GREAT BRITAIN - Best of Europe 2014 - page 800

posted signs warning you how long the wait will be—an hour or more is not unusual at busy
times). If you buy your tickets at the door, try to arrive after 15:00.
▲ Sir John Soane's Museum
Architects love this quirky place, as do fans of interior decor and eclectic knickknacks. Tour
this furnished home on a bird-chirping square and see 19th-century chairs, lamps, and car-
pets,wood-panelednooksandcrannies,andstained-glassskylights.(Notethatsomesections
maybeclosedforrestorationthrough2014,butthemainpartofthehousewillbeopen.)The
townhouse is cluttered with Soane's (and his wife's) collection of ancient relics, curios, and
famous paintings, including Hogarth's series on The Rake's Progress (read the fun plot) and
several excellent Canalettos. In 1833, just before his death, Soane established his house as
a museum, stipulating that it be kept as nearly as possible in the state he left it. If he visited
today, he'd be entirely satisfied. You'll leave wishing you'd known the man.
Cost and Hours: Free, but donations much appreciated, Tue-Sat 10:00-17:00, open and
candlelit the first Tue of the month 18:00-21:00, closed Sun-Mon, last entry 30 minutes be-
fore closing, long entry lines on Sat and first Tue, good £1 brochure, £10 guided tour Sat at
11:00, free downloadable audio tours on their website, 13 Lincoln's Inn Fields, quarter-mile
southeast of British Museum, Tube: Holborn, tel. [phone], www.soane.org .
Cartoon Museum
This humble but interesting museum is located in the shadow of the British Museum. While
its three rooms are filled with British cartoons unknown to most Americans, the satire of
famous bigwigs and politicians—including Napoleon, Margaret Thatcher, the Queen, and
Tony Blair—shows the power of parody to deliver social commentary. Upstairs, you'll see
pages spanning from Tarzan to Tank Girl, and Andy Capp to the British Dennis the Men-
ace —interesting only to comic-book diehards.
Cost and Hours: £5.50, Mon-Sat 10:30-17:30, Sun 12:00-17:30, 35 Little Russell
Street—go one block south of the British Museum on Museum Street and turn right, Tube:
Tottenham Court Road, tel. [phone], www.cartoonmuseum.org .
Pollock's Toy Museum
This rickety old house, with glass cases filled with toys and games lining its walls and halls,
is a time-warp experience that brings back childhood memories to people who grew up
without batteries or computer chips. Though the museum is small, you could spend a lot of
time here, squinting at the fascinating toys and dolls that entertained the children of 19th-
and early 20th-century England. The included information is great. The story of Theodore
Roosevelt refusing to shoot a bear cub while on a hunting trip was celebrated in 1902 car-
toons, resulting in a new, huggable toy: the Teddy Bear. It was popular for good reason: It