This unmissable London landmark in the middle of Hyde Park Corner is a novel place to impress guests, with bird’s eye views across Westminster and Buckingham Palace Gardens.

Originally designed in 1825 by the architect Decimus Burton, it was intended as both a victory arch marking Wellington’s defeat of Napoleon and as a grand outer entrance to Buckingham Palace. The Arch was completed in 1828, only to become embroiled in a fierce row when it was topped with a colossal statue of the Duke of Wellington.

By 1883, Hyde Park Corner had developed into a serious traffic bottleneck, so to ease this, the Arch was dismantled, moved 20 metres and rebuilt in its present location. At the same time, the Wellington statue was removed and replaced with ‘Peace Descending on the Quadriga of War’, which remains the largest bronze statue in the UK.