London Camden Town, King’S Cross, And Islington

Royal Air Force Museum. Though a bit out of the way, the RAF Museum will delight plane fans and awe everyone else. This enormous museum contains three huge hangars, featuring planes from the first plane built in Europe to 1980s Harriers. Details of each plane’s combat missions add to the realism. Galleries are divided into jets, fighter planes, helicopters, bombers, and aquatic machines. Torpedoes, engines, and missiles are on display, too. Complementing the planes are portraits, timelines, medallions, and memorabilia. “Our Finest Hour,” a 15min. laser light show on the hour, is only worth it if there is no wait. (Grahame Park Way. 10min. walk from Colindale (Zone 4); follow signs. Bus #303 goes from the station right to the museum’s door. ☎8205 2266; www.rafmuseum.org. Open daily 10am-6pm; last admission 5:30pm. Free 30min. tours throughout the day. Partially wheelchair-accessible. Free.)

Estorick Collection. This collection, started by an American sociologist who loved Italian art, focuses on lesser-known Futurist art. The Futurists’ bizarre manifesto included destroying old buildings, abolishing museums (go figure), reinventing food (recipes included sausage cooked in black coffee and perfume), and making the universe affordable for everyone. Ninety years after their heyday, their paintings, drawings, etchings, and sculptures are tastefully displayed in an 18th-century Georgian mansion beside a secluded courtyard cafe that serves great food. There are also works from the Metaphysical school. Temporary exhibits change about every three months and have included works by Marcello Levi and Italian photographers. (39a Canonbury Sq. Highbury and Islington. ☎7704 9522; www.estorickcollection.com. Open W-Sa 11am-6pm, Su noon-5pm. Partially wheelchair-accessible. £3.50, concessions £2.50, students and children under 16 free.)

The Jewish Museum. The Jewish Museum is actually composed of two complementary museums with different focuses. The first, Camden, focuses on the history of Jews in Britain, including a torah with the coat of arms of the first Jewish MP. The upstairs gallery houses regalia and artifacts relating to Jewish festivals and holidays. The Camden’s crowning achievement is a magnificent 16th-century Venetian synagogue ark discovered by accident while being used as a lord’s wardrobe. Special programs are offered, including workshops for children to learn about Jewish holidays and genealogy workshops. (129-131 Albert St. Camden Town. ☎7284 1997; www.jewishmuseum.org.uk. Open M-Th 10am-4pm, Su 10am-5pm; last admission 30min. prior to close; closed Jewish holidays. Wheelchair-accessible. £3.50, seniors £2.50, students and children £1.50, families £8.) The smaller Jewish Museum, Finchley, focuses on Jewish social history and 19th- and early 20th-century life in London’s East End. The small Holocaust Education gallery is particularly moving, detailing the life of London-born Auschwitz survivor Leon Greenman. (80 East End Rd. 10min. walk from Finchley Central (Zone 4); take the “Regent’s Park Rd.” Exit from the Tube, turn left on Station Rd., and then right on Manor View, which runs into East End Rd. by the museum. ☎8349 1143. Open M-Th 10:30am-5pm, Su 10:30am-4:30pm; closed Su in Aug. and Jewish holidays. Partially wheelchair-accessible. £2, children free.)

Don’T Zone Out. When traveling to Islington, remember that Angel lies within Zone 1, while Highbury and Islington is in Zone 2. If your destination is anywhere near Upper St., it would be more sensible to save the extra fare price, do a bit of walking, and spend the money on a coffee instead.