Rough Guides - Pocket Rough Guide London (Travel Guide eBook)

London is a very big city: stretching for more than thirty miles from east to west, it has a population of just over 8.5 million. Ethnically and linguistically, its Europes most diverse metropolis, offering cultural and culinary delights from right across the globe. The city dominates the national horizon, too. This is where most of the countrys news and money are made, its where central government resides and, as far as its inhabitants are concerned, provincial life begins beyond the circuit of the citys orbital motorway.

View from the Sky Garden

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On the Regents Canal, Little Venice

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For the visitor, its a thrilling destination. The biggest problem for newcomers is that the city can seem bewilderingly amorphous, with no single predominant focus of interest. Londoners tend to cope with all this by compartmentalizing their city, identifying strongly with the neighbourhoods in which they work or live, just making occasional forays into the West End, Londons shopping and entertainment heartland. As a visitor, the key to enjoying London, then, is not to try and do everything in a single visit concentrate on one or two areas and youll get a lot more out of the place.

The capitals traditional sights Big Ben, Westminster Abbey, Buckingham Palace, St Pauls Cathedral and the Tower of London continue to draw in millions of tourists every year. Things change fast, though, and the regular emergence of new attractions ensures that theres plenty to do even for those whove visited before. Londons world-class museums and galleries of which there are dozens are generally forward-looking places, often re-designing and re-imagining their spaces (see box below), while the tourist and transport infrastructure is generally pretty good, if crowded.

Whats new

Londons museums are masters of reinvention, with even the most established ones rolling out new exhibitions, refits and redesigns. Both an entertaining ride and fascinating insight into the workings of the city, the Mail Rail is one of Londons most appealing new attractions. Older subterranean intrigue can be found at the re-created Roman Mithraeum, while the new extension at the V&A, remodelled galleries at the Science Museum and refurbished Hayward Gallery all provide reasons for return visits.

Monuments from the capitals glorious past are everywhere, from medieval banqueting halls and the great churches of Christopher Wren to the eclectic Victorian architecture of the triumphalist British Empire. Theres also much enjoyment to be had from the citys quiet Georgian squares, the narrow alleyways of the City of London, the riverside walks and the assorted quirks of what is still identifiably a collection of villages. And urban London is offset by surprisingly large expanses of greenery: Hyde Park, Green Park and St Jamess Park are all within a few minutes walk of the West End, while, further afield, you can enjoy the more expansive parklands of Hampstead Heath and Richmond Park.

When to visit

Despite the temperateness of the English climate, its impossible to say with any degree of certainty that the weather will be pleasant in any given month. While always unpredictable, English summer days tend to range from a comfortable 22C up to 30C, while the winters (average daily temperature 610C) dont get very cold though theyre often wet. However, whenever you come, be prepared for all eventualities: it has been known to snow at Easter and rain all day on August bank holiday weekend. As far as crowds go, tourists stream into London pretty much all year round, with peak season from Easter to October and in the run-up to Christmas, when youll need to book your accommodation well in advance.

You could spend days just shopping in London, too, mixing with the upper classes in the tiara triangle around Harrods, or sampling the offbeat weekend markets of Portobello Road, Camden and Spitalfields. The music, clubbing and LGBTQ scenes are second to none, and mainstream arts are no less exciting, with regular opportunities to catch first-rate theatre companies, dance troupes, exhibitions and opera. The citys pubs have always had heaps of atmosphere, but food is a major attraction too, with over sixty Michelin-starred restaurants and the widest choice of cuisines on the planet.

Rope Walk, Maltby Street Market in Bermondsey

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