London highlights in August, 2008. An Offtolondon guide to London's summer of Royal pageantry, Henry Wood Promenade Concerts, music and fine art festivals and exhibitions, Theatre and Dance, Jack the Ripper walks, together with disabled accessibility notes.

Buckingham Palace State Rooms and Gardens
Venue: Buckingham Palace, Westminster, SW1A 1AA, London.
Date: Annual summer opening. 9.45am-6pm, 29 July - 29 September, 2008.
Tickets: Tickets are timed with entry every 15 minutes. Buy a joint 'Palace Day Out' ticket for Palace State Rooms, Queen's Gallery and Royal Mews: 28.50 (recommended if you have a complete day to spare), or separate tickets for Palace only, (Adult £15.50, Concessions). An audio tour is included in the ticket price. Languages available: English, French German, Spanish, Italian, Japanese, Chinese. Russian. Book online or at ticket office located at the Visitor Entrance in Buckingham Palace Road. Fill in a registration form on your visit for an unlimited admission facility during Summer 2008.
Private View: Purchase an exclusive £65 Private View Champagne Tour with a knowledgeable Palace guide on certain August and September dates. Unlimited admission tickets are also available.
London Transport: Nearest Tubes. Green Park, Hyde Park Corner, (Piccadilly Line); Victoria Rail Terminal, (Victoria, Circle and District Lines).
Description: Annual summer opening of the State Rooms and Gardens of Buckingham Palace to the public while Queen and court reside in Scotland. 19 state rooms are opened to the public. They form the heart of today's working palace of Britain's monarch and have been lavishly decorated in grandiose style by successive monarchs since George IV, and furnished with some of the finest treasures from the Royal Collection collected by, or gifted to, the monarchs over the past four centuries. These include paintings by such artistic luminaries as Rembrandt, Rubens, Poussin, Canaletto; sculptures by Canova and others; exquisite examples of Svres porcelain, Chelsea china; a magnificent horological collection and some of the finest English and French furniture in the world.
Each year, The Royal Collection, (chaired by heir to the Throne Charles, Prince of Wales), mounts a special historical exhibition for visitors in the State Ballroom, much used by Queen Victoria in the early carefree years of her reign. The 2008 Ballroom exhibition displays the glittering spectacle of a magnificent State Banquet; since the time of William the Conqueror an integral part of Royal ceremonial, pageantry and state diplomacy marking significant events and formal state visits.
The Palace Garden On exiting the Palace onto the 5 acre lawn where Her Majesty holds her annual Palace Tea Parties each July, visitors can enjoy an extended walk through the 39 acre palace gardens that takes them around the 3 acre lake landscaped in Queen Victoria's reign and offers superb views of Nash's Palace Garden frontage, (1825-30), built for King George IV. The garden and lakeside tree-land planting owes much to green-fingered Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother and the present Queen, not to mention the dedication of the palace gardeners.
Dress: The Palace formal dress code is relaxed for the public during the summer access season. However, bags, umbrellas, cameras, video recorders, etc., must be left at entrance for collection later.
Wheelchair Accessibility: Yes. It is essential you book your ticket by telephoning: +44 (0)20 7766 7324 to ensure elevator facilities. Adapted toilets: Yes. Available in the Palace garden at the end of your visit.
Burlington Bertie's Verdict: This is a living museum of Britain's ongoing Royal history and culture and should not be missed. I strongly recommend you buy a 'Royal Day Out' ticket and set aside a complete day to see the entire Palace complex and buy quality souvenirs in the royal Collection shop. For the Palace alone, give yourself a full half day. Visit the Royal Mews and Queen's Gallery in the morning, pausing for lunch at the nearby Goring Hotel, and visit the Palace in the afternoon. Check out Royal Palaces and Attractions for a full description of Buckingham Palace, the Royal Mews, the Queen's Gallery, and nearby Clarence House.

Clarence House Summer Opening
Venue: Ground Floor suite, Clarence House, St. James's Palace, SW1A 1BS, (entry from the Mall).
Date:10am-5.30pm Aug - 28 September, 2008. Closed Sats during August. May be closed on certain days at short notice.
Tickets: £7.50. Online, telephone or email. Tickets must be booked in advance and are strictly time/date sensitive.
London Transport: Nearest Tube. Green Park. Carparking and Congestion Charge payment: Spring Gardens or Old College Street.
Description: Clarence House is the official London residence of Charles, Prince of Wales and his wife Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, and Princes Wiliam and Harry. It is a part of the St. James's Palace complex. The ground floor rooms open to the public are used for official receptions, etc., and are decorated with a superb collection of art and artifacts collected by Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother during her lifetime. Reflecting Her Majesty's particular refined taste and patronage of the Arts, this is a fascinating time capsule of her life and period.
Wheelchair Accessibility: Yes. Adapted Toilets: No. (nearest facilities: St. James's Park).

Palace of Westminster Summer Opening
Date:28 July - 27 September, 2008. 9.15am-4.30pm.
Venue: Westminster, London SW1A 1AA.
Tickets: £12. Book Online, telephone 0870 9063773, or buy at ticket office, Old Palace Yard.
London Transport: Nearest Tube. Westminster. Carparking and Congestion Charge payment: Old College Street.
Description: Guided tours only. An unrivalled opportunity to see the Victorian Gothic magnificence of the Palace of Westminster and its Chambers of the House of Commons and House of Lords together with the magnificent mediaeval Westminster Hall with its remarkable hammer beam roof, used for centuries first as the royal banqueting hall, later as a Court of Justice, (King Charles I was 'tried' here), and more recently for the lying in state of sovereign or eminent persons. The guided tour is made under strict security and lasts one hour only, which gives little time to admire the architecture of Sir Charles Barry, the ornamentation of Augustus Pugin or the statuary in the detail they deserve. Despite this proviso, the visit is still worthwhile however and this is a good opportunity to make a separate visit to the nearby mediaeval Jewel Tower, Westminster Abbey, (tickets at the door) and London Eye, (or pop up to the top of Big Ben if you are a UK voter and fit for the climb). Note the many statues and monuments in the environs of Parliament. Check website for terms and conditions.
Wheelchair Accessibility: Yes. Adapted Toilets: Yes.

Hampton Court Palace: Tudor Kitchens, Cookery and Recipes
Venue: Hampton Court Palace, East Molesey, KT8, 9AU. Tel: 0870 751 5175.
Date: 11am - 3pm First Saturday and Sunday of each month through September, 2008.
Tickets: Live event admission included as part of your Palace admission ticket. Book online.
London Transport: Nearest Tube: Richmond.
Description: Lecture and demonstration. Watch and hear 'Historia' food archaeologists researching Tudor cookery and ingredients, making traditional Tudor recipes which you can later sample in the Palace's Tiltyard Cafe.
See also the Gardens Exhibition during your visit. Situated adjacent to the East Front Gardens, this exhibition will help you to understand the evolution of the historic royal gardens at Hampton Court, from their Tudor beginnings in the early 16th century right up to the present day. The replanted Privy Garden is now restored to its original 1702 glory.
Venue Hire You can hire Henry VIII's magnificent Great Hall and other Palace venues with costumed guides, etc., for entertaining, conferences, wedding and civil partnership receptions, your own sumptuous banquets, functions or film location. Check Venue Hire at Hampton Court Palace for details and bookings.
Wheelchair Accessibility: Yes. The ground floor of the Palace is wheelchair accessible and there are limited facilities for viewing the upper floors with the use of an elevator. Adapted Toilets: Yes. See Palace Disabled Access for full details.

Kew Palace: Summer Evening Tours
Venue: Kew Palace, Richmond upon Thames, TW9 3AB.
Dates: 18 May 2008 - 28 September 2008, Evening Tours: 5pm-6.30pm, Twice monthly, Sundays Only.
Normal opening times: Mons. 11am-5pm; Tues-Suns. 10am-5pm.
Tickets: Evening Tours: £25. Call 0844 482 7777. Day visits: £5, (Concessions). Pay at Kew Gardens gate. Entrance to Kew Palace is only available with a ticket to the Gardens, (£13, Concessions).
London Transport: Nearest Tube: Nearest Tube. Kew Gardens. Car parking outside Brentford Gate, (Thames riverside), entrance.
Description: A refuge for the ailing King George III during his 'madness', Kew Palace is especially peaceful after the crowds have deserted the place on a summer's evening. New this year, you can see inside the palace's attics - opened to the public for the first time - where the Royal family's servants lived. Recently discovered early seventeenth century painted decorations and witch marks are a reminder of past inhabitants. Originally a Dutch merchant's house, the small palace - more like a manor house - has recently undergone an extensive restoration. Displays include personal objects, jigsaw puzzles and a doll's house that belonged to George III's children. After the 90-minute Evening Tour, visitors can stay and enjoy wine and nibbles in the royal palace..
Wheelchair accessibility: Yes, to all floors. Adapted Toilets: Yes, at nearby Welcome Centre. Hand operated wheelchairs available on loan. Disabled parking at Brentford Gate and Kew Green.

The Golden Hinde
Venue:Pickfords Wharf/Clink St., London SE1 9DG. Tel: 020 7407 7056.
Date: Daily, 10am-5.30pm, 2008.
Tickets: £6. (Concessions).
London Transport: Nearest Tube: London Bridge.
Description: This is an exact working replica of Sir Francis Drake's Naval Flagship the Tudor warship Golden Hinde in which Sir Francis Drake circumnavigated the world 1577-1580. This exact reconstruction, a fully working ship, was launched in Devon in 1973. Since then she has circumnavigated the globe and sailed over 140,000 miles - many more than the original. Her present berth is the St Mary Overie Dock on Thames South Bank, just a short walk from the Clink Prison Museum, Shakespeare's Globe and Tate Modern. This is a living history experience of particular interest to maritime history buffs. Explore the 5 decks and the 22 canons.
Venue Hire You can hire the Golden Hinde for entertaining, conferences, wedding and civil partnership receptions, functions or film location. Check website for details and bookings.
Wheelchair Accessibility: No.

Cricket at Lords
Venue: Lords Cricket Ground, St. John's Wood, NW8 8QZ. Tel: 020 7432 1000.
Date: Various, August, 2008.
Tickets: Call 020 7432 1000 for ticket options, including corporate hospitality offers or check www.lords.org.
London Transport: Nearest Tube. St. John's Wood.
Description: Lord's is known the world over as the 'home of cricket'; the game's spiritual 'headquarters' and home ground to the MCC, the most famous cricket club of all. It remains the most important cricket ground in the world. Notable 5 and 1 Day matches this summer include England Women v. South Africa Women, (8 August); England v. South Africa, (31 August).
Dress: No dress code in public seating. Smart casual expected in Grand stand and Lord's Tavern where Cricket Club ties will be much in evidence.
Wheelchair Accessibility: Yes. Limited wheelchair spaces are allocated by ballot. Tel: +44 (0)20 8971 2473. Fax: +44 20 8971 2528. Adapted toilets: Yes.

Kew Gardens: The Year of the Tree Festival
Venue: Kew Gardens (Royal Botanic Gardens), Richmond upon Thames, TW9 3AB
Dates: 24th May 2008 until 28th September 2008.
Tickets: Seats Sat £40, Sun £50 | Standing Sat £20, Sun £30.
London Transport: Nearest Tube: Kew Gardens. Carparking: Outside Brentford Gate, (Thames riverside), entrance.
Description: Walk among the tree tops at Kew Gardens this summer when you take the new Rhizotron and Xstrata Treetop Walkway. Designed by Marks Barfield Architects, the team who brought us the London Eye, the scenic 200 metre walkway takes you on an educational journey from tree root to leaf tip. Entering through what looks like a crack in the ground, you travel 18 metres up into the air arriving at a canopy of sweet chestnuts, limes and broad-leaved oaks.
Wheelchair Accessibility: Yes, for much of Kew Gardens. Tree top walkway is not disability accessible. Disability Concessions: See website. Hand operated wheelchairs are available on loan. Adapted Toilets: Yes, at Welcome centre.

Opera Holland Park 2008
Venue:Holland Park, W8. 0845 230 9769
Dates: Ongoing until 11 Aug, 2008. Perfs begin 7.30pm.
Tickets: . Book online or Box Office 0845 230 9769 Concessions, (£37 reduced to £34), are available for specific performances only. See website.
London Transport: Nearest Tube: Kensington, (Olympia); Holland Park. Carparking: Abbotsbury Road Car Park.
Description: This is London's answer to Glyndebourne. Dress up, order a champagne picnic with reserved table in the theatre and enjoy a fabulous evening of Opera sung by top international singers in the stunning new Opera Holland Park theatre.
This year's Festival programme: Il Trovatore by Giuseppe Verdi. June 3, 5, 7, 12, 14, 18, 20. Charity Gala in aid of NSPCC on June 10. La Fille du Rgiment by Gaetano Donizetti. June 4, 6, 11, 13, 17, 19, 21.
The Magic Flute by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. June 28, 30, July 2, 4, 6, 8, 10, 12.
Tosca by Giacomo Puccini. July 1, 3, 5, 7, 11, 13. Charity Gala in aid of Venice in Peril on July 9.
La Gioconda by Amilcare Ponchielli. July 22, 24, 26, 30, August 1, 5, 7, 9.
Iolanta by Pyotr Tchaikovsky. July 25, 29, 31, August 2, 6, 8.
Dress: An opportunty to dress up for a smart evening.
Wheelchair Accessibility: Yes to all but the Terrace. Adapted Toilets: Check website for special concessions, etc.

Kenwood House Picnic Concerts
Venue: Kenwood House (Iveagh Bequest), Hampstead Heath, NW37JR
Date: 7.30pm. 28 June - 23 August, 2008.
Tickets: £25-£35. Book online.
London Transport: Nearest Tube: Highgate, (20+ mins). Car parking at Kenwood House.
Description: The delightful annual series of open air concerts in the beautiful lakeside grounds of English Heritage managed Kenwood House returns after a hiatus caused by local licensing problems. This neo-classical mansion was remodeled by Robert Adam between 1764-73 and later donated to the Nation by Edward Cecil Guinness, first Earl of Iveagh in 1927, together with his priceless art collection. The grounds and lake are magnificent and provide a perfect setting for music on a summer's evening. The concerts take place at sunset, and you are encouraged to enjoy the show with a picnic and champagne. This year's line-up includes international jazz vocalist Diana Krall, (9 August), and ends with the Wales's favourite soprano diva, Katherine Jenkins, accompanied by the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra.
Wheelchair accessibility: Yes. Adapted Toilets: Yes. Car parking in the grounds.

Shakespeare's Globe: 2008 Summer Season
Date: Until 5 October, 2008.
Venue: 21 New Globe Walk, SE1 9ED. Tel: 020 7401 9199.
Tickets: £5 - £35.
London Transport: Nearest Tube. Southwark.
Description: This summer's 'Totus Mundus' season features new productions of 'King Lear', 'A Midsummer Night's Dream', 'Timon of Athens' and 'The Merry Wives of Windsor' plus world premieres of three new plays and a return of John Dove's production of 'The Winter's Tale'. Step into Tudor London at the Globe and join in the hearty audience participation! Dine before or after the performance, at the nearby Oxo Tower Restaurant or the Yakitori
Wheelchair Accessibility: Make your requirements known when booking. Mobility friendly toilets.
Venue Hire You can hire the Swan at the Globe with its view overlooking the Thames for entertaining, conferences, wedding and civil partnership receptions and functions or film location. Check website for details and bookings.

76th Regent's Park Open Air Theatre Summer Season
Venue: Regent's Park, NW1 Tel: 0870 060 1811
Date: 2 June - 13 September, 2008. Morning, afternoon and evening perfs.
Tickets: . Book online
London Transport: Nearest Tube. Baker Street.
Description: A programme of Shakespeare, Gigi, comedy and music recitals in the most perfect open air parkland setting. A Midsummer Night's Dream, (8 July - 2 August); Romeo and Juliet, (2 June - 2 August); Gigi, (6 August - 13 September). Also a series of Sunday evenings of Comedy and Music. Check the website for full details.
Wheelchair Accessibility: Check website for special seating arrangements and discounts. Make your requirements known when booking. Adapted Toilets.

Sadlers Wells: West Side Story
Venue: Sadlers Wells, Rosebury Avenue, EC1R 4TN. Tel: 020 7863 8198.
Date: 22 July - 31 August, 2008. Tues-Sat, 7.30pm. Sun, 5pm. Mats Wed and Sat, 2.30pm.
Description: The show which changed the face of musical theatre forever returns 50 years after its London debut for a summer season. Joey McKneely's vibrant new stage production of the classic dance musical comes to Sadlers Wells after wild critical acclaim in Tokyo, Paris and Beijing. See video clip.
Wheelchair Accessibility: Check website for special seating arrangements and any discounts. Make your requirements known when booking. Adapted Toilets.

Royal Opera House, Covent Garden
Venue: Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, WC2. Tel: 020 7304 4000
Date: July, 2008.
London Transport: Nearest Tube. Covent Garden.
Tickets: Book Online.
Description: A summer season of Opera, (La Nozze di Figaro , The Rake's Progress); Dance, (Faeries, an Arthur Rackham inspired show for families), and Ballet. July sees the exciting London debut of the famed National Ballet of China with Natalia Marakova's much admired Swan Lake, (28-30 July). Marakova, who first danced with the Kirov Ballet, famously danced here in the 1980 Royal Ballet production of Swan Lake and later choreographed the Royal Ballet's legendary 1989 production of La Bayadere.
Backstage tours are also available during the afternoons preceding performances. Check website for details.
Wheelchair Accessibility: Yes. Adapted Toilets: Yes. Check with Box Office for special seating arrangements and any discounts. Make your requirements known when booking.

Offtolondon Theatre Breaks and Offers
Date: Ongoing.
Venue: West End and City theatres
Tickets: Online booking for all seats, accommodation, etc.
Description: Your guide to London's theatre programme, concert and events with online booking facility. Top musicals Billy Elliot, Cabaret, Chicago, Gone With The Wind, Lion King, Mama Mia, Phantom of the Opera, Spamalot, Sound of Music, Stomp, We Will Rock You, and more continue to draw capacity audiences nightly. Book your tickets online now.
Wheelchair Accessibility: Most London theatres, some hotels, (such as the newly refurbished Russell Hotel near the British Museum), and many restaurants are now wheelchair accessible with Accessible Toilets in their public areas, and have special accommodation facilities for wheelchair users. It is however essential that you make your requirements known when booking.

O2: Tutankhamun and the Golden Age of the Pharoahs
Venue: O2 Exhibition Centre, Millennium Way, SE10.
Date: Daily, 10am-5pm. Ongoing. Ends 30 August, 2008.
Tickets: £15, timed entry. (Concessions). Book online - Weekend tickets are the first to sell out. Book Hotel & Tutticket Break from 63.50.
London Transport: Nearest Tube. North Greenwich. Thames travel: Riverline O2 Express to Queen Elizabeth II Pier.
Description: For more than 3,000 years Tutankhamun's treasures lay unseen beneath the Egyptian sands until unearthed by Howard Carter in 1922/23. When they were shown at the British Museum in 1972 they were the ultimate 'must see' event. Now Tutankhamun returns in a spectacular new exhibition of 130 priceless treasures from the tomb and other Valley of the Kings royal burials, under the auspices of the Egyptian Supreme Council of Antiquities and its ebullient Director, Dr. Zahi Hawass.
Wheelchair Accessibility: Yes. Adapted Toilets: Yes.

Royal Academy Summer Show
Venue: Burlington House, Piccadilly, W1J 0BD. Tel: 020 7300 8000.
Dates: 9 June - 17 August, 2008. 10am-6pm daily. Fridays 10am-10pm.
Tickets: £7, (Concessions). Book online or Tel: 0870 8488 484.
London Transport: Nearest Tube. Green Park; Piccadilly Circus.
Description: The two centuries old Royal Academy Summer Exhibition is now world's largest open submission contemporary art exhibition, with a tradition of showcasing work for sale by unknown and emerging artists alongside that of more established and even august names. Past Royal Academicians include William Blake and JMW Turner, whose work is now permanently on exhibition at Tate Britain, (see Shophound Alexia's Free London for details), and more recently Sir Peter Blake and David Hockney, whose 2007 English landscape exhibit took up an entire gallery wall and will be the largest painting ever hung at the Royal Academy.
The Summer Exhibition attracts over 11,000 submissions of which only 1,200 are accepted for show; paintings, sculptures, photographs, drawings, prints and architectural models, most of which you can buy, though what you may like may well have received a red sticker at the opening Private View. This event is very much a part of the London social scene and some 150,000 visitors will pass through the galleries before it closes. Tickets to the Private View, (obtainable from the Special Events Manager), are a notable and sometimes memorable occasion.
Friday late evenings are a popular option, with table service dining and jazz music, (advance booking recommended).
Dress: Artistically casual - or casually artistic. The opening Private View is artistically smart or artistically eccentric, or possibly an idiosyncratic and occasionally flamboyant fusion of the two.
Wheelchair Accessibility: Yes to all floors. Adapted Toilets: Yes.

Skin+Bones: Parallel Practices in Fashion and Architecture.
Venue: Embankment Galleries, Somerset House, Strand. WC2R 1LA. Tel: 020 7845 4600.
Date: Until 10 August, 2008.
London Transport: Nearest Tube: Temple. Carparking and Congestion charge payment: Trafalgar/Spring Gardens.
Tickets:£8.(Concessions). Book online.
Description: The first major international exhibition devoted to the complex relationship between fashion and architecture. Skin+Bones: Parallel Practices in Fashion and Architecture., an installation designed by architect Eva Jiricna. Taking the early 1980s as its starting point Skin+Bones examines the many visual and conceptual ideas that unite the two disciplines. The exhibition is organized by The Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles (MOCA), and features the work of internationally renowned names such as Vivienne Westwood, Alexander McQueen, Comme des Garcons, Yohji Yamamoto, Future Systems, Frank Gehry and Zaha Hadid. After huge success in Los Angeles and Tokyo, the exhibition opens in London with specially selected new pieces including work by Boudicca, Thomas Heatherwick, Martin Margiela, and Hussein Chalayan.
Wheelchair Accessibility: YES. Adapted Toilets. However no details are shown on the official website, a surprising ommission by a registered national charity. Call 020 7845 4600 for details.

The Great British Beer Festival, 2008.
Venue: Earls Court Exhibition Centre, Warwick Road, Kensington and Chelsea, London, SW5 9TA .
Date: Tue 5pm-10.30pm, Wed to Fri Midday-10.30pm, Sat 11am-7pm. 5 - 9 August, 2008
London Transport: Nearest Tube: West Brompton, Earls Court. Carparking: Broadwood Terrace NCP, Olympia Hylton NCP.
Tickets: £8. (Concessions). Book online. .
Description: Your chance to sample 450 of the 2,500 different Ales now being brewed by Britain's 600 breweries - and compare them with inferior foreign brews! The annual Campaign For Real Ale Booze Up with plenty of entertainment to help the beer down! Over 66,000 people flocked to this liquid celebration of British beer last year. This is your chance to learn the subtleties of what makes a great beer as well as slaking your thirst in the pursuit of knowledge! And if a good Devon Cider is your tipple, there's a large range of ciders and perries to sample.
Wheelchair Accessibility: Yes. Adapted Toilets: Yes.

Innocent Village Fete, 2008
Venue: Regent's Park, Regent's Park, Camden, NW1 4NR . Tel: 7471 1092.
Date: 11am-7pm, 2/3 August, 2008.
London Transport: Nearest Tube: Regents Park. Carparking: Euro Car Parks, Regent Crest Hotel NCP.
Tickets: £5.
Description: A return of the Innocent Village fete with its nostalgic countryside pursuits;: Morris dancing, Barn dancing, ferret racing, duck herding, etc., as well as a farmer's market of healthy organic produce - and of course healthy smoothies!
Wheelchair Accessibility: Yes. Adapted Toilets: Yes - you're gonna need one!

Tate Modern: Cy Twombly: Cycles and Seasons
Venue: Tate Modern, 25 Sumner Street, Southwark, SE1 9TG. Tel: 020 7887 8888.
Dates: 19 June - 14 September, 2008.
Tickets: £10, (Concessions). Main galleries are free.
London Transport: Nearest Tube: Southwark, Blackfriars. Check online for travel details. Carparks: Union Carparks/53 Southwark Street.
Description: Coinciding with Cy Twombly's 80th year, this will be the first major retrospective in the UK for twenty years of his work. This is a unique opportunity to examine his paintings, drawings and sculpture across his long and distinguished career.
Wheelchair accessibility: Yes. Adapted Toilets: Yes. Some parking spaces for disabled visitors are available on the west side of the building. Wheelchairs and electric scooters are available on request for use by visitors. Reservations are compulsory for all disabled parking spaces. Check online for details and concessions.

National Gallery: Radical Light: Italy's Divisionist Painters 1891 - 1910
Venue: Sainsbury Wing, National Gallery, Trafalgar Square, Westminster, WC2N 5DN
Dates: 10:00-6pm Daily. Late nights Wed 9pm. 18 June - 7 September, 2008
Tickets: £8, (Concessions), 4 Tue 2.30pm-6pm. Children Under 12: Free. The main gallery is free.
London Transport: Nearest Tube: Charing Cross Rail Terminal, Leicester Square. Carparks: St.Martin's Lane NCP.
Description: Inroducing the Divisionists, a little known late nineteenth century Italian movement, to Londoners. Italy's Divisionist painters are so-called because, when they first showed in Milan in 1891 critics were sharply divided. The group, who included Giovanni Segantini, Angelo Morbelli, Emilio Longoni and Giuseppe Pellizza da Volpedo, used a technique close to the French pointillism to convey their response to the social unrest of a newly unified Italy. Their method, daubing unmixed, undiluted stabs of colour directly to the canvas, helped them to capture the light - as well as the changes they witnessed - in a vibrant, radical way, that had more to do with the physics of light. Also included in the exhibition are works by Futurist artists Giacomo Balla, Umberto Boccioni, Gino Severini, whose emerging movement fed on the Divisionists.
Wheelchair accessibility: Yes. Adapted Toilets: Yes.

British Museum: Hadrian - Empire and Conflict
Venue: Great Russell Street, WC1B 3DG.
Dates: 24 July - 26 October 2008.
Tickets: £12, (Concessions).
London Transport: Nearest Tube: Tottenham Court Road, Russell Square. Carparks: Bloomsbury Square, Holborn NCP.
Description: This special exhibition with artefacts from 28 museums worldwide and recent excavations, explores the life, love and legacy of Hadrian, Rome's most enigmatic emperor, Hadrian who ruled an empire from AD 117-138 that by his death comprised much of Britain, Europe west of the Rhine, northern Africa and the Middle East. A capable and, when necessary, a ruthless military leader, he realigned and stabilised the imperial borders and quashed revolt, stabilising a territory critically overstretched by his predecessor, Trajan. Hadrian had a great passion for architecture and Greek culture. His extensive building programme included the Pantheon in Rome, his villa in Tivoli and the city of Antinoopolis, which he founded and named after his male lover Antinous
Wheelchair accessibility: Yes. Adapted Toilets: Yes.

Imperial War Museum: For Your Eyes Only
Date: Until 1 March 2009.
Venue: Imperial War Museum, Lambeth Road, SE1 6HZ. Tel: 0207 416 5320.
London Transport: Nearest Tube: Lambeth North; Elephant and Castle; Waterloo, (wheelchair accessible); Southwark, (wheelchair accessible). Carparks: Union Carparks/53 Southwark Street.
Tickets: £8.(Concessions). Book online. The rest of the museum is FREE.
Description: A celebration of the centenary of Ian Fleming's birth with a fascinating exhibition devoted to his James Bond, the 007 gizmos and gadgetry, and Fleming's own remarkable life and wartime experiences. A special book is available to accompany the exhibition.
Wheelchair Accessibility: Yes. Adapted Toilets: Yes, on all floors bar the 3rd and 4th. Accessible cafe on ground floor. The Museum has a number of manual, folding frame wheelchairs that can be borrowed for the duration of your visit. Check for full details

Handel House Museum: Handel and the Divas
Venue: 25 Brook Street, W1K 4HB
Dates: Until 16 November 2008
Tickets: £5.
London Transport: Nearest Tube: Bond Street. Carparks: Grosvenor Hill NCP, Welbeck street NCP.
Description: London home to the baroque composer George Frideric Handel from 1723 until his death in 1759. It was here that he composed some of the greatest music in history, including Messiah, Zadok the Priest and Music for the Royal Fireworks. The Museum celebrates Handel's life and works, displaying portraits of Handel and his contemporaries in finely restored Georgian interiors and bringing live music back to his house. Recitals take place every Thursday evening and regularly at the weekends. A special exhibition looks at the composer's great operatic stars, including Margherita Durastanti, Francesca Cuzzoni, Faustina Bordoni, Susannah Cibber and Kitty Clive. These female singers played an important role in Handel's choice of subject and the development of his musical style. Here they're remembered through exhibits such as a rare chalk and graphite sketch of Margherita Durastanti by Phillipe Mercier, oil portraits of Kitty Clive and Susannah Cibber and Willem Verelst's portrait of Anna Maria Strada del Po. Live music recitals of the composer's works complement the exhibition.
Wheelchair accessibility: Yes, from Lancashire House entrance. Disabled Toilets: Yes. Disabled parking space in Brooks Mews.

Natural History Museum: Amazing Butterflies Venue: Cromwell Road, SW7 5BD
Dates: 10am-5pm daily. Until 17 August 2008
Tickets: £5 (Adults), £3.50 (Children & Concessions), Free (Children Under 3). Timed entry.
London Transport: Nearest Tube: South Kensington, Gloucester Road. Carparks: Union Car Parks/Harrington Road.
Description: Explore the life cycle of some of the world's most beautiful creatures this summer in the giant maze and butterfly house at the Amazing Butterflies, the new family exhibition at the Museum. Live through their whole lifecycle from caterpillar to adult butterfly at the butterfly house where you can walk among the real-life tropical butterflies from America, Africa and Asia. Visitors inspired by what they've seen are encouraged to get involved in The Butterfly Monitoring Scheme where volunteers monitor the number and type of butterflies along a two to four kilometre route. Go to www.ukbms.org to register and to www.butterfly-conservation.org for more information.
Wheelchair accessibility: Yes. Adapted Toilets: Yes, in main building.

Science Museum: The Science of Survival
Venue: Exhibition Road, SW7 2DD.
Dates: 10am-5.45pm daily. Until 2 November 2008
Tickets: £6.
London Transport: Nearest Tube: South Kensington, Gloucester Road. Carparks: Union Car Parks/Harrington Road.
Description: The exhibition is set to be one of the most exciting and thought provoking family attractions of the year exploring how we shall survive on a changing planet. In this fun, hands-on exhibition, the adults of today and tomorrow can explore how their lives and others could be affected by changing climate and resources, and get a glimpse of how we might live in 2050.
IMAX 3D Cinema: Various programmes including 1. Secrets of the Pharaohs: Mummies 2. Sea Monsters. 3. Space Station. 4. Dinosaurs Live. 7.50, (Concessions).
Wheelchair accessibility: Yes. Adapted Toilets: Yes.

Doctor Who Exhibition Venue: Museum Hall, Earls Court Exhibition Centre, Warwick Road, SW5 9TA
Dates: 10am-5pm. Until 18th September 2008
Tickets: Adults £9, Children £7.
London Transport: Nearest Tube: West Brompton, Earls Court. Carparks: Broadwood Terrace NCP.
Description: The time travelling Doctor lands his TARDIS outside Earls Court Exhibition Centre for the largest ever Doctor Who display in the UK. See props, costumes, monsters and creatures from all the latest episodes of the hit BBC TV show. Memorabilia includes set pieces from the present series starring David Tennant as the Timelord and comedian Catherine Tate and with guest appearances from Billie Piper. On display are the famous blue phonebox the TARDIS, trusty sidekick K9 and a clutch of the Doctor's famous enemies, the Daleks being the most satisfyingly terrifying to children of all ages! The Museum Hall entrance is opposite West Brompton Station.
Wheelchair accessibility: Yes. Adapted Toilets: Yes.

Jack The Ripper's Sinister London
Venue: Selected departure points by coach.
Date: Fridays, Sundays. from 6.40pm
Description:Tread in the footsteps of the infamous Jack The Ripper down the dark, narrow, gas-lit alleyways immortalized in such films as "From Hell". Led by one of the renowned London Blue Badge Guides, you will visit four murder sights. Your "Ripperologist" will run through some of the suspects who sparked a Victorian Whodunit that'll leave you as gripped as its victims. Approx. 4 hours.

Blood & Tears Walk
Venue: Start from outside Barbican Tube Station.
Date: Daily except Tues and Suns. 7pm and afternoons. See website for details
Tickets: £7, (Concessions). Pay Guide at start.
London Transport: Nearest Tube: Barbican, (Circle line, Metropolitan line and the Hammersmith & City line).
Description: This award-winning Horror London walk by qualified researcher and former professional actor Declan McHugh is now in its eighth year. The walk took years of research and covers sites connected with London's darkest past, including places associated with grave robbers, serial killers (including Jack the Ripper), secret tunnels, witchcraft and conspiracy. Learn about London's hidden history of Horror! Prisons, Prostitutes and Punishment; Highwaymen, Hangings and Hauntings; Disease, Disaster and Death.

Jack the Ripper Walk
Venue: Aldgate, Whitechapel, Spitalfields. EC. Tel: 020 8530 8443
Date: Daily. 7pm-9pm.
Tickets: £6.50. Online Booking
London Transport: Aldgate East, (District, Hammersmith and City Lines).
Description: Guided Exploration of the Whitechapel and Spitalfields alleys and pubs where serial killer Jack the Ripper murdered at least five and possibly many more prostitutes in a reign of terror during 1888.

The Shakespeare City Walk
Venue: Starts from Blackfriars Tube Station, Exit 8. (Circle and District Line).
Date: Mondays and Fridays, 11am. 2007. Tel: 020 7625 5155 before date for confirmation.
Tickets: £6.(Concessions). Book online or pay guide at start.
London Transport: Nearest Tube. Blackfriars. (Circle & District Line).
Description: Former professional actor Declan McHugh leads you on a 90 minute walk through the City of London, uncovering often little-known monuments and locations with connections to Shakespeare's life, his friends, his loves and his work, while declaiming the Bard's poetry and prose in true thespian style.

Free London Art & Museum Collections

Permanent collections in many galleries and museums are entry free. Individually mounted temporary exhibitions within specified rooms may carry a ticket charge however, (bookable online or at the door). Shophound Alexia's Free London list gives full details including address, opening times, getting there and description.