While exploring Kensington Gardens a few weeks ago, my husband and I stopped in at the Serpentine…read moreSouth Gallery for the last day of their Cecily Brown exhibition. The Serpentine Galleries is a free contemporary art gallery (split into two different buildings) in Kensington Gardens. "Cecily Brown: Picture Making" was a treat. The South Gallery is beautiful, and Cecily Brown's work was displayed beautifully. The exhibit was the first major solo exhibition of her paintings in the UK since 2005, and the works, and it was well worth a visit. If you're exploring Kensington Gardens and are interested in contemporary art, check to see if the Serpentine Gallery has an exhibit! Our visit was a treat.

Free and interesting. The Serpentine Galleries are two small…read moregalleries located in Hyde Park, which are much closer together than I anticipated. They are easily both visited in the same stop in the park. On my visit, there was a contemporary landscape exhibit in one gallery, which unfortunately for me was also currently being visited by a large group of elementary aged school children (there was a lot of shouting, by the students and the teachers/minders trying to keep them in line). That encouraged me to...not linger long, though I liked the style of the art on display. In the other gallery was a large-scale digital work by David Hockney, along with paintings on display in the inner rooms. I happened to visit early in the day of the day he actually passed away. Just an interesting coincidence, and I assume it likely that the gallery may have been much busier in subsequent days following the news. Both galleries have gift shops, and one has a cafe and small garden. Certainly worth a stop in if you are in the park, and especially in the summer if you need a dose of climate control for a few minutes.

What a lovely little gallery in one of the nicest streets in Kensington - perfect for an afternoon…read morewalk even on a grey day! A reminder that it is always worth turning off the main road to explore hidden corners and side streets. The gallery is located at the corner of Thankeray Street, a hidden gem of small shops and cafes running parallel to Kensington High Street - well worth a visit if you want to get a feel for the area's history. The gallery specialises in architectural and classical prints, in particular of the local area, which are displayed in charming surroundings. The owners are equally charming and very knowledgeable. They run a framing workshop on site and are true experts in their field.

What a charming environment for showing art! I had come across Gallery 286 by chance and a visit…read moreto this private exhibition space in Earls Court has been the highlight of the year so far. I had only recently come across the term "ego-seum" and while I dislike the word itself I just love the idea of collectors opening their homes to fellow art lovers. Gallery 286 has a lovely old-fashioned museum feel to it which provides a lovely backdrop for the art on display. I was fascinated with the current "Light Art" show which includes mind-blowing kinetic works by Andrew Ryder in the main reception room and a selection of holograms in the downstairs gallery - the main consignment of works by Dora Tass and August Muth was delayed in customs, but the selection of pieces from Jonathan Ross's (no, not Wossy) personal collection were equally fascinating. I was particularly lucky to get a chance to chat to both the host and a couple of artists - a truly enlightening evening.

Visiting Leighton House was one of the many highlights of my trip to London a week or so ago…read more Leighton House is a historic house near Holland Park; it was the home of Victorian painter Frederic Leighton, who served as the president of the Royal Academy. Designed by George Aitchison for Frederic Leighton, construction began in 1865, with extensions added on in 1869-1870, 1877-1881, 1889-1890, and 1894-1895. The famous Arab Hall was an addition made to the house in 1877-1881. When Leighton died in 1896, his collection was sold off by Christies. The house was retained and opened as a museum in 1990. In the 21st century, an attached building was added to house visitor services, galleries for exhibits, bathrooms, and a cafe. We started with the room downstairs, which had a short video about the house and a gallery of architectural sketches and drawings of Leighton House. Then we went up the very cool staircase to a room where they are showing a very cool, sweet, and interesting short film about the house that they commissioned from an artist. Then, we finally went over to the house itself. As I walked into Arab Hall, my jaw just dropped: the tiles, the ceiling, the water feature... But the rest of the house is beautiful, too - with lots of art (including lots of works by Frederic Leighton) everywhere. It's a beautiful home. I loved our visit to Leighton House. I learned so much about Frederic Leighton and art of his period. It's also just a stunning piece of architecture and design. I highly recommend including it on an itinerary for a day in Kensington!

Beautiful location for a piano/opera concerto. Excellent acoustics and intimate ambiance. My girls…read moreand recently had the pleasure of attending a Camden Stewart show here and it was perfect. Beautiful art, room, performance and gallery.

I visited the Victoria and Albert Museum about two weeks ago. I think the V&A might be the first…read moremuseum I ever loved. I remember going as a little girl, seeing their fashion gallery, and falling in love. I hadn't been in years, and I was excited to see it through my adult eyes that have visited a lot more museum than 12-year-old me. The museum is incredible. It's enormous, labyrinthine. I got lost repeatedly. But it's the world's largest museum of applied arts, decorative arts, and design, so that's no surprise. I had a glass of wine in the Garden Cafe, while I studied the map. Then we went up the Ceramic Staircase (a incredible architectural feature that dates back to 1865-1871) and wandered through gallery after gallery (Tapestries, Theatre & Performance, Photography Centre). We probably saw 8% of the museum's galleries. Then it was time for us to make our way to the exhibition "Schiaparelli: Fashion Becomes Art." This exhibit was incredible, showcasing designs by Elsa Schiaperelli back in the 1920s all the way to the present (designs by the fashion house's current creative director Daniel Roseberry). Since the fashion gallery is closed until 2028, it was great to see some fashion on my first visit to the V&A in at least a decade. The museum is free to visit (exhibits have an admission cost), and it's an incredible museum - well worth a visit for anyone visiting London for the first time or the 100th. Even if you just have a half hour, you can't go wrong with a stroll through this incredible, beautiful museum.

Date: August 29, 2026…read more Experience: I will say this about each museum we got to stop by at during our tour: "I wish I could've stayed there longer." Our restroom breaks on the tour were sometimes at museums since museum entry was free in the UK, which I am totally jealous of because I come from the US and we pay to enter museums. We had about 30 minutes to use the restroom and to look around at the displays on top of checking out the gift shop. If memory serves me right, this museum displayed the best of the best from the different countries. My mom and I explored as much as we could with the little time we had, with my interests being perked by the religious items on display to only discover sections for Asian countries and a whole two rooms housing gigantic statues and artwork. I took as many pictures as I could to view for later, but we only made a small dent on what we could see with the little time we had. I did end up getting postcards from the gift shop that also housed so many different items to pick from related to both the museum and just the UK in general. Hands down would go back in the future to check it out fully.

Small in size, large on selection of fine art and prints…read more Specializing in framing, but much more...leave time to browse! Check out the work of Howard Phipps, David Stubbs, Paul Finn and more. Art can be mailed home, wonderful when shopping abroad.

This gallery is like a sigh, like a wonderfully brisk fresh breath of air... so calm and…read moretranquil... yet offering up art that wakes you up and makes you contemplative. They always have an artist exhibition going with some really beautiful pieces on offer - all contemporary artists... mainly British, but some stellar international talent as well. I love coming in here to simply admire the latest show that they have on their walls. It's a fantastic gallery with a really great ethos - to promote the work of modern-day artists who have a striking aesthetic that gives you slight pause. Right now, there are some invigorating landscape pieces on display by a lovely London artist, Gill Rocca... lots of snowy paths that fade into infinity and dark trees that mesmerize in a sapphire twilight - captivating and absolutely refreshing.

Daisy Cook's paintings at this great gallery feel like a holiday. They are Iceland but could be…read moreany beach or coast, real or imaginary. The colours are peaceful. Northcote always have intelligent art. They also have amazing catalogues and I always keep mine. Northcote Gallery has another smaller gallery just over the river in Battersea which is also really lovely and friendly. Restless Earth by Daisy Cook is my favourite exhibition so far but I also really enjoyed Debi O'Hehir who does amazing scuplture of horses. the gallery also has an amazing staircase leading to a roof terrace. The light is fantastic in Northcote Gallery. I love it.

I have--since relinquishing my guns as a trainee artist, resolving somewhat of an infrequent…read more"hobby" artist--for a long-time been fascinated by Japanese artwork and printing. It shouldn't be much of a surprise then, that I have often found myself in the Japanese Gallery on the Camden Passage in Islington. Neatly laid out, in a very minimalist Japanese fashion, the Japanese Gallery has been collecting an abundant selection of Ukiyo-e ("sad" or "floating world") wood-block prints that range from: antique originals that around 200 years old, if not more; to contemporary Manga reprints. The prices are quite infrequent as well, some of the stock is well out of reach for my pockets, but some antique-reprints can be as low as £10, if not lower. The varied stock is then categorised into further sections: Beauty and Female; Animals; Shunga and so on. Downstairs there are a couple of exhibitions spaces, which usually display Geisha (traditionally referring to a person of the arts) works. There are also a few reference books and knickknacks floating around, so if you're interested it's probably worth checking out.

Set in the quaint, cobble-stoned Camden Passage in Islington is this lovely little shop which sells…read morea range of delicate Japanese Ukiyo-e woodblock prints. This form of art is the most well known of the Japanese arts where the prints are of traditional Japanese images such as geishas, samurais, sumo wrestlers, kabuki male/ female actors, landscapes and birds. You can purchase original prints ranging from just under a £100 up to thousands of pounds. However, the great thing about Japanese Gallery is that for those who can't afford to or are unwilling to spend so much on a print, can buy reproductions for £10, or slightly more if framed. The images all hold an element of charm, each telling a certain narrative and look very good hung up on a wall at home, as well as making very appropriate gifts.