Here’s a quick guide for travellers planning to visit London. Most travel guides will tell you about all the obvious “must sees”, but this list is quite unique. Wish I could go back there and visit all these places!

#1  London Wall

One of the largest projects carried out by the Romans in Britain.

#2 Jeremy Bentham at University College London

A Victorian reformer who decreed in his will that his skeleton be preserved “wearing his usual clothes and sitting on his favourite chair” with his embalmed head placed on top.  The figure is rumoured to be bought to college council meetings, where he is listed in the minutes as “Jeremy Bentham: present but not voting”. Nearest tube: Goodge Street.

#3 Patent Sewer Ventilating Lamp

This lamp outside the Savoy Theatre in Carting Lane is London’s last surviving example of a Patent Sewer Ventilating Lamp, designed to burn methane waste from the sewer system. Several thousand of these lamps were installed in the late 1800s, but became unpopular due to their tendency to cause bad smells – not to mention the occasional explosion. Nearest tube: Charing Cross.

#4 The Old Operating Theatre

The Old Operating Theatre in Southwark was discovered in a hidden garret of St Thomas’s church in 1957. Believed to be the oldest surviving operating theatre in the country, it dates from 1822, and contains a frightening variety of primitive medical equipment. Open Monday-Saturday 10.30am-5pm. Nearest tube: London Bridge.

#5 World’s Smallest Police Station

In the south-east corner of Trafalgar Square, unnoticed by most visitors, is what many have called the world’s smallest police station. Made from a hollowed-out lamp post, it was installed in 1926 so policemen could keep a close eye on demonstrators at the popular protest site. Apparently, it had a direct line to Scotland Yard. Nearest tube: Charing Cross.

#6 Hyde Park’s Pet Cemetery

A Victorian pet cemetery in London’s Hyde Park, situated just behind the Victoria Gate lodge. Founded in 1880 and hidden behind thick undergrowth, Hyde Park’s pet cemetery is home to over 300 deceased pets, including dogs, cats, birds and even a monkey. Curious visitors can book an appointment to view it through Hyde Park police. Nearest tube: Lancaster Gate.

#7 Crystal Palace Park’s Dinosaur Sculptures

Crystal Palace Park’s dinosaur sculptures are older than many visitors to the park might imagine. Made in 1853, the figures caused enormous controversy when they were first unveiled, as their “anticipation of Darwinism outraged the upper classes and the religious”. Until 2003, the dinosaurs were overgrown with vegetation, but they have now been fully restored. Park open daily from 9:30am-dusk.Trains go from London Bridge or Victoria.

#8 Ragged School Museum

Housed in what was once London’s biggest Ragged School, this popular, family-friendly museum welcomes people of all ages to taste a slice of Victorian life. Located beside the Regent’s Canal the Museum offers, through roleplay, hands-on exhibits and talks, an authentic and memorable experience of the poor of the East End a century ago.

#9 A Ferryman’s Seat

The Ferryman’s seat along at Bankside near to where Shakespeare’s Globe now stands, has seen rather a lot of comings and goings. Long ago when London had only London bridge to cross over the river, there were many ferrymen waiting to take people from one side of the shore to the other. It would have seen the many “Stews” the old name for brothels that were lined along this side of the river on the South Bank, as well as actors and troubadours that preformed at the Rose and the Globe theatres, with the large crowds that also came from the nearby bear baiting ring. Now set into the side of a modern building in exactly the same spot where the ferrymen rested all that time ago.

#10 Two Buildings That Have Survived The Great Fire Of London In 1666

Another hidden corner of London is the street by the name of Cloth Fair, which runs by the side of West Smithfield. It has these two buildings that have survived the Great Fire of London in 1666. The houses at numbers 41 and 42 were built between 1597 and 1614, and was preserved from the Great Fire because of them being enclosed by the wall of the priory.