Leafy Hampstead, London’s most famous ‘village’, was developed as a spa in the 18th century and became a fashionable and exclusive retreat favoured by many prominent writers and artists. Spotting name plaques among the many beautiful former homes of luminaries such as Sir Arthur Bliss, John Keats, Henry Moore, D H Lawrence, John Constable and the like is a favourite visitor pastime. The steep narrow streets around the centre are very well preserved and retain an intimate feel. The most appealing include Flask Walk, Well Walk (where you’ll find the original spa fountain), Holly Walk, Hampstead Grove and Church Row. Meanwhile, Hampstead High Street and Heath Street bristle with trendy restaurants, cafés and a good variety of small independent shops that cater to the well-heeled residents.
There are a number of low-key sights in the centre. Burgh House (1704) acts as a local museum; Fenton House (built in 1693) holds ceramics and a renowned collection of historic keyboard instruments; Keats House, where the poet John Keats lived for almost two years, is a delightful spot, where Ode to a Nightingale and many other fine poems were written. Just south of here is the Freud Museum, where Sigmund Freud lived from 1938 until his death in 1939.
Hampstead’s other claim to fame is Hampstead Heath, London’s largest and most famous heathland, covering some 320ha (791 acres). The heath is one of north London’s favourite summer walking spots and its ponds are also used for swimming. Parliament Hill is a traditional Sunday venue for kite-flying and offers great views across to central London. Much of the heath consists of undeveloped woodland, the main exception being the landscaped grounds of Kenwood House.
Hampstead
Burgh House
New End Square 
020 7431 0144; www.burghhouse.org.uk 
Wed–Sun 12–5 
Free
Fenton House
Hampstead Grove 020 7435 3471; www.nationaltrust.org.uk Mar Sat, Sun 11–5; Apr–Oct Wed–Fri 2–5, Sat, Sun 11–5 Moderate
Keats House
Keats Grove 020 7435 2062 Easter–Oct Tue–Sun 1–5; Nov–Easter Fri–Sun 1–5 Moderate
Freud Museum
20 Maresfield Gardens 020 7435 2002; www.freud.org.uk Wed–Sun 12–5 Finchley Road Moderate
HAMPTON COURT PALACE
Work on Hampton Court Palace began in 1514 under the tenure of Henry VIII’s Lord Chancellor, Cardinal Wolsey. By 1528, however, Wolsey had fallen from favour and Henry had acquired it for himself. He built it up to be the most lavish palace in England where he fêted European royalty and spent five of his six honeymoons. In 1689, William III and Mary II commissioned Sir Christopher Wren to remodel the apartments and to give the palace much of its present-day appearance. George II was the last monarch to use Hampton Court (1760).
For most visitors the surviving Tudor pieces are still the palace highlights: the great gatehouse and a magnificent astronomical clock, the capacious Tudor Kitchens stocked with contemporary foods and utensils, and fires ablaze all year round, the sumptuous centrepiece Great Hall and the Chapel Royal with its breathtaking ornate ceiling.
The King’s Apartments (built by William III) are among the finest baroque state apartments in the world and the Wolsey Rooms hold a fine Renaissance picture gallery, though the palace’s greatest artwork, Triumphs of Caesar by Mantegna, is in the Lower Orangery.
The gardens, planted in the late 17th century, are glorious and include the ever-popular maze, the Great Vine (England’s largest) and the Royal Tennis Court. The latter was built in 1626 and real tennis (a forerunner of lawn tennis) is still played here regularly.
Hampton Court, East Molesey 0844 482 7777 Palace and Maze: Apr–Oct daily 10–6; Nov–Mar 10–4:30 (last admission 1 hour before closing). Formal Gardens: summer daily 10–7; winter 10–5:30. Informal Gardens: summer daily 7am–8pm; winter 7–6. Home Park: May–Jul daily 7am–9pm; Apr, Aug, Sep 7am–8pm; Mar, Oct 7–6; Nov–Feb 7–5:30 All-inclusive ticket to palace and gardens expensive. Maze only inexpensive. Gardens moderate 
Tiltyard café (£) and restaurant (££) Train from Waterloo to Hampton Court. Boat from Richmond, Westminster or Kew (summer only) 
111, 216, 411, 451, 513, R68
HIGHGATE
The charming village of Highgate lies just east of Hampstead Heath and like its famous neighbour, Hampstead, was a favourite retreat for the upper classes and literary figures, including Samuel Taylor Coleridge (author of The Rime of the Ancient Mariner).
Its most popular visitor highlight is Highgate Cemetery. Opened in 1839, the cemetery soon became the fashionable final resting place of politicians, poets, actors and other Victorian personalities. Monuments grew ever larger and more ornate and the cemetery turned into a tourist attraction. The West Cemetery is the real draw, piled high with crumbling catacombs, Egyptian columns and obelisks, ivy-clad vaults and grand mausoleums. It looks like the set for a horror movie and is said to have inspired Bram Stoker (the author of Dracula). However, the most famous personalities are buried in the East Cemetery and include Karl Marx, Sir Ralph Richardson, Mary Ann Evans (pen-name George Eliot) and comedian Max Wall.
Swain’s Lane 020 8340 1834 East Cemetery Mon–Fri 10–5 (4:30 winter), Sat, Sun 11–4 (3:30 winter). West Cemetery, admission by tour only; Sat–Sun 11–4 each hour, Mon–Fri tours at 2 (advisable to book). Nov–Mar tours at weekends only 11–3 East Cemetery inexpensive; West Cemetery moderate for tours Archway 
No children under 8 in the West Cemetery
If you would like to see a real country house without straying too far then visit Kenwood, on the north of Hampstead Heath. Built in 1616, it was remodelled in 1764 by Robert Adam, whose signature pale blue, neoclassical design is apparent as soon as you enter the house. The paintings at Kenwood are known as the Iveagh Bequest and form one of the most important collections bequeathed to the nation. They are mostly 17th- and 18th-century works from the English, Dutch and French schools, though recent additions include much earlier paintings by Botticelli and Hans Memling. The most famous is a Rembrandt self-portrait, acknowledged as one of his very best. Also notable are works by Frans Hals and Vermeer. New acquisitions include Constable’s Hampstead Heath with Pond and Bathers. The architectural tour de force of the house is the library, with its elaborately decorated tunnel-vaulted ceiling and Corinthian columns. It is considered one of Adam’s finest interiors.
The gardens have featured in films such as Notting Hill. On summer evenings, the grassy amphitheatre is transformed in to one of London’s most popular outdoor music venues for the Kenwood House Picnic Concerts (picnics are sold on site), attracting jazz, rock and classical music stars.
Hampstead Lane 020 8348 1286 House daily 11:30–4; park stays open longer. Closed 24–25 Dec, 1 Jan Free (charge: exhibitions) Restaurant, café (£–££) Archway
KEW, ROYAL BOTANIC GARDENS
Founded in the mid-18th century, Kew Gardens, a huge park of almost 122ha (300 acres), holds a marvellous collection of plants, trees and flowers from every corner of the globe. Most of the species are grown outdoors, but huge glass and wrought-iron greenhouses replicate exotic climes. The most spectacular of these is the curvy Palm House, built between 1844 and 1848. The Temperate House was the world’s largest greenhouse when built in 1899 and contains a Chilean Wine Palm some 16m (52ft) tall and over 150 years old. The Princess of Wales Conservatory is a favourite for its giant water-lily pads, and the exhibition Evolution is a high-tech exploration of the story of the planet to date.
Reminders of the gardens’ early royal patronage are provided by tiny Kew Palace (summer home of George III 1802–18), Queen Charlotte’s Cottage and the Queen’s Garden. The gardens are a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and, in 2009, celebrated their 250th birthday.
Kew, Richmond 020 8332 5655 Daily from 9:30. Closes approx 4:15 winter, 6:30 summer. Closed 25 Dec, 1 Jan Expensive Café (£), restaurants (£–££) Kew Gardens 
Riverboat to Kew Pier from Westminster and Richmond (Apr–Oct) Kew Explorer hop-on hop-off land train (moderate). The Xstrata Treetop walkway 18m (59ft) above the ground gives a unique view of the canopy
RICHMOND AND TWICKENHAM
These adjoining riverside suburbs make up one of London’s most charming and bucolic districts. From Richmond station turn left to walk along George Street. Off here to the right is a lovely village green. Return to George Street and continue to Richmond Bridge and the impressive classical-style riverside development. To visit Richmond Park take bus 371 and get off at the Royal Star & Garter; here you can enjoy the magnificent view down on to the river.
Richmond Park, London’s largest royal park and one of its wildest, with herds of deer, is ideal for a picnic. If you want to explore it properly consider renting a bicycle. As an alternative to the park, follow the towpath along the river from Richmond Bridge (it’s possible to cycle along here) and after around 30 minutes you will reach Ham House. This is an outstanding 17th-century house that has been refurbished to its former glory.
Nearby is the 82,000-seat Twickenham Stadium, the headquarters of both the England and international game. Matches are played between August and May, but year-round you can take a Twickenham Stadium Tour to see the players’ dressing rooms and players’ tunnel. For a history of the sport, visit the World Rugby Museum, with its interactive displays that help to recreate the sound, sights and smell of the sport.
Ham House
Ham Street, Ham 020 8940 1950; www.nationaltrust.org.uk House: Apr–Oct Sat–Wed 12–4. Gardens: all year Sat–Wed 11–6 Moderate
Twickenham Stadium
Rugby Road 0208 892 8877 Tue–Sun 10–5; closed match days Expensive 
London Waterloo to Twickenham, then 15 min walk
V&A MUSEUM OF CHILDHOOD
The Museum of Childhood started life in 1856 in South Kensington as a temporary wing of the Victoria and Albert Museum. Its elaborate, typically Victorian ironwork structure was then moved wholesale to Bethnal Green. Imaginative refurbishment has kept the spirit of the past, while adding a new, dynamic approach, ensuring that education is fun. It is still part of the V&A and is a shrine to childhood and all the accoutrements that go with it, from birthing stools to children’s wartime gas masks, from Javanese shadow puppets and Steiff teddy bears to Sonic the Hedgehog and Teletubbies.
The museum is as much for adults as for children, documenting social trends and changes through the medium of play. Many toys date back centuries and several are exquisite hand-made pieces. The museum is particularly renowned for its collection of doll’s houses: the Nuremberg House dates back to 1673. Its doll collection is also comprehensive and includes some outstanding Japanese ceremonial dolls. There are activities suitable for both children and adults, including games, arts and crafts tables, themed paper trails, special events, workshops, and movie and theatre productions.
Cambridge Heath Road, Bethnal Green 020 8983 5200 Daily 10–5:45 Free; small charge for some activities Benugo Café (£) Bethnal Green Lovely park for picnics