This goes out to all foreign students studying in the UK.
You arrive at Heathrow and take the train to go off to a smaller town, somewhere in the UK to study the course you always dreamed of, or the course your parents forced you to study, or the course you think will get you a very well paid job, or the course you happened to get the grades for…
The V&A as it is usually known is the UK’s – arguably the world’s – foremost cultural repository. Full of the very best art and design dating from 3,000 years ago to the modern day, the range of displays and exhibitions is unparalleled. There are artefacts with which you will be familiar, those that will be new to you and others which you could never have imagined!
For the proper Londoner’s tip on the V&A, don’t just visit the main museum in South Kensington – over in Bethnal Green is the Victoria and Albert Museum of Childhood. It’s a fascinating and charming and absolutely worthwhile paying a visit. Yes, it will be full of children, but pick your day carefully (try and go when they’re all at school) and go along yourself. You won’t be disappointed.
Keep an eye out as well for the new V&A Theatre Collections. Previously housed in Covent Garden, this reopens in 2009 down in South Kensington.
