Handel & Hendrix in London, London, Visitor Guide & Things to Do Nearby

Handel & Hendrix in London is a museum at 25 Brook Street in Mayfair, set in the Georgian house where the composer George Frideric Handel lived and worked for decades. Next door at number 23, the guitarist Jimi Hendrix rented a flat in the late 1960s, which puts two of music's biggest names behind neighbouring front doors, about 200 years apart.

The story behind it

Handel moved into 25 Brook Street in 1723 and was its first tenant. He stayed for the rest of his life, and the house is where he composed and rehearsed much of his later music, including the oratorio Messiah. He is said to have described the experience of writing it with the words: 'I did think I did see all Heaven before me, and the great God himself.' He died in 1759 at the age of 74, by then having lost his sight.

In 1968 Hendrix moved into the top-floor flat at number 23 with his girlfriend, Kathy Etchingham. He called it his first real home of his own, and he used it to relax, to host friends who came to jam and to work on ideas. He is reported to have owned a copy of Messiah, and some fans like to think they can hear a trace of Handel in his riffs. Today the two houses are joined as one museum with live music events.

What to look for

• Look at the plain brick Georgian facade of the two houses and notice how ordinary a pair of doors it takes to hold two such different careers.
• Check the plaques beside the doors, which mark Handel at number 25 and Hendrix at number 23.
• Notice the setting: Brook Street is a smart Mayfair street of fine townhouses, close to Bond Street, and it explains why a court composer chose to settle here.
• If you go inside, look for the period rooms where Handel worked and the recreated attic flat linked to Hendrix.

Tips for your visit

• Allow ten minutes to see the outside from the street, or longer if you plan to visit the museum. Check current opening hours and entry details before you go.
• Quieter daytime hours are best for photographs of the facade, as the street is a busy shopping area.
• Bond Street and Oxford Street are a short walk away, as is the shopping and dining of South Molton Street.
• Live music events are held in the house, so look at the museum's current programme if you want to hear it played where it was written.

See it on a quest

Ghosts of London: The Quill's Calling is a good fit if you like your history with a spooky edge. You reach Brook Street on foot as one stop on a longer route, the app tells you about each place as you arrive, and you solve a puzzle on the spot. It is a paid quest, and one ticket covers the whole group.

London's lights: Explore Monopoly - Oxford Circus to Trafalgar Square links the house to the streets of central London on a walking route. The app gives you the story of each stop as you get there and sets a puzzle in what is in front of you. It is a paid quest, and one ticket covers the whole group.

Scandal & Glamour: The Mayfair Scoop explores Mayfair, the neighbourhood around Brook Street, so the house sits naturally among its fashionable streets. You walk between stops, hear about each place from the app and solve a puzzle where you stand. It is a paid quest, and one ticket covers the whole group.