Guidebook for San Francisco
Arts & Culture
As a museum of “stuff the empire stole from the world,” this is hard to beat. It appears throughout A.S. Byatt’s novel The Children’s Book, which is set in Edwardian London and which describes the ceramics in Rooms 140-146 in luscious, sumptuous detail. The museum always has that former empire vibe for me.
The scones with cream and jam are pretty great in the downstairs cafe, which also feels very E.M. Forster. If you know a member, or decide to become one, you also get access to an amazing secret cafe hidden at the back of the glass collection.
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Museo Victoria y Alberto
Cromwell RoadAs a museum of “stuff the empire stole from the world,” this is hard to beat. It appears throughout A.S. Byatt’s novel The Children’s Book, which is set in Edwardian London and which describes the ceramics in Rooms 140-146 in luscious, sumptuous detail. The museum always has that former empire vibe for me.
The scones with cream and jam are pretty great in the downstairs cafe, which also feels very E.M. Forster. If you know a member, or decide to become one, you also get access to an amazing secret cafe hidden at the back of the glass collection.
The museum offers interesting tours of abandoned tube stations, such as Down Street, which was used as a bunker by Churchill during the war. It will remind Neil Gaiman fans of Neverwhere, one of his finest novels, which is set in an alternate world under the streets of London. The way he describes the Underground is incredible.
Book the tour way in advance—it’s very, very popular.
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Museo del Transporte de Londres
The PiazzaThe museum offers interesting tours of abandoned tube stations, such as Down Street, which was used as a bunker by Churchill during the war. It will remind Neil Gaiman fans of Neverwhere, one of his finest novels, which is set in an alternate world under the streets of London. The way he describes the Underground is incredible.
Book the tour way in advance—it’s very, very popular.
I’m not a massive fan of Keats, but I love his Regency villa, now a museum. Virginia Woolf’s essay Great Men’s Houses takes you on a tour of Keats’s residence. Her language totally breathes life into the dusty furniture. Take a copy of it to read on the spot.
There are special events all year based on Keats’s Romantic poetry. Check out the faery-themed family day or the Valentine’s night with poetry readings, live jazz, and pop-up bar.
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Keats House
10 Keats GroveI’m not a massive fan of Keats, but I love his Regency villa, now a museum. Virginia Woolf’s essay Great Men’s Houses takes you on a tour of Keats’s residence. Her language totally breathes life into the dusty furniture. Take a copy of it to read on the spot.
There are special events all year based on Keats’s Romantic poetry. Check out the faery-themed family day or the Valentine’s night with poetry readings, live jazz, and pop-up bar.
This is a members-only library, but they have free guided tours for the public a few evenings a month. I owe my theatre directing career to it, because I do my research there. It was founded in 1841 and has over 1 million books. The science and miscellaneous section has some funky subdivisions like a surprisingly large selection of flagellation books.
It has a ridiculous roll call of famous members: Dickens, Pinter, Kipling, E.M. Forster. I’ve seen Tom Stoppard, Andrew Marr, and Simon Callow there. You’ll come across books donated by Bram Stoker and Forster, and if you’re a member, you can check them out.
The London Library
14 St James's SquareThis is a members-only library, but they have free guided tours for the public a few evenings a month. I owe my theatre directing career to it, because I do my research there. It was founded in 1841 and has over 1 million books. The science and miscellaneous section has some funky subdivisions like a surprisingly large selection of flagellation books.
It has a ridiculous roll call of famous members: Dickens, Pinter, Kipling, E.M. Forster. I’ve seen Tom Stoppard, Andrew Marr, and Simon Callow there. You’ll come across books donated by Bram Stoker and Forster, and if you’re a member, you can check them out.
Shopping
This secondhand bookshop on a 1920s Dutch barge narrow boat is an unusual, funky little place that moves around the Regent’s Canal. There is something very satisfying about seeing a space stuffed to the brim with books. The first time I went in, I resurfaced 45 minutes later, not sure where the time went.
Occasionally there are poetry slams or musicians playing gigs on the roof. Check the Facebook page for events and the boat’s location that day.
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Word On The Water - The London Bookbarge
Regent's Canal TowpathThis secondhand bookshop on a 1920s Dutch barge narrow boat is an unusual, funky little place that moves around the Regent’s Canal. There is something very satisfying about seeing a space stuffed to the brim with books. The first time I went in, I resurfaced 45 minutes later, not sure where the time went.
Occasionally there are poetry slams or musicians playing gigs on the roof. Check the Facebook page for events and the boat’s location that day.
You are spoilt for choice for bookshops in London—Foyles, Waterstones on Piccadilly, Hatchards, and Daunt Books are all impressive. But it’s nice to go to smaller ones like this where the choices seem more personal. Libreria is a beautiful bookshop with a knowledgeable staff and a particularly great selection of fiction.
I love that you’re not allowed to use mobile phones here. It’s pretty old-school but refreshing.
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Libreria Bookshop
65 Hanbury StYou are spoilt for choice for bookshops in London—Foyles, Waterstones on Piccadilly, Hatchards, and Daunt Books are all impressive. But it’s nice to go to smaller ones like this where the choices seem more personal. Libreria is a beautiful bookshop with a knowledgeable staff and a particularly great selection of fiction.
I love that you’re not allowed to use mobile phones here. It’s pretty old-school but refreshing.
Entertainment & Activities
If you love novelist P.G. Wodehouse’s descriptions of 1920s and ’30s London, you’ll find it alive in the arcade between Piccadilly and Bond Street. It’s the quintessence of Englishness, glitzy and luxurious, and it features in Wodehouse’s Jeeves novels. One character goes there to buy socks as a potential cure for a broken heart.
Though this arcade, with its perfume shops, jewellers, and designer clothing stores is an elegant place to wander, be warned: Prices are extortionate!
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Burlington Arcade
51 PiccadillyIf you love novelist P.G. Wodehouse’s descriptions of 1920s and ’30s London, you’ll find it alive in the arcade between Piccadilly and Bond Street. It’s the quintessence of Englishness, glitzy and luxurious, and it features in Wodehouse’s Jeeves novels. One character goes there to buy socks as a potential cure for a broken heart.
Though this arcade, with its perfume shops, jewellers, and designer clothing stores is an elegant place to wander, be warned: Prices are extortionate!
Drinks & Nightlife
Many London pubs claim that Charles Dickens drank in them, but here it’s a sure thing: There’s a solid mention in A Tale of Two Cities. The pub has that unmistakable Dickensian darkness—downstairs has a downright cavernous dungeon vibe. And the place fairly oozes literary credentials: R.L. Stevenson, Tennyson, and Conan Doyle were also frequent punters.
There has been a pub on this spot since 1538, and there is evidence to suggest it was a brothel before it became a pub. These days it’s full of people grabbing a post-work drink, and the sordidness has been dialed way down.
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Ye Olde Cheshire Cheese
145 Fleet StMany London pubs claim that Charles Dickens drank in them, but here it’s a sure thing: There’s a solid mention in A Tale of Two Cities. The pub has that unmistakable Dickensian darkness—downstairs has a downright cavernous dungeon vibe. And the place fairly oozes literary credentials: R.L. Stevenson, Tennyson, and Conan Doyle were also frequent punters.
There has been a pub on this spot since 1538, and there is evidence to suggest it was a brothel before it became a pub. These days it’s full of people grabbing a post-work drink, and the sordidness has been dialed way down.
Parks & Nature
Featured in Patrick Marber’s play Closer, plus the film adaptation starring Jude Law and Natalie Portman, this park is quiet and contemplative, yet it’s in the middle of London, right around the corner from St Paul’s. The moving Memorial to Heroic Sacrifice lists people who gave their lives for family and friends.
The Alice Ayres tile on the Memorial to Heroic Sacrifice. That’s where Natalie Portman’s character in Closer gets her name.
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Postman's Park
King Edward StreetFeatured in Patrick Marber’s play Closer, plus the film adaptation starring Jude Law and Natalie Portman, this park is quiet and contemplative, yet it’s in the middle of London, right around the corner from St Paul’s. The moving Memorial to Heroic Sacrifice lists people who gave their lives for family and friends.
The Alice Ayres tile on the Memorial to Heroic Sacrifice. That’s where Natalie Portman’s character in Closer gets her name.