111 Places in London That You Shouldn't Miss

John Sykes was born in Southport, Lancashire, studied in Oxford and Manchester and lived in London before moving to Germany and making his home in Cologne. He has written and translated books about London, including one in the form of a Sherlock Holmes mystery, and is the author of several travel guides about the British Isles.

10 Adam Street
Not Downing Street | 10
Albert Bridge
A frail old soldier | 12
Angela’s Fountain
The gift of a remarkable woman | 14
Animals in War Memorial
A memorial that touches the heart | 16
Apothecaries’ Hall
A survival from the age of guilds | 18
The Argyll Arms
A refuge from shopping hell | 20
The Athenaeum Club
The goddess admits those who are worthy | 22
The Barbican
A monstrosity or a home with culture? | 24
Battersea Power Station
A colossus on the Thames, saved from ruin | 26
Belgrave Square
Family property | 28
Berry Bros. & Rudd
Wine merchants for 300 years | 30
Bevis Marks Synagogue
A 300-year-old Jewish community | 32
The Boat Gardens
Pink blossom on the grey river | 34
Brixton Market
An explosion of colours and flavours | 36
Brockwell Park
Adele was moved to tears | 38
The Brunswick Plane
The urban tree | 40
Bunhill Fields
Lunch among the tombstones | 42
Bushy Park
The beginning of a mass movement | 44
Cabbies’ Shelter in Grosvenor Gardens
Huts that are architectural heritage | 46
Chinatown
An enclave in Soho | 48
Christie’s
Classier than eBay | 50
The Coade Stone Lion
Unexpectedly humble origins | 52
Cousin Lane Stairs
Down to a beach on the Thames | 54
The Duke of York Column
A man who made it to the top | 56
East India Dock
Spice and dragonflies | 58
Eccleston Mews
Ideal homes in the stables | 60
The Ecuadorean Embassy
Asylum for Julian Assange | 62
Edgware Road
‘Little Beirut’ in London | 64
Eel Pie Island
A refuge for artists and musicians | 66
The Fan Bridge
Is Tower Bridge too touristy? Try an alternative | 68
Fournier Street
The ghosts of Huguenots and Jewish tailors | 70
The Fourth Plinth
No more statues of soldiers, please! | 72
Fulham Palace
A country seat for bishops | 74
The Gas Lamp in Carting Lane
Sewers and street lighting | 76
Gasholder Park
Mirrors of change | 78
God’s Own Junkyard
Rolling Scones and an assault on the eyeballs | 80
The Golden Boy
Gluttony, fire and body-snatching | 82
The Greenwich Foot Tunnel
Under the Thames and off to Scotland | 84
The Grenadier
Cosy, until the ghost appears | 86
Hawksmoor’s Pyramid
An enigma in the churchyard | 88
The Head of Invention
Inspiration for designers | 90
Highgate Wood
The remains of an ancient forest | 92
Holland Park
More than a Dutch garden | 94
The Horniman Museum
Varied fun for all ages | 96
Inner Temple Garden
For lawyers and everyone else | 98
Isabella Plantation
An enchanted garden in the wide green park | 100
James Smith & Sons
Where a gentleman buys his umbrella | 102
Jamme Masjid Mosque
A house of three religions | 104
The K2 Telephone Kiosk
The prototype of a famous design | 106
The Kindertransport Monument
The place where 10,000 Jewish children arrived | 108
Limehouse Basin
Post-industrial London | 110
Lincoln’s Inn
A tranquil refuge for lawyers | 112
Little Ben
Off-message since Brexit | 114
The Lloyd’s Building
Futuristic, yet a monument | 116
London Stone
The city’s mythical foundation stone | 118
Lord’s Cricket Ground
A sacred site for fans of the summer sport | 120
M. Manze
Eel, pie and mash in Peckham | 122
The Marx Memorial Library
Lenin, trade unions and the Spanish Civil War | 124
The Molehill
How a victorious king was laid low | 126
Mudchute City Farm
Animals for urban children | 128
The Naked Ladies
Unexpected frolics by the Thames | 130
Neal’s Yard
Alternative lifestyle and Monty Python | 132
The Niche from Old London Bridge
Stones that were admitted to hospital | 134
Nunhead Cemetery
Romantic decay | 136
Old St Pancras
Bones and legends by the railway tracks | 138
One New Change
A free vista of London and St Paul’s Cathedral | 140
Orbit
An observation tower on the Olympic site | 142
The OXO Tower
Architecture as advertising | 144
Paddington Street Gardens
Keep the city clean and green | 146
The Peabody Estate in Whitecross Street
150 years of social housing projects | 148
Peckham Levels
A car park, garish and creative | 150
The Piccadilly Line
Design and architecture in the Tube | 152
Pimlico Road Farmers’ Market
Mozart and the magic fruit | 154
Postman’s Park
A memorial for unsung heroes | 156
The Princess Diana Memorial Fountain
Splashing around is tolerated | 158
The Prospect of Whitby
A last drink for condemned pirates | 160
Quantum Cloud
Art beneath wide skies | 162
The Queen Mother Memorial
Horses, corgis and the Blitz | 164
Queen Square
A green place for parents, children and queens | 166
Richmond-on-Thames
Where the river takes on a rural character | 168
Robbie Williams’ House
Disharmony among musicians | 170
The Roman City Wall
Londinium has not quite disappeared | 172
The Roof Garden
Flowers and concrete | 174
The Ropewalk
Street food from the railway arches | 176
Royal Arcade
Connections to the palace are good for business | 178
The Scalpel
Play video! | 180
Shad Thames
Sought-after homes in Charles Dickens’ slum | 182
Shoreditch Street Art
Legal or illegal, subversive or sponsored | 184
Shri Swaminarayan Mandir
A Hindu temple, open to everyone | 186
Spencer House
Old money, expensive taste | 188
St Anne’s Church, Soho
Where the German king of Corsica is buried | 190
St Bartholomew-the-Great
The court jester’s church, now a film set | 192
St Bride’s
Slender steeple, creepy crypt | 194
St Helen’s Bishopsgate
Christ’s message in the financial district | 196
St John’s Lodge Garden
A sequestered spot in Regent’s Park | 198
St Pancras Station
An engineering miracle based on beer | 200
The Tactful House
Love thy neighbour | 202
Three Mills Island
Grinding grain with tidal power | 204
The Tibetan Peace Garden
A mandala at the cannon’s mouth | 206
Tower Bridge Wharf
A clear view of the river | 208
The Trafalgar Tavern
Maritime tradition on the Greenwich Meridian | 210
Trellick Tower
The rehabilitation of an architectural villain | 212
Tyburn Convent
A shrine to Roman Catholic martyrs | 214
Waterloo Bridge
One of the best views along the Thames | 216
The Westbourne
The stream that flows through a Tube station | 218
The White Building
Art and pizza by the canal | 220
Whitechapel Gallery
Art for all and a golden tree | 222
Wilton’s Music Hall
Bare boards, crumbling plaster | 224
The Wimbledon Windmill
A survival from rustic village days | 226
Word on the Water
The floating bookshop | 228
Ye Olde Mitre
A well-hidden pub | 230