Strachan - AARP London 2012

London 2012

by Joe Fullman & Donald Strachan

Published by:

John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Copyright 2012 John Wiley & Sons Ltd, The Atrium, Southern Gate, Chichester,

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Editorial Director: Kelly Regan

Production Manager: Daniel Mersey

Commissioning Editor: Fiona Quinn

Development Editor: Donald Strachan

Project Editor: Hannah Clement

Photo Research: Jill Emeny

Cartography: Andrew Murphy

Front cover photo: Gherkin building contrasted with the old gothic church of St. Andrew Undershaft Elena Elisseeva/Alamy Images

Back cover photos: Left: Great Court, British Museum SFL Travel/Alamy Images; Middle: Green Park SIME/eStock Photo; Right: Hilgate Place, Kensington Greg Balfour Evans/Alamy Images

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British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data

A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library

ISBN 978-1-119-99019-2 (pbk), ISBN 978-1-119-97448-2 (pbk), ISBN 978-1-119-97256-3 (ebk), ISBN 978-1-119-99453-4 (ebk), ISBN 978-1-119-99470-1 (ebk)

Typeset by Wiley Indianapolis Composition Services

Printed and bound in China by RR Donnelley

5 4 3 2 1

Opening up the world and the wonders in your own backyard.

Maybe youre finally planning that big trip youve dreamt of for years. Maybe youre ready to hop in the car and go where the road takes you. Or maybe youre visiting far-flung family and friends.

Welcome to travel for grown-ups. Where do you turn for help?

Dedicated to helping you enjoy and enrich your life through travel, AARP has teamed up with Frommers to offer the best advice on must-see destinations, from daytrips to journeys around the world. Well guide you to the best food, accommodations, shopping, nightlife, sights, and activities that suit your lifestyle.

And true to AARPs commitment to help you stretch your dollars, well show you how to get the best value, whether youre traveling near or far. Want to splurge on a fancy hotel and eat cheap, or vice versa? We offer all price ranges. And give you the flexibility to tailor your trip to your budget. Whatever you choose, whatever your budget, well make sure you have memorable and wonder-filled experiences.

So hit the road and enjoy every minute. Well show you the way.

About the Authors

Joe Fullman has lived in London for just over 39 yearsor, to put it another way, all his life. It is, as far as he's concerned, the best city in the world, and having worked as a travel writer for more than a decade, he's had the opportunity to compare it to some very distinguished rivals. Joe has written for most of the major guidebook publishers, including Rough Guides, Lonely Planet, AA, Cadogan, and, of course, Frommers, and is the author of guides to London (five at the last count including Frommers London Free & Dirt Cheap), England, Berlin, Venice, Las Vegas, Costa Rica, and Belize. Joe wrote Itineraries and Exploring London chapters.

Donald Strachan is a journalist, writer, and editor who has lived in London for just 19 yearsa fact which, as any real local will tell you, disqualifies him from calling himself a "proper" Londoner. However, he has written about the city, and wider European travel, for newspapers worldwide, including the Sydney Morning Herald and the Independent on Sunday, and is the U.K. Sunday Telegraph's regular contributor on travel-related new technology. He's also authored or co-authored several recent guidebooks to European destinations, including Frommer's Complete England 2012 and Florence and Tuscany Day by Day. Donald wrote the chapters on the Best of London, London in Depth, and Planning Your Trip to London.

Mary Anne Evans began writing about Londons extraordinary wide range of restaurants in the days when posh French had the upper hand and Indian and Chinese restaurants were stuck in the red flock wallpaper era. Many, many meals later, she still champions London as the best city in the world for dining, despite writing about places as far apart as New York and Helsinki, and Albania. She has written guide books on London for Gayot/Gault Millau, and on Brussels and Stockholm for Frommers. She was editor of Where London for 10 years and currently writes on France for about.com. Mary Anne wrote the Eating Out in London chapter.

Sian Meades has lived in southeast London for a decade and has spent most of that time window shopping and hunting for the perfect boutiques (new ones keep popping up, it's a fabulous and endless task). She's the editor of the lifestyle website of Domestic Sluttery and she won't rest until she's found every single shopping gem in the city. Sian compiled the Shopping chapter.

John Power is a London-based DJ, club promoter and writer with nearly two decades' experience traversing the bars, clubs and nightlife of the capital. A confirmed south Londoner he has written for publications such as Time Out, The Guardian, Dummy, Kultureflash, and le cool on everything from naked bike riding and the Crystal Palace dinosaurs to acid house raves and pop-up restaurants. John is our resident Nightlife and Entertainment expert.

Mat Osman is a musician, writer, and editor who has lived in London since the day David Bowie & Mick Jagger's "Dancing In The Street" was number one. He runs the London listings site lecool.com, and edited their London guidebook. He has also written for newspapers such as The Guardian and the Independent. An average of 100 different hotel rooms a year from his time touring has left him able to ask 'what time does room service finish?' in eight languages, and ready to write the 'Where to Stay in London' chapter for this guide.