This once derelict house was bought by the Late American artist, Dennis Severs. Severs had been inspired by ‘Olde England’, so he renovated the house to reflect the 18th and 19th centuries. Eager to share his passionate creation with the public, Severs opened his house up to visitors.

With no signage outside, the house looks like any other Victorian townhouse. Although once inside, it’s quite a different story, as I felt I had entered a time capsule and had been ejected out somewhere between the 18th and 19th centuries.

Spread out on four floors, each of the ten rooms tells a different story. Props such as the remains of half eaten toast and cups of tea make the visitor feel as if someone just left the room. While the more permanent structures, such as the uneven floors, low beamed ceilings, antique furnishings and the smell of gas from the fire places lingering through the air allows the visitor to visualize and smell yester-year. The flickering of candles leave you feeling as if your presence is being observed by the occupants of the house, which of course are only as vivid as your imagination will allow.

Since Severs death in 1999, funding to keep the house open has been limited, therefore Severs intricate interpretation of centuries gone by can only be kept alive for as long as people continue to visit this special little place.

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The Dennis Severs House | Art & culture | Entry from £ 7
18 Folgate Street | East | +442072474013
1st & 3rd Sun 12:00 – 16:00, following Mon 12:00 – 14:00

The Geffrye Museum specialises in the history of the home. The collection of furniture, textiles, paintings and objects are displayed chronologically from 1600 to the present day. It is full of the everyday, common objects rather than of the precious exquisite examples of the landed gentry. Clearly some of the displays are now worth a small fortune, but the Geffrye ‘find the relatively ordinary things of the past, owned and used by ordinary people, and to show these in their appropriate domestic context’.

If you like interior design this is a fascinating and little-known museum. It kind of reminds of the fantastic Design Museum Danmark in Copenhagen. Historical and social context are all important to both so when you venture through the eleven Period Rooms depicting the style of English middle-class living room and get to the 20th Century rooms and see the furniture and designs of the 50s and 60s (which I love) and compare them to ‘loft living’ of the 90s you can see the differences but also understand the similarities and see where the latter designers were taking inspiration from. Oh, and it is nowhere near as dull as I make it sound, honest.  

The museum is set in a beautiful set of 18th-century almshouse buildings, has attractive gardens including a walled herb garden and there is a newly built extension which houses a tasty cafe. 

Entrance to the museum if free, but there is a charge for the special exhibitions.

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The Geffrye Museum | Art & culture | Free
Kingsland Rd,E2 8EA | East | +442077399893
Tue – Sat 10:00 – 17:00, Sun 12:00 – 17:00

Situated just minutes from the hectic shopping hordes of Oxford Street, the serene atmosphere of the Wallace Collection in Hertford House offers a gentle breather from the over-stimulation of last-minute sales. 

The art collection itself covers such a wide range that most visitors will find something to please them. Art from Turner, Canaletto, Reubens and Van Dyck will capture the interests of fans of paintings, while the large collections of porcelain will entertain ceramics connoisseurs. The house recently completed renovations, and the results are spectacular.

Although the art pieces are a joy, I think it’s the rooms themselves that are the big draw to the museum – each room gives a taste of Versailles: sumptuous, decadent and occasionally over-the-top. Often I find I stare as much at the rich wallpaper and delicately crafted fireplaces as much as the art on the walls.

The room I find I spend the most time is on the ground floor just beyond the gift shop. The European and Oriental Armoury collection includes every shape of sword and every size of armour. The real draw is the equestrian armour displayed in the centre of the room. Spending a few minutes here will tap into the inner-knight in all of us.

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The Wallace Collection | Art & culture | Free
Hertford House, Manchester Square, W1U 3BN | Central | +442075639500
10:00 – 17:00 daily

For many bleary-eyes travellers, the journey between Heathrow and central London is an anonymous journey on the Piccadilly Line. However for the more adventurous (or more wide-awake) traveller, the suburbs between the airport and the centre of town holds a few treasures.

One of my recent discoveries is the magnificent Osterley House and Park. If you’re an aspiring stately home owner like me, a few hours exploring the neo-classical rooms or wandering through the gardens will make you feel like the lord or lady of the manor.

Exploring Osterley House itself is like stepping into a Jane Austen novel. In its heyday, the house was mainly used for entertaining and impressing guests. The ornate furnishings, rich tapestries and detailed references to Classical architecture all add to the home’s personality. And if cinematic rumours prove true, then Osterley House will be standing in as ‘Wayne Manor’ in the next ‘Batman’ film.

Although there is an admission fee to see the home and garden, walking around the grounds is free. Plus the stables have been converted to a neat cafe – ideal for a lazy brunch.  For gentle spring afternoons and upcoming summer mornings, I can think of few better ways than strolling around the lakes, listening to birdsong and enjoying the splendour of Osterley Park.

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Osterley House and Park | Art & culture | Entrance Fee £ 9.20
Jersey Road, Isleworth, Middlesex TW7 4RB | South-West | +442082325050
Park 08:00 – 19:00 daily | House Sat – Sun 12:00 – 15:30

The area of Canary Wharf is seen by some Londoners as a cultural void – most people arrive to work in the mornings and leave immediately after work. It’s not a place to really ‘hang out’. This may have been true a few years ago, but local residents and developers are transforming the area into a more welcoming area for families and tourists. The Museum of London Docklands in one fine example.

Exploring the museum is a chance to learn about the specific history of London’s relationship with the Thames and the open seas. The interactive displays challenges readers to consider how the waterways have influenced London – trade brought new goods such as tea to Londoners, commerce brought new immigrants to enrich the city’s culture, and even the slave trade forced Londoners to reconsider their definitions of justice and liberty.

It’s not all serious though.  There’s a section of photos relating to the 2012 Olympics and the immersive displays encourages visitors to imagine life as a dockworker, a sailor or even a pirate. ARRR!

One of my favourite exhibits here is the model of what London Bridge looked like about 500 years ago. It’s not something anyone would recognize now, but that’s the magic of learning about London’s history – it’s constantly changing but always exciting. An afternoon here reminds me of that.

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Museum of London Docklands | Art & culture | Free
No1 Warehouse,E14 4AL | South-East | +442070019844
10:00 – 18:00 daily

When some people think of libraries, they might think of old women in cardigans shushing people for making any noise at all (as a former librarian during my student days, I can assure you that I only wore cardigans on cold days). Surely a library is no place to hang out while on holiday?

The British Library breaks all of these stereotypes. Not only is it a working library for students and researchers with free wifi access and working spaces throughout, it also caters to more casual visitors with cosy cafes and a restaurant on the premises to relax and read.

However, the biggest draw to the British Library is its permanent collection – free for anyone to admire. The permanent collection covers many aspects of literature, ranging from original manuscripts from Charlotte Bronte to Virginia Woolf. Even if you are not a connoisseur of books, you’ll likely find displays that will capture your interest among the priceless religious texts, scientific documents and handwritten musical scores.

Complementing the permanent collection is a new exhibition called ‘Writing Britain: Wastelands to Wonderlands’ which covers journeys throughs texts, photos and letters.  It will be on until September, so if your legs are tired from physical travel, well you can let your mind wander here.

Emily Dickson wrote in one of her poems ‘There is no frigate like a book’.  I can think of no better illustration of this than the British Library.

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The British Library | Art & culture, Coffee & tea | Free
96 Euston Road,NW1 2DB | Central | +448432081144
Mon, Wed – Fri 09:30 – 18:00, Tue 09:30 – 20:00, Sat 09:30 – 17:00, Sun 11:00 – 17:00

For fans of the video game SimCity, the biggest pleasure is not merely to create a prosperous city, but to build a safe place where traffic flows smoothly, where residents are happy and with a minimum number of natural disasters (including Godzilla attacks).

Visiting the Building Centre in central London is like stepping into the game. Along with an impressive model of London, the Centre encourages visitors to learn about the latest developments in architecture and urban design affecting the capital. Spending an hour or so at the Building Centre shows just how challenging keeping a city like London organised, as well as beautiful, can be.

The Centre regularly hosts exhibitions, debates and seminars aimed at these topics. The exciting events tackles a range of issues from interior design to the psychology of building design for people’s well being!  For those passionate about these subjects, there’s a bookshop where curious visitors can take books home to feed their interests. Even for those with little knowledge of urban design or the intricacies of environmentally-friendly architecture, spending time at the Building Centre will give you topics to think about next time you wander London…or play SimCity.

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The Building Centre | Art & culture | Free
Store Street,WC1E 7BT | Central | +442076924000
Mon – Fri 09:30 – 18:00, Sat 10:00 – 17:00

Kemistry Gallery is a small, independent gallery ‘dedicated to exhibiting the work of outstanding graphic designers both past, present and upcoming’. What this actually means is you get up and personal with some outstanding graphics – design that is good enough to be exhibited and cross the divide into the art world.

Last year, for example, I went to the excellent exhibition ‘Bass Notes: The film posters of Saul Bass’. A subject so large in the design world that the exhibition would not have been out of place at the Design Museum or Tate Modern. I have also seen exhibitions on the information graphics of South Korea courtesy of the agency Zero Per Zero and the now famous Homework agency of Poland and their fantastic poster designs.

The gallery obviously caters to those interested in graphic design (perhaps a niche market) and with that in mind you can buy work from current and past exhibitions or from the Kemistry Gallery Commissions series. 

The exhibitions change every couple of months, so it is worth joining the mailing list, especially as you will then know about the opening night and the free beer and wine that invariably flows on those occasions. Be careful though as a lot of work on display is for sale and you can easily get carried away.

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Kemistry Gallery | Art & culture | Free
43 Charlotte Road,EC2A 3PD | East | +442077293636
10:00 – 18:00 daily

The 1951 Festival of Britain transformed the south bank of the Thames as Victorian industrial buildings were demolished for the new and the modern. And while amazing structures like the Skylon have sadly disappeared what we are left with now is the always excellent Southbank Centre, a 21 acre site which incorporates the Hayward Gallery, the Queen Elizabeth Hall and the Royal Festival Hall. All embrace modernism in their own way and now offer a huge and varied selection of arts and culture. Luckily, the Royal Festival Hall also boasts the wonderful Canteen, a restaurant so in keeping with its surroundings that it could have been designed especially for the Festival. 

The design of the menu (both in terms of look and content) seems perfect. British classics like Lancashire hotpot, fish and chips, sausage mash and onion gravy and, obviously, a fantastic roast Beef on a Sunday fill the menu. As do classic bar snacks like the Scotch egg, Pork scratchings and a great fish finger sandwich. This is great British food of yesteryear done extremely well, for a modern 21st century clientele. 

The meat is additive free, the fish fresh, while the bar is also British-led with Pale Ales and Wheat beer from acclaimed Greenwich microbrewery Meantime.

Canteen is a wonderful modern celebration of British food and drink in a classic modernist setting. Architecture, art, food and design come together to make the world a better place. Well, at least it seems like that as I tuck into my second helping of Victoria sponge…

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Canteen at RFH | Art & culture, Restaurants (British) | Fish & chips £ 13.50
Royal Festival Hall,Belvedere Road,SE1 8XX | Central | +448456861122
Mon – Fri 08:00 – 23:00, Sat 09:00 – 23:00, Sun 09:00 – 22:00

The Tricycle has been running since 1980 and despite being in the northwest, far from the glamorous West End theatre hub, it has become one of London’s most adored and respected theatres. Eleven years ago a one-screen cinema was added on and in 2001 the Creative Space was built for educational workshops.

The theatre’s directors try to present work which reflects the cultural diversity of its neighborhood Kilburn, a heavily immigrant area and has put on plays by Irish, African-Caribbean and Asian writers.

The cinema kiosk serves ice cream and candy and it has a bar/café which has a simple menu of pasta, sandwiches and jacket potatoes. There is a separate eating area which doubles as an exhibition space. On Mondays cinema tickets are only £6.50.

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The Tricycle | Art & culture, Bars, Cinemas, Coffee & tea, Snacks, Theaters
269 Kilburn High Road | North-West | +442073281000
Box office Mon – Sat 10:00 – 21:00, Sun 14:00 – 21:00 | Café & bar Mon – Sun 12:00 – 23:00 (12:00 – 20:00 for food)