The Rough Guide to London (Travel Guide eBook)

Rough Guides

Description

This practical travel guide to London features detailed factual travel tips and points-of-interest structured lists of all iconic must-see sights as well as some off-the-beaten-track treasures. Our itinerary suggestions and expert author picks of things to see and do will make it a perfect companion both, ahead of your trip and on the ground. This London guide book is packed full of details on how to get there and around, pre-departure information and top time-saving tips, including a visual list of things not to miss. Our colour-coded maps make London easier to navigate while you're there. This guide book to London has been fully updated post-COVID-19.

The Rough Guide to LONDON covers: Whitehall and Westminster, St James's, Mayfair and Piccadilly, Marylebone, Soho and Fitzrovia, Covent Garden and the Strand, Bloomsbury and King's Cross, Holborn and the Inns of Court, Clerkenwell, The City, Tower of London and around, East London, Docklands, The South Bank, Southwark, Hyde Park and Kensington Gardens, South Kensington, Knightsbridge and Chelsea, High Street Kensington to Nottingham, North London, South London, West London: Hammersmith to Hampton Court.

Inside this London travel guide you'll find:

RECOMMENDATIONS FOR EVERY TYPE OF TRAVELLER
Experiences selected for every kind of trip to London, from off-the-beaten-track adventures in Postman's Park to family activities in child-friendly places, like Hampstead Heath or chilled-out breaks in popular tourist areas, like Tower of London.

PRACTICAL TRAVEL TIPS
Essential pre-departure information including London entry requirements, getting around, health information, travelling with children, sports and outdoor activities, food and drink, festivals, culture and etiquette, shopping, tips for travellers with disabilities and more.

TIME-SAVING ITINERARIES
Includes carefully planned routes covering the best of London, which give a taste of the richness and diversity of the destination, and have been created for different time frames or types of trip.

DETAILED REGIONAL COVERAGE
Clear structure within each sightseeing chapter of this London travel guide includes regional highlights, brief history, detailed sights and places ordered geographically, recommended restaurants, hotels, bars, clubs and major shops or entertainment options.

INSIGHTS INTO GETTING AROUND LIKE A LOCAL
Tips on how to beat the crowds, save time and money and find the best local spots for theatre, music, museums and learning about the city's history.

HIGHLIGHTS OF THINGS NOT TO MISS
Rough Guides' rundown of Hyde Park, Kensington Gardens, Chelsea and the Soho's best sights and top experiences helps to make the most of each trip to London, even in a short time.

HONEST AND INDEPENDENT REVIEWS
Written by Rough Guides' expert authors with a trademark blend of humour, honesty and expertise, this London guide book will help you find the best places, matching different needs.

BACKGROUND INFORMATION
Comprehensive 'Contexts' chapter of this travel guide to London features fascinating insights into London, with coverage of history, religion, ethnic groups, environment, wildlife and books, plus a handy language section and glossary.

FABULOUS FULL COLOUR PHOTOGRAPHY
Features inspirational colour photography, including the stunning Big Ben and the spectacular British Museum.

COLOUR-CODED MAPPING
Practical full-colour maps, with clearly numbered, colour-coded keys for quick orientation in Fitzrovia, Covent Garden and many more locations in London, reduce the need to go online.

USER-FRIENDLY LAYOUT
With helpful icons, and organised by neighbourhood to help you pick the best spots to spend your time.

Sujets

• Special Interest
• Points of Interest
• Museums
• Hotels
• Inglaterra
• Interest group (disambiguation)
• Point of interest
• St James's
• Travel
• Clerkenwell
• Southwark
• Museum
• Food
• South London
• Great Britain
• North London
• Feed
• Docklands
• Marylebone
• Hotel
• Southwark (district londonien)
• South Kensington
• England
• East London
• The City
• Tours
• Europe

Informations

• Publié par: Apa Publications
• Date de parution: 01 avril 2023
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9781839059230
• Langue: English
• Poids de l'ouvrage: 19 Mo

Extrait

Contents
Introduction to London
W hat to see
W hen to go
t hings not to miss
I tineraries
Basics
G etting there
A rrival
C ity transport
F estivals
T ravel essentials
Whitehall and Westminster
T rafalgar Square
N ational Gallery
N ational Portrait Gallery
W hitehall
H ouses of Parliament
W estminster Abbey
P arliament Square
S outh of Victoria Street
T ate Britain
St James’s
S t James’s Park
B uckingham Palace
P all Mall
S t James’s Palace
S t James’s Street and Jermyn Street
G reen Park
Mayfair and Piccadilly
R egent Street
P iccadilly
B ond Street and around
O xford Street
Marylebone
L angham Place
P ortland Place
M arylebone High Street
W allace Collection
B aker Street and Marylebone Road
Soho and Fitzrovia
S oho
F itzrovia
Covent Garden and the Strand
C ovent Garden
T he Strand
Bloomsbury and King’s Cross
T he British Museum
S outh of the British Museum
B loomsbury Square
B edford Square
L ondon University
E uston
K ing’s Cross and St Pancras
Holborn and the Inns of Court
T emple
R oyal Courts of Justice
L incoln’s Inn Fields
C hancery Lane
H olborn
Clerkenwell
N orth Clerkenwell
C lerkenwell Green
The City
F leet Street
S t Paul’s Cathedral
C heapside
B lackfriars
S mithfield
T he Barbican
G uildhall
B ank and around
B ishopsgate to the Tower
Tower of London and around
T ower of London
T ower Hill
East London
S pitalfields
B rick Lane
S horeditch and around
W hitechapel
B ethnal Green and Bow
H ackney Central
D alston
S toke Newington
S tamford Hill and Clapton
W althamstow
Q ueen Elizabeth Olympic Park
H ackney Wick and Fish Island
Docklands
W apping
L imehouse
I sle of Dogs
E ast of Isle of Dogs
The South Bank
S outhbank Centre
B FI Southbank
N ational Theatre
G abriel’s Wharf
O XO Tower
W aterloo Station
L ondon Eye
C ounty Hall
N orth Lambeth
Southwark
B ankside
B ermondsey
R otherhithe
Hyde Park and Kensington Gardens
H yde Park
K ensington Gardens
K ensington Palace
South Kensington, Knightsbridge and Chelsea
S outh Kensington
K nightsbridge
C helsea
High Street Kensington, Bayswater and Notting Hill
H igh Street Kensington
H olland Park Circle
B ayswater and Paddington
N otting Hill
North London
L ittle Venice
S t John’s Wood
R egent’s Park
P rimrose Hill
C amden Town
I slington
H ampstead
H ighgate
A lexandra Palace and Park
G olders Green
T he RAF Museum, Hendon
T he Swaminarayan temple, Neasden
T he Making of Harry Potter, Leavesden
South London and Greenwich
V auxhall, Nine Elms and Battersea
B rixton
D ulwich and around
P eckham
G reenwich
B lackheath
W oolwich
West London
H ammersmith
C hiswick
B rentford
S yon Park
O sterley Park
P itzhanger Manor House and Gallery
K ew
R ichmond
T wickenham
W imbledon
H ampton Court Palace
Accommodation
Eating
Drinking
Nightlife
LGBTQ+ London
Classical music, opera and dance
Theatre, comedy and cinema
Shopping
Activities and sports
Kids’ London
Contexts
H istory
B ooks
G lossaries
Small print


Introduction to London

London is full of surprises – a city of contrasts – constantly evolving while holding onto its old-world charm. Historic monuments can be found on just about every corner, sprawling parks offer respite from the thronging city streets, secret passageways reveal pubs stuck in time warps, while the city’s skyline sprouts futuristic gherkins and giant walkie talkies. City workers grab quick bites to eat at lunchtime, weekenders meander around South Kensington’s museums and galleries, while late-night revellers crowd the streets of Soho. Its diversity is palpable in the cultural and culinary delights you can experience in almost every neighbourhood, and the sheer size of the city – and its population of almost 9 million – can be felt in the thoroughfares of Oxford Street and Piccadilly. There really is nowhere quite like London.
The capital’s traditional landmarks – Big Ben, Westminster Abbey, Buckingham Palace, St Paul’s Cathedral, the Tower of London among them – continue to draw in millions of tourists every year. Things change fast, though, and the regular emergence of new attractions ensures that there’s plenty to do even for those who’ve visited before. London’s world-class museums , galleries and institutions are constantly reinventing themselves, from the V&A to the British Museum. Following the 2012 Olympics, east London had a boost, too, with the creation of a new park and a great improvement in tourist and transport infrastructure. Battersea Power Station has now been redeveloped and is a buzzy new destination with restaurants, shops and a viewing platform.


PASSING OF AN ICON: QUEEN ELIZABETH II (1926–2022)
On 8 September 2022, England was united in mourning the passing of Queen Elizabeth II – Britain’s longest-reigning and much-loved monarch – who died at the age of 96. Twelve days later, huge crowds lined the streets to watch Her Majesty’s coffin travel from the Palace of Westminster to Westminster Abbey for the state funeral, before its journey to her final resting place in Windsor. Since ascending to the throne in 1952, the Queen led 53 Commonwealth countries in her seventy-year reign. At the time of writing, plans were underway for the coronation of King Charles III, who ascended to the throne after his mother’s death.
The biggest problem for newcomers is that the city can feel bewilderingly amorphous. Londoners cope with this by compartmentalizing, identifying strongly with the neighbourhoods in which they work or live while making occasional forays into the West End, London’s busy shopping and entertainment heartland, or out to east London, for its lively nightlife. As a visitor, the key to enjoying London, then, is not to try and do everything in a single trip – concentrate on a few areas and you’ll get a lot more out of the place. And remember to take some time out in the surprisingly large expanses of greenery: Hyde Park, Green Park and St James’s Park are all a short walk from the West End, while, further afield, you can enjoy the rolling landscapes of Hampstead Heath and Richmond Park.




You could spend days just shopping in London, too, mixing with the moneyed set in the “tiara triangle” around Harrods, or sampling the big weekend markets of Portobello Road, Brick Lane and Camden. The music , clubbing and LGBTQ+ scenes are second to none, while new music festivals crop up every summer. Mainstream arts are no less exciting, with endless opportunities to catch outstanding theatre companies, dance troupes, exhibitions and opera. The city’s pubs have always had heaps of atmosphere, and beer-lovers are spoilt for choice, but food is a major attraction too, with the widest choice of cuisines on the planet.


Diverse London
With around three hundred languages spoken and all the major religions represented, London is Europe’s most ethnically diverse city; first-, second- and third-generation immigrants make up more than thirty percent of the population. The first immigrants were invaders like the Romans, Anglo-Saxons, Vikings and Normans, while over the last four centuries the city has absorbed wave after wave of foreigners fleeing persecution or simply looking for a better life. In the postwar period thousands came here from the Caribbean and the Indian subcontinent; today’s arrivals are more likely to have come from the world’s trouble spots (Somalia, Afghanistan, Iraq) or from EU member states like Poland or Romania.
Certain areas have become home from home for the more established communities. Brixton and Hackney are the most prominent African-Caribbean and African districts; Dalston, along with Haringey, is home to the largest Turkish and Kurdish communities; Southall is predominantly Punjabi; Wembley is a Gujarati stronghold; Acton has a sizeable Polish community; Hoxton is home to many Vietnamese. The East End, London’s top immigrant ghetto, has absorbed several communities over the centuries, and is currently the heart of Bengali London. The Jewish community, on the other hand, has more or less abandoned east London, and now has its largest Orthodox communities in Stamford Hill and Golders Green.
What to see
Although most of the city’s sights are north of the River Thames , which loops through the centre from west to east, there is no single focus of interest. That’s because London hasn’t grown through centralized planning but by a process of random agglomeration. Villages and urban developments that once surrounded the core are now lost within the vast mass of Greater London, leaving the highlights widely spread, and meaning that visitors should make mastering the public transport system, particularly the Underground (tube), a top priority.
If London has a centre, it’s perhaps Trafalgar Square , home to Nelson’s Column and the National Gallery. It’s also as good a place as any to start exploring the city, especially as the area south of here, Whitehall and Westminster , is one of the easiest bits to discover on foot. This was the city’s royal, political and ecclesiastical power-base for centuries, and you’ll find some of London’s most famou