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 of 1870 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 car park until 2000, when it was cleared and fitted with fifty-five choreographed fountains that children run through in summer and which give way to an ice rink from November. The Courtauld Gallery in the north wing holds an outstanding Impressionist and Post-Impressionist collection including Manet's Bar at the Folies-Bergere.

What you actually see

• The fountain court - fifty-five jets in a courtyard that was a car park until 2000.
• The Courtauld Gallery - Manet, Cezanne, Van Gogh and Gauguin in the north wing.
• The winter ice rink - the courtyard frozen over from November.
• 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.

Honest expectations

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.