Whiling away time with Wallace

One of the many things that make London one of the best cities in the world is its awe-inspiring cultural jewels.

You probably know all about (and have perhaps visited) the British Museum, which contains one of the most extensive hoards from civilisations around the planet.

Yet there are smaller alternatives that also provide a world-class culture fix but are relatively unknown to most tourists.

Take the Wallace Collection. Located between the leafy allure of Regent’s Park and the commercial buzz of Oxford Street, it has a truly stunning array of European art and furniture from the 17th-19th centuries, and a raft of princely British arms and armour.

The collection was bequeathed to the nation in 1897 by Lady Wallace, who had inherited it seven years earlier following the death of her husband Sir Richard, a Francophile British aristocrat.

You can wander through more than 20 rooms crammed with marvellous exhibits and fittings, from gloriously elaborate clocks and marble fireplaces to exquisite cabinets and desks by celebrated craftsmen like Andre-Charles Boulle, a pioneer in marquetry who custom-made furniture for Louis XIV.

France’s “Sun King” is among the figures depicted in sculptures dotted around this mansion, which was built around the corner from Marylebone High Street in the late 1700s for the Duke of Manchester.

The Georgian-era garden square it faces is still called Manchester Square, but this particular property was renamed Hertford House after it was purchased by the second Marquess of Hertford, whose successors embellished the collection that dazzles visitors today.

Enhancing the treasure trove was Sir Richard Wallace, an art collector who served as the secretary and adviser of the fourth Marquess and was widely believed to have been his illegitimate son.

Born in London, Sir Richard was raised in Paris, where he gifted over 100 fountains to supply clean public drinking water (most are still there and known as “Les Fontaines Wallace”).

After acquiring the lease for Hertford House in the 1870s, Sir Richard modified and extended the property, and it was boosted again before its unveiling as a museum in 1900.

There’s a bust of him on the lower ground floor, which, on our visit, has temporary exhibitions about Caravaggio and antique swords from Lucknow.

However, it’s the permanent exhibits that make this museum such a compelling place to linger. Browsing priceless porcelain — including pieces from Sevres in France — and paintings by the likes of Rembrandt, Sir Joshua Reynolds, and Thomas Gainsborough, we wonder about the value of this property and its contents. It must be tens of millions of dollars.

The largest haven of art here is the Great Gallery, which was added as part of Sir Richard’s extension and refurbished again in 2014. Natural light pours through the ceiling windows, brightening the silk damask walls hung with works by Diego Velazquez, Titian, Anthony van Dyck, Peter Paul Rubens and many more. I’m drawn to the pieces by Canaletto, the Venice-born painter who deftly portrayed his home city.

You could easily spend two or three hours at this museum, and you might like to break for refreshments at the cafe-restaurant, a smart space in the glazed courtyard. All told, the Wallace Collection is a delightful diversion and, having walked past it on previous trips to London, I’m glad I finally went inside.

+ Steve McKenna was a guest of Visit Britain and the Montcalm Mayfair. They have not influenced this story, or read it before publication. fact file + Admission to the Wallace Collection is free, although contactless donations are suggested and gratefully received. It’s open daily from 10am-5pm. There’s a free collection highlights tour at 2.30pm each day. wallacecollection.org + If you fancy a nice stay in the area, Montcalm Mayfair is a five-star hotel a 10-minute stroll from the museum, close to Marble Arch Underground Station. You can book rooms from around £295 ($573) per night. montcalmcollection.com/montcalm-mayfair + To help plan a trip to London and Britain, see visitlondon.com and visitbritain.com