Wallace Collection, London

The Wallace Collection is a national museum in an historic London town house. In 25 galleries are unsurpassed displays of French 18th century painting, furniture and porcelain with superb Old Master paintings and a world class armoury.
The Wallace Collection is a family collection in origin, and is now owned by a private trust. Hertford House was formerly owned by the Wallace family. Its works of art were collected between about 1760 and 1880 by the first four Marquesses of Hertford and Sir Richard Wallace, the son of the 4th Marquess.
To the visitor, Hertford House seems like a combination of stately home and museum. In addition to the grand rooms, parts of the building that formerly housed stables etc have been converted to museum galleries.
The collections are world class and include well-known paintings such as the ‘Laughing Cavalier’ and ‘Girl on a Swing’, fine furniture, including several pieces that belonged to Marie Antoinette, fine porcelain and other art objects, and a large collection of medieval and Oriental arms and armour.
With one piece of furniture reputedly being worth several million pounds, one could guess that to repurchase the collection at today’s prices would cost the equivalent of the national debt!
I left the Collection unvisited for many years because it gets little publicity, and I supposed that a private collection would be rather dull – an impression that turned out to be totally wrong.
Admission is free, but you can buy a useful guidebook for £5. If you don’t know where to start, take the Highlights Tour (free).
For meals and snacks, there is a restaurant in the courtyard, but some visitors may find it a bit pricey (a cold drink and cake cost me nearly £6).
Visit time – to see everything takes most of a day. Nearest Tubes are Bond Street and Baker Street, but a bus will drop you nearer.