Sherlock Holmes Museum - Entertainment, London Discount Cards, London Pass, Attractions, Museums

Sherlock Holmes Museum

221b Baker Street, London, NW1 6XE
Tel: +44 (0)20 7738 12

he stories of Sherlock Holmes are inextricably linked with the popular view of Victorian London - mist rising off rain-soaked cobbles as dark mysterious figures lurk in the shadow of the gaslights.

Holmes has always been an enigmatic figure, with the edges between fact and fiction becoming ever more blurred.

At the museum at 221b Baker Street, the house where Holmes reputedly lived for 23 years with his friend and colleague Dr Watson, his life and times are explored in detail.

The house was last used as a lodging house in 1936 and visitors can still see the famous first floor study exactly as it was kept in Victorian times. The house is Grade 2 Listed because of its special architectural and historical interest. Visitors to the museum can escape the queues by buying a ticket online at www.sherlock-holmes.co.uk

tep inside the museum and you step straight into the lives of Holmes, Watson and their doting landlady, Mrs Hudson. In fact, Mrs Hudson is still there today, ready to answer any questions her new visitors may have about the famous tenants of 221b Baker Street.

You can have your picture taken in Holmes's armchair by the fireside (but you need to bring your own pipe to smoke!) and peep inside his bedroom. You can see his possessions, all in their usual places: his deerstalker, magnifying glass, calabash pipe, violin, chemistry equipment, notebook, Persian slippers and disguises.

There is also chance to browse through personal belongings and private papers of the great detective and a variety of exhibits from his published cases. The diary of Doctor Watson contains hand-written notes and extracts from the famous adventure of The Hound of The Baskervilles.

The third floor and attic house a stunning exhibition of wax models of scenes from the stories. Sherlock Holmes and Professor Moriarty are actually standing in the same room!

An extensive and unique range of souvenirs and gifts are available from the quaint museum shop on the ground floor.

The first stories of Sherlock Holmes' adventures were published in the Strand Magazine in 1891 and he is now known the world over. The famous hawkish features, sharp eyes, deerstalker and pipe have become trademarks of the famous detective.

Sherlock Holmes was "the most perfect reasoning and observing machine that the world has seen", who also appreciated the more ephemeral things in life, like opera and classical music.

Dr Watson at times despaired of his untidy and eccentric housemate but the two enjoyed a strong mutual appreciation of each other's qualities.

The timeless Holmes stories are as popular today as they have ever been, and now the Sherlock Holmes Museum is ready to bring them to life again for fans old and new.