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London Information
With a population of around 8 million, London is Europe's largest city, spreading across an area of more than 620 square miles from its core on the River Thames. Ethnically it's also Europe's most diverse city: around two hundred languages are spoken within it's confines, and more than 30 percent of the population is made up of first, second and third-generation immigrants.
For the visitor, London is an thrilling place. In the last few years, thanks to the National Lottery and millennium-oriented funding, virtually every one of London's world-class museums, galleries and institutions has been reinvented. From the Royal Opera House to the British Museum. In the Tate Modern and the London Eye, London now has the world's largest modern art museum and Ferris wheel, and the first new bridge to cross the Thames in over 100 years. Furthermore, following sixteen years of being the only major city in the world to not have it's own governing body, London finally acquired it's own elected assembly in 2000, along with a major who's determined to try and solve one of London's biggest problems: transport.
In the meantime, London's traditional sights - Big Ben, Westminster Abbey, Buckingham Palace, St. Paul's Cathedral and the Tower of London - continue to draw in millions of visitors every year. Monuments from the capital's more glorious past are everywhere to be seen, from medieval banqueting halls and the great churches of Christopher Wren to the eclectic Victorian architecture of the triumphalist British Empire. There is also much enjoyment to be had from the city's quiet Georgian squares, the narrow alleyways of the City of London, the riverside walks, and the quirks of what is still identifiably a collection of villages. Even London's traffic problems are offset by expanses of greenery: Hyde Park, Green Park and St. James' Park are all within a few minutes walk of the West End. Further afield there is the more expansive countryside of Hampsted Heath and Richmond Park.
London is also a popular destination for shoppers too. With an assorted mixture of shops from the high end Harrods and stores on Oxford Street and Regent Street to the offbeat weekend markets at Camden, Portobello Road and Greenwich. The music, clubbing and gay/lesbian scenes are second to none and mainstream arts are no less exciting with regular opertunities to catch brilliant theatre companies, dance troupes, exibitions and operas. Restaurants are an attraction too, and these days London is on a par with it's European rivals and offers a range from three-star Michelin establishments to low-cost, high-quality Chinese restuarants and Indian curry houses. Meanwhile, the city's pubs have heaps of atmosphere, especially away from the centre – and an exploration of the farther-flung communities is essential to get the complete picture of this dynamic metropolis.
