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London, United Kingdom

City Guide

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Features of this Destination

As Europe’s largest city, London is host to more than 25 millions visitors a year; yet, it is never too crowded to be enjoyable. There is always time for tea and a leisurely stroll through London’s famous parks and boroughs. Popular destinations abound, including theatres, concert halls, shops, restaurants, sports venues, world famous landmarks and hundreds of restaurants with cuisine from around the world.

Along with the pageantry at Buckingham Palace, Whitehall and the Tower, London always has something more to offer visitors. Festivals and musical, theatrical and sporting events occur year-round

Some 7 million Londoners live in this mammoth metropolis, a parcel of land that covers more 609 square miles. Actually, The City Center of London proper is just 1 mile square, but the rest of the city is made up of separate villages, boroughs, and corporations that add to its historical significance and its charm.

This cosmopolitan city has everything from Bengali markets to Belgian restaurants to hand-penned Beatles lyrics at the British Library. London offers the best of British food, fashion and cultural pursuits, but its multicultural population gives it an international flair, as well. Nearly 40 ethnic groups with populations of 10,000 or more call London home. Together with a multitude of visitors from around the globe, they give the city its vibrant mix of languages, dress, festivals and lively street life.

At one point in history, London was the largest city in the world. While it has relinquished that title, London still remains at the forefront of the world’s great cities.  London’s celebration of its dazzling history combines with its 21st Century hospitality to engage and entertain visitors from around the world.

From the arts to sports; from fashion to film to finance, London offers the world traveler a multitude of options...the only problem is choosing what to see first!

Family activities hold a top priority in London.  A fondness for children is reflected in the wide variety of attractions that will appeal to any youngster.  Among these are zoos, rides, arcades, museums, theatres and music attractions, to name a few.

Millions of visitors from around the globe can attest to the continuing popularity of shopping at Harrods, visiting the Tower of London, seeing London Bridge, and touring Buckingham Palace and the Parliament building.  Relive the glories of the vast expanse of the British Empire, while enjoying the animals native to those regions at the London Zoo. Stroll through the British Museum and marvel at some of its 6 million exhibited items.  Tour Westminster Abbey and the Royal Parks and gardens.  Evenings begin with dinners at fabulous restaurants found in dozens of ethnic neighborhoods across London and continue with an evening at the theatre or the London Symphony and perhaps a late evening stop in a neighborhood pub for a snack and a local brew before the last bell sounds.

Numerous guided and self-guided tours emanate from London to the surrounding countryside, serving destinations such as Greenwich Observatory, Stratford-on-Avon and farther on to western England, Scotland and Wales. Many visitors also plan a quick round-trip on the "Chunnel", the undersea tube connecting England with France. No visit to London would be complete without a ride on the famous "double-decker" buses.  The Princess Diana Memorial Walk charts a 7-mile path that links a number of London's parks. It begins in Kensington Gardens and continues through Hyde Park, Green Park and St. James' Park, taking in Spencer House and Buckingham Palace along the way.

It would take a lifetime to see everything that London has to offer. Perhaps that is why so many visitors regard each trip to London as a "once in a lifetime experience" and return often to continue their explorations of its many facets. Once you visit this "Queen of all cities", you may agree!


 
Area Attractions

BUCKINGHAM PALACE Open early August to late September. For recorded information, 799-2331 18 rooms are available to view including the Throne Room.  The famous changing of the Palace Guard is at 1130am daily during the summer months (on alternate days during the rest of the year).

BRITISH MUSEUM Great Russell Street, Bloomsbury 636-1555 Monday-Saturday 10am-5 pm, Sunday 2:30 to 6 pm. Guided tours Monday-Saturday at 10:45 am, 94 galleries contain the world’s finest collection of antiquities.  The depth of each gallery and the variety of attractions is almost overpowering.

HYDE PARK 298-2100 Closes at midnight. Some 360 acres of landscaped park, tree-lined avenues and lakes in the heart of the city attract visitors from around the world.  Sunday mornings find street-corner orators is fine form at Speaker’s Corner near Marble Arch.

LONDON PLANETARIUM Marylebone Road 935-6861 (call for times, which vary by season) Travel on a journey to the stars, guided by world-celebrated experts.  The Spirit of London ride is a fascinating attraction and is updated frequently.

CHESSINGTON WORLD OF ADVENTURE AND ZOO Chessington, Surrey (one-half hour from London’s Waterloo Station by train) This 65-acre theme park offers rides and attractions galore.  Think...Disney and think all ages!

TROCADERO Piccadilly Circus This multi-attraction entertainment complex is popular with everyone, especially teenagers. Call for times and prices, which vary. Planet Hollywood restaurant (phone 287-1000) offers dining amidst the film world’s glamour. Sega World (phone 734-2777) puts video game players in the center of the action. Rock Circus (phone 734-7203) portrays the royalty of rock stars in wax. Alien War (phone 437-2678) is a multimedia monster experience. Imaginator (phone 437-5723) offers stomach-wrenching rides. Virtual World (phone 494-1492) is a virtual reality system second to none.

LONDON WALL London dates its history back to the Roman Empire.  The "London Wall" of nursery rhyme survives to this day, albeit in fragments.  A self-guided tour along the 1.5-mile walk is aided by explanatory plaques along the route.  The walk stretches from the Museum of London to the Tower of London, offering unique history at every step.

LONDON ZOO and REGENT’S PARK Off Marylebone Road near Baker Street. 722-3333 Open 7 am until dusk The London Zoo, one of the world’s great zoos, is found in Regent’s Park.  Zoo features include a children’s zoo, a reptile house and more.  Other attractions in the Park include a rose garden, a mosque, areas for boating and tennis, and an outdoor theatre.

LONDON AQUARIUM 967-8000 Monday-Friday 10 am-6 pm, Saturday and Sunday 9:30 am-7: 30 pm Over two million liters of water house an incredible number and variety of aquatic creatures.  Thousands of species are represented in a number of extensive marine habitats.  The London Aquarium has rightfully earned its reputation as a world-class attraction.

MADAME TUSSAUD’S Marylebone Road 935-6861 Daily 9 am-5: 30 pm Wax statues of the world’s most famous (and infamous) citizens throughout history line the galleries of this famous attraction.  Recent innovations include interactive areas.  Note: The popular Chamber of Horrors (murderers in history) may be too intense for some younger children.

MUSEUM OF LONDON London Wall, City of London 600-3699 Tuesday-Saturday 10 am-6 pm, Sunday noon-6 pm A visit to this attraction is like reading the life story of London.  Various stages of London’s extensive history are shown in the many rooms and galleries.

LONDON DUNGEON 28-34 Tooley St. 403-0606 April-September daily 10 am-6 pm, October-March closes 5:30 pm Live actors and various realistic tableaux recreate the hard and seamy life of the underside of London in its past days.  Historic representations of the tortures in the Tower and Old Gaol join Jack the Ripper.  Not recommended for the faint of heart or for younger children.

ROYAL BOTANIC GARDENS Kew Road, Richmond, Surrey (in the West of London) 940-1171 Daily 9:30 am-5: 30 pm. Glasshouse closes 4:45 pm Many of the plants here were first planted in the 17th and 18th centuries, including more than a few that were sent back home to London from England’s colonies overseas.  The Gardens cover more than 300 acres and the world-famous hothouses maintain a staggering variety of warm-weather and tropical species.  Other attractions in the Gardens include a pagoda, an aquatic gardens and a scenic lake.