London is one of the most enduring popular travel destinations, attracting visitors with its diverse cultural landscape and culinary delights. TripAdvisor’s 2025 Travelers’ Choice Awards crowned London as the top destination globally. It surpasses other beloved cities, like Dubai and even the ever-so-romantic Paris.
Unique London Experiences
Besides enjoying its well-established delights, from live music concerts to gastronomic wonders, pause to consider another enlightening facet of the British capital. The city’s rich history of gender-related movements presents ample scope for sharpening one’s understanding of these pertinent issues.
Here are four powerful experiences you can enjoy in London to expand your knowledge of gender relations. They are educational and transformational ways to witness the near-constant struggle for equality that many members of society wage.
1. Read All You Can at The Feminist Library London
Imagine having a ready-to-access collection of feminist works from the 1960s to the present, archived and maintained for all interested individuals or groups. That’s precisely what you can experience at The Feminist Library in the Sojourner Truth Community Centre, Peckham.
Feminism has had a rich, albeit turbulent, history so far. The UK has come a long way from the first national women’s liberation conference in Ruskin College, Oxford. Today’s focus areas emphasize the glaring pay gap in the workplace and the (still) unequal distribution of domestic labor.
The Feminist Library focuses especially on the second wave, highlighting fiction and non-fiction works on the themes of discrimination and equality. The collection is immense, featuring over 5,000 non-fiction works, the stunning fiction of Virginia Woolf, and periodicals showcasing the pulse of changing times. And that’s certainly not all.
A visit to the library is also a fabulous opportunity to meet like-minded people and mobilize them for various causes and workshops. The thriving volunteer community here facilitates a range of gender-focused events, such as queer poetry workshops.
2. Erstwhile Surgery at The Old Operating Theatre Museum
Plants and charms to ease pregnancy symptoms. Crude tools to “extract” the baby. Early anesthetics that some dismissed as heresy. All these experiences and more are available to witness at the Old Operating Theatre Museum on St Thomas Street.
If you have a baby, you are not a stranger to the intensity of the process of childbirth. But if you thought pregnancy and labour are tough now, women in ancient times had it infinitely worse. Visiting this museum can be an unnerving and yet insightful experience into the stressors the “fairer” sex has historically faced.
The museum has a fascinating collection of surgical items from bygone years. Its periodic workshops and talks focused on childbirth and mortality offer eye-opening opportunities to explore the evolution of medical science.
Surgical procedures and drugs have often brought disproportionate pain to women, partly because of their underrepresentation in clinical trials. The Association of American Medical Colleges found that women experience side effects from medicines at double the rate of men.
The problem lingers even today. Women can access spinal injections to handle back pain after labour, but it turns out they may not accomplish much. Women can use a vaginal mesh to deal with incontinence after childbirth, but the side effects may be so intense that they have triggered litigation, notes TorHoerman Law.
This old-timey OT museum can be a humbling reminder of where we once were and how far we still have to go, especially in women’s healthcare and wellness.
On that note, the museum does not have restrooms. Visitors can benefit from using the washrooms in the London Bridge station or the Borough Market. The last thing you want to feel is an urge to use the toilet after witnessing all the grisly equipment. Thank gosh for modern inventions like toilets, which finally did away with ghastly chamber pots!
3. Embracing Gender Equality in Molly Houses
Back in the 1700s, London had several Molly houses. It doesn’t imply that the name was extra popular at the time. These houses were actually community spots for homosexual people to meet and connect without fear of judgment. Sometimes, they would organise mock weddings.
The UK has historically had a strange relationship with homosexuality. The National Archives documents the ups and downs in LGBTQ+ rights in Britain. It explains how homosexuality has often attracted punishment and disdain, particularly during the increasing number of HIV infections in the 1980s.
Then again, people have succeeded at achieving substantial progress, too, such as regulatory changes equating the age of consent for homosexual and heterosexual acts. Today, the actual Molly houses no longer exist. But travelers can go for guided walking tours to the areas where they once stood.
For example, the Bow Street Museum of Crime and Justice organises a walking tour covering the Molly Houses and the rich history of Covent Garden. Your guide will help you visualise how life was back then, and what a source of respite such centers proved to be. This experience can be a deeply absorbing cultural fiesta, letting you experience the delight people have always found in liberation and choice.
Travelers who also love film and television will appreciate the opportunity to gauge how visual interpretation can depict a subject matter as shady or emancipating, depending on the context. For example, shows like The Alienist have portrayed Molly houses in a rather grim light. In contrast, the recent movie Sweetheart depicts them as places to express one’s individuality and find acceptance.
It can be a demonstration of the power of travel to encourage reflection. We could all do with introspection and reflection on the way we treat others.
4. Exploring Gender Non-Conformity at Victoria and Albert Museum
Pride parades around the world may give the idea that society at large is accepting of gender fluidity and non-conformity. However, unfortunately, many people continue to hold a “traditional” picture of gender, with no scope for expanding the definitions.
London’s Victoria and Albert Museum has an excellent collection of works that question these beliefs. Their focus is clearly on gender and sexuality, and the museum does not hold back from exploring various interpretations of pride, prejudice, and everything in between.
One of the standout works is the figure of the Buddhist Lord of Compassion, which features male and female characteristics in a fluid interpretation. Visitors can also see the Rainbow flag, a core component of the Pride movement, first designed in 1978. Another stunning work is a painting by the British artist Gluck, who rejected their femininity and chose to wear male clothing.
A walk down the thoughtfully curated exhibits in the museum can be moving and thought-provoking. It brings diversity in thought and opinion right up front, compelling one to consider the ridiculousness of staying confined to outdated beliefs about gender.
The next time you get a chance to visit the gorgeous British city, schedule some time to visit these enriching spots. Some of them may require prior booking, so check well in advance to avoid disappointment. For example, the Feminist Library has experienced occasional closures and is also unavailable on some days of the week.
The modern world, despite all the progress society has made, is far from equal. We live among disparities and discrimination based on several factors, with gender a prominent one. Channeling travel opportunities to sharpen your understanding of these dynamics can be a wonderful and transforming experience.
About the Author
I’m Mirela Letailleur, a Romanian travel writer based on the French Riviera and the voice behind The Travel Bunny. My fascination with the UK began early. I studied British geography, history, culture, and civilisation for four years in high school, alongside advanced English. Later, I continued my education in English at the Faculty of Political Science and began my career at the Teaching Centre of the British Council in Bucharest, where I connected daily with the richness of UK culture and international exchange.
Today, I combine that background with years of exploring Europe on a budget, creating detailed travel guides and cultural insights for curious travelers. From hidden gems in London to offbeat European itineraries, I share practical tips, honest advice, and first-hand stories that help you experience destinations more deeply.
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