There's a version of Piccadilly that most people never see. Beyond the luxury shop windows and the crowds spilling out of the Tube, there's another Piccadilly entirely. A world of crypts and candlelight, of scientific revolutions quietly announced, and of speakeasy bars tucked beneath some of London’s most iconic facades!
Today, DOYOUSPEAKLONDON takes you behind the scenes of one of London's most famous streets to three secret spots hiding in plain sight, waiting for those curious enough to look!
1. The Linnean Society, Burlington House, Piccadilly
The vibe
Step into Burlington House on Piccadilly, hidden just beyond the entrance to the Royal Academy of Arts, and you’ll find one of London’s most overlooked gems.
Tucked within this grand courtyard is the Linnean Society, the world's oldest active society dedicated to the study of natural history, founded all the way back in 1788.
It was named after Carl Linnaeus, the Swedish botanist and father of taxonomy, the very system we still use today to name and classify every living species on earth. The Society holds his original specimens, correspondence and manuscripts, and they are as extraordinary as they sound.
Best secret?
On 1 July 1858, in a modest room at Burlington House, papers by Charles Darwin and Alfred Russel Wallace on evolution by natural selection were read to a small audience with little reaction.
The Society’s president later claimed nothing notable had happened in science that year. A year later, Darwin published On the Origin of Species, and changed history forever.
The Society holds regular public events, guided tours, and open days, so this hidden gem is genuinely accessible. A must for any lover of science, history, or the quietly extraordinary.
