London Attractions Unfamiliar Attractions V&A MuseumV and A - Apsley House - Theatre Trip - £££
The Victoria and Albert Museum (often abbreviated to the V&A) in London is the world's largest museum of decorative arts and design, housing a 
permanent collection of over 4.5 million objects. Its collection spans 5000 years of art, from ancient times to the present day, in virtually every medium, from the cultures of Europe, North America, Asia and North Africa.
The holdings of ceramics, glass, textiles, costumes, silver, ironwork, jewellery, furniture, medieval objects, sculpture, prints and printmaking, drawings and photographs are among the largest and most comprehensive in the world. The Victoria and Albert Museum possesses the world's largest collection of post-classical sculpture, the holdings of Italian Renaissance items are the largest outside Italy. The departments of Asia include art from South Asia, China, Japan, Korea and the Islamic world. The East Asian collections are among the best in Europe, with particular strengths in ceramics and metalwork, while the Islamic collection, alongside the Musée du Louvre and Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, is amongst the largest in the world.
Nineteenth century British artists are well represented at the museum. John Constable and J.M.W. Turner have oil paintings, water colours and drawings within the collection. One of the most unusual objects on display is Thomas Gainsborough's experimental showbox with its back-lit landscapes. They were painted on glass, which could be changed like slides.
The Sculpture collection at the V&A is the most comprehensive holding of post-classical European sculpture in the world. There are approximately 17,500 objects in the collection that cover the period from about 400 AD to 1914.
The Victoria and Albert Museum has the atmosphere of an art gallery, rather quieter than its neighbours, with a sketching student around every corner. The interior is 
purposefully dark to protect the specimens it contains, but rarely seems dingy or oppressive. You're free to take pictures (as you are in most other museums in the capital), with a few exceptions (to protect their tremendous fragility). Equally as impressive as the exhibits, is the building itself and its highly varied and stunning interiors. Staff are polite, helpful and even manage to tell-you-off in a pleasant way (I took a picture of something, I shouldn't have).
Take the Tube at South Kensington and travel two stops eastbound on the Piccadilly Line to Hyde Park Corner. A short distance away you will find The Wellington Museum at Apsley House.
Apsley House was originally finished in 1778 for Lord Apsley, the Lord Chancellor, who gave the house its name.
In 1807 the house was purchased by Richard Wellesley, 1st Marquess Wellesley, the elder brother of Sir Arthur Wellesley, but in 1817 financial difficulties forced him to sell it to his famous brother, by then the Duke of Wellington, who needed a London base from which to pursue his new career in politics. It was known as 'Number 1 London' as it was the first house passed beyond the Knightsbridge toll booths, which marked the extent of London at the time. It still remains the home of Wellington's descendents.
The original red brickwork of Apsley House was faced by Bath stone, which survives to the present. Inside you can view many aspects of the first duke's life, and most significantly, view his rare and priceless collection of paintings. Works by Velazquez, Rubens, Van Dyck and Goya (many of which were gifts from the King of Spain) hang throughout the first floor. Also on show are Wellington's extensive collections of porcelain, silver, sculpture and furniture, displayed within the stunningly preserved interiors of the mansion.
Return to the Tube station and continue on to Leicester Square. In the south corner is the Tkts booth, where many reduced-price tickets can be bought on the day of entry. As long as you're flexible about what to see, there's a good choice, with offers usually better than half-price. See the section on this site about London theatres for more information. (You can't ring and book tickets at tkts, you have to show up).
The Victoria and Albert Museum,
Cromwell Road, London SW7 2RL. 
South Kensington Tube.
Call: 020 7942 2000
The Wellington Museum at Apsley House,
149 Piccadilly, London, W1J 7NT.
Hyde Park Corner Tube.
Call: 020 7499 5676
