London's Twin Tea Houses Turned Contemporary Landmarks

At a Glance

The Serpentine Galleries occupy two buildings on either side of Hyde Park's Serpentine lake. The main Serpentine Gallery (former 1934 tea pavilion, converted 1970) and Serpentine North, a Napoleonic-era powder magazine extended by Zaha Hadid in 2013. Free entry.

The Pavilion Every Summer

Since 2000 the gallery commissions a temporary pavilion each summer from a world-class architect who has not yet completed a UK building — from Zaha Hadid and Oscar Niemeyer to Sou Fujimoto, Bjarke Ingels, Frida Escobedo and Francis Kéré.

Exhibitions and Architecture

• Main Gallery: solo shows by Damien Hirst, Rachel Whiteread, Marlene Dumas, Gerhard Richter.
• Serpentine North: large installations and emerging artists, with Hadid's tent restaurant Magazine next door.
• Pavilion open June–October, free to enter.
• Marathon lecture series founded by Hans Ulrich Obrist.

Visiting Tips

10 min from Knightsbridge or Lancaster Gate. 15-min lakeside walk between the two galleries. Check pavilion dates before visiting. Pair with Royal Albert Hall, V&A, Kensington Palace.