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With a population of just under eight
million, London is Europe's largest city, spreading across an
area of more than 620 square miles from its core on the River
Thames. Ethnically it's also Europe's most diverse metropolis:
around two hundred languages are spoken within its confines, and
more than thirty percent of the population is made up of first,
second- and third-generation immigrants. Despite Scottish, Welsh
and Northern Irish devolution, London still dominates the
national horizon, too: this is where the country's news and
money are made, it's where the central government resides and,
as far as its inhabitants are concerned, provincial life begins
beyond the circuit of the city's orbital motorway. Londoners'
sense of superiority causes enormous resentment in the regions,
yet it's undeniable that the capital has a unique aura of
excitement and success - in most walks of British life, if you
want to get on you've got to do it in London.
For the visitor, too, London is a
thrilling place - and since the beginning of the new millennium,
the city has also been overtaken by an exceptionally buoyant
mood. Thanks to the lottery and millennium-oriented funding
frenzy of the last few years, virtually every one of London's
world-class museums, galleries and institutions has been
reinvented, from the Royal Opera House to the British Museum.
With the completion of the Tate Modern and the London Eye, the
city can now boast the world's largest modern art gallery and
Ferris wheel; there's also a new tube extension and the first
new bridge to cross the Thames for over a hundred years. And
after sixteen years of being the only major city in the world
not to have its own governing body, London finally has its
own elected mayor and assembly.
In the meantime, London's traditional
sights - Big Ben, Westminster Abbey, Buckingham Palace, St
Paul's Cathedral and the Tower of London - continue to draw in
millions of tourists every year. Monuments from the capital's
more glorious past are everywhere to be seen, from medieval
banqueting halls and the great churches of Sir Christopher Wren
to the eclectic Victorian architecture of the triumphalist
British Empire. There is also much enjoyment to be had from the
city's quiet Georgian squares, the narrow alleyways of the City
of London, the riverside walks, and the quirks of what is still
identifiably a collection of villages. And even London's traffic
pollution - one of its worst problems - is offset by
surprisingly large expanses of greenery: Hyde Park, Green Park
and St James's 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.
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London tips:
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Though it's one of the most expensive cities in Europe,
you can save substantially by going off season, booking
a package deal and/or staying in one of a number of
low-cost hotels or in a private house. Airlines,
hotels and even many restaurants lower their prices from
October through April. Overall, a week in London is
often 50% cheaper than it would be in July or August,
the peak season.
Off season is high season for theater. You can see
new shows long before they come to the US. So, bundle up
and have a ball!
No matter when you go, to save on food, eat in pubs.
They tend to be much less expensive than touristy
restaurants.
To save on accommodations, consider a chain of
inexpensive hotels. I would especially recommend the one
in Kensington, a quiet area of London that is a short
subway ride from the theater district and many other
attractions. Rates start at about $90 per night double
occupancy.
Typical rates in a private house are about $150 per
couple per night. Home owners who rent apartments and
rooms to tourists can be located through |
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ENGLAND |
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London is the place to start. Nowhere in the
country can match the scope and innovation of the
metropolis, a colossal, frenetic city, perhaps not
as immediately attractive as its European
counterparts, but with so much variety that the only
obstacle to a great time is the shockingly high cost
of everything. It's here that you'll find Britain's
best spread of nightlife, cultural events, museums,
galleries, pubs and restaurants. The other large
cities, such as Birmingham, Newcastle, Leeds
or Liverpool each have their strengths:
Birmingham has a resurgent arts scene, for example,
while people travel for miles to sample Newcastle's
nightlife. These days Manchester can match
the capital for glamour in cafés and clubs, and also
boasts the inimitable draw of the world's best-known
football team.
England's ancient cathedral cities, such as
Lincoln, York, Salisbury, Durham and
Winchester , cannot be equalled for sheer
physical beauty. Wherever you're based, you're never
more than a few miles from a ruined castle, a
majestic country house, a secluded chapel or a
monastery. In the southwest there are remnants of a
Celtic culture that was all but eradicated elsewhere
by the Romans, and everywhere you can find traces of
prehistoric settlers - most famously the megalithic
circles of Stonehenge and Avebury .
Most beguiling of all are the long-established
villages of England, hundreds of which amount to
nothing more than a pub, a shop, a gaggle of
cottages and a farmhouse offering bed and breakfast.
Devon, Cornwall , the Cotswolds and
the Yorkshire Dales harbour some especially
picturesque specimens, but every county can boast a
decent showing. Then, of course, there's the English
countryside, an extraordinarily diverse terrain from
which Constable, Turner, Wordsworth, Emily Brontë
and a host of other writers and artists took
inspiration. Exmoor, Dartmoor, Bodmin Moor ,
the North York Moors and the Lake District
are the most dramatic and best known of the national
parks, each offering an array of landscapes
crisscrossed with walking routes.
You could spend days just
shopping in London, too, hobnobbing with the
upper classes in Harrods, or sampling the
offbeat weekend markets of Portobello Road and
Camden. The music, clubbing and gay/lesbian
scenes are second to none, and mainstream arts
are no less exciting, with regular opportunities
to catch brilliant theatre companies, dance
troupes, exhibitions and opera. Restaurants,
these days, are an attraction, too. London has
caught up with its European rivals, and offers a
range from three-star Michelin establishments to
low-cost, high-quality Indian curry houses.
Meanwhile, the city's pubs have heaps of
atmosphere, especially away from the centre -
and an exploration of the farther-flung
communities is essential to get the complete
picture of this dynamic metropolis
Introducing the City
Stretching for more than thirty miles at its
broadest point, London is by far the largest
city in Europe. The majority of its sights are
situated to the north of the River Thames, which
loops through the city from west to east.
However, there...
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