Ideas to help me rediscover London’s art and history!

[wavingfuriously]

Tired of London 😒 yeah I know what Samuel Johnson said but hoping someone can revive interest for me in this big city of ours..
Had spare afternoon so headed towards the central galleries passing leicester Sq. so tacky as always 🙄
Went to national gallery to have a browse but probably know every lovely painting in there by heart, their one extra exhibition was v small so didn't take long.

went up to Royal Academy humm nothing new to see..
Looked to see if there were any guided walks at that time ...nothing, zilch, what a bore!

I know Open House is coming up and its usually so interesting but never remember! and all tours are full atm.

Anyone got some interesting ideas of what to go see please? love history and art in general.
😊 thanku

Thank you yes loads Rembrandts at kenwood, all lovely 👍

I may have to walk it again to find out what the stone ruins were 😂
I remember there was a cute cat statue on a wall who may or may not have been a famous cat.
Sorry my memory is terrible !

Thank you, never heard of Two Temple place, now on my radar 😀

Museum of childhood in Bethnal Green

The Museum of the Home near LIverpool Street

Horniman Museum Forest Hill

Also why dont you track the tributaries of the Thames? Hidden rivers of London

Mithraeum. Thank me later. https://www.londonmithraeum.com/

I’ve done it all and agree re:Frida, had that very conversation today!
I now do… pubs! A glass of wine in a character pub. I’ve been going to galleries forever but I do like churches and church yards. Plenty of pubs and churches!

Oh yes, PP had reminded me, thr Cemetery Club do fascinating tours of London cemeteries. Fascinating social history.

My experience at V&A Storehouse was INCREDIBLE. I was able to order 5 18thC enamel tea caskets made in South Staffordshire, bequeathed to the V&A in 1914, and quite frankly not really studied since. To handle, view, photograph, compare, assess. I am still giddy. And I might be able to weave that into my 6th module. Do note it was a bit of a trek to get to!!

The museum of childhood in Bethnall Green is excellent. Plus there's a fantastic sandwich shop called Foccacia Mia very near if you want to grab a bite to eat.

It's been a long time since I went to the Horniman Museum but my DCs and I really enjoyed it. It's quite an eclectic mix of exhibits but not too big that you can't do it all in an afternoon.

You did say that there was nothing new at the RA.

No that’s not the one I’m recommending at the Imperial War Museum . Look on their website

London Walks! They are a brilliant way to fall back in love with the city. There are loads of them and you can pick and choose what you are interested in finding more about. London art and culture isn't just galleries it's the streets.

That is so true!

I have a list of ideas of things I want to do in London, although I'm not massively into art, I have quite a few exhibitions on the list, but keep running out of time to see them before they finish! This summer's been really busy for me with work, going away on holiday etc. so I missed out on a few including the Escher and there's one at the Saatchi gallery that looks pretty that ends this Tuesday. Also on my list is the World Press Photo Exhibition, ends 30 September, the London wartime art one at the Imperial War Museum, and the Wallace and Gromit exhibition!

My favourite thing is going on walks and looking at the details of history. This website has some great walks - you can split them up into sections if they are too long. https://mylondonwalks.com/

Lots of interesting places mentioned, I'd add the free permanent exhibition at the British Library next to St Pancras, Leighton House and Sambourne House, and there are lots of churches and pubs that are nice to have a wander round / a pint in. Sometimes it's just about taking some time to look around you.

I think now’s a bit of a funny time for exhibitions, a few have finished recently and some others seem to have been hanging around for ages. There’s lots coming up over the Autumn though. I’m extremely excited about the French Riviera at the Royal Academy and the National Gallery has a couple of good ones on the way too.

Who has subscribed to the 'art pass' pls ? since the (long ,long time ago) demise of Time Out its easy to miss exhibitions..

TimeOut still exists, albeit online only. The londonist website is also worth a look for checking out what's on, as is chortle.com for live comedy.

Trad: Courtauld, Wallace Collection, the King's Gallery, Buckingham Palace, Tate Britain

More Modern: White Cube galleries, Serpentine Galleries, Satchi, Newport Street, Estorick Collection, Hayward gallery, street art tour of Spitalfields, Dover Street and nearby private galleries - I've seen some astonishingly good work there.

Quirky places like John Soane, Leighton House in Kensington, Viktor Wynd (never been to that one but on my list) William Morris's House in Walthamstow

Design Museum, Dickens' house, Keats House

Guildhall Art Gallery in the City (nice loos) and Roman amphitheatre. You can combine that with the Mithraeum, five minutes walk away. Plus all the Wren churches. Some of them are like museums, there's so much to see. I particularly like All Hallows by the Tower.

The walk along the river on the north side is interesting too - from the Tower to Canary Wharf. Stop off at the Prospect of Whitby on the way.

Great ideas here!

I am galloping through a great podcast series called Stories of Art - each episode (or sometimes more than one episode) is about a specific artist. I’m really looking forward to going back to look at those specific paintings afterwards in various London galleries. Would that be a good alternative to a tour? https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/stories-of-art/id1877705944?i=1000777631927

Am also working my way through the story of art without men with a view to doing the same thing.

I’ve got an Art Pass. I think it has paid for itself but most of the time you only get 50% off (and some places less than that - the RA for eg). But I go to a lot of exhibitions.

in terms of keeping track of what’s on you could sign up to email newsletters, check websites etc. I keep a list of exhibitions on my phone that I then work through. Some great places outside London if you fancy a day trip - Pallant in Chichester, Kettles Yard in Cambridge, Towner in Eastbourne.

I’ve just retired - can you tell!!

Sir John Soames house

Have you considered places of worship, for example Westminster Cathedral is higher on my list than the Abbey (and I am Muslim) but I always pop in to a church when pottering about, I like to look at the art, architecture etc.

Have you considered branching out from Central as well? The rebranded Museum of London (now London Museum) opens in Nov and inspired by one of their emails I’m hoping to spend the odd weekend exploring each London Borough.

Personally I am into literature so I use online searches and/or AI to help me come up with self guided walks around certain areas, sometime these throw up somewhere I haven’t considered before. Sometimes I follow statues etc - my favourite being the Crimea tribute at Waterloo Place by Pall Mall.

My sister has an Art Pass and she always buys our tickets with it, very worth it if you go to enough things, we’ve agreed to split the cost next time she renews. There’s lots of good suggestions here, also lovely buildings like Leadenhall Market, The Royal Exchange, the Monument. The Tower of London is great if you haven’t been for a while. The BBC tour at Portland Place, if they are doing it. The Gilbert & George Centre, followed by the Pride of Spitalfields 🍺 and a wander round the historic streets and market. The big train stations, which usually have historic hotels attached, are worth a visit.

I've got an Art Pass, and I definitely get my money's worth from it, but it depends on how many exhibitions you go to.

Leighton house and Sambourne house in Kensington, plus design museum.
We really enjoyed MC Escher at Somerset house also.

I’ve been to some good exhibitions here too - https://www.mallgalleries.org.uk/exhibitions-events