| London is a year-round tourist centre, with few of its | | | | hundred years. |
| attractions closing or significantly reducing their opening | | | | London's traditional sights like the Big Ben, Westminster |
| hours in winter. | | | | Abbey, Buckingham Palace, St Paul's Cathedral and |
| London is a cosmopolitan city where it is possible to | | | | the Tower of London have continued to draw in |
| sample cuisine from all corners of the world. There are | | | | millions of tourists every year. Monuments from the |
| establishments to suit every taste and pocket, from | | | | capital's more glorious past are everywhere to be |
| burger restaurants like the Hard Rock Cafe on | | | | seen, from medieval banqueting halls and the great |
| Piccadilly and Planet Hollywood near Leicester Square, | | | | churches of Christopher Wren to the eclectic Victorian |
| to those serving exquisite modern cuisine such as | | | | architecture of the triumph list British Empire. There is |
| Quaglin's near Piccadilly or the Blueprint Cafe at the | | | | also much enjoyment to be had from the city's quiet |
| Design Museum. Britain is famed for its pubs and | | | | Georgian squares, the narrow alleyways of the City of |
| London has literally thousands to choose from, where | | | | London, the riverside walks, and the quirks of what is |
| one can sample a pint of British beer, enjoy good-value | | | | still identifiably a collection of villages. There are large |
| bar meals and savor the friendly atmosphere. | | | | expanses of greenery to be enjoyed like Hyde Park, |
| With a population of just under eight million, London is | | | | Green Park and St James's Park. Further away one |
| Europe's largest city, spreading across an area of | | | | can enjoy the more expansive countryside of |
| more than 620 square miles from its core on the River | | | | Hampstead Heath and Richmond Park. |
| Thames. Ethnically it's also Europe's most diverse | | | | One could spend days just shopping in London, too, |
| metropolis with around two hundred languages spoken | | | | mixing with the upper classes in the tiara triangle |
| within its confines, and more than thirty percent of the | | | | around Harrods, or sampling the offbeat weekend |
| population is made up of first, second and | | | | markets of Portobello Road, Camden and Greenwich. |
| third-generation immigrants. | | | | The music, clubbing and gay/lesbian scenes are |
| For the visitor London is a thrilling place and in the last | | | | second to none, and mainstream arts are no less |
| few years, the city has been in a relatively cheerful | | | | exciting, with regular opportunities to catch brilliant |
| mood. Thanks to the national lottery and the | | | | theatre companies, dance troupes, exhibitions and |
| millennium-oriented funding frenzy, virtually every one | | | | opera. Restaurants, these days, are an attraction, too. |
| of London's world-class museums, galleries and | | | | London is now on a par with its European rivals, and |
| institutions has been reinvented, from the Royal Opera | | | | offers a range from three-star Michelin establishments |
| House to the British Museum. In the Tate Modern and | | | | to low-cost, high-quality Chinese restaurants and Indian |
| the London Eye, the city can now boast the world's | | | | curry houses. One must visit London to get the |
| largest modern art gallery and Ferris wheel, and the | | | | complete picture of this dynamic metropolis. |
| first new bridge to cross the Thames for over a | | | | |