Marylebone is one of the few areas of London that approaches the density of European capitals like Paris, replete with Mansion Blocks .
Marylebone’s most famous road is of course Baker Street, fictional home of Sherlock Holmes. Inevitably he’s got a slightly dodgy sounding “museum”, memorably described on Reddit .
I know I usually like to tell you how to pronounce place names but Marylebone is such a linguistic disaster zone that you’re on your own.
This tiny museum consists of two alcoves, alike in dignity. One filled with display cabinets, the other a diorama. Whoever decided to name it a centre was certainly an optimist.
Worth visiting? I actually think yes! - If you’re nearby. They pack a lot into the space they have and there’s much interesting history to read.
Not to be confused with the absurdly similarly named Royal College of Music museum!
There are two floors to see, one dedicated to keyed instruments, the other to strings.
It’s mostly static exhibits but there were Ukeleles to play… in audible range of some of the world’s finest musicians. I did not dare try. 😬
You’d think that the Royal Institute of Britsh Architects would build a good HQ but no, their 1930s art deco home is weirdly racist.
I went to see the exhibition about how they’re confronting this. It isn’t huge but there was a detailed & interesting video to watch.
The Wallace Collection is definitely tied with Spencer House as one of the most opulent places I’ve visited so far.
You can see a huge array of paintings and furniture, across many grand state rooms.
There’s also a café & restaurant in a covered courtyard which looked pretty fancy.
WatchHouse is a chain so I wasn’t super excited to visit but I was amazed by the great coffee.
Maybe I was just lucky but it seemed my flat white was made with ristretto, it had a punch.
They serve brunch, the avocado toast was good!
