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London

GETTING AROUND

Getting there

There are five airports that all reach London, so it will be difficult to find an airline that doesn’t fly into England’s capital. The most well known and well used of these airports is Heathrow, which is located on the edge of West London just inside the M25 – that’s London’s famous orbital ring road for those of you not in the know.

You can jump on the underground from the airport station, find the Piccadilly Line, which is dark blue on the underground maps and it will bring you right into the city centre. For a no-nonsense journey at high speed catch the Heathrow Express and you’ll arrive in good time at Paddington Station in the centre of London. Here you can pick a connection to pretty much anywhere in London.

If you’ve got in mind the idea of sailing over to England you can get a ferry from France or Spain to the white cliffs of Dover, which is just 90 minutes from Central London. Both P&O and Sea France offer frequent services from Calais in France, whilst several other services such as Brittany Ferries are responsible for the routes from other French and Spanish departure points.

Of course if you want to bring your car into the country from the continent then you’ll be very aware at this stage of the benefits of the Channel Tunnel. You can stick your car in one of the carriages of the Eurotunnel services running under the sea to England, and if you’re a foot passenger you can use the Eurostar to get into London Victoria in the middle of the city.

Airports and low cost flights

There are five airports that all serve London, so it will be difficult to find an airline that
doesn’t fly into England’s capital. The most well known and well used of these airports is Heathrow,
which sits out on the edge of West London just inside the M25 – that’s London’s famous orbital ring
road for those of you not in the know. - www.heathrowairport.co.uk

The other airports are:
 

• London Gatwick - approx 30 miles to the south of central London, can be reached by Gatwick Express train
• leaving Victoria every 3o minutes - www.gatwickairport.com

London Stanstead - approx 40 miles to the north of central London, can be reached by the Standstead Express train

every 30 mins from Liverpool street station - www.stansteadairport.com

London Luton - approx 32 miles to the north of central London- the Luton express train is the best way to get to this airport

from central london.  - www.london-luton.co.uk

London City - situated on the docklands area of the city, easily accessible with the Docklands Light Railway (DLR) - www.londoncityairport.com

Low cost flights

There are many low cost flight options for London including:

www.easyjet.com
www.ryanair.com
www.flybmi.com
www.airberlin.com

Car rentals

There are many options for renting a car in London- some options are below:

www.aimrentacar.com
www.avis.com
www.easycar.com
www.europcar.com
www.lcr.co.uk
www.nationalcar.com

 
TO SEE
    
Churches

Westminster Abbey

Definately the most visited church in the United Kingdom, this beautiful abbey in early English
Gothic style was built between the 12th and 13th centuries and underwent modifications in subsequent epochs.

St. Paul's Cathedral

This is one of London's best known, built between 1675 and 1710 amidst many controversies and difficulties and miraculously spared the bombing in World War II.

St. Bartholomew the Great

This is one of the few Norman churches left in London.

Temple Church

One of the few circular churches left in England, Temple Church dates back to the 12th century.

Southwark cathedral

The oldest Gothic church in England rebuilt various times and definitively in the 12th century.  


Museums and Galleries

British Museum

One of the largest museums in the world.

National Gallery Museum

Museum that includes paintings of European artists from 1250 to the last century. Includes works by Botticelli, Leonardo da Vinci, Rembrandt,
Turner, Renoir, Cezanne and Van Gogh.

Tate Modern

Tate Modern is the national British museum of modern art. It is situated in the former Bankside power plant on the banks of the Thames and
contains an impressive collection of modern works.

Tate Britain

Even if the opening of Tate Gallery attracted a lot of attention, its parent gallery should not be missed.
 
Museum of London

A great "interactive" museum where it is possible to discover the history of London from its founding to our times.

Victoria and Albert Museum

The museum dedicated to Queen Victoria and her husband Prince Albert is one of the finest museums in the world for decorative arts.

The Queen's Gallery

The Queen's Gallery underwent a major expansion in 2002 in order to house pieces from the royal collection throughout the year.

Estorick Collection of Modern Italian

Art Housed in a Georgian villa, the museum contains an interesting collection of paintings and sculptures by 20th century Italian artists with a rich
section dedicated to Futurism: works by Balla, Boccioni, Carra, Rossolo and Severini are on display.

HMS Belfast Historic Ship

Battle cruiser from World War II now functions as a floating museum.

Natural History Museum

A museum which incorporates hundreds of "interactive" displays. The area dedicated to dinosaurs is fascinating, with its reconstruction of life size
skeletons and the section dedicated to the human body.

Science Museum

The largest museum in the world dedicated to science is totally interactive. It lets visitors "touch" the most important scientific discoveries of
the last 300 years.

National Maritime Museum

Opened the last time in 1999, this museum is a superb of boats, models, nautical maps, uniforms and everything tied to the glorious history of the British navy,
including mementos of Admiral Nelson


London's Transport Museum

A very interesting museum dedicated to London's transportation system, the city which boasts the oldest public transportation in the world: old trolleybuses,
tickets from the first double-decker buses, uniforms of personnel...

Vinopolis - World Of Wine

Discovert the art of winemaking and discovering the differences of the culture of wine in 5 continents


Bramah's Museum of Tea and Coffee

Visitors can find out about the meaning and impact on society, growing and processing methods, art and literary works related to the two popular beverages.


The Saatchi Gallery

This gallery has recently moved to its new home in Chelsea in the Duke of Yorks's Building.

The Photographer's Gallery

The Photographers' Gallery is located in the centre of the West End.

Dali Universe

An exhibition honouring the eccentric Catalan surrealist which includes more than 500 paintings and sculptures.

Hayward Gallery

This is one of the main venues for historic and contemporary art exhibits.

Whitechapel Art Gallery

Situated in the heart of the East End it houses exhibits of contemporary artists and a space dedicated to movies and international conventions.  


Buildings and monuments

Buckingham Palace

Built in the 18th century, it only became the Queen's home in 1837, when Queen Victoria moved there.

Royal Mews

South of Buckingham Palace enthusiasts can gaze at the royal coaches used by the Windsors in parades and ceremonies, including the Gold State Coach,
a gold plated coach from 1761 used for all the coronation ceremonies starting with George III.

House of Parliament and Big Ben

This fantastic building was built in the 19th century in Neogothic style after the previous Parliament was destroyed in a fire. Big BEn is the name
of the bell within the clock


Whitehall Banqueting House

This is all that remains of the old Tudor Whitehall Palace built in 1622 by Indigo Jones in English Renaissance style...


Tower of London

One of the key symbols of London, this fortified complex was built in various phases starting in 1078 under William the Conqueror.

Tower Bridge

Tower Bridge - is one of the most famous bridges in the world opens to let large boat pass.

Guildhall

This rare 12th medieval building was the site of the local government for more than 800 years.

Kensington Palace State Apartments

Kensington Palace was built in 1605 and redesigned by Sir Christopher Wren in 1689.

Fulham Palace

One of the secret gems of the city, this was the country residence of the Bishop of London.  


TO TRY

Eating and Drinking

Even if the British have never been well known for their cuisine, London is in not inferior to the great eating capitals of the world, actually
it gives you the privilege of taking a cooking journey around the world by moving just a few miles. There has been a real explosion of the
culinary offering in London over the past years and the city currently offers around 9,000 restaurants with food from every country.
Even the best chefs work in London, dictating worldwide culinary trends. Even the more basic British cuisine has undergone a significant transformation
and today gastropubs and fusion cuisine, or modern British cuisine are very famous and have managed to take food from all over the world and make it their own.

Each area of London offers something else to eat: the greatest concentration is in the city centre in the Soho and Covent Garden quarters, with
a 360° gastronomic offering. Some areas- even in further-out areas - specialize in certain types of cuisine. Indian cuisine can be found in Southall and
 Wembley (West London) or Brick Lane in the East End (inexpensive). Most of the Chinese restaurants are found in Chinatown (Soho) and Queensway (Bayswater),
while Hoxton and Shoreditch are famous for offering the more wholesome Vietnamese cuisine. To try a Turkish atmosphere a trip to Islington is required;
the tastes and spices of the Middle East are best experienced on Edgware Road (Paddington). Brixton and Golders Green have always been known as the home
to the Caribbean and Jewish communities, respectively.

 
Shopping

London is without any doubt one of the best cities in the world in which to shop, even if the prices are often higher than in other European countries,
this city offers the possibility of being able to find anything you are looking for and definitely enjoying one the the best shopping experiences in the
world.

Oxford Street and Regent Street: the most well-known shopping street in London, two miles of just shops with all the major chain names plus some department
stores like John Lewis and Selfridges, Debenhams, Marks & Spencer, John Lewis and House of Fraser, and for video and music, the multi-story HMV and
Virgin Megastore.

Knightsbridge: the worlds most famous shop, Harrodss (and Harvey Nichols) are located between Brompton Road and Sloane Street, you'll
find all the major designer labels within them and any type of product you are looking for, from gastronomy to hi tech. A little further on,
Kensington High Street is the perfect spot for street fashion.

Old and New Bond Street: the true mecca for world fashion. All of the most famous designers in the world have their shops here and it is
not unusual to see famous people get out of limousines to drop into one of these places. Not just fashion, but also jewelry, art galleries
and antique shops. The most famous? Sotheby's, of course!

King's Road and Sloane Square: one of the cool areas of London, with a good cross of famous labels and emerging designers, but
also an excellent place for the most exciting furniture and accessories for the home.

Covent Garden: a very charming area for buying anything: street wear, books and gastronomy in an ambiance far from the chaos of Oxford Street,
amidst quiet cobblestone streets. The brand new Seven Dials shopping area is not to be missed, situated in a pretty English village setting which
 offers a great shopping experience but also excellent cafes and restaurants.

Notting Hill: in addition to being a very popular area with artists and actors, this is a great place for those looking for the alternative,
 not just in fashion, but also books, furniture and music. It is not by chance that the famous Portobello Road is located right here.

  TO EXPERIENCE

Events

The offering of events in London is almost unlimited: you'll find something at any time of the year: festivals, performances, exhibits, sports events
and everything else. To keep up to date on current happenings, the most complete source is Time Out,www.timeout.com which comes out on Wednesdays.


Entertainment and Nightlife

London is a city in constant movement, it knows how to offer visitors many occasions for having fun, enjoying themselves and being thrilled -
no matter whether during the day or at night.

During the day, there are many sights which can meet all thosewho desire experiences: you can enjoy great football or rugby games, ice skate in the
charming Somerset House Ice Rink, absorb the interactive world of Madame Tussaud's or find the macabre secrets of London at London Dungeon.
Movie lovers can enjoy the most modern movie theaters in Europe at BFI London IMAX. Lastly, why not let yourself go and appreciate one of the
most exciting views from the cars of London Eye?

Movies, theater, performance: London knows how to charm you with every type of production and performance with an incredible selection even on
the type of location. The West End, in the heart of the city, is the home of theaters, the place where you'll find the biggest
and most varied concentration of theater, opera, classical music, ballet, cabarets and musicals. Here you can be sure of attending the best
quality performances that you can find in the United Kingdom and probably Europe.

At night London is full of life. One of the most exciting scenes in Europe with hundreds of night clubs, discos, dj bars and live music
 and even if pubs do close shop at 11, there is no problem continuing to have fun until morning.