British Museum
After the completion of a lengthy refurbishment programme – the centrepiece of which being the construction of Lord Foster’s ambitious glass-roofed Great Court – the British Museum is back in place as one of the world’s finest museums. Visitors to the British Museum must contend with a mind-boggling six million artefacts plucked (or plundered) by collectors from all corners of the globe. The awesome scale of the museum means it is essential to select just a few of the 94 galleries for close attention. Highlights include the Rosetta Stone, a copy of the Magna Carta and the controversial Elgin Marbles (taken from the Parthenon in Athens), which Greece want back before the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens. A new British Museum souvenir shop next to the museum opened in 2000.

Great Russell Street, WC1
Tel: (020) 7636 1555. Fax: (020) 7323 8616.
Website: www.thebritishmuseum.ac.uk
Transport: Underground Russell Square.
Opening hours: Mon-Sat 1000-1700 and Sun 1200-1800.
Admission: Free.

Victoria & Albert Museum
The Victoria & Albert Museum (V&A) is one of three major museums in South Kensington – the others being the Natural History Museum (tel: (020) 7942 5000; website: www.nhm.ac.uk) and the Science Museum (tel: (020) 7942 4000; website: www.nmsi.ac.uk ). Founded in the 19th century as a museum of the decorative arts, the V&A’s 11km (seven miles) of corridors trace a path through paintings, jewellery, furniture and textiles dating from 3000BC to the present day. Highlights include the Raphael Cartoons, the sculpture court and the collection of vintage costumes. The V&A opened 15 new ‘British Galleries’
in November 2001.

Cromwell Road, SW7
Tel: (020) 7942 2000.
Website: www.vam.ac.uk
Transport: Underground South Kensington.
Opening hours: Daily 1000-1745, plus Wed 1830-2130
(seasonal Late View).
Admission: V&A, Natural History and Science museums
are all free.

Tate Britain Gallery
The Gallery of Modern British Art opened in 1897, around the collection of sugar merchant Henry Tate, and now holds an unrivalled collection of English paintings from the 16th to the 19th centuries. All 20th-century art has moved to the newly opened Tate Modern (see above). The magnificent Turner Bequest is housed in the purpose-built Clore Gallery.

Millbank, SW1
Tel: (020) 7887 8725. Fax: (020) 7887 8788.
Website: www.tate.org.uk
Transport: Underground Pimlico.
Opening hours: Mon-Sat 1000-1750 and Sun 1400-1750.
Admission: Free (except for temporary exhibitions).

Tate Modern Gallery
Another new attraction, opened in 2000, was the Tate Modern. This £130-million project is a model of urban regeneration with the disused Bankside power station transformed into an avant-garde space dedicated to 20th-century art. The permanent exhibition contains much of the Tate Gallery’s collection of modern work, displayed thematically rather than chronologically. This includes major works by Matisse, Picasso, Rothko and Warhol, as well as contemporary pieces. The Bankside area itself is becoming one of the most exciting corners of the capital. The new £14-million Millennium Bridge is the first new River Thames crossing in London for more than a century. Designed by Lord Foster, it provides a pedestrian link from St Paul’s Cathedral to the Tate Modern. However, it has been plagued by safety problems since its opening in spring 2000, and these have led to its temporary closure. Bankside’s cultural regeneration harks back to the area’s Golden Age as the centre of the Elizabethan theatre scene. Shakespeare’s plays were originally performed at the Globe Theatre here and can now be seen at the beautifully reconstructed Globe Theatre & Exhibition (tel: (020) 7902 1400; website: www.shakespeares-globe.org). Other attractions in the area include Vinopolis, Bankside (tel: (0870) 444 4777), an interactive celebration of wine, and the Golden Hinde (tel: (020) 7403 0123), a replica of Sir Francis Drake’s flagship, moored at St Mary Overie Dock. Southwark Cathedral (tel: (020) 7407 3708) lies on the edge of the nearby Borough Market.

Bankside, SE1
Tel: (020) 7887 8000.
E-mail: boxoffice@tate.org.uk
Website: www.tate.org.uk
Transport: Underground Southwark or Blackfriars.
Opening hours: Sun-Thurs 1000-1800, Fri and Sat 1000-2200.
Admission: Free (donations welcome).