Frommers Star Ratings System
Every hotel, restaurant, and attraction listed in this guide has been ranked for quality and value. Heres what the stars mean:
| Recommended |
| Highly Recommended |
| A must! Don't miss! |
AN IMPORTANT NOTE
The world is a dynamic place. Hotels change ownership, restaurants hike their prices, museums alter their opening hours, and buses and trains change their routings. And all of this can occur in the several months after our authors have visited, inspected, and written about these hotels, restaurants, museums, and transportation services. Though we have made valiant efforts to keep all our information fresh and up-to-date, some few changes can inevitably occur in the periods before a revised edition of this guidebook is published. So please bear with us if a tiny number of the details in this book have changed. Please also note that we have no responsibility or liability for any inaccuracy or errors or omissions, or for inconvenience, loss, damage, or expenses suffered by anyone as a result of assertions in this guide.
The neo-Gothic Tower Bridge spans the Thames near the Tower of London.
CONTENTS
Soldiers guarding Windsor Castle.
A Look at LONDON
T hrow away any preconceived images you may have of a gray, button-downed, or reserved London. The weather may occasionally be soggy, but London is a Technicolor cornucopia of tantalizing things to do and see. From the eye-popping contemporary art at the Tate Modern to the jumble of upscale shopping arcades near Piccadilly Circus, from the birds eye views over the Thames from the London Eye to the bursting picnic hampers spread out in the green grass of Regents ParkLondon dazzles wherever you look. Whether you explore the city by foot, boat, tube, or bus, expect a bright mixture of architecture, creativity, and culture to meet you around every turn.
Trafalgar Square has always been one of Londons great meeting places.
London Attractions
The Millennium Bridge, which was the first new pedestrian crossing over the Thames in more than a century, links St Pauls Cathedral to the front door of the Tate Modern. Cross it on one of our walking tours ().
The iconic Beefeaters lead the guided tours of Tower of London ().
Centuries of imperial wealth are on display in the vaults of the Crown Jewels at the Tower of London.
Taking a slow spin over the Thames on the London Eye ().
The popular V&A museum () honors the most beautiful decorative objects in the world.
The lion and the chained unicorn of the royal coat of arms of the United Kingdom.
Antiquities from all of recorded time pack the huge British Museum (), Britains most popular tourist attraction.
A visit to the Dennis Severs House () feels like traveling through time to 19th-century London.
Tate Modern (), a superlative contemporary art collection in a rehabbed power plant, is one of Londons cultural landmarks.
The Palm House at the Royal Botanic Gardens () is one of the most important iron-and-glass Victorian buildings in the world.
The countrys greatest artists, writers, and performers are buried or memorialized at Westminster Abbeys Poets Corner ().
Tate Britain () collects the best of the countrys paintings and sculptureand its free to visit.
Changing the Guard at Buckingham Palace () is a popular photo op.
London Life
You cant say you know London if you havent taken the Tube, the worlds first underground railway. Its first segments opened in 1863 and each stop has a unique design.
Fortnum & Mason () is an opulent department store for gourmet foods, teas, and chocolatesits literally the Queens grocery store.
10 Downing Street, home of the prime minister ().
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