Page 114 - Off The Tourist Trail - 1000 Unexpected Travel Alternatives (Part 2 of 2)

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CITIES Less-Explored
London

Much more than just Big Ben and Buckingham Palace, London is Western Europe’s largest
and most vibrant city, a multi-ethnic melee, cultural hothouse, and bastion of the new ABOVE Big Ben and a red sightseeing bus
FORGET THE LONDON

museums, such as the absorbing Geffrye Museum TOURIST TRAIL?
NEED TO KNOW
and the innovative Museum in Docklands, reveals all
LOCATION London is sorts of fascinating and little-documented stories THE BUILD-UP Visiting London for the first
situated on the River Thames *OWFSOFTT time is like the ultimate sightseeing trip, offering
in southeast England "UMBOUJD about the city and the people who made it.
0DFBO a string of world-famous landmarks, monuments,
POPULATION &EJOCVSHI Modern London is one of the most extraordinary
(MBTHPX and street scenes which are instantly recognizable
Around 7.5 million /PSUI cities on the planet. It can confidently lay claim
VISITORS PER YEAR 4FB to being the world’s most ethnically diverse and from films, paintings, and photographs – from
Around 25 million .BODIFTUFS the city’s familiar red double-decker buses
*3&-"/% eclectic metropolis – a third of Londoners were
DAYTIME 6/*5&% through to the flashing neon signs of Piccadilly
,*/(%0.
TEMPERATURES actually born abroad, and the contribution of Circus. Perhaps no other city in the world
Jan: 39°F (4°C); Apr: 50°F (10°C); -0/%0/ foreign nationals to the city’s cultural and culinary musters as many iconic images in as small a space.
Jul: 64°F (18°C); Oct: 52°F (11°C)
make-up can hardly be underestimated, from the
cafés of Chinatown to the Sikh and Hindu temples THE LETDOWN Crowds, lines, and costs are the
London is one of the world’s most touristy cities, in Southall. It’s a place of amazing cultural ferment, main turn-offs. Visiting London’s major attractions
and little wonder. Seeing the place for the first setting the global agenda in everything from is a wallet-emptying business – Madame Tussauds,
for instance, charges around £25 per adult, or £85
time, many visitors experience a strange sense of fringe theater and pop music through to avant-
for a family ticket – and the queues and heaving
déjà vu: Big Ben and the Houses of Parliament garde art and architecture, epitomized by the
throngs of visitors can be horrendous at all
towering statesmanlike above the serene waters of string of landmark new constructions that have
major sights. In addition, the expense of getting
the River Thames; Nelson’s Column rising out of the appeared across the city during the past decade. around can be equally punitive: around £5 for a
pigeon-infested expanse of Trafalgar Square; the These range from the spectacular London Eye single tube journey within central London on
voluminous dome of St. Paul’s Cathedral and the through to the stunning new Swiss Re Tower, the city’s world-famous (but ridiculously
romantic outline of Tower Bridge; red double- popularly known as “the Gherkin.” And not overpriced) underground system, whose jam-
decker buses and the regal façade of Buckingham forgetting Docklands, where clusters of towers, packed cars turn into human sardine cans during
Palace; Life Guards and Beefeaters in their ceremonial including the monumental Canary Wharf, have the morning and evening rush hours.
red tunics and unusual headgear – the list of clichés risen from nowhere over the past three decades
goes on. More than a city, London has become the to become a symbol of the modern city – built, DOING IT ANYWAY? A little advance planning
can massively improve your experience of
universal symbol of Englishness and empire, from appropriately enough, on the remains of its
London. Get hold of a good city map or A–Z,
the lordly towers of Westminster Abbey to the remarkable industrial and maritime past.
purchase tickets for tourist sights ahead to avoid
royal pageantry of the Trooping of the Colour.
the lines, and check websites for special offers
For many visitors, these emblematic sights are PRACTICAL INFORMATION and discounts. You may also be able to save some
what London is all about. This is no surprise, given money by getting hold of a London Pass
how imposing many of them are, or how much Getting There and Around Where to Stay (www.londonpass.com). Buy a Travelcard or
London is served by Heathrow, London’s landmark hotels include
history and tradition they encapsulate. Having said Oyster card rather than purchasing individual
Gatwick, Stansted, Luton, and the Dorchester, Ritz, Savoy, and
that, there’s a whole lot more to London than London City airports. There is a Claridge’s. There is also a new tube tickets. And avoid the rush-hours if you
kings, queens, palaces, and soldiers in silly hats. sprawling underground (or generation of boutique hotels, can, especially if you’ve got luggage.
Indeed, a trawl through its small and less-touristed “tube”) system, plus extensive such as the Conran-designed
overground train and bus services, myhotel Bloomsbury (www.
as well as plentiful taxis. myhotels.com) and the mid-range
Where to Eat but very hip Hoxton Hotel (www.
London is a serious contender for hoxtonhotels.com). For something
world capital of food, offering less flash, try the Premier Inn chain
every conceivable type of cuisine, (www.premierinn.com).
from pie ‘n’ mash to glitzy eateries, When to Go
such as Hakkasan (www. Late spring and early fall when
hakkasan.com) and Amaya the weather can be good. The
(www.realindianfood.com), city is especially vibrant during
which showcase modern Chinese the run-up to Christmas.
and Indian food. Gordon Ramsay’s
Budget per Day for Two
Hospital Road restaurant (www.
gordonramsay.com), the capital’s US$300 for accommodations,
only triple-starred Michelin food, and travel.
establishment, gets rave reviews Website
for its French-influenced dishes. www.visitlondon.com.
ABOVE St Paul’s Cathedral viewed from the Millennium Bridge

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