An idiosyncratic collection that presents a potted history of Britain through its people, past and present, this museum is an essential stop for all history and literature buffs, where you can choose to take in a little, or a lot. The spacious, bright galleries are accessible via a state-of-the-art escalator, which lets you view the paintings as you ascend to a skylit space displaying the oldest works in the Tudor Gallery. At the summit, a sleek restaurant, open beyond gallery hours, will satiate skyline droolers. Here you'll see one of the best landscapes for real: a panoramic view of Nelson's Column and the backdrop along Whitehall to the Houses of Parliament. Back in the basement are a lecture theater, computer gallery, bookshop, and café.

Walking through the Photography Gallery is like looking at an upmarket celebrity or society magazine. In the Tudor Gallery -- a modern update on a Tudor long hall -- is a Holbein cartoon of Henry VIII; Stubbs's self-portrait hangs in the refurbished 17th-century rooms; and Hockney's appears in the modern Balcony Gallery, mixed up with photographs, busts, caricatures, and paintings. (The miniature of Jane Austen by her sister Cassandra, for instance, is the only likeness that exists of the great novelist.) Many of the faces are obscure and will be just as unknown to you if you're English, because the portraits outlasted their sitters' fame -- not so surprising when the portraitists are such greats as Reynolds, Gainsborough, Lawrence, and Romney. But the annotation is comprehensive, the layout is easy to negotiate -- chronological, with the oldest at the top -- and there's a separate research center for those who get hooked on particular personages. Don't miss the absorbing mini-exhibitions in the Studio and Balcony Galleries; and there are temporary exhibitions in the Wolfson Gallery, on subjects as diverse as 'Below Stairs-400 Years of Servants' Portraits', to contemporary fashion photography from Terry O'Neill to Mario Testino. COST: Free. Tube: Charing Cross or Leicester Sq.