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London Overview

United Kingdom

Cityscape
Pretty, gritty and green
City life
Cultural kaleidoscope

England's capital has got it all. And she flaunts it.

From the revived East End to the swish haunts of Notting Hill, London accessorises its heritage beauty with couldn’t-give-a-damn street cred. This feisty lady is effortlessly cool: glorious parks and historic squares, monuments galore, museums piled with colonial swag, galleries where art soothes or surprises, and stages attracting theatre’s hottest talent. A multi-ethnic English eccentric, the British capital lets you eat and shop your way around the globe, sending you home sated and satisfied. The Routemaster buses, King’s Road punks and Carnaby Street swingers may be long gone, but this shoppers’ Valhalla has reinvented itself as a modern metropolis. And, while architectural icons the Gherkin, the London Eye and Wembley Stadium provide a skyline for the new renaissance, the build-up to the 2012 Olympics provides an endlessly fascinating topic for the city’s enthusiastic cabbies…

Literally London

At Hyde Park’s Speakers’ Corner  you are guaranteed the right to free speech. Drag your soapbox along on a Sunday afternoon and get whatever’s perplexing you off your chest. You’ll be in good company: Karl Marx, William Morris and George Orwell have all spouted their views here over the decades. Be prepared for vigorous heckling, though.

Local knowledge

Taxis
You can hail one of London’s trademark metered hackney cabs anywhere, or ring Zingo (0870 070 0700) from your UK mobile, and the nearest one will find you. Avoid unlicensed minicabs; we recommend Climatecars (+44 (0)20 8968 0440), whose carbon‑neutral minicabs operate in central London.

Tipping culture
Ten per cent is standard, but many restaurants now add a discretionary 12.5 per cent, so be careful not to tip twice.

Packing tips
A pocket‑sized A–Z guide with a Tube map will prevent ‘Where am I?’ moments becoming ‘Lost’ moments.

Recommended reads
Martin Amis’ London Fields follows three characters as nuclear disaster looms; Iain Sinclair circumnavigated the M25 on foot to research London Orbital; Peter Ackroyd’s epic London: The Biography treats the town as a personality.

Cuisine
You name it… London wins global praise for its authentic multi-cultural cuisine, from Chinatown’s dim sum to Brick Lane’s saucy spices and West London’s Moroccan tagines. You want Lebanese falafel or Vietnamese phô? You're in the right city. To tick the traditional box, acquire a taste for jellied eels or pie and mash – try F Cooke on Broadway Market, E8 (+44 (0)871 332 8190). Or just start your day, like your cabbie did, with a full English breakfast from a greasy-spoon caff. For the local brew, try a pint of Young’s or Fuller’s ESB.

Regional specialities
Hey, even a mega‑metropolis can source from its own garden. At Oliver Rowe’s King’s Cross restaurant, Konstam at the Prince Albert ((+44 (0)20 7833 5040; www.konstam.co.uk), all the ingredients used in the making of his Northern European menu are grown or produced within the M25. Norbury Blue cheese, Tower Hill honey and Amersham lamb not only lack air miles, they also offer a true taste of London town.

Currency
Pounds sterling.

Dialling codes
Country code for the UK: +44. Area code for London: (0)20.

Do go/don't go
London empties out in August, but tourist sites still get crowded. Spring and summer can be lovely, even if the weather is reliably unreliable.

Don't go home without...

…taking traditional high tea. Go high luxe at Claridge’s (+44 (0)20 7629 8888); high art at the Wallace Collection restaurant (+44 (0)20 7563 9500); or high fashion at the Berkeley (+44 (0)20 7235 6000) – its ‘Prêt-à-portea’ cakes are modelled on must-have Anya Hindmarch and Marc Jacobs designs, and modishly served on Paul Smith china. Alternatively, queuing up with cabbies, clubbers and hungry locals for oven-fresh bagels from Brick Lane Beigel Bake (+44 (0)20 7729 0616). These holey little pleasures are served up 24 hours a day by East End girls with attitude.

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