V&A Cast Courts

Restored to their full 19th-century splendour, these colossal rooms with their eclectic array of plaster-cast sculpture and architectural details – from Michelangelo’s David to the 35m hulk of Trajan’s Column – have never looked better. These glorious replicas amount to a kind of Victorian “virtual reality”. Mark Hudson Victoria & Albert Museum, London SW3 (020 7942 2000), permanent