discover

LONDON

TOM MASTERSJOE BINDLOSS, STEVE FALLON, VESNA MARIC

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DISCOVER LONDON

The East End, Docklands & Greenwich (p223) The home of the cockney, Canary Wharf and world time is unmissable.

Clerkenwell, Shoreditch & Spitalfields (p199) London’s engine room of creativity and fashion is where the cool kids hang out.

Hyde Park & South Kensington (p177) The capital’s greatest park and biggest mu-seums dominate glamorous West London.

Bloomsbury to Regent’s Park (p153) Academic institutions, grand museums and stately parks make up this teeming area.

The South Bank (p129) London’s cultural hub offers an enormous range of art, thea-tre and music.

The City (p101) London’s historic walled city now houses one of the world’s leading financial centres.

The West End (p51) Shop, drink, eat and dance all night in the city’s throbbing heart.

Westminster & Mayfair (p85) The home of London’s political and aristocratic elite never fails to impress.

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CONTENTSe

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THIS IS LONDON 10

LONDON’S TOP 25 EXPERIENCES 13

ITINERARIES 31

PLANNING YOUR TRIP 39

THE WEST END 51THE WEST END HIGHLIGHTS 54THE WEST END WALK 58THE WEST END’S BEST... 60DISCOVER THE WEST END 61SIGHTS 61Soho & Chinatown 61Covent Garden & Leicester Square 64SLEEPING 70Soho & Chinatown 70Covent Garden & Leicester Square 71EATING 72Soho & Chinatown 72Covent Garden & Leicester Square 75DRINKING 76Soho & Chinatown 76Covent Garden & Leicester Square 78ENTERTAINMENT & ACTIVITIES 79SHOPPING 81

WESTMINSTER & MAYFAIR 85WESTMINSTER & MAYFAIR HIGHLIGHTS 88WESTMINSTER & MAYFAIR’S BEST... 90DISCOVER WESTMINSTER & MAYFAIR 91SIGHTS 91Westminster 91St James’s 94Whitehall 96SLEEPING 98Mayfair 98EATING 99Westminster 99Mayfair 99DRINKING 100

Mayfair 100ENTERTAINMENT & ACTIVITIES 100

THE CITY 101THE CITY HIGHLIGHTS 104THE CITY WALK 110THE CITY’S BEST... 112DISCOVER THE CITY 113SIGHTS 113SLEEPING 125EATING 126DRINKING 127ENTERTAINMENT 128

THE SOUTH BANK 129THE SOUTH BANK HIGHLIGHTS 132THE SOUTH BANK WALK 136THE SOUTH BANK’S BEST... 138DISCOVER THE SOUTH BANK 139SIGHTS 139SLEEPING 145Waterloo 145Bankside & Southwark 145Borough & Bermondsey 146EATING 147Waterloo 147Borough & Bermondsey 148DRINKING 149Waterloo 149ENTERTAINMENT & ACTIVITIES 151SHOPPING 152

BLOOMSBURY TO REGENT’S PARK 153

BLOOMSBURY TO REGENT’S PARK HIGHLIGHTS 156BLOOMSBURY TO REGENT’S PARK BEST... 160DISCOVER BLOOMSBURY TO REGENT’S PARK 161SIGHTS 161Bloomsbury 161Marylebone 163

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Regent’s Park 167SLEEPING 168Bloomsbury 168Fitzrovia 171Marylebone 171Regent’s Park 172EATING 172Bloomsbury 172Fitzrovia 172Marylebone 173DRINKING 174Bloomsbury 174Fitzrovia 175SHOPPING 175

HYDE PARK & SOUTH KENSINGTON 177

HYDE PARK & SOUTH KENSINGTON HIGHLIGHTS 180THE HYDE PARK WALK 182HYDE PARK & SOUTH KENSINGTON’S BEST... 184DISCOVER HYDE PARK & SOUTH KENSINGTON 185SIGHTS 185Chelsea & Belgravia 185Knightsbridge, Kensington & Hyde Park 185SLEEPING 192Chelsea & Belgravia 192Knightsbridge, Kensington & Hyde Park 192EATING 194DRINKING 196ENTERTAINMENT & ACTIVITIES 197SHOPPING 198

CLERKENWELL, SHOREDITCH & SPITALFIELDS 199

CLERKENWELL, SHOREDITCH & SPITALFIELDS HIGHLIGHTS 202SUNDAY WALK AT SPITALFIELDS & SHOREDITCH 204CLERKENWELL, SHOREDITCH & SPITALFIELDS’ BEST... 208

DISCOVER CLERKENWELL, SHOREDITCH & SPITALFIELDS 209SIGHTS 209Clerkenwell 209Shoreditch & Hoxton 210Spitalfields 210SLEEPING 210EATING 212Clerkenwell 212Shoreditch 214Spitalfields 214DRINKING 215Clerkenwell 215Shoreditch 216Spitalfields 218ENTERTAINMENT & ACTIVITIES 218SHOPPING 220

THE EAST END, DOCKLANDS & GREENWICH 223

THE EAST END, DOCKLANDS & GREENWICH HIGHLIGHTS 226THE EAST END, DOCKLANDS & GREENWICH’S BEST... 228DISCOVER THE EAST END, DOCKLANDS & GREENWICH 229SIGHTS 229The East End 229Docklands 230Greenwich 230SLEEPING 235The East End & Docklands 235Greenwich 235EATING 235The East End & Docklands 235Greenwich 237DRINKING 238The East End 238Greenwich 239ENTERTAINMENT & ACTIVITIES 240SHOPPING 241The East End & Docklands 241Greenwich & Southeast London 242

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SOUTHWEST LONDON DAY TRIPS 243

SIGHTS 245Richmond 245Kew 248

LONDON IN FOCUS 251ARCHITECTURE 252CLUBBING 255FAMILY TRAVEL 257FOOD & DRINK 259GAY & LESBIAN 261

HISTORY 264MUSIC 270SHOPPING 271THEATRE 274

DIRECTORY & TRANSPORT 277

BEHIND THE SCENES 286

INDEX 292

MAP LEGEND 304

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CLERKENWELL,SHOREDITCH &SPITALFIELDS

(p199)

THE CITY(p101)

THESOUTH BANK

(p129)

THEEAST END,

DOCKLANDS& GREENWICH

(p223)

WESTMINSTER &MAYFAIR

(p85)

BLOOMSBURYTO REGENT'SPARK (p153)

HYDE PARK &SOUTH

KENSINGTON(p177)

THE WEST END(p51)

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WaterlooBridge

LambethBridge

WestminsterBridge

HOLBORN

GoldenJubilee Bridge

SOUTHBANK

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LAMBETH

BLOOMSBURY

ST JAMES'S

ST PANCRAS

PiccadillyCircus

Gray'sInnCourt

St George'sGardens

St Andrew'sGardens Spa

Fields

BuckinghamPalaceGardens

JubileeGardens

ParliamentSquare

Archbishop'sPark

FitzroySquare

St James'sPark

GreenPark

LeicesterSquare

VictoriaEmbankment

Gardens

SohoSquare

Lincoln'sInn Fields

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Victoria Embankment

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LEGEND

Railway

Secondary Road

Primary Road

0 500 m0 0.25 miles

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The glamour and the glitz of London’s busiest shopping

district will impress even the biggest shopaholic

WEST ENDSHOPPING p81

The soaring views over London from this giant Ferris wheel are

staggering on a clear day

LONDON EYE p139

The ‘mother of all parliaments’ across the Thames is about as

iconic as sights get

HOUSES OFPARLIAMENT p93

Few experiences can match wandering around the dazzling interiors of the Queen’s London

home

BUCKINGHAMPALACE p94

See six centuries of Western art all under one roof at this

fantastic Trafalgar Sq collection

NATIONAL GALLERY p65

An incredible tour of world history awaits you at this Bloomsbury institution

BRITISH MUSEUM p161

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BlackfriarsBridge

LondonBridge

SouthwarkBridge

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Clerkenwell Rd

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Seeing a play here almost exactly as an Elizabethan would

have is an extraordinary experience

SHAKESPEARE’SGLOBE p142

London’s most famous place of worship and greatest icon of perseverance should not be

missed

ST PAUL’SCATHEDRAL p113

Head East at the weekend to where the capital’s nightlife

really rocks around Shoreditch High St

NIGHT OUT INSHOREDITCH p218

A decade since it opened this fabulous power station

conversion is still the benchmark London must-see

TATE MODERN p140

The absolute kernel of London; be blown away by a millennium

of history in this Thames-side fortress

TOWER OF LONDON p121

Stand on the meridian andsee the home of world time

in beautiful Greenwich (5.5km)

ROYALOBSERVATORY p233

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The British capital positively glistens with possibility and variety – its iconic sights never fail to impress, its royal splendour and historic buildings are unmatched anywhere else in the world, and, perhaps most importantly, the city’s energy and dynamism can be felt on every street corner.

London is one of those world capitals that everyone feels they know before they set foot in it. The instantly recognisable icons – the red post boxes, the double-decker buses, the guards at Buckingham Palace in their bearskin hats – are all present and very correct, but the city itself usually surprises first-time visitors by being anything but the stuffy, ordered capital of popular belief. Instead they find a fast-moving and deeply diverse city of art, culture and thriving commerce.

London crowds around the banks of old Father Thames, its sights so closely packed together that it’s often hard to know where to start. The Roman-founded square mile known as the City of London is one obvious place, home to the extraordinary Tower

THIS IS LONDON

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of London, heroic Blitz icon St Paul’s Cathedral and innumerable ancient churches, cobbled side streets and hidden treasures.

The West End, London’s incontestable present-day heart, will make any serious shopper’s heart sing, and provide ample chances for superb meals out, while royal Mayfair and pol itical Westminster next door are the playgrounds of the city’s elites and are packed full of impressive stately homes and the world’s most famous parliament building.

As well as the unmissable sights, make plenty of time for the little things that truly make London great: a pint and a plate of fish and chips by the river, a day out with friends in one of London’s expansive wooded parks or just a rocking night out in Shoreditch or Soho. London is truly one of the great world cities and your only problem coming here is that you’re bound to wish you had more time to see it all.

‘fast-moving and deeply diverse city of art, culture and thriving commerce’

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