Somerset House Trust

Fine collection of baubly bits and bobs, but best in winter with the outdoor ice-skating.

Passing beneath the arch towards this splendid Palladian masterpiece, it's hard to believe that the magnificent courtyard in front of you, with its 55 dancing fountains, was a car park for tax collectors up until a spectacular refurbishment in 2000. William Chambers designed the house in 1775 for royal societies and it now contains three fabulous museums. The courtyard is transformed into a popular ice rink in winter and used for concerts in summer, as well as an improvised fountain-bathing area for toddlers. Behind the house, there's a sunny terrace and café overlooking the embankment. Immediately to your right as you enter the grounds of Somerset House from the Strand, you'll find the Courtauld Institute of Art, a superb gallery connected to the Courtauld Institute of Arts, Britain's foremost academy of art history. Have an uncrowded stroll between the walls of this wonderful place, and see work by Rubens, Botticelli, Cranach, Cézanne, Degas, Renoir, Manet, Monet, Matisse, Gauguin, van Gogh and Toulouse-Lautrec, to mention but a few. There are lunchtime talks on specific works or themes from the collection at 13:15 every Monday and Friday. A little café and the plush Admiral 2 restaurant provide sustenance.The vaults beneath the South Terrace have some of the finest Thames views and are home to the Gilbert Collection of Decorative Arts. In 1996 Anglo-American businessman Arthur Gilbert bequeathed to Britain his Italian mosaics, European silver, gold snuffboxes and portrait miniatures. The part-dazzling, part-gaudy display has been described as the most generous gift ever made to the nation. There are one-hour guided tours each Saturday at 15:00 (free with admission ticket).Finally, the Hermitage Rooms are a charming outpost of the State Hermitage Museum in St Petersburg (which holds some three million pieces that make up one of the finest art collections in the world). Small but fascinating Russian-themed exhibits from the Hermitage collection revolve every six months. The galleries are modelled on those in the Imperial Winter Palace, and there's a live feed to St Petersburg and even a short video on the State Hermitage Museum itself.