London (Fodor's 2012) - Fodor's [46]
If there’s one place to absorb the history of London, from 450,000 BC to the present day, it’s here: Oliver Cromwell’s death mask, Queen Victoria’s crinoline gowns, Selfridges’ Art Deco elevators, and the London’s Burning exhibition are just some of the goodies. The museum appropriately shelters a section of the 2nd- to 4th-century London wall, which you can view from a window inside. Permanent displays include “London Before London,” “Roman London,” “Medieval London,” and “Tudor London.” The Galleries of Modern London, which opened in 2010 following a £20 million modernization, are enthralling. Experience the “Expanding City,” “People’s City,” and “World City” galleries, each one dealing with a section of London’s history from 1666 until the 21st century. Innovative interactive displays include the fun “So You Want to be an Apprentice” quiz, with options including shoemaker, gunmaker, glassmaker, and watchmaker and around 7,000 objects to wonder at, from fans, guns, and jewelry to an original Newgate Prison Door and the incredible Blackett Dolls House, both dating from around the late 1700s. The archaeologists and curators at the museum regularly leap from AD to BC, as fresh building work in the city uncovers more treasures. | London Wall, The City | EC2Y 5HN | 020/7001–9844 | www.museumoflondon.org.uk | Free | Mon.–Sun. 10–6; last admission 5:30 | Barbican, St. Paul’s.
Fodor’s Choice | St. Paul’s Cathedral.
St. Paul’s is simply breathtaking—even more so since it was spruced up for its 300th anniversary in 2008. The dome, the world’s third largest, is easily recognizable through the skyline from many an angle around London. The structure is Sir Christopher Wren’s masterpiece, completed in 1710 after 35 years of building, and, much later, miraculously spared (mostly) by World War II bombs. Wren’s first plan, known as the New Model, did not make it past the drawing board. The second, known as the Great Model got as far as the 20-foot oak rendering before it also was rejected. You can see it displayed in the Trophy Room if you take the Triforium Tour (020/7246–8357 | £16 | Mon. and Tues. at 11:30 and 2, Fri. at 2), a tour that also offers entry to the crypt and galleries. The third was accepted, with the fortunate coda that the architect be allowed to make changes as he saw fit. Without that, there would be no dome, because the approved design had a steeple. When you enter and see the dome from the inside, it may seem smaller than you expected. It is smaller, and 60 feet lower than the lead-covered outer dome. Beneath the lantern is Wren’s famous epitaph, which his son composed and had set into the pavement, and which reads succinctly: “Lector, si monumentum requiris, circumspice”—”Reader, if you seek his monument, look around you.” The epitaph also appears on Wren’s memorial in the Crypt. Up 163 spiral steps is the Whispering Gallery, an acoustic phenomenon; you whisper something to the wall on one side, and a second later it transmits clearly to the other side, 107 feet away. Ascend to the Stone Gallery, which encircles the base of the dome. Farther up (280 feet from ground level) is the small Golden Gallery, the dome’s highest point. From both these galleries (if you have a head for heights) you can walk outside for a spectacular panorama of London. The climb up the spiraling steps can be fun for older kids.
The remains of the poet John Donne, who was Dean of St. Paul’s for his final 10 years (he died in 1631), are in the south choir aisle. The vivacious choir-stall carvings nearby are the work of Grinling Gibbons, as are those on the great organ, which Wren designed. Behind the high altar is the American Memorial Chapel, dedicated to the 28,000 GIs stationed in the United Kingdom who lost their lives in World War II. Among the famous figures whose remains lie in the Crypt are the Duke of Wellington and Admiral Lord Nelson. The Crypt also has a gift shop and a café. | St. Paul’s Churchyard, The City, | EC4M 8AD | 020/7236–4128 | www.stpauls.co.uk | £12.50, (cost includes multimedia guides and guided tours) |