The Wallace Collection

Two minutes north of overwrought shopping boulevard Oxford St stands this quietly grand late-18th-century townhouse, open to the public since 1900, featuring a fine private collection of paintings, miniatures, ceramics, arms and armour, objets d'art, furniture and sculpture, with a certain emphasis on the French. Quality is varied, but there's zero arguing with Valázquez, Rembrandt, Turner, Titian, Frangonard, Hals, Reynolds, Gainsborough, Poussin and Canaletto. A glass-roofed courtyard restaurant completes the picture. Tube station: Bond Street. Landmarks within easy reach: the afore-mentioned Oxford Street (Selfridges, Marks & Spencer, proximity to South Molton St and Bond St etc) and quaint Marylebone, including its High Street with shops such as Daunt Books [see entry].