London City

Introduction
London's contrasts and cacophonies both infuriate and seduce. London - the grand resonance of its very name suggests history and might. Its opportunities for entertainment by day and night go on and on and on. It's a city that exhilarates and intimidates, stimulates and irritates in equal measure, a grubby Monopoly board studded with stellar sights.

It's a cosmopolitan mix of Third and First Worlds, chauffeurs and beggars, the stubbornly traditional and the proudly avant-garde. But somehow - between 'er Majesty and Pete Doherty, Bow Bells and Big Ben, the Tate Modern and the 2012 Olympics - it all hangs together.

'When a man is tired of London, he is tired of life; for there is in London all that life can afford.' - Samuel Johnson

The M25 ring road encompasses the 609 sq miles that is broadly regarded as Greater London. The city's main geographical feature is the murky Thames, which snakes around but roughly divides the city into north and south. The old City of London (note the big 'C') is the capital's financial district, covering roughly a square mile bordered by the river and the many gates of the ancient (long-gone) city walls: Newgate, Moorgate etc. The areas to the east of the City are collectively known as the East End. The West End, on the City's other flank, is effectively the centre of London nowadays. It actually falls within the City of Westminster, which is one of London's 32 boroughs and has long been the centre of government and royalty. Surrounding these central areas are dozens of former villages (Camden, Islington, Clapham etc), each with its own High Street, which were long ago swallowed by London's sprawl. Londoners commonly refer to areas by their postcode. The letters correspond to compass directions from the centre of London, approximately St Paul's Cathedral. EC means East Central, W means West and so on.

Destination Facts
Mayor: Boris Johnson
Time zone: GMT 0 (Greenwich Mean Time).
Area: 1572
Coordinates: 51.50842 latitude and -0.12553 longitude
Population: 7510000
Daylight Saving: From last Sunday in March to last Sunday in October
Area codes: 020
Mobile: GSM 900

Getting There
London is a year-round tourist centre, with few of its attractions closing or significantly reducing their opening hours in winter. Your best chance of good weather is, of course, at the height of summer in July and August, but there's certainly no guarantee of sun even in those months - plus it's when you can expect the biggest crowds and highest prices.

Getting there and away
London is one of the world's major transport hubs, and your choices of ways to get in and out of it are myriad. Its major airports - the monster Heathrow and the smaller Gatwick, Stansted, Luton and City - are all efficiently linked to the metropolis. You've always been able to hop to the European mainland (and Ireland) by ferry, but the Eurostar high-speed passenger rail services make train travel to and from the continent a breeze.

Getting around
The dirty, wrathful congestion of London streets makes both driving and cycling an extreme sport. Hop on a bus, a Thames ferry or into an elegant black cab - and let a native negotiate the chaos on your behalf. Or take the Tube: you're sure to come up against its notorious, infuriating inefficiencies, but in most cases it's still the quickest way to get about. Transport for London www.tfl.gov.uk is the glue that binds the network together. Its website has a handy journey planner and information on all services, including cycling options and cab info. Buy an electronic Oyster card (www.tfl.gov.uk/oyster) for the cheapest fares on all transport and greatest ease of use.

Weather
Many who live in London would swear that global warming has added a twist to the city's unpredictable climatic conditions. While locals used to complain about the frequent, but still somehow always unforeseen, arrival of rain, now they find themselves faced with sudden outbreaks of sunshine and dry heat instead. Recent summers have seen record temperatures, approaching 40 ° C and autumns have been positively toasty. As the tube turns into the Black Hole of Calcutta and traffic fumes become choking, London is particularly ill-equipped to cope with such heat. However, meteorologists point out that recent statistics don't yet represent anything terribly out of the ordinary for such a naturally variable climate. The average maximum temperature for July, the hottest month, is still only about 23 ° C. In spring and autumn temperatures drop to between 13 ° C and 17 ° C. In winter, the average daily maximum is 8 ° C, the overnight minimum 2 ° C. Despite the appearance of snow in the past few years, it still rarely freezes in London. What weather forecasters do predict in the long-term, as a result of climate change in London, is drier summers, wetter and stormier winters and more flash floods.

Places of Interest
It's got a whole bunch of history. The old-fashioned kind. London is one of the favourite urban haunts of visitors to Europe because of landmark sights like Big Ben, St Paul's Cathedral and Westminster Abbey. The city also boasts some of the world's greatest museums and art galleries, and more parkland than most other capitals.

London, The grand resonance of its very name suggests history and might. Its opportunities for entertainment by day and night go on and on and on. It's a city that exhilarates and intimidates, stimulates and irritates in equal measure, a grubby Monopoly board studded with stellar sights. It's a cosmopolitan mix of Third and First Worlds, chauffeurs and beggars, the stubbornly traditional and the proudly avant-garde. But somehow - between 'er Majesty and Pete Doherty, Bow Bells and Big Ben, the Tate Modern and the 2012 Olympics - it all hangs together.

Events
Most businesses close on public holidays such as New Year's Day, Good Friday, Easter Monday, May Day Bank Holiday (the first Monday in May), Spring Bank Holiday (the last Monday in May), Summer Bank Holiday (the last Monday in August), Christmas Day and Boxing Day (26 December) although London's essential multiculturalism means you'll always find some shops open. There are countless festivals and events in London. It all kicks off with the New Year's Eve fireworks and street party in Trafalgar Square, followed by the New Year's Day London Parade. On Shrove Tuesday pancake races are held in venues including Covent Garden and Spitalfields Market, and in April more serious racers take part in the London Marathon. All London gets its colours on for the FA Cup Final in mid-May. There's even more colour at the Chelsea Flower Show, held in the last week of May. Trooping the Colour, the Queen's birthday parade, is held in June; Wimbledon runs for two weeks in the same month and Pride London, one of Europe's biggest gay and lesbian festivals, also hits the streets. The raucous Notting Hill Carnival takes over the West End streets in August, although there is now a smaller celebration in Hyde Park, too. In September, some 700 normally inaccessible heritage buildings throw open their doors as part of the Open House weekend. This month, the city also celebrates its greatest natural asset with the Thames Festival on the south bank of the river. Things wind down as the weather gets colder, though there are plenty of bonfires on Guy Fawkes Night, on the 5th of November. The Lord Mayor's Show is held in late November, complete with floats, bands and fireworks. Trafalgar Square lights up in December with the Lighting of the Christmas Tree.