Start your private tour at London’s V&A Museum, the city’s center of arts and crafts that is dedicated to Queen Victoria and Prince Albert. Today the museum is home to art from all styles, eras and countries, with its main collection a series of British oil paintings and watercolors. Explore rooms full of sculptures and architecture, and hear fun facts about one of the world’s finest collections of applied art.
Head inside the Raphael Cartoons collection that the Renaissance master Raphael created for Pope Leo X, add discover the highlights of the Medieval and Renaissance galleries.
Leave the V&A for a stroll through Knightsbridge where Harrods and other prestigious shopping establishments can be found. In the heart of the upmarket neighborhood is Apsley House, aka No 1 London.
Hear how the house was built for Baron Apsley before it fell into the hands of the Duke of Wellington. The duke lavished it further with a Corinthian temple besides other features, turning it into his very own grand mansion.
Head inside to explore and catch sight of the marble Canova statue of Napoleon in the guise of Apollo, and admire an array of treasure: sets of porcelain and silver, jewels, snuff boxes, stately furniture and more. Hear the history of the house as you head upstairs, and marvel at the duke’s collection of paintings. Pieces of art from the Royal Spanish collection, which were found in Giuseppe Bonaparte’s coach when he fled Madrid, were gifted to the duke by the King of Spain. Among the notable pieces are paintings by Goya, Murillo, Ribera, Rubens and Velázquez.
Your private tour finishes outside the house.
Please note: If you have any particular interests, for example art, history or architecture, please make a note in the ‘Special Requirements’ field when you book. Your guide will prepare your tour with those interests in mind.
