Explore London the fun and easy way®

London’s got it all, from the hallowed and historical to the hip and avant-garde. You can take high tea or swig a pint of ale . . . enjoy first-rate theater, symphony, opera and ballet or hit the happening nightspots . . . tour palaces and museums or explore neighborhoods like Soho and Chelsea. With this friendly guide, you’re good to go.

• Down-to-earth trip-planning advice

• What you shouldn’t miss —and what you can skip

• The best hotels and restaurants for every budget

• Lots of detailed maps

London For Dummies 6th Edition

By Donald Olson

John Wiley & Sons

Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd
All right reserved.
ISBN: 978-0-470-52662-0

Chapter One

Discovering the Best of London

In This Chapter

* Discovering London’s greatest historic landmarks

* Exploring London’s world-famous museums

* Tasting the best of British cuisine

* Enjoying London’s performing arts and nightlife

* Experiencing the urban charms of London

So, you’re going to London. Gives you a thrill just thinking about it, right? The capital of the United Kingdom is one of the world’s top destinations, visited year-round by millions from all corners of the globe. In fact, international travel surveys consistently rank London as one of the most popular holiday destinations in the world. After you arrive, you make your way through one of the most historic, cultured, and exciting cities on Earth. You have every reason to feel a tingle of anticipation.

This chapter gives you an at-a-glance reference to the absolute best – the best of the best – that London has to offer. In the categories that I outline, you find some of the things that make visiting London so much fun and so endlessly fascinating.

BEST OF THE BEST

I discuss each of these places in detail later in this book; you can find them in their indicated chapters, marked with a Best of the Best icon.

The Best Places to Soak Up London’s History

The great historic landmarks in London never fail to stir the imagination: They’ve been witness to so much – from glorious triumphs to bloody tragedies – that it’s almost impossible to remain unmoved when visiting them. In Chapter 11, you find more details on London’s top attractions. Here are my picks for the best of the best:

• An almost perceptible aura of legend pervades the Tower of London, which was built over 900 years ago. When visiting the Tower, you tread the ground where the great dramas and terrors of a turbulent kingdom were played out, where Elizabeth I was held captive while still a princess, and where Sir Thomas More and Anne Boleyn (second wife of Henry VIII and mother of the future Elizabeth I) were beheaded.
  • No less venerable is Westminster Abbey, a magnificent Gothic church that ranks as the most historically significant religious structure in England. Stepping into Westminster Abbey, you enter the place where England’s kings and queens have been crowned since William the Conqueror claimed the throne in 1066, and where some of England’s greatest figures are buried or memorialized.
    • Many of London’s most historic sites are or were royal domains, and royal watching is a sport almost as popular as horse racing. Okay, so you’re probably not going to get invited to the queen’s garden party, but you can see where those famous parties take place – and stroll through the royal staterooms – by visiting Buckingham Palace, the queen’s London residence and a seat of today’s royal power and intrigue.
      • If you missed the Changing of the Guard at Buckingham Palace or want another dose of that royal pomp and pageantry, Windsor Castle is less than an hour away. Reputedly the queen’s favorite castle, Windsor has a 900-year history that stretches back to the time of William the Conqueror. Many of the rooms that you visit today were remodeled in the time of Queen Victoria.
        • Hampton Court Palace is one of the most magnificent of former royal palaces, and you can easily get there in 30 minutes by train from Central London (or, more romantically, by taking a boat on the Thames). In addition to visiting dozens of staterooms in this 16th-century Tudor palace, where Henry VIII once resided, you can enjoy the splendid gardens with their famous maze.
          • Although you can’t see the rooms where the late Princess Diana actually lived, you can get into her former home, Kensington Palace, situated at the western side of Kensington Gardens. In addition to the vast, visitable staterooms, this mostly 18th-century palace, where Victoria was born in 1819, houses a remarkable costume exhibit that includes royal raiment through the ages.
            • Occupying a spot right on the River Thames, the Houses of Parliament and their landmark clock tower containing Big Ben have been a familiar sight to Londoners for over 150 years. In the summer, fascinating tours of this seat of power let you see the House of Commons and the House of Lords. Or you can just admire the buildings from the outside and wait for the hourly boom of Big Ben.
              • St. Paul’s Cathedral, with its landmark dome, is dear to the hearts of Londoners and is used for events of national significance. A masterpiece by the architect Sir Christopher Wren, the cathedral was built following the Great Fire that swept through London in 1666.

                The Best Museums

                If you’re a dedicated museum maven, London’s selection will keep you going for days, weeks, months, even years. This city is loaded with every conceivable kind of treasure from all over the world. And, amazingly enough, entrance to all the great national museums is free. You can read more about all of London’s top museums in Chapter 11. Here are the best of the best:

                • The venerable British Museum, with its unparalleled collection of antiquities, comes out on top – the magnificent Parthenon sculptures (formerly called the Elgin Marbles) understandably hold pride of place there, but you’ll be amazed by the superlative Egyptian and Roman collections, as well as the ancient treasures unearthed in England.
                  • The National Gallery houses the nation’s greatest collection of British and European paintings from the 13th through the 20th centuries. Here, you find works by Italian masters, such as Leonardo da Vinci and Raphael; canvases by every great French Impressionist; a stunning Rembrandt collection; and paintings by great British artists, such as Turner and Constable.
                    • If you tire of the great Western European masterworks hanging in the National Gallery, you can walk next door to see images of pop icons like Elton John and Princess Di in the National Portrait Gallery. Here, you find a visual who’s who of every famous Brit in history, captured in paint, stone, bronze, and photographs.
                      • Keen on decorative and applied arts? Then head over to the Victoria and Albert Museum, a linchpin in the cluster of great South Kensington museums. The V&A, as it’s called, houses wonderfully decorated period rooms, a comprehensive fashion collection, Italian Renaissance sculpture, and acres more.
                        • The other two outstanding museums in South Kensington are the Natural History Museum and the Science Museum. Animatronic dinosaurs, including a hungry T. rex, are the cold-blooded stars in the Natural History Museum’s famed dinosaur exhibit; but while you’re there, check out the mind-boggling collection of gems. In the Science Museum, you come face to face with legends from the world of science and technology.
                          • London’s South Bank is buzzing with the addition of the stunning Tate Modern. Housed in a former power station on the river, the museum exhibits an international roster of contemporary greats.
                            • Tate Britain holds the world’s greatest collection of British art. Wander through rooms filled with works by William Blake, Turner, Hogarth, Sir Joshua Reynolds, Constable, and all the pre-Raphaelites.
                              • London lovers will love the Museum of London, probably the world’s most comprehensive city museum, which features an amazing collection of Roman antiquities (the museum incorporates part of a 2,000-year-old Roman wall) and tells the fascinating story of London through the ages.
                                • You can also enjoy masterpieces in museums that were built as private palaces, such as Spencer House, former home of Princess Diana’s family; Apsley House, home of the first Duke of Wellington; and Hertford House, home of the Wallace Collection, a national museum.

                                  The Best of British Cuisine

                                  Once upon a time, you could always count on getting lousy meals in London. The nation’s dull, insular, uninspired cooking was the joke of Europe. That reputation began to change in the 1980s, with the influx of new cooking trends that favored foods from France and Italy. Since then, London has become a food capital (allegedly with more Michelin-starred restaurants than Paris). For a handy reference guide to English cuisine, see the Cheat Sheet for this book, located at www.dummies.com/ cheatsheet/london. You can find all my top London restaurants in Chapter 10. Here are my picks for the best that the London dining scene has to offer:

                                  • London is the best place to find restaurants serving inventive Modern British cuisine. Reserve a table at Rules, Corrigan’s Mayfair, Langan’s Bistro, or Boxwood Cafe – to name just a few – and let your taste buds do the talking.
                                    • Traditionalists need not despair: All those wonderful old English faves are still around – eggs, kippers, beans, and fried tomatoes for breakfast; bubble and squeak; roast beef and Yorkshire pudding; meat pies; fish and chips; toad in the hole; cottage pie; sticky toffee pudding; and trifle. You find the old English comfort foods at pubs and restaurants such as Stockpot, Founders Arms, Simpson’s-in-the-Strand, Porters English Restaurant, Canteen, and many others.
                                      • Some would say that Indian cooking is the new national cuisine of England. Well, it’s certainly one of multiethnic London’s faves, and Indian restaurants are often far more affordable than your other options. Like other cuisines, Indian cooking in England has been undergoing many transformations. Veeraswamy is the oldest Indian restaurant in London, but the interior is cool and contemporary. You can also find great Indian cooking at Mela and Noor Jahan.
                                        • If French cooking is your idea of heaven, you won’t lack for dining options in London. Both traditional and nouvelle French restaurants remain alive and well. You may want to try the OXO Tower Brasserie, with its stunning river views, or Brasserie St. Quentin.
                                          • And don’t forget that London boasts more ethnic restaurants than anywhere else in the United Kingdom, so almost any kind of cuisine can be on the tip of your tongue. For delectable tapas and Spanish/ Moroccan food, go to Moro. For slurpy and superlative Japanese noodles, head for Wagamama. For fresh New Zealand mussels and the most delicious New Zealand dessert, known as Pavlova, Suze in Mayfair is your best bet.

                                            The Best Places to Shop in London

                                            It’s not just my credit cards talking: I’m here to tell you that London is one of the world’s great shopping cities – possibly the greatest. Why? The sheer variety of what’s available.

                                            Trend-setting London is to the United Kingdom what New York City is to the United States: the place where it happens first (or ultimately ends up). London is where you can eyeball what’s hot, British style. You see the latest hard-core street fashions side by side with the quintessentially traditional.

                                            Not into new? In London, you can hunt for an old engraving, try on a cocktail dress from the ’50s, paw through bric-a-brac at an outdoor market stall, or wander through the London silver vaults in your quest for a Georgian soup ladle.

                                            For my complete rundown of London shopping, see Chapter 12. Here are some hints on finding London’s best stores and shopping districts:

                                            • Is Harrods the most famous department store in the world? Quite possibly so. See for yourself whether it deserves all the hype. And be sure to visit the Food Halls.
                                              • Fortnum & Mason is the queen’s London grocer, and it’s probably the only store in the world where you see cans of soup displayed on wooden shelves along carpeted aisles. Other departments include china, crystal, leather, antiques, and stationery – plus, you can dine at the store’s famous restaurants.
                                                • Shopaholics hold Oxford Street in very high regard. Lined with major department stores like Selfridges and Marks & Spencer, and chockablock with dozens upon dozens of moderate to upscale shops, it’s a rendezvous point for shoppers of all ages from all over the world. Motto: Big Names, Reasonable Prices.
                                                  • Knightsbridge is a flash-and-cash point of the highest order, home of the aforementioned Harrods, the smaller Harvey Nichols, and numerous luxurious designer boutiques where real and wannabe aristocrats shop for “the season.”
                                                    • Time and money just fly when you visit the super-chic boutiques of Covent Garden, Bond Street, and King’s Road in Chelsea. In these certified shopping zones, you can find everything a true fashionista could ever want.
                                                      • Hidden away from the hoi polloi, the 200-year-old shops on Jermyn Street cater to traditionalists who want the finest goods available. Many of the shops on Jermyn Street have Royal Warrants – that is, they’re allowed to advertise that they sell to the royal family. Look for custom-made shirts and suits, hand-tooled leather shoes, and fabulous toiletry shops, such as Floris and Taylors of Old Bond Street.
                                                        • What reader wouldn’t be tempted by the wonderland of bookstores on Charing Cross Road? It’s a reader’s feast and a browser’s paradise, with major U.K. bookstores like W & G Foyle offering tens of thousands of titles.

                                                          The Best of London’s Performing Arts

                                                          London is a world capital, and that includes being a world capital of the performing arts. When the sun goes down, the curtain goes up. For a description of London’s major performing-arts venues and companies, see Chapter 15. Here are my recommendations for the very best.

                                                          • For many visitors, going to the theater is reason enough to go to London. When actors of the highest caliber are on the boards – as they always are in London – you don’t need to think twice about going to the theater; you just go. The London theater scene is phenomenal, and prices are lower than in New York. Take your pick: long-running international-hit musicals, light comedies, hard-hitting dramas, new works in “fringe” venues, everything from William Shakespeare to Oscar Wilde to Neil LaBute and beyond.
                                                            • Opera buffs appreciate the fact that London has two major opera companies. International stars appear at the historic Royal Opera in Covent Garden, where operas are performed in their original languages. A few blocks away is the English National Opera, where every opera is sung in English, mostly by British performers, and the productions tend to be more adventuresome.

                                                              (Continues…)

                                                              
                                                              Excerpted from London For Dummies 6th Editionby Donald Olson Copyright © 2010 by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. Excerpted by permission.
                                                              All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
                                                              Excerpts are provided by Dial-A-Book Inc. solely for the personal use of visitors to this web site.