6 Best Sights in England

After Prince Albert's early death from typhoid in 1861, his grieving widow, Queen Victoria, had Sir Gilbert Scott create this ornate, High Victorian Gothic tribute erected near the site of Albert's brainchild, the Great Exhibition of 1851. A 14-foot gilt-bronze statue of the prince (holding an Exhibition catalog) rests on a 15-foot-high pedestal, surrounded by marble figures representing his passions and interests. A frieze at the base depicts 187 exquisitely carved figures of well-known Victorian painters, poets, sculptors, musicians, and architects.

On the hills above Abbotsbury stands this 72-foot-tall stone monument dedicated to Vice-Admiral Sir Thomas Hardy (not the famous writer), Nelson's right-hand man at the battle of Trafalgar to whom his dying words "Kiss me, Hardy" were addressed. The monument, built in 1844 and designed to look like a spyglass, lacks charm, but in clear weather, you can scan the coastline from the Isle of Wight to Start Point in Devon, 56 miles away (the Hardy family wanted a monument that could be used as a landmark for shipping). On open days in May and October, you can climb the 120 steps inside to a viewing platform. The monument is 3½ miles north of Abbotsbury via B3157 and Portesham Hill.

John Nash's 1827 arch, moved here from Buckingham Palace in 1851, stands amid the traffic whirlpool where Bayswater Road segues into Oxford Street, at the top of Park Lane. The arch actually contains three small chambers, which served as a police station until the mid-20th century. Search the sidewalk on the traffic island opposite the movie theater for the stone plaque recalling Tyburn Tree, an elaborately designed gallows that stood here for 400 years, until 1783. The condemned would be conveyed here in their finest clothes from Newgate Prison in The City and were expected to affect a casual indifference or face a merciless heckling from the crowds. Towering across the grass from the arch toward Tyburn Way is Still Water, a vast patina-green statue of a horse's head by sculptor Nic Fiddian-Green. Cross over (or under) to the northeastern corner of Hyde Park for Speakers' Corner, a parcel of land long-dedicated to the principle of free speech. On Sunday, people of all views—or none at all—come to pontificate, listen, and debate about everything under the sun.

Designed by Sir Christopher Wren and Dr. Robert Hooke to commemorate 1666's "dreadful visitation" of the Great Fire of London (note the gilded orb of flame at the column's pinnacle), the world's tallest isolated stone column offers spectacular views of the city from the viewing platform 160 feet up. The two architects were asked to erect the monument as close as possible to where the fire began, and so it's located exactly 202 feet from the alleged point of origin, Farrier's baking house on Pudding Lane. Built between 1671 and 1677, the fluted Doric column also stands 202 feet tall, so if climbing the 311 steps of the beautiful spiral staircase to the public balcony seems too arduous, you can watch a live view from the platform played on a screen at the entrance.

A giant step in the history of democracy was taken at Runnymede on the Thames outside Egham. Here, King John, under his barons' compulsion, signed the Magna Carta in 1215, affirming in theory that individuals had the right to justice and liberty. There's not much to see, though you can stroll the woodlands. On the hillside, in a meadow given to the United States by Queen Elizabeth in 1965, stands a memorial to President John F. Kennedy. Nearby is another memorial, a classical temple in style, erected by the American Bar Association for the 750th anniversary of the signing. There is no visitor center at Runnymede, just informational plaques, a nice tearoom, and a parking lot (small charge). The site is on the south side of A308 (traffic is noisy); on the opposite bank of the Thames are the ruins of the 11th-century St. Mary's Priory and the 2,000-year-old Ankerwycke Yew.

Opposite the Duke of Wellington's mansion, Apsley House, this majestic stone arch surveys the traffic rushing around Hyde Park Corner. Designed by Decimus Burton and completed in 1828, it was created as a grand entrance to the west side of London and echoes the design of that other landmark gate, Marble Arch. Both were triumphal arches commemorating Britain's victory against France in the Napoleonic Wars. Atop the building, the Angel of Peace descends on the quadriga, or four-horse chariot of war. Inside the arch, three floors of permanent and temporary exhibits reveal the monument's history. From the balconies at the top of the arch you can peek into the back garden at across-the-road Buckingham Palace.