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Stories from London, United Kingdom

Every story, long read and guide in the ULTIMATE London City Guide, in one place.

Culture

Arts & Culture in London

All of Arts & Culture

Galleries, the West End, opera, ballet, music and film: from the National Gallery and Tate Modern to the Globe, Covent Garden and Sadler’s Wells.

The Barbican EstateThe back storyArt, architecture & cultureBrutalist London, Tate Modern, the City and Frieze weekThe portico of the National GalleryArts & CultureGalleriesThe National Gallery to Tate ModernShakespeare’s Globe, BanksideArts & CultureTheatre & the West EndThe National, the Globe and Drury LaneThe Floral Hall of the Royal Opera House, Bow StreetArts & CultureOpera, ballet & danceCovent Garden, the Coliseum and Sadler’s WellsBFI Southbank, LondonArts & CultureFilmBFI Southbank and London’s picture houses

Our advice

A day of London art

Give the Barbican an evening, Tate Modern a morning and Coal Drops Yard a lazy afternoon, and book Horizon 22 for a clear day. The back story

History

History & heritage

How a Roman trading post on the Thames became a Norman stronghold, a merchant capital, the centre of an empire and the most international city in Europe.

The White Tower at the Tower of LondonHistory & heritageFrom Londinium to the Windrush generation: how London became a world cityLondinium to a world cityBorough MarketThe back storyBorough and BermondseyEvery road from the south once led to London Bridge, and through…The Venus Fountain, Sloane SquareThe back storyChelsea and the King’s RoadThe King’s Road was once a private road for the king’s journey to…

Areas

London by neighbourhood

From the centre outwards, each area has its own guide: the theatres of Soho, the grand hotels of Mayfair, the palaces of Westminster and the museums of Kensington.

The Covent Garden market buildingNeighbourhood guideSoho & Covent GardenTheatres, jazz and foodMount Street, MayfairNeighbourhood guideMayfair & MaryleboneGrand hotels and Bond StreetThe Palace of Westminster and the Elizabeth TowerNeighbourhood guideWestminster & St James’sThe abbey and the palacesThe dome of St Paul’s CathedralNeighbourhood guideThe City & SouthwarkSt Paul’s and Borough MarketThe London Eye at twilightNeighbourhood guideSouth Bank & London BridgeThe Eye, Tate Modern and the market

Walk it

Walk the river from Westminster to the Tower on a weekday morning: you pass two thousand years of London in about three miles.

  1. Neighbourhood guideKensington & ChelseaMuseums and Harrods
  2. Neighbourhood guideGreenwich & Canary WharfThe meridian and the towers

Practical

Plan your trip

London essentials

The practical things to know before you go: money and tipping, the seasons, contactless travel on the Tube, and the airports.

A red London double-decker busBefore you goLondon essentialsMoney, tipping and the seasonsA London Underground trainGetting aroundGetting aroundContactless, the Tube and airportsThe west front of Westminster AbbeyItineraryThree days in LondonA first visit
  1. Luxury guideLuxury LondonThe finest addresses

Our advice

Borough on a weekday

Graze Borough Market on a weekday, walk east through Shad Thames, and spend a Saturday at Maltby Street under the arches. Borough and Bermondsey

Day trips

Beyond London

Day trips by train from the centre: Windsor in about an hour, Richmond and Kew in about 30 minutes, and the colleges of Oxford and Cambridge.

Windsor CastleBeyond LondonWindsorAbout an hour by trainThe Palm House at Kew GardensBeyond LondonRichmond & KewAbout 30 minutesThe Bodleian Libraries and the Radcliffe CameraBeyond LondonOxfordColleges, libraries and museumsKing’s College Chapel, CambridgeBeyond LondonCambridgeKing’s College Chapel and the BacksBrighton Palace PierBeyond LondonBrightonThe Pavilion, the pier and the Lanes

Lifestyle

Homes & Gardens

Great gardens, countryside, garden centres, interiors, paint, kitchens and antiques across England, region by region.

Rowing boats and jetties on Derwentwater in the Lake DistrictHomes & GardensNorth of EnglandGardens, moors and makersThe Jacobean south front of Blickling Hall, Norfolk, under a blue skyHomes & GardensEast of EnglandGardens, coast and antiques townsGreat Dixter’s timber-framed house above the meadow gardenHomes & GardensSouth of EnglandGardens and antiques near London
  1. Homes & GardensWest of EnglandCotswolds, Cornwall and the Midlands

In depth

In depth: two thousand years of London stories

Two thousand years on the Thames, royal London, the London table, the new architecture and the great railway stations: the stories behind the city.

The angel lights over Regent Street at ChristmasRegent StreetChristmas in LondonLights, skating, carols and New Year’s EveFish and chips with lemon and tartare sauce at Poppies, SpitalfieldsIn depth: foodBritish CuisineThe Sunday roast, fish and chips and afternoon teaThe cold-water plunge pool and tiled bathing hall of the Porchester Spa, BayswaterIn depth: wellnessLondon’s best spasFrom 1929 Turkish baths to a rooftop above Hyde Park

Hidden London

Combine the secret corners with the big sights: St Dunstan’s after the Tower, Cecil Court on the way to the theatre, Soane’s Museum with a walk through Lincoln’s Inn Fields.

  1. In depth: music & clubsLondon After DarkPunk, the Blitz and acid house
  2. In depth: nature & wildlifeWild LondonDeer, pelicans, parakeets and seals
  3. The back storyTower Bridge and the bridge that went to ArizonaHow old London Bridge crossed an ocean
  4. The back storyTwo thousand years on the ThamesThe story of London
  5. The back storyRoyal LondonPalaces and parades
  6. The back storyThe London tableHow London learned to eat

In depth

If you love Marylebone…

Seven London neighbourhoods and their twins in our other guides, from Soho and Greenwich Village to Shoreditch and Wynwood. Find your twin

Know your neighbourhoods

The Welcome to Carnaby Street arch in SohoNeighbourhood

Soho

Restaurants, bars, jazz and Chinatown.

Explore Soho A Dishoom café dining roomNeighbourhood

Covent Garden

The piazza, the market, the opera house and the theatres.

Explore Covent Garden The terrace of Scott's on Mount StreetNeighbourhood

Mayfair

Grand hotels, Bond Street, Savile Row and Berkeley Square.

Explore Mayfair Marylebone High StreetNeighbourhood

Marylebone

A village high street, the Wallace Collection and Wigmore Hall.

Explore Marylebone The Café in the Crypt under St Martin-in-the-FieldsNeighbourhood

Westminster

The abbey, Parliament, Whitehall and Trafalgar Square.

Explore Westminster Jermyn Street, St James’sNeighbourhood

St James’s

Palaces, Piccadilly, Jermyn Street and the Royal Parks.

Explore St James’s The dome of St Paul’s CathedralNeighbourhood

The City of London

St Paul’s, the Tower, the towers and the Square Mile.

Explore The City of London Tate Modern in the former Bankside Power StationNeighbourhood

Southwark & Bankside

Tate Modern, the Globe, Borough Market and The Shard.

Explore Southwark & Bankside

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