Dating from 1622, the Banqueting House was the first building in London designed in the Classical Palladian style that would redefine the look of the city. Inside is a glorious ceiling by Rubens celebrating Charles I who ironically was executed just outside the Banqueting House in 1649. For history and architectural buffs, there are excellent video and audio presentations detailing the history of The Banqueting House as well as the transition in English history from the Tudors to the Stuarts.

An in-depth look at London’s experience in WWI and WWII complete with bullet ridden tanks and fighter planes as well as poetry and paintings inspired by war experiences. There are also two permanent exhibitions, “Crimes Against Humanity” and “The Holocaust,” devoted to genocide and ethnic violence.

Located in Kensington Gardens, the Serpentine Gallery presents wide-ranging exhibitions of contemporary art. There is also an excellent bookshop, and the gallery is free.

Sir John Soane was an architect and avid collector whose life spanned the 18th and 19th centuries. This unique museum in the house he built for himself contains his extensive and eclectic collections.

A gem of a museum presenting such important Impressionist and Post Impressionist masterpieces as Manet’s Bar at the Folies-Bergiere and Van Gogh’s Self Portrait with Bandaged Ear as well as work by Monet, Degas, Gauguin, Cezanne, Van Dyck and Rubens.

The V&A with its vast collections including decorative and fine arts, costumes, and textiles is quite well known, but there is a special not-to-be missed exhibition in the permanent collection THE BRITISH GALLERIES, which presents a history of British design from 1500 to 1900. It’s not just the collection that delights but also the thoughtful and engaging presentation. And also on the don’t-miss-list are the new MEDIEVAL & RENAISSANCE GALLERIES which opened December, 2010 and...tell the story of European art and culture from AD 300–1600; from the decline of the Roman Empire to the end of the Renaissance period.

For serious contemporary art lovers, Whitechapel presents changing exhibitions of international contemporary art. A good add-on when visiting galleries in the East End.

The Saatchi Gallery of Contemporary Art has re-opened in a new location in The Duke of York’s Square, off The King’s Road near Sloane Square. There are wide-ranging exhibitions of contemporary art.