Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Trafalgar Sq., WC2. &   020/7766-1100. www.stmartin-in-the-fields.org. Mon-Fri 9am-6pm; Sat-Sun
8:45am-7:30pm as long as no service is taking place. Concerts Mon, Tues, and Fri 1:05pm; Tues and
Thurs-Sat 7:30pm. Tube: Charing Cross.
Sir John Soane's Museum MUSEUM Perhaps the finest small museum
in London, this is the former home of Sir John Soane (1753-1837), the architect who
built the Bank of England (although not most of the present structure). With his
multiple levels, fool-the-eye mirrors, flying arches, and domes, Soane was a master of
perspective and a genius of interior space—his picture gallery, for example, is filled
with three times the number of paintings that a room of similar dimensions would
normally hold. One prize of the collection is William Hogarth's satirical series The
Rake's Progress, a satire on mid-18th-century politics. Soane also filled his house with
classical sculpture: The sarcophagus of Pharaoh Seti I, found in a burial chamber in
the Valley of the Kings, is here.
Insider tip: On the first Tuesday evening of every month, this most evocative of
collections ups the ante by giving visitors the chance to explore its labyrinthine con-
fines by candlelight. Expect to wait in line for at least 1 hour.
13 Lincoln's Inn Fields, WC2. &   020/7405-2107. www.soane.org. Free admission (donations invited).
Tues-Sat 10am-5pm; 1st Tues of each month also 6-9pm. Tours given Sat at 11am; £5 tickets distributed
at 10:30am, first-come, first-served (group tours by appointment only). Tube: Holborn.
Wallace Collection GALLERY Located in a palatial setting (the mod-
estly described “townhouse” of the late Lady Wallace), this collection, built up over
2 centuries by one of London's leading aristocratic families, is a contrasting array of
art and armaments. (The collection is similar in many ways to those of the Frick
Museum in New York and the Musée Jacquemart-André in Paris.) The artworks
include such classics as Frans Hals's Laughing Cavalier and Rembrandt's portrait of
his son Titus. The paintings of the Dutch, English, Spanish, and Italian schools are
outstanding. It's best visited as one of the free guided tours given at 1pm Monday to
Friday, 11:30am Wednesday and Saturday, and 3pm Sunday.
4
TRAFALGAR: LONDON'S most
famous SQUARE
London is a city full of landmark
squares. Without a doubt, the best
known is Trafalgar Square (www.
london.gov.uk/trafalgarsquare; Tube:
Charing Cross), which has been signifi-
cantly remodeled over the past decade,
with parts pedestrianized and most of
the former swarms of pigeons sent on
their way. It boasts numerous land-
marks, including the National Gallery
(p. 89) on the north side, St. Martin-in-
the-Fields (p. 92) on the east, and at
the center, Nelson's Column —a 44m
(144 ft.) granite column topped with a
statue of Horatio Viscount Nelson (1758-
1805), one of the country's most cele-
brated naval heroes.
The square is also the site of a few
unusual attractions, including an eques-
trian statue of Charles I, from where all
distances from London are measured,
and in the southwest corner, the world's
smallest police station —it has room for
just one, rather lonely, officer. The square
is also cornered by four plinths, three of
which bear statues, while the “Fourth
Plinth” plays host to a succession of
temporary, often sensationalist artworks.
 
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