded as it is with suburban teenagers, wandering backpackers, and mimes. That said, the liveliness can be quite cheering. In the middle is a statue of a sulking Shakespeare, clearly wishing he were somewhere else and perhaps remembering the days when the cinemas were live theaters—burlesque houses, but live all the same. Here, too, are figures of Newton, Hogarth, Reynolds, and Charlie Chaplin. On the northeast corner, in Leicester Place, stands the church of Notre Dame de France, with a wonderful mural by Jean Cocteau in one of its side chapels. | Covent Garden | WC2H 7JY | Leicester Sq.

St. Paul’s Church.

If you want to commune with the spirits of Vivien Leigh, Noël Coward, Edith Evans, or Charlie Chaplin, this might be just the place. Memorials to them and many other theater greats are found in this 1633 work of the renowned Inigo Jones, who, as the King’s Surveyor of Works, designed the whole of Covent Garden Piazza. St. Paul’s Church has been known as “the actors’ church” since the Restoration, thanks to the neighboring theater district and St. Paul’s prominent parishioners. (Well-known actors often read the lessons at services, and the church still hosts concerts and small-scale productions.) Fittingly, the opening scene of Shaw’s Pygmalion takes place under its Tuscan portico (you might know it better from the musical My Fair Lady starring Audrey Hepburn). The western end of the Piazza is a prime pitch for street entertainers, but if they’re not to your liking, you can repair to the serenity of the garden entered from King or Bedford streets. | Bedford St., Covent