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London’s contrasts and cacophonies both infuriate and seduce. - the grand resonance of its very name suggests history and might. Its opportunities for entertainment by day and night go on and on and on. It’s a city that exhilarates and intimidates, stimulates and irritates in equal measure, a grubby Monopoly board studded Minimum Size London City Guide with stellar sights. It’s a cosmopolitan mix of Third and First Worlds, chauffeurs and beggars, the stubbornly traditional and the proudly avant-garde. But somehow - between ‘er Majesty and Pete Doherty, Bow Bells and Big Ben, the Tate Modern and the 2012 Olympics - it all hangs together.

Highgate

CAMDEN, HAMPSTEAD & 0 2 km PRIMROSE HILL 0 1 mile Hampstead West Hampstead Gospel OakKentish Belsize Camden Town Barnsbury Hackney Park Kingsland KING’S CROSS & ISLINGTON King’s Cross Hoxton Bow St John’s HOXTON, Kilburn Wood Finsbury Maida Vale MARYLEBONE Clerkenwell& SPITALFIELDS Westbourne & REGENT’S PARK BLOOMSBURY Grove & FITZROVIA THE CITY, Marylebone Bloomsbury HOLBORN & Fitzrovia Whitechapel Paddington CLERKENWELL Limehouse Notting NOTTING HILL SOHO & City Poplar Hill & BAYSWATER COVENT Bayswater GARDEN mes Tha MAYFAIR, South Southwark Wapping Canary Kensington Knightsbridge ST JAMES’S & Bank Wharf WESTMINSTER Borough GREENWICH & KNIGHTSBRIDGE, CHELSEA, SOUTH Bermondsey Rotherhithe DOCKLANDS SOUTH KENSINGTON Belgravia Westminster BANK & PIMLICO Isle Earl’s Lambeth of Dogs Court South Kensington Chelsea West Brompton Deptford

Fulham Nine Camberwell Greenwich Battersea Elms Friday night drinks at The Salisbury in Covent Garden

2 | London City Guide / Facts For The Visitor ‘When a man is tired of London, he is tired of life; for there is in London all Facts & Figures that life can afford.’ Samuel Johnson Population: 7,500,000

Latitude: 51.50

Longitude: -0.12

Area: 1572 sq km

Timezone: GMT/UTC 0

Daylight savingsBreakout box starts: last Sunday in March ends: last Sunday in October

Weights & Measures: metric Metric is used for all measurements with the exception of beer and milk, which are measured in pints, and distances, which are still measured in miles

Electricity: 240V, 50Hz

Area code: 020

Dialling out: 00

Orientation Friday night drinks at The Salisbury in Covent Garden The main geographical feature of the city is the River Thames, which meanders through central mix of poor, dirty, graffiti-ridden suburbs, and Relative cost (rooms) London, dividing it into northern and southern Religion: Christian (58%), No Religion (16%), increasingly gentrifying areas like Clapham and, Muslim (7%), Hindu (4%), Jewish (2%), Sikh > Low £20-80 halves. The central area and the greatest number to an extent, Brixton. of important sights, theatres and restaurants are (2%), Other (11%). > Mid £80-120 within the Underground’s Circle Line on the north > High £120-150 bank of the river. In the past decade, however, Society Money > Deluxe £150+ the south bank of the river has been transformed People: Anglo-Saxon, Irish, Indian, Pakistani, Currency Code: GBP Relative cost (meals) into one of London’s must-see district with Bangladeshi, Sri Lankan, Arab, South Asian, attractions such as Borough Market, the London Currency name: Pound Sterling > Low £8-12 African, Caribbean, Chinese, Filipino, Japanese, Currency symbol: £ Eye, Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre and the Tate Russian, Polish, Vietnamese, Other. > Mid £12-20 Modern art gallery. The tourist-ridden West Currency unit: Pound > High £20-35 End includes Soho, Trafalgar Square, Piccadilly > Deluxe £35+ Circus, Leicester Square and Regent St. The Languages spoken: English (official) Sample prices East End, so beloved of Ealing comedies, lies Perhaps ’s greatest cultural export has > Pint of lager £3.50 Tipping been the English language, the current lingua east of the Circle Line; it used to be the exclusive > Movie ticket £9 Many restaurants now add a ‘discretionary’ franca of the international community. There are preserve of the Cockney but is now a cultural > Coffee in the West End £2.50 service charge to your bill, but in places that astonishing regional variations in accents, and it melting pot. There are interesting inner-city > Short ride on the Tube £4 don’t, you are expected to leave a 10% to is not unusual to find those in southern England suburbs in North London, including Islington > Admission to a big-name club 15% tip unless the service was unsatisfactory. claiming to need an interpreter to communicate and Camden Town, with leafy Hampstead on a Friday £15 Waiting staff are often paid derisory wages with anyone living north of Oxford. further north. Further south, London includes a > Admission to British Museum free on the assumption that the money will be 3 | London City Guide / Before You Go

supplemented by tips. You never tip to have for stays in the UK up to six months, but they Swimming your pint pulled in a . If you take a boat trip are prohibited from working. Citizens of the North of the centre, Highgate Ponds on Health & Safety on the Thames you’ll find some guides and/or European Union (EU) don’t need a visa to enter Hampstead Heath offer open-air swimming all Considering its size and the great disparities in drivers importuning for a tip in return for their the country and may live and work here freely. year round. Otherwise, take a dip in Ironmonger wealth, London is a remarkably safe city; it has commentary. Whether you pay is up to you. You Row Baths or the Art Deco Porchester Spa. one of the lowest murder rates in the developed can tip taxi drivers up to 10% but most people world. Nevertheless, you should take the usual round up to the nearest pound. Activities Horse riding precautionary measures against pickpockets who operate in crowded public places such as If beer and chips are adding excess to your Aristocrats of the 19th century used to waistline, London offers a number of ways to the Underground and major tourist attractions. Before You Go promenade on horseback along the paths At night, a bus or taxi can be a safer option work it off. Take out a rowboat for a dreamy drift of Hyde Park. If you want to follow in their When to go after a picnic or promenade with a pipe in Hyde than the Tube. hoofprints, steeds can be hired by the hour. A major London hazard remains its traffic. London is a year-round tourist centre, with few Park. Or hire a nag and go for a canter. Remember to look right before crossing its highly of its attractions closing or significantly reducing Gym congested roads, and don’t expect mercy from their opening hours in winter. Your best chance Paddle boating Many hotels in London lack gym facilities. If couriers or taxi drivers. of good weather is, of course, at the height of If you feel like a paddle on the water, hire a you’re missing your work-out try the popular summer in July and August, but there’s certainly pedalo for an hour or two and go boating on the Oasis Sports Centre in Covent Garden, which no guarantee of sun even in those months - plus Serpentine in Hyde Park. has everything a healthy heart desires. Events it’s when you can expect the biggest crowds and Most businesses close on public holidays highest prices. Cycling Roller skating such as New Year’s Day, Good Friday, Easter You can hire a bike practically anywhere in the Monday, May Day Bank Holiday (the first Visas overview Join packs of roller-blade enthusiasts in Hyde city, although if you’re planning to ride in traffic Park - every Friday evening there’s a communal Monday in May), Spring Bank Holiday (the last Citizens of the USA, Canada, Australia, New you might be taking your life in your hands. It skate starting out at Wellington Arch. Monday in May), Summer Bank Holiday (the last Zealand and South Africa do not need a visa may be wiser to stick to the parks. Monday in August), Christmas Day and Boxing Walking Day (26 December) although London’s essential multiculturalism means you’ll always find some It’s good for the constitution, and London’s parks shops open. - especially Hyde Park and Regents Park - are There are countless festivals and events in delightful settings for a stroll. London. It all kicks off with the New Year’s Eve fireworks and street party in Trafalgar Square, Transport followed by the New Year’s Day Parade. On Getting there and away Shrove Tuesday pancake races are held in Covent Garden, and in early May more serious London is one of the world’s major transport racers take part in the London Marathon. hubs, and your choices of ways to get in and All London gets its colours on for the FA Cup out of it are myriad. Its major airports - the Final in mid-May. There’s even more colour at monster Heathrow and the smaller Gatwick, the Chelsea Flower Show, held in the last week Stanstead, Luton and City - are all efficiently of May. linked to the metropolis. You’ve always been Trooping the Colour, the Queen’s birthday able to hop to the European mainland (and parade, is held in June; Wimbledon runs for Ireland) by ferry, but now the Chunnel link two weeks in the same month and London makes it a breeze. Pride, Europe’s biggest gay and lesbian festival, also hits the streets. The raucous Notting Getting around Hill Carnival takes over the West End streets Getting around London is often best left to in August, although there is now a smaller the experts. Hop on a bus, a Thames ferry or celebration in Hyde Park, too. In September, splash out on a black cab and let those with ‘the some 500 normally inaccessible buildings knowledge’ negotiate the traffic on your behalf. throw open their doors as part of the Open You’ve not been to London unless you’ve been House weekend. In the same month, the city on the Tube – in most cases it’s still the quickest celebrates its greatest natural asset with the way to get about. Thames Festival on the south bank of the river.

St Paul’s Cathedral 4 | London City Guide / History

Things wind down as the weather gets colder, outbreaks of sunshine and dry heat instead. though there are plenty of bonfires on Guy Recent summers have seen record Fawkes Night, on the 5th of November. The temperatures approaching 40°C and autumns Lord Mayor’s Show is held in late November, have been positively toasty. As the Tube turns complete with floats, bands and fireworks. into the Black Hole of Calcutta and traffic fumes Trafalgar Square lights up in December with the become choking, London is particularly ill- Lighting of the Christmas Tree. equipped to cope with such heat. However, meteorologists point out that recent > New Year’s Day (official holiday)1 Jan statistics don’t yet represent anything terribly out of the ordinary for such a naturally variable > London Parade (festival/event) 1 Jan climate. The average maximum temperature for > Good Friday (official holiday)Mar/Apr July, the hottest month, is still only about 23°C. In > Easter Monday (official holiday)Mar/Apr spring and autumn temperatures drop to between 13°C and 17°C. In winter, the average daily > Oxford and Cambridge Boat Race (festival/ maximum is 8°C, the overnight minimum 2°C. even)t Mar/Apr Despite the appearance of snow in the past > London Marathon (festival/event) Apr few years, it still rarely freezes in London. > FA Cup Final (festival/event) May What weather forecasters do predict in the > Chelsea Flower Show (festival/event) May long-term, as a result of climate change in London, is drier summers, wetter and stormier > May Day Bank Holiday (official holiday) first winters and more flash floods. Monday in May > Spring Bank Holiday (official holiday) last Monday in May History > Trooping of the Colour (festival/event) Jun History pre-20th century > Wimbledon (festival/event) Jun Although a Celtic community settled around a ford across the River Thames, it was the Romans > London Pride (festival/event) Jun who first developed the square mile now known > The Proms (festival/event) Jul as the City of London. They built a bridge and > Notting Hill Carnival (festival/event) Aug an impressive city wall, and made Londinium an > Summer Bank Holiday (official holiday) last important port and the hub of their road system. Monday in Aug The Romans left around the 5th century, but trade went on. Few traces of London dating from > Thames Festival (festival/event) Sep the Dark Ages can now be found, but the city > Guy Fawkes Night (festival/event) Nov survived the incursions of both the Saxons and > Lord Mayor’s Show (festival/event) Nov Vikings. Fifty years before the Normans arrived, Edward the Confessor built his abbey and palace > Lighting of the Christmas Tree (festival/ at Westminster. event) Dec William the Conqueror found a city that was, > Christmas Day (official holiday)25 Dec without doubt, the richest and largest in the > Boxing Day (official holiday)26 Dec kingdom. He raised the White Tower (part of the Tower of London) and confirmed the city’s independence and right to self-government. Weather During the reign of Elizabeth I, the capital began Many who live in London would swear that to expand rapidly - in 40 years the population global warming has added a twist to the city’s doubled to reach 200,000. Unfortunately, the unpredictable climatic conditions. While locals medieval, Tudor and Jacobean parts of London used to complain about the frequent, but still were virtually destroyed by the Great Fire of somehow always unforeseen, arrival of rain, 1666. The fire gave Christopher Wren the now they find themselves faced with sudden opportunity to build his famous churches, and the city’s growth continued apace. Diana Princess of Memorial Fountain, Hyde Park 5 | London City Guide / Sights

suburbs. As a result of the Industrial Revolution the Sloane Ranger. It also looked east, with Our Did you know? and rapidly expanding commerce, it jumped former docks, once the engine room of the London’s Underground Rail from 2.7 million in 1851 to 6.6 million in 1901. Empire, reborn as confident Docklands. author’s system is the world’s oldest Modern History Recent History top day out (1863), most extensive Edwardian London saw the city placed at the London regained its swinging reputation in in London (253mi, 407km), and most heart of a mighty Empire. The Interwar years the 1990s, buoyed by the Cool Britannia atmosphere which accompanied Tony Blair’s travelled (785 million were characterised by confidence: London bore Peter Dragicevich witness to grand exhibitions, huge expansion early years, a rampaging pound and A-listers journeys a year). It is also and the construction of mighty Art Deco icons. setting the cultural pace. It also got an elected When I open the blinds the sun is shining, the most unreliable, with The capital emerged from World War II battered Mayor, whose assembly was part of the rebirth which always bodes well for a good day in breakdowns, on average, but unbowed, and justifiably proud of the Blitz of the South Bank of the Thames. In 2005 London. I pop down to The Breakfast Club in spirit which galvanised Londoners to heroic Londoner’s stood firm in the face of terror Islington because I’m feeling Hungry Like The every sixteen minutes. deeds of endurance and stoicism. attacks and toasted winning the right to host Wolf, which is incidentally the name of their In the 1960s, massed ranks of models, the 2012 Olympics. The site for the games is big breakfast. By 1720 it contained 750,000 people, and actors and musicians put the swing into the city undergoing a stunning transformation. Londoners love their city, but understand that It’s too nice a day to be cooped up inside so I weigh as the seat of Parliament and focal point for a and Soho’s Carnaby Street became the most up my options: Regent’s Park, Hampstead Heath, growing empire, it was becoming ever richer and certifiably groovy place to hang out in the world. the pace of change is relentless and thrilling. The reopening in 2008 of St Pancras station as the Kew Gardens…I settle on Regent’s Park and call up more important. Georgian architects replaced The Punks arrived not long after, tearing up the my mate Tim. He’s keen to join me but only on the the last of medieval London with their imposing Kings Road and leaving fashion and music which spectacular terminal for Eurostar services to the continent is emblematic of the changing face of condition that we get a decent coffee first. Soho it symmetrical architecture and residential squares. to this day is the last word in rebelliousness. is then. The population exploded again in the 19th The 1980s were a decade of confidence and the city as is the transformation of the once- century, creating a vast expanse of Victorian deregulation. London met the first yuppie and unloved Millennium Dome into the 02 Arena, one I wander back up to Highbury & Islington station, of the world’s most successful music venues. getting a little distracted by window shopping There’s even the new Wembley Stadium to be on the way, and then descend into the tube proud of. The future for London is bright: how network only to pop up again amidst the crazy could it be anything else? bustle of Oxford Circus. Tim’s already waiting for me at Flat White and gets me to order him a Sights second fix. Before too long we’re back on the tube for the one-stop trip to Regent’s Park. We It’s got a whole bunch of history. The waste several hours wandering around, lazing old-fashioned kind. London is one of the in the sun and people watching. favourite urban haunts of visitors to Europe because of landmark sights like Big Ben, At some point we decide to continue on to St Paul’s Cathedral and the historically rich neighbouring Primrose Hill, ostensibly for the Westminster Abbey. The city also boasts views but secretly hoping to indulge in a bit of some of the world’s greatest museums and celebrity spotting. The place is crawling with art galleries, and more parkland than most people picnicking and drinking with friends but other capitals. there’s not even so much as a Gallagher brother to fill the celebrity quota. No matter, we content Shakespeare’s Globe ourselves by wandering down to Engineer, our 21 New Globe Walk, Southwark favourite gastro pub in the vicinity. We’ve staked Tel: (info) 0207902 1500 out a spot in the back garden and are well into Url: www.shakespeares-globe.org our first bottle of rosé by the time Sue and Ed join Transport: (underground rail) London Bridge us. In a bid to retain a semblance of sobriety we order dinner as the sun starts to fade. Shakespeare’s Globe consists of the Tim bids his adieu (some cabaret thing in reconstructed Globe Theatre and, beneath Vauxhall is calling) and the rest of us stroll it, an exhibition hall, entry to which includes along to the Dublin Castle in Camden, hoping a tour of the Globe Theatre except when to find a suitably punky band playing in the The magnificent Turbine Hall in the Tate Modern back room. 6 | London City Guide / Sights

matinees are being staged. Then the tour shifts world’s most popular contemporary art gallery, west at the Royal Observatory, and in the of astronomy and interactive displays on such to the nearby Rose Theatre. The exhibition and London’s most visited sight. Meridian Courtyard you can place one foot subjects the effects of gravity. focuses on Elizabethan London and stagecraft The critics are right in one sense, though: either side of the meridian line and straddle and the struggle to get the theatre rebuilt in this ‘Tate Modern effect’ is really more about the two hemispheres. British Museum the 20th century. the building and its location than about the Every day at 1pm the red time ball at the top Great Russell St, Bloomsbury The new Globe was painstakingly constructed mostly 20th-century art inside. Leading Swiss of the Royal Observatory continues to drop as Tel: (info) 0207323 8000 with 600 oak pegs (there’s not a nail or a screw architects Herzog & de Meuron won the it has done since 1833. You can still get great Tel: (info) 0207323 8181 in the house), specially fired Tudor bricks and Pritzker, architecture’s most prestigious prize, views of Greenwich and spy on your fellow Url: www.thebritishmuseum.ac.uk thatching reeds from Norfolk that - for some for their transformation of the empty Bankside tourists at the same time by visiting the unique Transport: (underground rail) Tottenham Court Rd, odd reason - pigeons don’t like; even the plaster Power Station. Camera Obscura. An ambitious £15 million Russell Sq contains goat hair, lime and sand as it did in project has added four new galleries exploring Shakespeare’s time. Unlike other venues for Houses Of Parliament astronomy and time, including one on the search One of the world’s oldest and finest museums Shakespearean plays, this theatre has been St Stephen’s Entrance, St Margaret St, Westminster for longitude. started as royal physician Hans Sloane’s ‘cabinet designed to resemble the original as closely as Tel: (info) 7219 4272 The 120-seat state-of-the-art Peter Harrison of curiosities’ - which he later bequeathed to possible - even if that means leaving the arena Url: www.parliament.uk Planetarium (tel 8312 8565; hourly shows 1pm- the country - and carried on expanding its open to the skies and roar of passing aircraft, Transport: (underground rail) Westminster 4pm Mon-Fri,11am-4pm Sat & Sun), which collection (which now numbers some seven expecting the 500 ‘groundlings’ to stand even in opened just south of the Royal Observatory in million items) through judicious acquisition and the rain, and obstructing much of the view from The House of Commons and House of Lords June 2007, has an around one million digital the controversial plundering of an empire. It’s an the seats closest to the stage with two enormous are housed here in the sumptuous Palace of laser projector that can show entire heavens exhaustive and exhilarating stampede through ‘original’ Corinthian pillars. The Globe Café on Westminster. Charles Barry, assisted by interior on the inside of its bronze-clad roof and is the world cultures. There are galleries devoted to the Piazza level and the Globe Restaurant on the designer Augustus Pugin, built it between 1840 most advanced in Europe. Along with the theme Egypt, Western Asia, Greece, the Orient, Africa, 1st floor are open for lunch and dinner. and 1860, when the extravagant neo-Gothic shows, there are galleries tracing the history Italy, the Etruscans, the Romans, prehistoric and style was all the rage. Regent’s Park The House of Commons is where Members Anyone who laments the lack of greenery in of Parliament meet to propose and discuss new London hasn’t spent enough time wandering the legislation, grill the prime minister and other enchanting Regent’s Park, a former royal hunting ministers. The huge ‘expenses scandal’ of 2009 ground designed by John Nash in the early has made those very MPs (or at least those 19th century. It’s one of London’s loveliest open remaining in parliament) more famous than they spaces – at once serene and lively, cosmopolitan had ever hoped to be. and local – with football pitches, tennis courts If you can hear snoring, the House of Lords and a boating lake. Queen Mary’s Gardens, may be in session. The Visitors’ Gallery is open towards the south of the park, are particularly at varying times throughout the week. pretty, with spectacular roses in summer, whilst the Open Air Theatre (tel 7935 5756; www. Royal Observatory openairtheatre.org) hosts dreamy performances In Greenwich Park, Greenwich of Shakespeare here on summer evenings. Tel: (info) 0208858 4422, 0870 781 5189 Url: www.rog.nmm.ac.uk Tate Modern Transport: (secondary rail) Queen’s Walk, Bankside (train) Greenwich Tel: (info) 0207887 8888, 0207887 8008 Url: www.tate.org.uk/modern In 1675 Charles II had the Royal Observatory Transport: (underground rail) St Paul’s, Southwark, built on a hill in the middle of the Greenwich London Bridge Park, intending that astronomy be used to establish longitude at sea. The Octagon Room, The public’s love affair with this phenomenally designed by Wren, and the nearby Sextant successful modern art gallery shows no sign Room are where John Flamsteed (1646-1719), of waning. Serious art critics have occasionally the first astronomer royal, made his observations swiped at its populism and poked holes in its and calculations. collection. But five million visitors make it the The globe is divided between east and

The interior of the British Museum 7 | London City Guide / Entertainment

Roman Britain and medieval antiquities. National Theatre you have to ring the bell and whisper your name around 60 different types of vodka, from coffee The museum is massive, so make a few South Bank, Waterloo into the buzzer, the speakeasy way. This practice to fruity to wheat flavoured, there’s even kosher focused visits if you have plenty of time, Tel: (info) 0207452 3400 is heavenly if you like privacy and great drinks, vodka, or simple old Polish slivowica. There’s and consider the choice of tours. There Tel: (booking) 0207452 3000 and hellish if you prefer a more down-to-earth great Polish food here, too. are nine free 50-minute eyeOpener tours of Url: www.nationaltheatre.org.uk atmosphere, but it’s worth sampling the vast and individual galleries throughout the day, and Transport: (underground rail) Waterloo exquisite cocktail list. Brixton Academy 20-minute eyeOpener spotlight talks daily England’s flagship theatre showcases a mix of 211 Stockwell Rd, Brixton at 13:15 focusing on different themes from classic and contemporary plays performed by Polski Bar Tel: (info) 0207771 2000 the collection. Ninety-minute highlights tours excellent casts. Its outstanding artistic director, 11 Little Turnstile, Holborn Url: www.brixton-academy.co.uk (adult/concession £8/5 leave at 10.30am, Nicholas Hytner, is not only using exciting Tel: (info) 0207831 9679 Transport: (underground rail) Brixton 1pm and 3pm daily. If you want to go it alone stagings and plays to attract new audiences but Transport: (underground rail) Holborn there is a series of audio tours (£4) available has also slashed ticket prices. Look forward to Not everyone will get to Brixton, one of London’s at the information desk, including a family- Ralph Fiennes in Oedipus in 2008 and a new Formerly known as Na Zdorowie (‘cheers’ in edgy but brilliant multicultural districts, but if oriented one narrated by comedian, writer play by David Hare, commissioned by the NT. Polish), Polski Bar changed its name probably you’re heading south on the Victoria Line, one of and TV presenter Stephen Fry. One specific to In the revolutionary Travelex season, tickets as a result of no one being able to pronounce the highlights is Brixton Academy, a scuzzy but the Parthenon Sculptures (aka the Parthenon have been sold at around £10 for the peak period it before or after many-a-flavoured vodka shot, lovely former theatre, with good sight lines and a Marbles or Elgin Marbles) is available in that of the last few years, and this is set to continue. but the spirit (no pun intended) has remained: great range of gigs for a 4000-strong crowd. gallery. You could also check out Compass, Otherwise, stand-by tickets (usually around £17) a multimedia public access system with 50 are sometimes available two hours before the computer terminals that lets you take a virtual performance. Students or the unemployed must tour of the museum, plan your own circuit or wait until just 45 minutes before the curtain goes get information on specific exhibits. up to purchase stand-by tickets at a concession price of around £9. Registered disabled visitors London Eye are eligible for discounts. Jubilee Gardens, South Bank Tel: (info) 0870 500 0600 Url: www.ba-londoneye.com Entertainment Transport: (underground rail) Waterloo Choosing how to entertain yourself in London can be daunting. Whether you like your culture It takes a gracefully slow 30 minutes and, high or low, your dance in pointe shoes or weather permitting, you can see 25 miles in heels, your music in strings or sub bass, every direction from the top of the world’s tallest being sporty or watching others play, drinking Ferris wheel. To the west lies Windsor, while to the cocktails in an elegant club or a bitter at a pub, east the sea. In between, you have the chance to London has it all. pick out familiar landmarks. A ride in one of the wheel’s 32 glass-enclosed gondolas holding up Milk & Honey to 25 people is something you really can’t miss if 61 Poland St, Soho you want to say you’ve ‘done’ London. Tel: (info) 0207292 9949 It’s difficult to remember what London looked Tel: (info) 0200700 655 469 like before the landmark London Eye began Url: www.mlkhny.com twirling at the southwestern end of Jubilee Transport: (underground rail) Leicester Sq/ Gardens during the millennium year. Not only has Tottenham Court Rd it fundamentally altered the skyline of the South Bank but, standing 135m tall in a fairly flat city, Prepare yourself for a glamorous clientele at it is visible from many surprising parts of the city London’s most renowned cocktail bar. It’s a (eg Kennington and Mayfair). members’ club that lets nonmembers in on week You can save 10% on standard ‘flight’ - as nights (though it’s preferred if the plebeians stick sponsor BA likes to call it - prices and avoid to the beginning of the week), and you have to the queues to buy tickets by booking online phone in advance to reserve your own private (minimum two hours before your chosen time). booth for a two-hour slot. Once you’re there, Record shopping in Camden Be sure to arrive 30 minutes in advance. 8 | London City Guide / Eating

Fabric Many Londoners prefer this smart, historic 77a Charterhouse St, Clerkenwell institution to its sister, the Ivy. While you Tel: (info) 0207336 8898 might spot a famous face, it’s less impressed Tel: (info) 0207490 0444 by the celebrity circus. The signature dish Url: www.fabriclondon.com is a scrumptious fish pie, which by a handy Transport: (underground rail) Farringdon coincidence is the cheapest thing on the menu.

This superclub is still the first stop on the Lindsay House London scene for many international clubbers. 21 Romilly St, Soho A smoky warren of three floors, three bars, many Tel: (info) 0207439 0450 walkways and unisex toilets, it has a kidney- Url: www.lindsayhouse.co.uk shaking ‘sonic boom’ dance floor. The crowd is Transport: (underground rail) Leicester Sq hip and well-dressed without overkill, and the music - mainly electro, house, drum ‘n’ bass and Richard Corrigan is the Irish chef and character breakbeat - is as superb as you’d expect from behind this superb restaurant, where you’ll be London’s top-rated club. Queues are worst from won over to ‘new Irish cuisine’ - no sniggering, it’s about 9pm-11pm. something to behold. Dishes are simple and hearty but exquisitely executed (like poached ballotine of sea bass with pickled cabbage and oysters). Eating The restaurant still has the atmosphere of the There is no denying London food has taken 18th-century residence it occupies; you have to a turn for the better with the advent of high- ring the bell to get in, and the decor comprises profile chefs like Gordon Ramsay steering all-natural materials and tones. Service is warm palates in innovative directions. However, and sincere. trying to snag a reasonable meal without being left sucking on the lint of your empty Busaba Eathai pockets is still a challenge. Avoid the 106-110 Wardour St, Soho tourist trap chains and keep an ear out Tel: (info) 0207255 8686 for local favourites. Transport: (underground rail) Piccadilly Circus

Patisserie Valerie It’s harder to get a seat at this, the original 44 Old Compton St, Soho branch of this popular Thai chain, than at its Url: www.patisserie-valerie.co.uk Store St equivalent. Still it’s busy and full of life. Transport: (underground rail) Tottenham Court Road, Leicester Square Mildred’s 45 Lexington St W1, Soho This sweet Soho institution was established Tel: (info) 0207494 1634 in 1926. With a warm, wooden interior and a Url: www.mildreds.co.uk comforting atmosphere, it has delicious, delicate Transport: (underground rail) Piccadilly Circus pastries, stylish sandwiches, filled croissants and strictly no ‘phones le mobile’. There are eight Central London’s most inventive veggie more branches around town and you’ll be lucky restaurant, Mildred’s heaves at lunchtime so to get a seat at any of them. don’t be shy about sharing a table in the skylit dining room. Expect the likes of roasted fennel J Sheekey and chickpea terrine and Puy lentil casserole as 28-32 St Martin’s Ct, Covent Garden well as more standard (and hugely portioned) Tel: (info) 0207240 2565 salads and stir-fries. Drinks include juices, Url: www.caprice-holdings.co.uk coffees, beers and organic wines. Transport: (underground rai) Leicester Square Dining at Neal’s Yard, Covent Garden 9 | London City Guide / Shopping

It’s garish and stylish at the same time, always Shopping bursting with tourists and sure to leave you London is a Mecca for shoppers. Designer reeling with a consumer-rush. Despite the tacky labels, refined classic cuts, cutting-edge elements such as the wax figure of proprietor street wear and Harrods hampers all clamour Mohammad Al Fayed and weird memorial for attention. Oxford St is the place for fountain to Dodi and Di, you’re bound to swoon High St fashion, and can be heaven or hell, over the spectacular food hall and impeccable depending on your shopping stamina. This 5th-floor perfumery. is where you’ll find the chain ‘headquarters’ with massive H&Ms and Zaras, and major Harvey Nichols department stores. Regent St cranks it up 109-125 Knightsbridge, Knightsbridge a notch and is favoured by a well-heeled Tel: (info) 828 8888 crowd. Knightsbridge draws you in with Url: www.harveynichols.com quintessentially English department stores Transport: (underground rail) Knightsbridge such as Harrods and Harvey Nichols. And don’t forget the markets – there are 350 to Worship at the temple of high fashion, jewellery choose from. and perfume. Selfridges Portobello Road Market 400 Oxford St , West End Portobello Rd, Notting Hill (info) 7629 1234 Tel: Transport: (underground rail) Notting Hill Gate, Url: www.selfridges.co.uk Ladbroke Grove Transport: (underground rail) Bond St Like Camden, Portobello Market is several The funkiest and most vital of London’s one-stop markets rolled into one, stretching virtually from shops, where fashion runs the gamut from street Notting Hill Gate tube to the heart of Ladbroke to formal. The food hall is unparalleled and the Grove. Here you’ll find antiques, home-wares cosmetics hall the largest in Europe. and bric-a-brac stores, food and clothing (young designer and second-hand). Hamleys 188-196 Regent St, Soho Tel: (info) 0870 333 2455 Hotels & Hostels Url: www.hamleys.com No matter what your budget, London is a Transport: (underground rail) Oxford Circus horribly pricey city to sleep in; one of the most expensive in the world, in fact. But Reportedly the largest toy store in the world and ignore the scary money stuff for a minute: certainly the most famous, Hamleys is like a London has a wonderful collection of truly layer cake of playthings. Computer games are in interesting hotels, whether they be brimming the basement, with the latest playground trends with history or buzzing with zany modernity. at ground level. Science kits are on the 1st floor, preschool toys on the 2nd, girls’ playthings on St Christopher’s Inn Greenwich the 3rd, model cars on the 4th, while the whole 189 Greenwich High Rd, Greenwich confection is topped off with Lego world and its Tel: (info) 0208858 3591 café on the 5th floor. Url: www.st-christophers.co.uk Transport: (underground rail) Greenwich Harrods 87 Brompton Rd, Knightsbridge The nicest of the St Christopher’s chain of Tel: (info) 7730 1234 hostels, the Greenwich branch occupies a lovely Url: www.harrods.com old Georgian building sitting cheek-by-jowl with Transport: (underground rail) Knightsbridge Greenwich station. Despite this location it’s

The auditorium at the Globe Theatre, Southwark 10 | London City Guide / Further Reading

much quieter than some of its sister properties. If you’d rather keep the bustle of central Further Reading London at arm’s length and nightclubbing is your Notes from a Small Island, Bill Bryson (travel) idea of hell, Greenwich offers a village ambience The author recounts his London exploits in this and some great old to explore. There’s a witty best-seller. decent pub that fills up the ground floor of the hostel, which is an altogether much nicer place Down and Out in Paris and London, George to hang out in than the claustrophobic basement Orwell (travel) lounge. There are no such problems upstairs, George Orwell rolls back the years to describe where the six- to eight-bed dorms and solitary his experiences in the roaring 1920s. bunk-style twin get plenty of natural light - at least when the sun’s shining. A basic breakfast A Traveller’s History of England, Christopher (think toast and cereal) is included in the price. Daniell (history/politics) A quick introduction to English history - useful The Portobello Hotel for making sense of all those kings and queens. 22 Stanley Gdns, Notting Hill Tel: (info) 0207727 2777 The Peopling of London, Museum of London Url: www.portobellohotel.com (history/politics) Transport: (underground rail) Notting Hill Gate This book charts the 15,000-year lineage of London’s cultural melting pot. Popular with all manner of celebrities from rock London Fields, Martin Amis (fiction) ‘n’ roll aristocracy and actors to supermodels Wordy, irritating, brilliant and unmissable, Amis and fashion designers, the Portobello Hotel novels are a must read. is the kind of place that’s crying out for some upscale debauchery and shameless fun. Lights Out for the Territory, Iain Sinclair (culture) The decor could do with a freshen up, but Moody, dramatic, compelling and remarkable, this is the kind of place where you can live out this book explores London’s architecture and your own rock-’n’-roll fantasies in one of the history through a series of fascinating walks. ‘special rooms’ on offer. The attic room features a mirrored ceiling above an enormous bed and London: The Biography, Peter Ackroyd (history/ a claw-footed Victorian bath in the corner. The four-poster room has a bed so high you’re given politics) An acclaimed history of the city that’s stronger a ladder to climb onto it and the Japanese- on the bygone eras than our own but is inspired double comes with its own terrace and nevertheless crammed with engaging facts. wooden ‘tea-room’. The most popular choice in the hotel is the Round Room, favoured for its large circular bed, huge French windows with private balcony and Victorian bathing machine (it looks a little like a steam engine). Lock the doors, draw the curtains and crack open the champagne. The regular rooms have none of the quirky touches but are pleasant enough.

The spectacular London Eye overlooking the Thames

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