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Royal Albert Hall - Grand Tour Did you know? There are 13,000 “A”s for Albert around Hall The Hall is home to the world's largest single woven carpet design, made of 326,666 sheep fleeces and 49 million tufts getting it into the Guinness World Records The world’s biggest Christmas pudding was made at the Hall and weighed ten tonnes The first ever body-building contest and Sumo wrestling tournament outside Japan took place in the main auditorium The Elgar Room used to be home to the Central School of Speech & Drama, giving a stage to names including Sir Lawrence Olivier and Dame Judy Dench 5,500 bottles of champagne and 1,800 bottles of gin are drunk at the Hall every year Afternoon Tea was introduced to Britain by Queen Victoria. The first tea party was held at the Hall in 1912. The tradition continues today in the Hall's Verdi Restaurant The Royal Albert Hall Grand Tour is fully accessible. Some time slots and/or dates are unavailable due to events taking place in the auditorium. The Royal Albert Hall was built to fulfil the vision of Prince Albert (Queen Victoria's consort) of a 'Central Hall' that would be used to promote understanding and appreciation of the Arts and Sciences and would stand at the heart of the South Kensington estate, surrounded by museums and places of learning. The Hall is a Grade I Listed building; and has been in continuous use since it was opened in March 1871. It was always conceived as a multipurpose building to host not only concerts of music but exhibitions, public meetings, scientific conversations and award ceremonies. It is a registered charity held in trust for the nation and is financially self sufficient, receiving no funding from central or local government. Kensington Palace and the Diana Exhibition Kensington Palace unveils a palace of secret stories and public lives. Visitors arrive through beautiful landscaped gardens evoking a past when Kensington was countryside. From the entrance hall start your journey through the magnificent Kings and Queen’s State Apartments. Filled with stories of two royal courts; the Stuarts and the Hanoverians, learn what you would have worn, how you should behave and how to succeed in the heady atmosphere of the palace state apartments. The Queen's State Apartments Explore these intimate, private rooms created for Queen Mary II, who ruled jointly with her husband, King William III, in the 17th century. The Queen’s rooms The Queen's Staircase, little changed since its construction in 1690, is deliberately plainer than the King's. Mary would have glided down its steps to reach her beloved gardens, created in the Dutch style, through the door at its foot. Diana: Her Fashion Story ‘Diana: Her Fashion Story’ will trace the evolution of the Princess’s style, from the demure, romantic outfits of her first public appearances, to the glamour, elegance and confidence of her later life. From her earliest royal engagements, everything Diana wore was closely scrutinised, and the exhibition will explore how she navigated her unique position in the public eye: learning to use her image to engage and inspire people, and to champion the causes she cared about. Discover exquisite and celebrated outfits from throughout the Princess’s public life. The exhibition will bring together an extraordinary collection of garments, ranging from the glamorous evening gowns worn on engagements in the 1980s, to the chic Catherine Walker suits that made up Diana’s ‘working wardrobe’ in the 1990s. The Princess’s relationship with her favourite designers will be explored through a display of some of their original fashion sketches, created for her during the design process. Exhibition highlights will include the pale pink Emanuel blouse worn for Diana’s engagement portrait by Lord Snowdon in 1981, and Victor Edelstein’s iconic ink blue velvet gown, famously worn at the White House when the Princess danced with John Travolta. A blue tartan Emanuel suit, worn for an official visit to Venice in the 1980s, will go on display in public for the first time. The suit, a rare survival of the Princess’s daywear, was only recently rediscovered and acquired by Historic Royal Palaces – the charity responsible for Kensington Palace - at auction. * Please note, this exhibit is due to be very popular, queues are to be expected.
Sample Itinerary 17.00 Boarding from King St or Circular Quay 17.30 Enjoy an on-board starter 18.00 Cruise around Middle Head and into Middle Harbour 18.15 Arrive Balmoral for Dinner at The Public Dining Room 20.00 Depart Balmoral and cruise past the Spit Bridge whilst indulging on your dessert and wines to match before returning to the main harbour where guests can sightsee or stop and have a swim 21.30 Return to pick up location
What better way to start your bus tour journey than at Waverley Bridge and enjoy the ride as we drive you to some of the finest, culture-rich destinations in Edinburgh. Experience the great historic marketplace, Grassmarket at Bus Stop 3, located right in the middle of Edinburgh's Old Town. Hop-off at Bus Stop 7 to learn all about the history of Edinburgh in the National Museum of Scotland on the famous Chambers Street. Next on the agenda at Bus Stop 8 is the John Knox House, a magnificent medieval building dating back all the way to the 15th century. We'll even take you right to Our Dynamic Earth Grassmarket - a great historic market in the Old Town, the John Knox House. Fancy a stroll while you're visiting? We recommend you hop-off at Bus Stop 9 and take a walk around Canongate, where you'll see some glorious buildings, or at Bus Stop 10 at Holyrood, where you can roam around the royal park and visit the Palace of Holyroodhouse. If you love all about science then we'll even take you right to Our Dynamic Earth, just hop-off at Bus Stop 11! Just relax and let our exclusive red buses take care of the road. Keep your camera ready for great selfies as we drive you by the most iconic corners on the city and hop-off as soon as you spot something you would like to explore further. You can hop back on at any time! Buy your ticket online today and start picking your favourite bus stops to hop off at. Tour Stops: 1. Waverley Bridge 2. Lothian Road 3. Grassmarket 4. Lauriston Place 5. Johnston Terrace 6. Lawnmarket 7. Chambers Street 8. John Knox House 9. Canongate 10. Holyrood 11. Our Dynamic Earth 12. Regent Road 13. Hanover Street 14. Market Street Passengers can hop-on and hop-off at any of the 14 tour stops along the route. If you’d prefer, stay on the tour for a full loop, taking between 60 - 80 minutes. Additional Information: Vouchers must be printed to be exchanged for a City Sightseeing bus ticket in location. The audio commentary is available in the following languages: English, Spanish, French, Italian, German, Portuguese, Chinese, Japanese, Russian. Plus a Kids Commentary (Horrible Histories) Buses are wheelchair accessible.
A former convent and theatre, the Liceu hasn't always resembled the opera house we see today. Its history is full of ups and downs and mysteries that make this cultural icon a key venue which we invite you to discover on a guided tour of the building. You'll walk through its most representative areas, starting with the historic lobby, in the eclectic Catalan Renaixement style. From there, you'll continue to the auditorium, an exact replica of the impressive horseshoe-shaped hall designed by the architect Miquel Garriga i Roca in 1847. You'll go up to the Hall of Mirrors, an imposing room with a ceiling decorated with allegorical paintings and texts referring to art and music. You'll discover the new foyer, the area where people used to relax during the interval and currently a multi-purpose room which hosts small-scale performances.
In this city which is north of the island the possibilities are varied, from visiting the leisure complex Lake Martianez (lakes and pool the work of the Canarian artist Cesar Manrique) through to the Plaza del Charco (centre and commercial hub of the city), The Botanical Gardens, the Paseo of San Telmo or Playa Jardín (black sand with gardens and shops also designed by Cesar Manrique). Besides these classic attractions already mentioned, this very popular tourist destination among the British, German and Spanish also boasts other gems like the hermitage of San Telmo or Sitio Litre, housing dating from the eighteenth century, then in its day served as home to famous visitors like Agatha Christie and the famous German explorer Alexander von Humboldt.