V&A is named top place to visit

It might be home to artefacts dating back 3,000 years but the V&A is not just a dusty old museum.

Now its innovative approach - including DJ nights, fashion shows and an interactive website - has been honoured with a prestigious award.

The South Kensington favourite beat off stiff competition to be named London's best large visitor attraction in the Visit London Awards 2004.

Hot on its heels was the National Maritime Museum, which also won a customer service award, with the judges singling out 71-year-old gallery assistant Anne Stamper for her enthusiasm.

Other winners celebrating at last night's ceremony at the Natural History Museum included Gordon Ramsay at Claridges, voted restaurant of the year by users of gastronomic website Top Table. It beat The Ivy and Hakkasan to scoop the title.

The Grim's Dyke Hotel in Harrow Weald was named best small hotel for making the most of its pretty edge-of-London setting, with a pond for rescued ducks and a vegetable garden. The Grade II-listed hotel targets the gay market and also

capitalises on its connection to WS Gilbert, the writing half of Gilbert and Sullivan, who spent the last 20 years of his life there.

Sadler's Wells was the first winner of a new category introduced to recognise the importance of the capital's nightlife.

And Painshill Park, near Cobham, Surrey, won the small visitor attraction category for its amazing work restoring the landscaped gardens to their 18th century glory after decades of neglect.

"Visitors to London expect a topnotch stay and all the winners share a commitment to providing that experience," said Visit London's Zoe Shurgold. "For example, Sadler's Wells has shown amazing innovation with its programming and its marketing methods to bring in new audiences."

Ground-breaking initiatives included The Hip Hop Festival, in which inner- city children appeared on stage alongside world-renowned performers.

Ms Shurgold added: "Rather than expecting people to purchase tickets directly, Sadler's Wells distributed tickets to respected 'ambassadors' to sell in the community. Club flyers were produced and used as a more unusual marketing approach. Needless to say, the festival was a sell-out and a new audience was introduced to the delights of Sadler's Wells.

"The V&A has also been doing some really fun stuff like discos and fashion shows to embrace a younger culture. The Art Deco exhibition attracted a record 360,000 people.

"The judges were particularly impressed with the overall scale of change that has already been undertaken this year.

"Coupled with their continuing enthusiasm and ambition for audience development, the judges felt that the V&A was most worthy of the award."