When Whitehall Palace burnt down, St James’s Palace became more important for the royal family and the glamorous court. During the reign of the fun-loving Charles II many exclusive shops were established. Some shops in St James’s Street, such as Berry Bros. & Rudd, wine merchants and vintners to the King, and Lock & Co, […]

It’s fascinating how the colour red is so important in many cultures. In Japan the wonderful, deep red comes from the petals of the safflower. That red signals youth, affluence (expensive to extract), allure and passion but also transient love (fades with time). A red kimono was popular among young brides considered sexy. The Ottomans […]

Half an hour’s boat journey from central London and closely associated with Greenwich Mean Time and the Royal Observatory and a perfect outing with plenty of museums and palaces to visit. We visit the World Heritage Site where Henry VIII’s favourite palace once stood and that now has three architectural gems – Inigo Jones’s iconic Queen’s […]

The British Museum features some of history’s greatest treasures such as the Egyptian mummies. Many of the objects on display have been key to understanding world civilisations. With this tour of the British Museum we will “travel” to Assyria, Egypt, Greece, Hadrian’s Wall and Suffolk and see some beautiful and fascinating objects such as the […]

10 years ago – who would have imagined that London would look like this? London has become a wonderful place to look at new, exciting architecture. There is a great sense of dynamism and of a race to have the tallest, most inspiring and luxurious buildings. The way of living is also changing rapidly; in […]

The famous C18th architect Robert Adam was asked to glorify an early C17th country house off Hampstead Heath. The result is an elegant, neo-classical villa with all the attributes of “grand living” in the C18th. It is filled with outstanding pictures by famous artists such as Rembrandt and Vermeer and top class furniture, some formerly […]

Sometimes described as the ‘hidden jewel’ of London’s art galleries, The Wallace Collection is one of the world’s finest private collections of art. This gloriously eclectic collection was built up by five generations of the Marquises of Hertford, and is renowned for its treasures of C18th French art at its most refined and sensuous. Our […]

Quite simply one of the finest collections of art in the world, The National Gallery is filled with more than 2,500 priceless paintings belonging to the nation. The wealth and diversity of the gallery is astonishing, with the collection featuring masterpieces from the C13th to the C19th, including important works by Botticelli, da Vinci, Vermeer […]

We will take a journey through British history via portraits, starting with the fabulous Ditchley portrait of Queen Elizabeth I and ending with the stimulating work by contemporary artists such as Marc Quinn and Sam Taylor-Johnson. The National Portrait Gallery is an ideal place to get to know great British personalities, to gain an understanding […]

We start by visiting the neoclassical buildings of Gothenburg born, 18C architect Sir William Chambers’ and then see the new Miles Stairs by architect Eva Jiricna (designed V&A’s Jewellery Gallery). We end in the Courtauld Gallery, the original site of the Royal Academy and the first Summer Exhibition. The gallery has a superb paintings collection, including famous works such as Manet’s Bar at Folies Bergère (see photo). This is an opportunity to see […]

Tate Britain is a perfect place to see the development of British art from Tudor times up to today. We can smile at charming early images such as The Cholmondeley Ladies by an unknown artist and humorous works by Hogarth, then admire pictures by Gainsborough and Reynolds from the Golden Age of British painting. Clearly, landscapes […]

Scandinavian design has long been described as the most important design movement since World War II. We will look at 20th century Scandinavian design icons such as Alvar Aalto’s Savoy vase, Stig Lindberg’s ceramics, the Verner Panton chair, Poul Henningsen’s Artichoke Lamp and Arne Jacobsen’s ‘Series 7′ chair made famous by Christine Keeler.