Royal Albert Hall
For its first century the echo was so bad it was jokingly said this was the only place a composer could be sure of hearing his work twice.
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Queen Victoria's 1871 memorial to Prince Albert is a 5,272-seat domed Victorian hall that still hosts the BBC Proms every summer and holds a 9,997-pipe organ.
What to look for
- The fiberglass discs (commonly called 'mushrooms') installed below the great dome in 1969 to finally tame the echo.
- The 800-foot terracotta frieze wrapping the exterior, 'The Triumph of Arts and Sciences,' beneath foot-high letters reading 'This hall was erected for the advancement of the arts and sciences...'
- The Henry Willis organ nicknamed the 'Voice of Jupiter' — now the second-largest pipe organ in the British Isles (behind Liverpool Cathedral), able to hit 95-100 decibels.
Guided tours run most days, covering the auditorium, the Gallery, and the Royal Retiring Room; Behind the Scenes and Inside Out are specialized add-ons.
Royal Albert Hall is one of 40 sights worth the detour in London, all bundled offline in Voyage GO — download the London pack and it sits on your map with no signal, filling your travel passport the moment you walk past.
More to see in London
- British MuseumThe room where a dead language got its voice back — and you walk in for free.
- Buckingham PalaceThe balcony where a whole country turns up to watch a family wave — with 775 rooms behind it.
- Westminster AbbeyNearly every English monarch since 1066 has been crowned on the same worn patch of floor.
- Big BenThe clang in a thousand establishing shots comes from a cracked bell that's rung slightly off-key since 1859.
- Tower of LondonWilliam the Conqueror's keep turned royal prison, where two queens lost their heads and the Crown Jewels still sit under guard.
- Tower BridgeA Victorian drawbridge dressed as a Gothic castle, its roadway still splitting open for passing ships.