★★★★★ 5.0
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Sir John Soane's Museum
This house breaks the law of inheritance... literally! In 1833, architect Sir John Soane got Parliament to pass a special law just to disinherit his own son, who kept calling daddy "a cheat and charlatan" in the newspapers. Now you're standing outside three skinny Georgian townhouses that Soane secretly connected into one MASSIVE treasure maze. Inside, every single inch is crammed with 30,000 drawings, an actual Egyptian pharaoh's sarcophagus, and mirrors that make rooms look twice as big. The coolest part? By law, nothing can EVER be moved from where Soane left it when he died in 1837... so you're seeing his house exactly like a time capsule! Look for the hidden passages and secret skylights as you explore this perfectly preserved puzzle box on Lincoln's Inn Fields.
Did You Know?
- Sir John Soane’s Museum is the result of a dramatic family feud: Sir John Soane, disliking his son intensely, went to extraordinary lengths to ensure his vast collection would not be inherited. In 1833, he secured a private Act of Parliament to turn his home into a public museum, preserving everything exactly as it was at his death—effectively disinheriting his son and safeguarding his legacy for the nation.
- The museum is a masterpiece of creative display: Soane ingeniously designed the Picture Room with walls made of large, moveable panels, allowing him to store and display three times as many paintings as the space would normally hold. This innovation not only maximized the display of his collection (including works by Hogarth, Turner, and Canaletto) but also created a dynamic, ever-changing gallery experience for visitors.
- Hidden within the museum is the sarcophagus of the Egyptian pharaoh Seti I, one of the most spectacular antiquities in London. Discovered in the Valley of the Kings, it was acquired by Soane in 1824 after the British Museum declined to purchase it. The sarcophagus is displayed in a specially designed ‘Sepulchral Chamber’ in the basement, dramatically lit by candlelight during special evening openings—a highlight that continues to astonish visitors of all ages.