Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
state apartments, great kitchen, cellars, and Hampton Court exhibition Mar-Oct daily 10am-6pm; Nov-
Feb daily 10am-4:30pm. Gardens year-round daily 7am-dusk (no later than 9pm). Train: Hampton
Court (30 min. from Waterloo).
Horniman Museum
MUSEUM This early 20th-century museum set in
6.5 hectares (16 acres) of landscaped gardens in the suburban depths of South Lon-
don is quirky, funky, and fun. The collection was accumulated by Frederick Horni-
man, a Victorian tea trader, and amounts to 350,000 objects made up of all sorts and
everything, from African tribal masks to a gigantic, overstuffed walrus, and from
musical instruments (it holds one of the country's most important collections) to
oversized model insects, as well as a small aquarium constructed in waterfall-like
tiers. It's divided into three broad categories: natural history, music, and world cul-
tures. There's a full range of events and activities, including storytelling and craft
sessions for kids.
100 London Rd., Forest Hill, SE23.
&
020/8699-1872.
www.horniman.ac.uk. Free admission except for
temporary exhibitions. Museum daily 10:30am-5:30pm. Gardens Mon-Sat 7:30am-dusk; Sun 8am-
dusk. Train: Forest Hill (13 min. from London Bridge Station; 24 min. from Shoreditch High St.).
Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew
GARDEN These world-famous gar-
dens are home to thousands of elegantly arranged plants, but Kew Gardens, as it's
more commonly known, is no mere pleasure garden—it's essentially a vast scientific
research center that also happens to be extraordinarily beautiful. The gardens'
121-hectare (299-acre) site encompasses lakes, greenhouses, walks, pavilions, and
museums. Among the 50,000 plants are notable collections of ferns, orchids, aquatic
plants, cacti, mountain plants, palms, and tropical water lilies.
No matter what season you visit, Kew always has something to see, with species of
shrubs, flowers, and trees from every part of the globe, from the Arctic Circle to
tropical rainforests. If the weather's chilly, you can keep warm in the three great
hothouses: the
Palm House
(the warmest, with a thick, sweaty mass of jungle
plants); the slightly cooler
Temperate House;
and the
Princess of Wales Conser-
vatory,
which encompasses 10 climatic zones, from arid to tropical. But when the
sun is out, head to the garden's newest attraction, a 200-m (656-ft.) Treetop Walkway
taking you up into the canopy, some 20m (59 ft.) in the air, for a stroll through chest-
nut, lime, and oak trees.
Kew, Surrey.
&
020/8332-5655.
www.rbgkew.org.uk. Admission £13.50 adults, £11.50 students and seniors,
free for children 15 and under. Apr-Aug Mon-Fri 9:30am-6pm, Sat-Sun 9:30am-7pm; Sept-Oct daily
9:30am-5:30pm; Nov-Jan daily 9:30am-3:45pm; Feb-Mar daily 9:30am-5pm. Tube: Kew Gardens.
Organized Tours
RIVER CRUISES ALONG THE THAMES
A trip up or down the river will give you an entirely different view of London. You'll
see how the city grew along and around the Thames, and how many of its landmarks
turn their faces toward the water. The Thames was London's first highway.
Thames River Services,
Westminster Pier, Victoria Embankment, SW1
(
&
020/7930-4097;
www.westminsterpier.co.uk; Tube: Westminster), concerns itself
with downriver traffic from Westminster Pier to such destinations as Greenwich, St.
Katharine's Dock, and the Thames Barrier. The most popular excursion departs for
Greenwich (a 50-min. ride) at half-hour intervals between 10am and 4pm daily in April,
May, September, and October, and between 10am and 5pm from June to August; from
November to March, boats depart from Westminster Pier at 40-minute intervals daily
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