As Samuel Johnson, who compiled a Dictionary of the English Language back in 1755, said: “[…] when a man is tired of London, he is tired of life; for there is in London all that life can afford.”
With so many cultural gems in London, I would say that this has never been truer. For one, there is Dr Johnson’s House, which is close to Fleet Street, where so many British newspapers used to have their offices.
If you’re booking a trip to London in 2026, here are a few ideas to learn more about famous British writers. Charles Dickens and Agatha Christie (the world’s best-selling fiction writer, with her 78 crime novels having sold an estimated 2 billion copies in 44 languages, according to guinnessworldrecords.com) will be the focus of exhibitions in 2026.
If you’re taking the Eurostar, as good a starting point as any is the British Library, which generally houses excellent exhibitions. Whilst an excellent one on ‘Secret Maps’ is about to finish, as of October you can see an exhibition about Agatha Christie, including her Remington typewriter from 1937, purported to have been used to compose And Then There Were None and other works, and personal letters from Christie to family members, including one to her second husband about her journey on the Orient Express. It runs from 30 October 2026 to 20 July 2027. A hundred years ago, in 1926, Agathie Christie hit the headlines when she mysteriously disappeared. You can read more about that here and about her life in a very good book by historian Lucy Worsley, ‘Agatha Christie: A Very Elusive Woman.’
For families, an exhibition about Fairy Tales from 27 March to 23 August 2026 also sounds fun. “Take your family on a magical adventure in a new interactive exhibition! Explore enchanted lands, magical creatures, iconic characters, and timeless tales, brought to life through books, theatre costumes, puppets, pop-ups, artwork, and illustrations,” says the website.
A short walk south of St Pancras Station is the Charles Dickens Museum, which I visited for the first time in December. Apart from having a traditional cream tea (tea, scones, jam, and cream) in the cafeteria, this is a very good immersive audio experience. You’re taken from room to room of the house where Dickens lived, with actors’ voices putting you very much back in the time, with short explanations about the rooms. For one thing, I had no idea that Charles Dickens held full-on performances/readings to an audience, which were so demanding that they made him feel ill afterwards. If you want to learn about the female influences on Dickens, then find a date between 11 February and 6 September to see this exhibition.
To finish your trip, I’d recommend a walk down Jermyn Street, famous for its tailors. You can also see the statue of an elegantly dressed dandy from the late 18th century/early 19th century, Beau Brummel. Not far away are St James’s Park and Hyde Park, as well as Fortnum & Mason department store. I still remember an elegantly dressed doorman in a top hat opening the door for me and trying ‘gin and tonic’ ice cream there!
Camden Town market, in north London, where you can find a statue of Amy Winehouse, is also well worth a visit. There’s also a beautifully decorated watch shop, an example of cross-cultural cooperation as the owner, Jerome, from Switzerland [with its well-known clockmaking traditions], has teamed up with a Brit, his wife, Anneke, to design the watches. If you’re looking for a fancy watch that’s not too expensive with, for example, Roman numerals (not always so easy to find), this is a good place to go. The motto on the crest of Camden has a nice Latin touch too: ‘Non Sibi Sed Toti’, or ‘Not For One But For All’.
Another tip if you’re in the centre near the River Thames: From Waterloo station, drop down south to the River Thames and walk along the South Bank. You’ll pass the Millennium Bridge, the Golden Hind (Sir Francis Drake’s ship), cafés and pubs, the Clink (off a side street, this is a museum, with ‘clink’ meaning ‘prison’), Tower Bridge, and the Tate Modern art gallery. The Tower of London and a monument to the Great Fire of London are on the other side of the river.
