Guide to London

A Short History of London

London dates back almost 2000 years, a former swamp that was first tamed by the Romans, then the Anglo-Saxons and the Normans. Each of these rulers brought their own culture and language to the land of the Bretons, and much of it is still prevalent in London today. Everywhere you go in the world's most popular capital you will find remnants of cultures long gone. As they left their mark on London, so London shall leave its mark on you, and you will be forever enchanted to return. London has everything that anyone would need or want, Dr. Johnson said in the 18th C that "the man, who is tired of London, is tired of life". The museums and galleriess are free, and there are so many places that will fascinate and entertain you. Some Londoners who have lived here for years still haven't managed to see it all. For the historic tourist London is an Aladdin's Cave, music lovers will be enthralled, theatre fans will be spoilt for choice, diners will get `fed up`, clubbers and night people will be tripping the light fantastic till the dawn comes up, culture vultures will taken back to an age they dream about, and for those who just want to do nothing but chill out; as the old Everley Brothers song goes "there's a place for us" too in the beautiful parks river side walkways. Napoleon once said "impossible is not French", the British have a similar saying "disappointment is not London".

The Streets of London Town

The streets of London town are named after people or events, so if you know how it works you can actually be your own tour guide. Soho is a fabulous area in central London where Bohemia meets culture; it is the centre of the sex industry, the film industry and the `Pink` industry of the gay community. In this small village gays and straights mix with a flair unknown elsewhere. It has a variety of pubs, clubs, restaurants, bars, galleries and strip joints that cater for all tastes, cultures and genders. Dean Street is the centre of the film industry and named after the Dean of the Chapel Royal Thomas Compton, his family also owned Old Compton Street. Soho and Soho Street are named after a medieval French hunting call, which was bordered by blue posts, that is why there is a blue posts pub in Wardour Street. Madame Jo Jo`s is one of the mixed gender clubs and puts on drag revues, G.A.Y. is the famous celebrity haunt where you will find a mixed gender as well. The Sunset Strip is a pole dancing club, and there are a few good late night clubs with excellent music. Covent Garden is an area nearby that has to seen to be believed, here you will find shops, bistros, cafes, restaurants and street entertainers from rock bands to solo singers, classical and opera to clowns, jugglers and escapologists all of which have to pass an audition to obtain their license. ChinaTown is in-between these places and the food here is sought by Chinese immigrants from all over Britain who miss real cultural dishes.

The Best of London

Where do you start on this one? Well let's just look at the things that are not just popular and well known, but also take a look at the not so well known. London is in fact 2 cities, the City of London which is literally a square mile and the City of Westminster which covers the other 31 boroughs. The city is packed with 500,000 workers every day Monday to Friday, but on the weekend only around 5,000 are resident there. This is a great time to wander around and see the original city in all its glory, there is a wonderful element of the old and new in this area where you can turn a corner and bump into a Roman wall. The Tower of London is a whole day out as it is that big, it dates back 1,000 years and has a `bloody` history that is enviable. Ann Boleyn was executed here and Rudolf Hess was the last prisoner, the tower is still guarded by a medieval troop. River cruises are frequent and flexible, some allow you to hop on and hop off at various places such as The Tower and Greenwich. Theatres are plentiful; there is even a fully functioning replica of Shakespeare's Globe theatre where you can see his plays in truly medieval surroundings. Museums such as the Barbican will teach you about this illustrious city, and there are plenty of other attractions that are based on different periods in time. For a bit of nostalia you can walk to Berkely Square via Berkely Street, and sit in the park whilst you view the Rolls Royces of Jack Barclay`s at his famous showroom. Unlike the wartime song though, there aren`t any Nightingales singing in the square these days. You will find this beautiful and tranquil park just off Piccadilly opposite the Ritz Hotel, where you could finish off the afternoon enjoying one of their famous tea sessions.

Tourist Attractions and Tours

The most popular are the wax works at Madame Tussauds, this has the world's most famous celebrities, criminals, politicians and sports people, all of whom have to agree to a personal casting session. The London Eye is a huge ferris wheel on the south bank, it has 32 pods each carrying 25 people, and it takes 27 minutes to go full circle and show you London from a few hundred feet above the ground. The London Dungeons are a well established exhibition of the dark side of English history, with a lot of tongue in cheek fun dished out in small shows and by the many costumed actors. The Tower of London is something that every visitor must spend the day in, it is a huge complex of 18 towers surrounded by a dry moat and goes back almost 1,000 years. It has been a palace, a zoo, a prison and place of royal executions. It is guarded by a troop of retired soldiers called Beef Eaters, they wear their original medieval costumes as they take the visitors around and tell them the history of the place, Henry XIII paid them half their wages in beef, hence the name. Tour buses are also a great way to be entertained in comfort, London has some great tour buses with 24 hour tickets, river cruises and fast track tickets for the attractions, there is even one that does both the roads and the river in the one vehicle. See Bigbus and Ducktours for more information and to book online.

London Hotels

In London hotels are plentiful and diverse in facilities and cost; all budgets are catered for, as are indeed all tastes in food, leisure needs, room sizes and those little extras such as a gym or free wi-fi. Finding a London hotel is easy with many web sites that cater for the visitor who prefers to organise their own trip, but you should have one golden rule in all your searches; location, location, location. No matter where you are based according to your budget, access to central London and all the most popular parts is very easy. Whether you are staying at the Hilton on Park Lane, the Radisson in the west end or a Georgian converted hotel in Paddington, the main areas of interest will always be easily accessible by public transport. Some of the hotels although they are central to most of the places that visitors will want to get to, aren't always the most expensive. What you have to weigh up is the daily cost of travelling around London if your hotel is in Kensington or Chelsea for instance. Looking for hotels in Soho or Mayfair is the best option if you want to minimise travel A daily or weekly travel card is fine for buses and tubes in the hours they run, but coming out of a club at 3 a.m. and then jumping a taxi can work out expensive and inconvenient in the long run.

Transport

All London hotels are near to a tube station, and the London underground's the oldest in Europe. The system is constantly being improved with some 8 million journeys a day made to all parts of London from the centre to the surrounding counties. It is a simple to understand system that uses colours to differentiate the lines, so getting around is easy and you don`t even have to speak English to do it. London is a city that is used to visitors from overseas, in times past they used a system of painted signs to tell you street names where certain goods were sold, and pub signs today reflect that. Buses are frequent albeit a little slow in the day time, but as a visitor you will always have something of interest to focus on when at a standstill. Taxis in London are unique as all Black Cab drivers must first pass a stringent test called `The Knowledge` before they get their badge, be wary of mini cabs as many are uninsured and unlicensed, they will also rip you off big time. Then we have the most popular form of transport in London `Shanksies Pony`, for those of you uninitiated to Cockney Rhyming Slang (Secret Language) that means walking everywhere, and in this city that is just so much fun.

Shopping

In London this is known as `retail therapy` and is mainly a female aliment! However, London being the friendly city it is we provide plenty of outlets for sufferers. No matter what part of town your London hotel is situated, all the major brand names, designer boutiques and unique shops will generally be within walking distance, or a few stops on the tube. Knightsbridge and Kensington hotels are within a short walk of such legends as Harrods and Harveysp Nichols to name a few. Oxford Street has more big names than you can shake a stick at, and many that are just one shop empires. They all have one thing in common though, bargains, bargains and more bargains. Don't worry about all those bags though, buses and taxis are everywhere and there are plenty of tube stations. Shopping makes you thirsty and hungry, but don't despair eating out in these shopping paradises are varied and plentiful. If you are looking for the unusual, then take a trip to Camden market, Notting Hill and Portobello Road where you will find another `village` within London that caters for the more adventurous shoppers, especially books, antiques, clothes and shoes. Piccadilly Circus is a fairly central point to take the tube to; from here you can walk to Regent Street shops and Oxford Street. Piccadilly and Leicester Square will amuse you as you take in the atmosphere and sneak a look at all those receipts! Chelsea and the Kings Road is a favourite haunt of the fashionista, and the wealthy residents love nothing more than to `shop till they drop`, and that will usually be in a chic pub or caf. Pop into one and you may get to sit opposite Kate Moss or Rhys Ifens, the royals also like to frequent the Chelsea area albeit surrounded by body guards. 4 x 4 vehicles came to Britain via Chelsea and so they have attained the nick name `Chelsea Tractors`, especially since the nouvou riche, but uncultured folk from the countryside started to emulate them in their choice of car to show off the wealth.

Night Life

Night life is just such an experience no matter where your London Hotel is located. Whether you are travelling into central London or staying local, you will enjoy all that the capital has to offer. Theatres are one aspect of night life that many people want to see, tickets can be bought at the venue, on the net or at any of the many discount shops in and around Leicester Square. Comedy clubs are widespread around London so there is usually one very near to you, the West End has has some of the best clubs and comedy theatres in the World, there is a good choice of smaller venues, that offer good value entertainment, and more expensive ones for the VIP experience. Pubs and Bars in Central London tend to be very chic and buzzing, many have DJs and after 6 p.m. a cover charge. There are some great pubs with live bands in them as well, so wander the well lit side streets and take a peek in the doors. Crossing the river is easy as there are many bridges to walk over, so don`t forget to visit the South Bank with its theatres, restaurants and quirky bistros, the London Eye lights up the area and the Oxo Tower to the east of it has a fantastic restaurant with a history of its own.

Dining Out

Most London hotels have excellent restaurants if a hard day's retail therapy or trekking around the tourist trail has left you flummoxed. Eating out anywhere in London is quite an entertaining experience in itself. If you are not in central London, then eating out locally can usually be decided after a quick chat with the hotel staff. Most areas have the usual Italian, Indian, Chinese and English restaurants/bistros. Many areas also tend to cater for the local residents; in Bayswater for instance you will find a few good Middle East style restaurants. In central London you will find China Town a great early or late night time extravaganza, my tip for the day is to eat in the ones that have the most Chinese diners in them. For the diner who just likes to stick to their own tastes and are not really into experimenting, then around Piccadilly Circus there are plenty of steak houses, pasta parlours and pizza bistros and a few nice cafes that the acting fraternity like to eat home cooked food in . After a nights clubbing there are a few late and all night cafes in and around Coventry Street between Piccadilly and Leicester Square. For the Theatre goer there is Sarastro`s in Covent Garden, known as the `show after the show`, but book up early or you won't get in. China White in Air Street and The Ivy in West Street are for those with a big wallet, but you will be dining and dancing with celebrities.

Unknown London

Big Ben is one of the most famous bells in the world as is the Liberty Bell, and both were cast in the same foundry in East London, you can visit the foundry and see bells being cast as they have been for many hundreds of years in this long established factory. The Whitechapel foundry is where you will find more information. London also has a `not too well kept` secret waterway system with regular boat trips around the London countryside, bookings are available online. London walks are something most people don`t even think about, the explorer who wants to wander off the beaten track. Wapping is just 10 minutes walk from the Tower of London, here you will find a riverside village of wonderful pubs that in days past were hosted and frequented by real life Pirates. Wander around from pub to pub, and read all about the days when people like Captain Kidd were captured, and then tied to a post in the river for three turns of the tide. The Temple in the city is an area off Fleet Street, it is a village within itself where law is taught and where Barristers meet their clients and live, Tony and Cherie Blair once had a flat here. Formerly owned by the Knights Templar`s it is full of history and quietness at the week end, you can pic-nic on the green here and then walk across the road to see the Thames in motion. Don't forget the Jack the Ripper/ walks that start from the Tower of London underpass, it is a great part of London's history and the mystery still intrigues people worldwide.