Must See Sights and Landmarks in Hampton Wick Area

"From the Houses of Parliament, walk around Parliament Square, head south on Abingdon Street for literally no more than 3 minutes, and find yourself face-to-face with Westminster Abbey. Over 1,000 years old (founded 960), Westminster Abbey is, besides being beautifully preserved, famous as the traditional site of the British monarchy’s coronations and funerals."

"Formerly called the Collegiate Church of St. Peter at Westminster, Westminster Abbey is visited by more than one million people a year and it’s easy to see why. A marvellous gothic abbey, construction began on the present church under Henry III, who selected the site to be the place of his burial."

"Steeped in millennia of rich and often bloody history, Westminster Abbey is one of England's most iconic buildings. An abbey has stood…"

"A list of famous London buildings wouldn’t be complete without mentioning Britain’s tallest building. The Shard is one of the newest additions to the city’s skyline and one of the most astonishing architectural designs in the world. Take a stroll across the famous London Bridge and snap a photo as you stand at the foot of the incredible glass tower."

"Renzo Piano’s super-skyscraper The Shard is by far the tallest building in London, dwarfing everything around it. It’s 1,016 feet (309 metres) high, dominating the area around London Bridge. It houses an office complex, the luxury Shangri-La Hotel and the highest viewing platform in London."

"Scraping the sky at 306 metres, western Europe’s tallest building boasts a high-end hotel, restaurants and bars and London’s highest viewing platform—an unobstructed 360-degree view stretching as far as 64 kilometres. Here are 12 more observation decks with thrilling views."

"The Tower of London is such a great place to visit with kids if they’re into learning about the history of London, castles and stories of kings and queens – including a bit of blood and gore!. Kids will be enthralled by the stories of the famous tower ravens, Henry the VIII and his many wives, the Guy Fawkes plot, the yeoman warders and Beefeaters with their pomp and ceremony. Save the best until last – the spectacular Crown Jewels including dazzling crowns and jewellery that are still in use today."

"Home to the Crown Jewels, the iconic beefeaters, and (allegedly) several spooks, the Tower of London’s history dates back nearly 1,000 years. Standing guard by Tower Bridge and the River Thames, the medieval compound has served as a royal palace, prison, and execution site. Legend has it, these royal ghosts haunt Britain to this day!"

"Topping our list of must-see London attractions is the iconic Tower Bridge. Completed in 1894, Tower Bridge is one of the world’s most famous bascule (a French term for “see-saw”) bridges: It opens in the middle to allow tall boats on the Thames to pass through. Catch a glimpse of the bridge opening (lift times are posted on the Tower Bridge website), and walk across its high-level glass floor walkways 42 metres above the Thames!"

"The Bascule suspension bridge was built in the mid to late 1800s. It stands more than 200 feet tall and runs more than 800 feet long. The Tower Bridge Exhibition is in the bridge towers."

"If you see pictures of London, they often contain images of the Palace of Westminster and Big Ben. This is the meeting place of the House of Commons and the House of Lords, the two houses that make up the Parliament of the United Kingdom. In case you didn’t already know, Big Ben is not the name of the clock or the tower it is housed in."

"Home to the world’s most famous clock, Big Ben (officially the Queen Elizabeth Tower, but no one calls it that), the Houses of Parliament is a neo-Gothic wonder built in the mid-19th century. All tours are currently suspended, so for now would-be visitors will have to make do with a 360º virtual tour."

"The Houses of Parliament, or the Westminster Palace, is designed in the gothic-architectural style. It is the meeting place for the two Houses of Parliament, the House of Lords and the House of Commons. The current palace was built in 1847 after a fire destroyed the original building."

"Located on an island in the middle of the bustling Strand, St Clement Danes Church church offers an oasis of calm. Explore the famous London church, whose bells are mentioned in the traditional Oranges and Lemons nursery rhyme, and hear them ring out across the City of London several times a day. Reconsecrated as the Central Church of the Royal Air Force in 1958, the church is also home to books of remembrance and more than 1,000 RAF badges."

"St Clement Danes church is one of the best-known churches in Westminster, London. It’s a fine white Baroque building with a prominent spire on a traffic island in the Strand, close to the Royal Courts of Justice. It’s famous for the nursery rhyme ‘Oranges and lemons ring the bells of St Clement’s’, and it’s not the only church in our list to get a mention in."

"Christopher Wren and James Gibbs rebuilt the original 9th-century church, but only its outer walls and steeple survived destruction in the Blitz"

"‘Something extra’ was needed in the skyline for the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, for the London Olympics 2012. Designers were asked for ideas for an Olympic tower at least 100m tall and this design by Sir Anish Kapoor and Cecil Balmond won hands down. The estimated cost for this project was 19.1 million pounds of which 16 million pounds were funded by one of the richest men of Britain, Lakshmi Mittal, and the rest by London Development Agency."

"How does making your way down the world’s longest and tallest slide sound?. Pretty amazing, right?. If you agree, check out the Arcelor Orbit Slide."

"Reconstruction during 1955, after extensive damage in the Blitz. Image source: Ben Brooksbank / CC BY-SA 2.0. Located on the doorstep of the Tower of London, this church has buried the bodies of numerous victims sentenced to death on Tower Hill, including those of Thomas More, Bishop John Fisher and Archbishop Laud."

"All Hallows-by-the-Tower is associated with the executions on Tower Hill, and has a piece of Roman pavement in the crypt 4"

"Two of London's best-known tourist spots, Piccadilly Circus and Trafalgar Square lie not far apart and mark the gateways to Soho, London's lively theater and entertainment district. Trafalgar Square was built to commemorate Lord Horatio Nelson's victory over the French and Spanish at Trafalgar in 1805. Nelson's Column, a 183-foot granite monument, overlooks the square's fountains and bronze reliefs, which were cast from French cannons."

"This is officially the center of London: a plaque on the corner of the Strand and Charing Cross Road marks the spot from which distances…"

"Cheese, cold cuts, sardines, carabineros, and boquerones are all available for click and collect from this Spanish tapas specialist in Bermondsey and Esher. There’s also a range of ready-to-eat and finish-at-home dishes like octopus with parsnip purée, croquetas, and a whole leg of suckling lamb for two."

"In a nutshell: Basement Japanese restaurant meets Nordic Where is it?. 19 Motcomb Street, London SW1X 8LB Why should you care?. This is the basement restaurant at Belgravia's Pantechnicon, opening a year after the rest of the building."

"One of two restaurants at Nordic/Japanese venue Pantechnicon, the London branch of Cafe Kitsune (there are a handful around the world) offers the feel of a French patisserie-style cafe with a distinct Japanese twist."

"Enjoy our al fresco dining surrounded by vines with views of the Pagoda and Temperate House. Enjoy our plant-based or beef patty burger, seasonal salads, warm filled baguettes and cake from the kitchen."

"Replacing the old Pavilion Restaurant, this new bar and grill at Kew Gardens offers fast casual dining all year round. Found near Temperate House and the Gr ..."

"Lose yourself amongst the stone pines, olive trees, and cypresses of this typical Mediterranean landscape. The King William's Temple stands in the middle of the garden, lending a sense of grandeur to the vibrant landscape."

"The Wiener Library for the Study of the Holocaust and Genocide is the oldest organization in the world devoted to the study of the Holocaust. The Wiener Library was founded in 1933 to keep Jewish communities up to date on Nazi persecution. Later, it became a research institute and public access library following the end of World War II. The library today has an estimated 70,000 books, 2,000 document, 45,000 photographs and 3,000 periodicals."

"From fully-qualified doctors to avid viewers of Holby City, this museum will remind you of how surgery used to be a whole lot more gruesome back in the day. Europe’s oldest surviving operating theatre is in Southwark, dating back more than 300 years. Nowadays you can tour the theatre, which has been kept exactly as it was when it was used during a time of no anaesthetic (ow), no antiseptic (ew) and certainly no antibiotics (crikey)."

"Alternatives (or additional spots) in the area to the above attractions: Southwark Cathedral, Borough Market (one of London’s most famous food markets), The Old Operating Theatre Museum (fee*), The Monument (fee*), and The View from the Shard (fee*)."