| Excluding Moscow, London is Europe's largest city | | | | art galleries are scattered around the city, including |
| with a population of about seven million, although | | | | the enormous British Museum in Bloomsbury, |
| this figure very much depends on where you | | | | stuffed to the gills with treasures from around |
| stop counting. This statistic helps to account for | | | | the world, and the National Gallery in Trafalgar |
| London's infinite variety; such a huge and diverse | | | | Square. |
| population means the city is very experienced at | | | | If entertainment rather than history is your prime |
| catering for every taste - yet still manages to | | | | aim then London boasts superb shops and |
| surprise. | | | | theatres. Department stores sit cheek by jowl in |
| Although it's typical to talk about London in terms | | | | Oxford Street, up-market designer shops can be |
| of geography - the city, the east, the north and | | | | found in Regent and Bond Street, whilst King's |
| so on - Londoners often talk about their 'village', | | | | Road is great for sourcing small designers or |
| meaning the distinct area where they live. This is | | | | pillaging the second hand market. London's famous |
| a good way to approach London, namely in 'bite | | | | theatre district, the West End, is the place to |
| size' chunks. Trying to master the entire city, or | | | | catch any kind of dramatic performance, from |
| even understand it, is simply too complex, even | | | | Waiting for Godot to Starlight Express. |
| for a Londoner. If you visit on a city break then | | | | But if you would like to discover what is |
| just relax and pursue your own interests. | | | | up-to-the-minute and trendy in terms of art, |
| Whether you enjoy world-class museums, | | | | architecture and performance, then lesser-known |
| shopping or just lazing around in historic pubs then | | | | districts like Shoreditch and Hackney have |
| London will be able to cater for your tastes. | | | | become Meccas for modern artists and the cool |
| Beneath the modern dynamism and fashionable | | | | crowd. Notting Hill used to be the edgy place to |
| buzz, you'll find an old-fashioned, elegant city that | | | | go, but no longer. Modern architectural icons are |
| harks back to the days of the Empire and | | | | more spread out, but easier to spot. The 'gherkin' |
| beyond. National confidence is evident in the | | | | is an obvious building to admire or to laugh at; |
| grandeur of the buildings; wealth obvious from | | | | another major icon is the hugely successful Tate |
| their scope and magnificence. Even a short list | | | | Modern to the south. London city breaks can be |
| serves to impress: Westminster Abbey, Big Ben, | | | | as modern or nostalgic as you wish. |
| Buckingham Palace, the Houses of Parliament and | | | | All these attractions are only the beginning of |
| the Albert Memorial. Beautiful Greenwich contains | | | | what London has to offer - and with the 2012 |
| superb architecture, the Cutty Sark (sadly a | | | | Olympics on the horizon, its famous ability to |
| victim of arson and undergoing repair) and the | | | | change and develop looks set to continue. |
| Prime Meridian. Superb and historic museums and | | | | |