Somerset House

William Chambers built Somerset House from 1776 on the site of a Tudor palace, as purpose-built government offices, at a time when the Thames came up to its southern terrace and barges docked underneath; the Victoria Embankment, built in the late 1860s, pushed the river back and left the watergate stranded inland. It housed the Navy Board, the Inland Revenue and, until 1970, the register of births, marriages and deaths for England and Wales. The courtyard was a Civil Service car park until it was cleared and fitted with fifty-five water jets that children run through in summer and which give way to an ice rink in winter. The Courtauld Gallery in the north wing holds an outstanding Impressionist and Post-Impressionist collection including Manet's Bar at the Folies-Bergere.

What to look for

• The fountain court - fifty-five jets in a courtyard that was once a Civil Service car park.
• The Courtauld Gallery - Manet, Cezanne, Van Gogh and Gauguin in the north wing.
• The winter ice rink - the courtyard frozen over in winter.
• The stranded watergate - the old river entrance left inland by the Embankment.

When to go

Summer for the fountains, which run through the day and are free to walk into; November to January for the ice rink, which is ticketed and books out. The Courtauld is open year-round.

Things to know

The Courtauld charges separately and is the substantial part of a visit. The ice rink is expensive and sells out at weekends. Fountain operation stops during events, which occupy the courtyard often.

Nearby

The Strand and Covent Garden lie north; the Embankment and Waterloo Bridge are south.

Key facts