LINKS TO SIGHTSEEING TOURS
There are a lot of things to see in 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. One of the few areas
that you can easily explore on foot is
Westminster and
Whitehall , the
city's royal, political and ecclesiastical power base, where you'll
find the National Gallery and a host of other London landmarks, from
Buckingham Palace to Westminster Abbey and Big Ben. The grand streets
and squares of
St James's
,
Mayfair
and
Marylebone ,
to the north of Westminster, have been the playground of the rich since
the Restoration, and now contain the city's busiest shopping zones.
East of Piccadilly Circus,
Soho
and
Covent Garden
are also easy to walk around and form the heart of the West End
entertainment district, containing the largest concentration of
theatres, cinemas, clubs, flashy shops, cafes and restaurants. To the
north lies the university quarter of
Bloomsbury , home to
the ever-popular British Museum, and the secluded quadrangles of
Holborn's Inns of Court, London's legal heartland.
The City - the City
of London, to give it its full title - is at one and the same time the
most ancient and the most modern part of London. Settled since Roman
times, it is now one of the world's great financial centres, yet
retains its share of historic sights, notably the Tower of London and a
fine cache of Wren churches that includes St Paul's Cathedral. Despite
creeping trendification, the East End , to the east of the City, is not
conventional tourist territory, but to ignore it entirely is to miss
out a crucial element of contemporary London.
Docklands is the
converse of the down-at-heel
East
End, with the Canary Wharf tower, the country's tallest
building, epitomizing the pretensions of the Thatcherite dream. Lambeth
and Southwark comprise the small slice of central London that lies
south of the Thames. The South Bank Centre, London's little-loved
concrete culture bunker, is enjoying a new lease of life thanks to its
proximity to the new Tate Gallery of Modern Art in Bankside, which is
linked to the City by a new pedestrian bridge. The largest segment of
greenery in central London is Hyde Park, which separates wealthy
Kensington and
Chelsea from the
city centre. The
museums
of South Kensington - the Victoria & Albert Museum, the Science
Museum and the Natural History Museum - are a must; and if you have
shopping on your agenda, you'll want to check out the hive of plush
stores in the vicinity of Harrods. The capital's most hectic weekend
market takes place around Camden Lock in
North London.
Further out, in the literary suburbs of Hampstead and Highgate, there
are unbeatable views across the city from half-wild Hampstead Heath,
the favourite parkland of thousands of Londoners. The glory of
South London is
Greenwich, with its nautical associations, royal park and observatory
(not to mention its Dome). Finally, there are plenty of rewarding
day-trips along the Thames from
Chiswick
to Windsor , most notably Hampton Court Palace and Windsor
Castle.
Have a nice and safe trip!
Visit
our link partners' websites to book a sightseeing tour. They have
packages that suit every taste, from budget backpackers and mini-bus
tours to luxury guided coach and executive , chauffeur driven
excursions of London and Britain.
The
Backpacker Tour Company U.K (Budget / Student Tours). U.K
Backpackpacker Tours - Best value overland adventure budget
tours of Britain, Scotland, Ireland and Wales. Budget travel and Hostel
links.
21st
Century Travel U.K Ltd (Sightseeing Tours). Luxury guided
sightseeing coach tours of London and Britain. Extensive range of coach
and mini bus tours available with secure online reservations. Tours
depart daily from central London. Extended and private tours also
available.
People
2 Places - (U.K Coach Hire). Luxury chauffeur driven guided
tours of London and Britain. Executive car, mini-bus and coach hire.
Airport and London Hotel transfers, language tours private sightseeing
and comprehensive links for the tourist in London.
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