Having watched a performance of Cirque du Soleil at the Royal Albert Hall I have always wondered about the history of this iconic building. I found that tours are held regularly each day so the last time my wife and I were in London we decided to go along and find out more. We just turned up for the first tour of the day at 10.30 am and paid £8.50 each. Our guide was very knowledgable and also extremely entertaining telling us about Queen Victoria and Prince Albert, the reason for the hall being built in the first place and the cost of its construction. Our guide took us in the lift right to the top of the building so we could look down on the magnificent auditorium. We were shown into the Queen's retiring room as well as having a peep into the Royal box and seeing where the Queen enters the hall. We heard about how the hall can be transformed in various ways to cater for different events and how the acoustic problems were eventually solved. We listened to fascinating stories about past performances and the famous people who have performed there. The whole hour of the tour was hugely entertaining and informative and I'm sure that the next time we watch a performance there either in person or on the tv, we shall enjoy it even more knowing so much more about the history of the venue.