The British Museum was the first national public museum in the world and dedicates itself to human history, art and culture. Its permanent collection numbers some 8 million works and is among the largest and most comprehensive in existence having been widely sourced during the era of the British Empire. The collection documents the story of human culture from its beginnings to the present and is a must for historical and cultural museum lovers.

If it’s jewellery you’re after then look no further than Hatton Garden. Taking its name from Sir Christopher Hatton, who established a mansion here and gained possession of the garden and orchard of Ely Place, it remained in the Hatton family and was built up as a stylish residential development in the reign of King Charles II.

Today Hatton Garden is famous as London’s jewellery quarter and the centre of the UK diamond trade, with nearly 300 jewellery related businesses located there, including De Beers and over 55 retail outlets, which represent the largest cluster of jewellery shops in the UK.

For centuries culture vultures have swooped into Covent Garden, relishing the area’s eclectic, ever-changing mix of opera, ballet, theatre and drama, from highbrow to mainstream, fringe and beyond; No other urban quarter in the world is home to two esteemed artistic companies – The Royal Opera and The Royal Ballet – in addition to more than twenty thriving theatres in the vicinity.

In addition the area offers a range of world-class fashion, beauty and lifestyle stores, from The Shop at Bluebird, Tom Ford, Mulberry and Tiffany & Co. to Petersham Nurseries and Benjamin Pollock’s Toy Shop, to name but a few.

Since 1663 the Theatre Royal Drury Lane has provided entertainment for the masses and has been visited by every monarch since the Restoration. The theatre has not one, but two, royal boxes and it was here that the public first heard both the National Anthem and Rule Britannia. The theatre was once renowned for its spectacular Victorian melodramas and pantomimes, but since the 1920s its history has mirrored the development of the modern musical, with the current long standing 42nd Street following this trend.

The Gillian Lynne Theatre recently made showbiz history when, in May 2018, it became the first West End venue to be named after a woman. This was in honour of Dame Gillian’s outstanding contribution to musical theatre – primarily as choreographer of the ground breaking production of Cats, which ran there for over 21 amazing years. Other smash-hit sensations have included Grease, starring Richard Gere and the record-breaking War Horse, so it feels fitting that the theatre now hosts Andrew Lloyd Webber’s latest sensational rock show, School of Rock the Musical.

Oxford Street is London’s and indeed Europe’s busiest retail shopping street, with around half a million daily visitors, and as of 2012, approximately 300 shops. Running from Tottenham Court Road to Marble Arch via Oxford Circus, it is designated as part of the A40, a major road between London and Fishguard, though it is not signed as such, and traffic is regularly restricted to buses and taxis.