Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
GettingThere: It'sontheThamesRiver,southofBigBenandnorthofVauxhallBridge.
TaketheTubetoPimlico,thenwalksevenminutes.OrhoptheTateBoatmuseumferryfrom
the Tate Modern (£6 one-way, £13.60 day ticket, 33 percent discount with Travelcard, buy
ticketatgallerydeskoronboard,departsevery40minutesfrom10:00to17:00,18minutes,
www.tate.org.uk/visit/tate-boat ).
Victoria Station
From underneath this station's iron-and-glass canopy, trains depart for the south of England
and Gatwick Airport. While Victoria Station is famous and a major Tube stop, few tourists
actually take trains from here—most just come to take in the exciting bustle. It's a fun place
tojustbea“rockinariver”teemingwithcommutersandservices.Thestationissurrounded
by big red buses and taxis, travel agencies, and lousy eateries. It's next to the main intercity
bus station (Victoria Coach Station) and the best inexpensive lodgings in town.
Westminster Cathedral
Thiscathedral,thelargestCatholicchurchinEnglandandjustablockfromVictoriaStation,
is strikingly Neo-Byzantine, but not very historic or important to visit. Opened in 1903, the
church has an unfinished interior, with a spooky, blackened ceiling waiting for the mosaics
that are supposed to be placed there. While it's definitely not Westminster Abbey, half the
tourists wandering around inside seem to think it is. Take the lift to the top of the 273-foot
bell tower for a view of the glassy office blocks of Victoria Station.
Cost and Hours: Free entry, £5 for the lift; church—daily 7:00-19:00; tower—daily
9:30-17:00, last trip at 16:30; 5-minute walk from bus terminus in front of Victoria Station,
just off Victoria Street, Tube: Victoria, www.westminstercathedral.org.uk .
National Army Museum
This museum is not as awe-inspiring as the Imperial War Museum, but it's still fun, espe-
cially for kids who are into soldiers, armor, and guns. And while the Imperial War Museum
is limited to wars of the 20th century, the National Army Museum tells the story of the Brit-
ish army from 1415 through the Bosnian conflict and Iraq, with lots of Redcoat lore and a
good look at Waterloo. Kids enjoy trying on a Cromwellian helmet, seeing the skeleton of
Napoleon's horse, and peering out from a World War I trench through a working periscope.
Cost and Hours: Free, daily 10:00-17:30, Royal Hospital Road, Chelsea, Tube: Sloane
Square, tel. 020/7730-0717, www.national-army-museum.ac.uk .
Hyde Park and Nearby
A number of worthwhile sights border this grand park, from Apsley House on the east to the
newly renovated Kensington Palace on the west.
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