Chiswick House and Gardens

Richard Boyle, the third Earl of Burlington, designed this romantic Palladian villa in 1725. The house was a showpiece, in which the Earl could display his fine collection of paintings (many of which remain), for the entertainment of the artistic and philosophical luminaries of his day. The house is lovely – and nowadays enhanced by a startlingly modern but thoroughly appropriate café – but the gardens are absolutely gorgeous, a place to stroll in regal tranquillity.