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Here’s the goriest, grisliest, most gruesome attraction in town, where realistic waxwork people are subjected in graphic detail to all the historical horrors the Tower of London merely tells you about. Perhaps the most shocking thing here is the mass of children lined up roaring to get in every day—kiddies absolutely adore this place, but some nervous types may find it too frightening (and that goes for the adults, too). Replete with campy mannequins, penny-dreadful stage-sets, and lurid colored spotlights, a series of tableaux depicts famous bloody moments—like Anne Boleyn’s decapitation and the martyrdom of St. George—alongside the torture, murder, and ritual slaughter of lesser-known victims, all to a soundtrack of screaming, wailing, and agonized moaning. There are displays on the Great Plague, the Great Fire of London, and Jack the Ripper; to add to the fear and fun, costumed characters leap out of the gloom to bring the exhibits to life. And did you ever imagine what a disembowelment looks like? Well, here’s your chance. Be sure to get the souvenir booklet to impress all your friends back home. TIP Expect long lines on weekends and during school holidays. Booking online will save at least £5. | 28–34 Tooley St., South Bank | SE1 2SZ | 0871/7403–7221 | www.thedungeons.com | £23 | Daily; opening times vary slightly, week by week, but generally Sept.–Mar. 10–5; Mar.–Sept. 9:30–6; Aug. 9:30–7; phone to confirm times | London Bridge.

Old Operating Theatre Museum.

All that remains of one of England’s oldest hospitals, which stood here from the 12th century until 1862, is the room where women went under the knife. The theater was bricked up and forgotten for a century but has been restored into an exhibition of early-19th-century medical practices: the operating table onto which the gagged and blindfolded patients were roped; the box of sawdust underneath for catching their blood; the knives, pliers, and handsaws the surgeons wielded; and—this was a theater in the round—the spectators’ seats. So authentic are the surroundings that they were used in the film The Madness of King George. Every Saturday at 11:30 and 2 there are demonstrations of surgical practice. Next door is a sweeter show: the Herb Garret, with displays of medicinal herbs used during the same period. | 9A St. Thomas St., South Bank | SE1 9RY | 020/7188–2679 | www.thegarret.org.uk | £5.80 | Daily 10:30–5. Closed Dec. 15–Jan. 5 | London Bridge.

Sea Life London Aquarium.

The curved, colonnaded, neoclassic hulk of County Hall once housed London’s local government administration (now at the Norman Foster–designed City Hall building farther downriver by Tower Bridge). Now it’s where you can catch a dark and thrilling glimpse of the waters of the world, focused around a superb three-level aquarium full of sharks and stingrays, among other common and rarer breeds. There are also educational exhibits, feeding displays, and hands-on displays—including a tank full of nonvenomous rays that you can touch if they swim near enough—they seem to like having their backs tickled. It’s not the biggest aquarium you’ve ever seen—especially if you’ve been to SeaWorld—but the exhibit is well arranged, with areas for different oceans, water environments, and climate zones, including a stunning coral reef and rain forest. There are regular feeding times and free talks throughout the day. Look out for new additions to the tanks from the conservation breeding program. | County Hall, Riverside Bldg., Westminster Bridge Rd., South Bank | SE1 7PB | 0871/663–1678 | www.sealife.co.uk | £16 | Mon.–Thurs. 10–6, last admission 5; Fri.–Sun. 10–7, last admission 6 | Westminster, Waterloo.

Vinopolis.

Spread over 2 acres between the Globe Theatre and London Bridge, Vinopolis allows you to take a virtual tour of the world’s wine cultures and have an opportunity to put your skills to the “taste.” Wine tours start at £21, and there are a number of packages, including an option that allows you to taste various whiskeys, rums, and absinthes in addition to the wines