Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Petrie Museum of Egyptian Archaeology
MUSEUM Tucked away on
the University College London campus, this dusty, musty collection of miniature
treasures from Ancient Egypt makes the perfect companion exhibition to the rather
larger and grander items on display in the Egyptian galleries of the nearby British
Museum (see above). Built up by the famed 19th-century Egyptologist, Flinders
Petrie, the museum boasts a wonderfully evocative array of finds from the land of the
pharaohs, including jewelry, pots, papyrus documents, frescoes, carvings, and some
of the world's oldest-surviving clothes. Pick up a torch from the front desk and get
exploring—the lighting is kept to a minimum to help conserve the delicate items.
University College London, Gower St., WC1.
&
020/7679-2884.
www.ucl.ac.uk/museums/petrie. Free
admission. Tues-Sat 1-5pm. Tube: Goodge St. or Euston Sq.
Queen's Gallery
GALLERY This 19th-century chapel is the only part of
Buckingham Palace (aside from the Royal Mews; see p. 91) that welcomes visitors
year round. Today it's a gallery dedicated to rotating exhibitions of the wide-rang-
ing treasure trove that is the
Royal Collection.
You'll find special showings of
paintings, prints, drawings, watercolors, furniture, porcelain, miniatures, enamels,
jewelry, and other works of art. At any given time, you may see such artistic peaks
as Van Dyck's equestrian portrait of Charles I; a dazzling array of gold snuffboxes;
paintings by Monet; studies by Leonardo da Vinci; or perhaps even the recent and
less-than-flattering portrait of the current Queen, by Lucian Freud.
Buckingham Palace, Buckingham Palace Rd., SW1.
&
020/7766-7301.
www.royalcollection.org.uk.
Admission £8.75 adults, £7.75 students and seniors, £4.50 children 5-16, free for children 4 and under.
Daily 10am-5:30pm (last admission 4:30pm). Tube: Victoria.
Royal Academy of Arts
GALLERY Established in 1768, the country's first
professional art school counted painters Sir Joshua Reynolds and Thomas Gainsbor-
ough among its founding members. Each member has had to donate a work of art,
and so, over the years, the Academy has built up a sizable collection. Ever-changing
highlights are displayed in the
John Madejski Fine Rooms,
which can be visited
as part of a free guided tour at 1pm on Tuesday, 1 and 4pm Wednesday to Friday, and
11:30am on Saturday. The Academy's annual
Summer Exhibition
has been held for
more than 200 years. Today, however, the main focus of the gallery, and the principal
draw for visitors, are its temporary exhibitions (costing upward of £12), which are
usually blockbuster affairs—“Aztecs,” “Turks,” and “Monet in the Twentieth Century”
have been recent hits.
Burlington House, Piccadilly, W1.
&
020/7300-8000.
www.royalacademy.org.uk. Admission for tem-
porary shows varies from £7-£12. Free admission to guided tours of John Madejski Fine Rooms depend-
ing on the exhibition. Sat-Thurs 10am-6pm (last admission 5:30pm); Fri 10am-10pm (last admission
9:30pm). Tube: Piccadilly Circus or Green Park.
Royal Mews
HISTORIC SITE This is where the British royal family's grandest
forms of road transport are stored, including their fleet of Rolls Royces, their car-
riages, and the horses that pull them, who enjoy luxurious stables adorned with tile
walls and gleaming horse brasses. Pride of place goes to the
Gold State Coach,
built
in 1761. Decorated with a riotous assortment of gold leaf, painted panels, and sculp-
tures of cherubs, lions' heads, and dolphins, it's the sort of thing that only a monarch
could get away with. It's also absolutely huge—3.6m (12 ft.) high, 7m (23 ft.) long,
weighing 4 tonnes (4.4 tons), and requiring eight horses to pull it.
Buckingham Palace, Buckingham Palace Rd., SW1.
&
020/7766-7302.
www.royalcollection.org.uk.
Admission £7.75 adults, £7 seniors and students, £5 children 5-17, free for children 4 and under. Mar
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