London – Around Town : Regent’s Park and Marylebone (part 1)

by

North of Oxford Street and
south of the park are the grand mansion blocks of Marylebone. Once a
medieval village surrounded by fields and a pleasure garden, now it is a
fashionable and elegant inner city area. In the 19th century, doctors
started using these spacious houses to see wealthy clients. The medical
connection continues today in the discreet Harley Street consulting
rooms of private medical specialists. Madame Tussaud’s in Marylebone
Road may be less fashionable, but the queues outside testify to their
popularity. Behind Marylebone Road, encircled by John Nash’s magnificent
terraces, is Regent’s Park where the residents’ tranquillity is ruffled
only by the muezzin calling from the London Central Mosque and the
bellowing of elephants in London Zoo.


Regency London

Regent’s Park was named after the Prince Regent
(the future George IV) who employed John Nash in 1812 to lay out the
park on the royal estate of Marylebone Farm. Nash was given a free hand
and the result is a harmonious delight. Encircling the park are
sumptuous Neo-classical terraces, including Cumberland Terrace, intended
to be the Prince Regent’s residence.






Sights

  1. Madame Tussaud’s

    Madame
    Tussaud’s museum of waxwork models of the famous has been one of
    London’s major attractions for a century. The famous Chamber of Horrors
    puts visitors face-to-face with London’s most infamous criminals. To
    avoid a long wait, arrive early in the day or book ahead by phone or web
    to get a timed ticket. 

    • Marylebone Road NW1

    • Open 9:30am–5:30pm daily

    • Admission charge




    Madame Tussaud’s



    Barack Obama, Madame Tussaud’s

  2. London Zoo

    Lying
    on the northern side of Regent’s Park, London Zoo is home to 600
    different animal species. The zoo is heavily into conservation and you
    can see the breeding programmes of endangered animals, such as the giant
    weta and Knysna seahorse. A map is provided and their booklet is full
    of fascinating animal lore .

    • Regent’s Park NW1

    • Open 10am–4pm (5:30pm in summer) daily

    • Admission charge




    London Zoo

  3. Wallace Collection

    “The
    finest collection of art ever assembled by one family,” is the claim of
    the Wallace Collection, and it is hard to disagree. Sir Richard
    Wallace, who left this collection to the nation in 1897, was not only
    outrageously rich but a man of great taste. As well as 25 galleries of
    fine Sèvres porcelain and an unrivalled collection of armour, there are
    old masters by English, French and Dutch artists, including Frans Hals’s
    The Laughing Cavalier .

    • Manchester Square W1

    • Open 10am–5pm daily

    • Free

  4. Regent’s Park

    The
    best part of Regent’s Park is the Inner Circle. Here are Queen Mary’s
    Gardens, with beds of wonderfully fragrant roses, the Open Air Theatre
    with its summer Shakespeare plays, and the Garden Café, which, along
    with the Honest Sausage near London Zoo, is the best park café. Rowing
    boats, tennis courts and deck chairs can be rented and in summer musical
    performances take place on the bandstand .

    • NW1

    • Open 5am–dusk daily




    Regent’s Park



    Boating lake, Regent’s Park

  5. Marylebone Cricket Club Museum

    This
    is the place to unravel the mysteries of England’s greatest gift to the
    world of sports. Founded in 1787, the MCC is the governing body of the
    game, and its home ground, Lord’s, is a venue for Test matches. The
    museum can only be seen as part of a guided tour of the ground.

    • St John’s Wood NW8

    • Tours Apr–Oct: 10am, noon, 2pm, Nov–Mar: noon, 2pm

  6. Sherlock Holmes Museum

    Take
    a camera when you visit here so you can have your picture taken sitting
    by the fire in the great detective’s front room, wearing a deerstalker
    hat and smoking a pipe. This museum is great fun, brilliantly
    reconstructed with some excellent touches. A Victorian policeman stands
    guard outside, uniformed maids welcome you and, upstairs, wax dummies
    (including the villainous Moriarty) re-enact moments from Holmes’s most
    famous cases .

    • 221b Baker Street NW1

    • Open 9:30am–6pm daily

  7. Wigmore Hall

    One
    of the world’s most important recital venues presents 400 events a
    year, including song, early music, chamber music and jazz strands as
    well as a diverse education programme. This beautiful Arts and Crafts
    style hall, built in 1901, is reputed to have one of the best concert
    acoustics in the world.

    • 36 Wigmore Street W1

  8. Regent’s Canal

    John
    Nash wanted the canal to go through the centre of his new Regent’s
    Park, but objections from neighbours, who were concerned about smelly
    canal boats and foul-mouthed crews, resulted in it being sited on the
    northern side of the park. In 1874, a cargo of explosives demolished the
    North Gate bridge beside London Zoo .




    Residential narrow boats, Regent’s Canal

  9. BBC Broadcasting House

    Synonymous
    with the BBC, Broadcasting House has sailed majestically down Portland
    Place like a great liner since it was built in 1932. The expansion in
    radio and, later, television, meant that additional, larger premises
    were soon required, and now most broadcasting is done from other
    studios. New plans, however, aim to redevelop Broadcasting House as a
    new, modern centre for BBC Radio, the BBC World Service and BBC News.

    • Broadcasting House, Portland Place W1

    • Closed to public

  10. London Central Mosque

    Five
    times a day the muezzin calls the faithful to prayer from the minaret
    of the London Central Mosque. Built in 1978, with a distinctive copper
    dome, it acts as a community and cultural centre for followers of Islam.
    It is a hospitable place: step inside and see the sky-blue domed
    ceiling and its shimmering chandelier. Prayer mats cover the floor for
    the faithful who turn towards Mecca to pray.

    • 146 Park Road NW8




    London Central Mosque