Banqueting House

Completed in 1622, the Banqueting House was designed by Inigo Jones in a then-radical classical style that introduced Renaissance architecture to England, its ceiling later painted by Peter Paul Rubens to glorify the Stuart monarchy — a decoration Charles I would have looked up at shortly before stepping out a window of the building to his execution on a scaffold outside in 1649. Reviewers with a 4.4 rating describe the building as a genuine masterpiece, particularly the Rubens ceiling, and value it as one of the few surviving pieces of the old Whitehall Palace complex that once sprawled across the area.

Its budget-friendly price and compact 40-minute duration make it an efficient, historically rich stop for anyone walking Whitehall.