Kenwood House

Beautiful Italianate church created during the Catholic revival of the 19th century.

Old train station with an enormous office and shopping complex in glass and pale stone. A lavish hotel is also on the site. The name comes from the Queen Eleanor (13th century) gothic pillar outside the station, which is actually a Victorian-era replica. Charing Cross Road was once famous for its vintage book shops, but these have now largely disappeared due to high rents and online competition; however, the road is still home to one of London's largest bookshops, Foyle's.

Properly St Lawrence Jewry next Guildhall, it is the official church of the Lord Mayor of London.

The National Portrait Gallery is just around the corner from the National Gallery and is an entertaining way to learn about British history since the Tudors. Visitors walk around the gallery chronologically, viewing portraits of notable figures from British history - from Henry VII, painted by Hans Holbein, to Blur, painted by Julian Opie.

Designed and built in 1619-1622 by the Neo-Classical architect Inigo Jones, The Banqueting House is now all that remains of Whitehall Palace, the sovereign's principal residence from 1530-1698 when most of it was destroyed by fire. Renowned for its architecture and paintings (by Rubens, among others), the building is also famous for being the scene of Charles I's execution in 1649 at the end of the English Civil War.

Designed by Sir Christopher Wren, this tall column (which can be ascended to get a great view) marks the alleged site where the Great Fire of London broke out in September 1666.

A small realm of serenity in the midst of the typical turmoil. It used to be the court of the Knights Templar. You can still visit the beautiful Romanesque church, which is one of the oldest ones in London (opened in 1185) and has connections to the order of Templars. The chancel of the church was built by Henry III. The church still serves the members of Gray's Inn and Lincoln's Inn and has frequent services open to the public. Fans of Dan Brown's The Da Vinci Code will recognise the church from both the novel and the film.

An enormous, 135-metre-high observation wheel with 32 exterior glass-walled capsules. It offers incomparable views over central London and up to 40 km (25 mi) away on a good day. Tickets are sold for specific times, so if visitors wish to go on the London Eye at a specific time, they are strongly advised to book in advance, particularly in the summer. On a busy day, you can easily spend 1-3 hr queuing just to buy a ticket. However, you can also purchase tickets in advance online. Then you can collect your tickets at the London Eye in a separate queue, which takes a few minutes or less.

After leaving its brutalist skyscraper on Old Broad St, the London Stock Exchange now resides on Paternoster Sq. Dating back to 1698, it is one of the world's oldest and largest stock markets.

This venerable old institution was absorbed by the neighbouring Natural History Museum in 1985 but still has something of a separate identity. Unsurprisingly, devoted to all things geological with especially popular exhibits on vulcanology and earthquakes and fossils of all types. Very popular with kids and often underrated.

St. Margaret's is the church of the British Parliament, more specifically, the parish church of the House of Commons.

This church on the bank of the Thames was built in 1157. It is the only church in London with chained books. A statue of Thomas More sits in front of the church.

The most senior of the Royal palaces in London (built between 1531 and 1536) and the official seat of the monarch.

The Serpentine is a long, thin artificial lake within Hyde Park which contains a range of waterfowl and fish. It was first made by damming the River Westbourne but it is now fed by three boreholes. The western end of the lake is actually in Kensington Gardens, in which it is called The Long Water. Swimming and boating are popular activities on the Serpentine; see 'Do' section.