London Eye

The London Eye takes you really high above the ground so this is great to take some pictures. Takes about 40 minutes, the queue gets really long (I used www.lastminute.com ) so I skipped the queue! Gets boring easily. Great for shutterbugs! (Places near London Eye rated better or worse.) Better: The Science Museum.

Website: www.londoneye.com

British Museum

This is one of the great museums of the world - a must see if just for the Rosetta Stone and the Elgin Marbles. You enter through the very impressive Great Court and the scene is set to be overwhelmed by the treasures contained in this museum.

My first time there I was lucky enough to be invited on a guided tour of the Elgin Marbles by a very knowledgeable and engaging volunteer guide. Her presentation added immeasurably to my enjoyment of the museum. Look for one of these volunteer-led tours.

Website: www.britishmuseum.org

Buckingham Palace

Definitely one of the cooler places I have been to. The palace is very beautiful and there is a lot of history that is well explained with the included audio guide. Downside is that there isn’t really that much to see (I was done in under two hours) and it isn’t really that cheap. There are also no pictures allowed inside.

I strongly suggest that you buy tickets on-line before hand so you skip some of the lines or go really early in the morning. Make sure you check out the big area in front of the palace, good picture spot. Overall, strongly recommended unless you are on a tight budget.

Website: www.royal.gov.uk

Kew Gardens

Since the 18th century, these extensive gardens have been the spiritual home of botany in England, if not in Europe. From the cooling glades of the British Woodland Garden to the pulsating humidity of the exotic Palm House, the delicate beauty of the Rose Garden to the soothing tranquillity of the Waterlily House, at Kew you can witness over 40,000 plants embarking on a fascinating journey through their annual cycles – flowering and fruiting, growing and resting. Commonly known as Kew Gardens, this World Heritage Site and former royal residence (Kew Palace is located within the grounds) extends to over 300 acres and is home to thousands of rare and beautiful species - don’t miss (as if you could) the Chilean Wine Palm, the world's tallest indoor plant.

Website: www.kew.org

Syon Park Gardens

These thirty acres of gardens include the restored Great Conservatory - a magnificent building of glass and stone which is now replanted with a succession of plants with a scented theme throughout the summer. The gardens include a miniature steam railway which operates April to October at weekends, Bank Holidays, and by arrangement.

There have been gardens at Syon for over 500 years. They include herbaceus beds, a large lake, a rose garden with 100 different varieties of old-fashioned rose, and almost 200 species of tree.

Website: www.syonpark.co.uk

Madame Tussauds

Tussaud created her first wax figure, of Voltaire, in 1777. Other famous people she modelled at that time include Jean-Jacques Rousseau and Benjamin Franklin. During the French Revolution she made wax death masks of prominent victims. She would search through corpses to find the decapitated heads of the citizens which the death masks were to depict. When Curtius died in 1794, he left his collection of waxworks to Marie. In 1802, she went to London. As a result of the Franco-English war, she was unable to return to France, so she travelled throughout Great Britain and Ireland exhibiting her collection. For a time, it was displayed at the Lyceum Theatre. She established her first permanent exhibition on Baker Street in London in 1835 (on the "Baker Street Bazaar").

One of the main attractions of her museum was the Chamber of horrors. This part of the exhibition included some victims of the French Revolution and also newly created figures of murderers and other criminals. The name was given by a contributor to Punch in 1845. Other famous people were added to the exhibition, including Horatio Nelson, and Sir Walter Scott. Some of the sculptures done by Tussaud herself still exist. In 1842, she made a self portrait which is now on display at the entrance of her museum.

Website: www.madame-tussauds.co.uk