Somerset House

Art London, United Kingdom

Outdoor concerts in Summer, ice skating in Winter, always accompanied by exhibitions, art and culture. The impressive complex on the north bank of the River Thames hosts two important collections: the Courtauld Gallery and the Embankment Galleries. You can find works by masters of the past and exhibitions dedicated to art, design, fashion, architecture and photography.

Built in the first half of the 16th century by Edward Seymour, the first Duke of Somerset and brother-in-law of Henry VIII, it is today home to an important polyphonic center for visual arts, design, photography, film, music and fashion. It hosts the Courtauld Institute of Art and the east wing is part of King's College London. In the area below the terrace you can admire the characteristic King's Barge, a magnificent eighteenth-century boat similar to a gondola that the lords of the English Admiral used through an underground tunnel that accessed the building directly from the river.