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Why Go Now London's Royal Festival Hall has never looked—or sounded—better. The home of the London Philharmonic, built in 1951 for the Festival of Britain, has reopened this June after a two-year, $184 million overhaul that's part of the revitalization of the Southbank Centre, which also includes Queen Elizabeth Hall. British architects Allies and Morrison re-created the original carpet patterns, uncovered the 1950's Bauhaus-inspired paint scheme, and added sleek new glass elevators. American acousticians Kirkegaard Associates enriched the hall's dry acoustics, which should now do justice to the world's leading orchestras, including the Chicago Symphony Orchestra (Oct. 5–6) and the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra (Nov. 30). Belvedere Rd.; 44-20/871-663-2501; southbankcentre.co.uk.
Stay With more than 350 sculptures and paintings, the fashionable One Aldwych (One Aldwych; 44-20/7300-0500; onealdwych.com; doubles from $726) feels more like a Modern art gallery than a hotel. Rooms 118, 218, 318, and 418 have views of the Lyceum Theatre and Covent Garden.
Eat The new 250-seat Canteen (Royal Festival Hall; Belvedere Rd.; 44-84/5686-1122; dinner for two $90) serves revamped British classics such as braised lamb and potted duck with piccalilli. Request booth 1 or 21: both overlook the lively Southbank Centre Square.
Don't Miss "The Painting of Modern Life," at Southbank's Hayward Gallery (Oct.4–Dec. 30; hayward gallery.org.uk). The exhibition considers photographic images as a stimulus for Modern and contemporary painting through the work of more than 20 artists, from Warhol to Hockney to Richter.—Raul Barreneche
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