Slow Travel Google Map: United Kingdom, London

Author: PatrickLondon
Notes: February 2007: London, England. I've marked the main points people ask about, and some more unusual ones, linking each marker to a relevant website, each of which may well link on to a lot of other information. It's not a comprehensive guide, but even so, there are so many markers that it will take some time to load them all. I've used the category "villages" to mark the main neighbourhoods you may hear about. You'll find arts galleries in with museums, theatres and concert halls under "public services" and sporting venues and events under "sights", which also includes a range of attractions that didn't seem to fit into other categories. Please feel free to suggest additions! Admin Note: There is no Walking Route 4 on the map; it's a database glitch we're working on but didn't want to hold up publication any longer.

Ancient Monuments

The Roman Wall of London (SV)

There is a large section of the medieval wall on its still visible Roman foundations, together with some other Roman artifacts, outside the entrance to Tower Hill underground station. Another is overlooked by the Roman gallery at the Museum of London. This link takes you to a do-it-yourself walk along the line of the wall, on a site with many similar walks around London.

Buckingham Palace (SV)

The Queen's official residence and office in London. The State Rooms are open in the summer months, and the Queen's Gallery and Royal Mews are also open to visitors.

Dennis Severs's House (SV)

18 Folgate St. Not, they will tell you, a museum or a tourist experience: more an attempt to introduce you to the minds and feelings of successive occupiers of this Spitalfields weaver's house.

Eltham Palace (SV)

To the remaining Great Hall of a medieval palace, an Art Deco mansion was added in the 1920s and 1930s.

Guildhall (SV)

The historic heart of the government of the City of London. The outline of a Roman amphitheatre that stood on the site is marked in the piazza outside. Inside two great figures "Gog" and "Magog" stand guard over the great and good at the major civic and state events for which it is often used, but it is open for visits at other times.

Houses of Parliament (SV)

Also known as the Palace of Westminster, this Gothic extravaganza dates from the mid-nineteenth century (following some over-enthusiastic fire-stoking).

Kensington Palace (SV)

Taken over as a palace in the late seventeenth century, this later became a home for more junior members of successive royal families, among them Queen Victoria in her childhood, and it still serves the same purpose in part. The State Rooms and collection of ceremonial dress are open to visit.

Lloyd's Building

Famous for being the first major office block in London with its innards on the outside; nowadays its modernism is less striking, but still a dramatic contrast to nearby Leadenhall Market.

London Open House Weekend

In September, for one weekend, all sorts of unusual, historic and interesting buildings are open to visitors.

Somerset House (SV)

Designed as a grand 18th century government office building, Somerset House now houses the Courtauld Collection of Impressionist art, the Gilbert Collection of silver and gold and the London display rooms of the Hermitage (St Petersburg). In summer the central courtyard offers fountains, in winter a skating rink.

St James's Palace (SV)

Not open to the public, this is the oldest residence of the monarchy still in use as such.

The Banqueting House (SV)

One of the few remaining parts of the old Palace of Whitehall, this building, famous for its Rubens ceiling, is still used for government entertaining and receptions today. It was on a scaffold outside it that King Charles I met his end in 1649.

The Jewel Tower (SV)

Nothing to do with the Crown Jewels or the Tower of London today, this is one of the few remaining parts of the medieval Palace of Westminster, and houses a small exhibition on the history of Parliament.

The Tower of London (SV)

First on most people's lists of places to visit in London. At the heart of royal and governmental history since the 11th century, once a fortress, a palace, a prison, even a zoo, and now home to the Crown Jewels .. does this place have a story to tell!

Southwark Cathedral (SV)

Cathedral for the diocese of Southwark, to the south of the river (the diocese of London is north of the river, and its cathedral is St Paul's). Southwark has an intimate, "parish church" feeling, unlike the grandeur of St. Paul's. It has a special association with John Harvard, the founder of Harvard University, who came from Southwark.

St Martin-in-the-Fields (SV)

If St Paul's is the "national parish church", St Martin's is sometimes thought of as "London's parish church". Alongside the usual church activities and its work with the homeless, the church is also used for regular concerts, and has a well-patronised café in the crypt.

St Mary-le-Bow (SV)

The legend used to be that you weren't a true Londoner unless you were born within the sound of "Bow bells". The visitor will find a welcome café ("The Place Below") in the crypt (but it can get pretty crowded with local office workers at lunchtime).

St Paul's Cathedral (SV)

The great achievement of Wren's reconstruction after the Great Fire of 1666.

Westminster Abbey (SV)

The site of state ceremonial for nearly a thousand years, the burial place of the nation's great and good, from monarchs to poets.

Westminster Cathedral (SV)

The premier Roman Catholic Cathedral for England and Wales, completed in 1930.

Wren Churches

The marker points to St Magnus Martyr, one of the many beautiful churches designed by Sir Christopher Wren to replace those destroyed in the Great Fire of 1666: but rather than list them all, I've linked to this compendium site.

Bunhill Fields and City Gardens (SV)

Bunhill Fields itself is a former burial ground for dissenters; but this link also provides information about many other gardens managed by the City of London.

Postman's Park

This churchyard contains a collection of Victorian memorial tiles to acts of bravery. Called "Postman's Park" because the the neighbouring office building used to be the HQ of the Post Office (and the statue outside commemorates Sir Rowland Hill, who invented universal flat-rate prepaid postage, hence the postage stamp).

Queen Mary's Gardens (SV)

Situated within Regent's Park, this (in season) is a beautiful example of old-fashioned garden design.

St Dunstan's in the East (SV)

In the ruins of a blitzed church, this garden provides a peaceful oasis for office workers and the weary tourist alike.

Victoria Embankment Gardens (SV)

This mostly - surprisingly, perhaps - quiet garden hosts a copy of Rodin's sculpture The Burghers of Calais.

Monuments

Albert Memorial (SV)

The many-spired and exuberant national memorial to Queen Victoria's husband, whose early death was so devastating for her, dominates the part of Hyde Park where stood the Crystal Palace, home of the Great Exhibition of 1851, with which he was particularly associated. The area south of here is sometimes called "Albertopolis", containing the Royal Albert Hall and the South Kensington Museums, which were built on the profits from the exhibition.

Diana Memorial Fountain (SV)

More of a runnel than a fountain, perhaps..

Edith Cavell Memorial (SV)

In case you've wondered what the statue outside the National Portrait Gallery was about: it commemorates Edith Cavell, who was shot by the Germans occupying Belgium early in World War One. She had been helping the escape of wounded Allied soldiers who had found their way to her hospital in Brussels. She was much admired not only for her courage, but also for what she wrote in her last letter: "I must have no hatred or bitterness toward anyone. Patriotism is not enough."

Parliament Square (SV)

As well as a dominating statue of Churchill, Parliament Square has a statue of Lincoln.

The Cenotaph (SV)

The national war memorial, centre of the annual Remembrance Day service in November.

The Monument (SV)

Monument to the Great Fire of London in 1666. As many feet high as it is distant from the point where the fire started, it can be climbed, if you're not claustrophobic or afraid of heights and can manage 311 steps.

Trafalgar Square (SV)

Home to Nelson's Column and monuments to various semi-forgotten generals (and to a redoubtable modern woman called Alison Lapper), Trafalgar Square is traditionally home to major protest meetings, and the Christmas tree presented by the people of Oslo each year. Since the northern road was closed it is much less of a traffic island and hosts festivals and performances of many kinds throughout the year. Nearby is a memorial to Edith Cavell, famous for saying before her execution as a spy in occupied Belgium in 1915 "I must have no hatred or bitterness toward anyone. Patriotism is not enough."

24-Hour Museum

The official portal to the UK's museums, galleries and heritage sites - there are bound to be plenty left off this map!

Apsley House (SV)

"No. 1, London" - the home of the Duke of Wellington, victorious against Napoleon and eventually Prime Minister. Contains the Duke's art collection and many mementos of and tributes to his life.

Bank of England Museum (SV)

You won't be able to cash a cheque in the Bank or visit the gold in the vaults, but there is a free museum which shows you something of the history of the Bank and its place in the development of the currency, banking and monetary policy.

Bramah Museum of Tea and Coffee

History of the tea and coffee trades and their place in British society.

British Library (SV)

An impressive building, with a permanent exhibitions of treasured manuscripts and sound recordings, and many interesting temporary exhibitions.

British Museum (SV)

Archaeology and art and cultures of - well, large parts of the world. And it's free!

Cabinet War Rooms

Now expanded into a museum on the life of Churchill, the Cabinet War Rooms are the actual underground offices used for central government meetings and plannings. Maps and plans are on display, as well as the domestic arrangements for those who stayed there overnight during the heaviest bombing (keep an eye out for Churchill's chamberpot!)

Charles Dickens Museum

The only surviving London home of the great Victorian novelist and social commentator.

Courtauld Institute Gallery

The Courtauld is the specialist postgraduate college of art history in the University of London, based around a fine collection of Old Master and Impressionist art which is open to the public.

Design Museum

Museum of contemporary design. It acts mostly as a showcase for temporary exhibitions rather than a display archive of design history.

Dr. Johnson's House

Home and workplace for Samuel Johnson from 1748-1759, where he compiled the first comprehensive English Dictionary.
Now restored to its original condition, the house contains panelled rooms, a pine staircase, and a collection of period furniture, prints and portraits.

Fashion and Textile Museum

Founded by the designer Zandra Rhodes, the centre houses permanent and changing exhibitions exploring contemporary fashion, textile and jewellery.

Florence Nightingale Museum

Collection of memorabilia connected with Florence Nightingale, and the development of modern nursing, at St Thomas's Hospital.

Foundling Museum

The Foundling Museum tells the story of the Foundling Hospital, London?s first home for abandoned children and of three major figures in British history: its campaigning founder the philanthropist Thomas Coram, the artist William Hogarth and the composer George Frideric Handel.

Geffrye Museum (SV)

Museum of domestic interiors through the centuries, with an interesting herb garden. Special exhibitions on related topics.

Handel House Museum

Home to the Baroque composer George Frideric Handel from 1723 until his death in 1759, the Museum celebrates Handel's life and works, displaying portraits of Handel and his contemporaries in restored Georgian interiors and bringing live music back to his house.

Imperial War Museum (SV)

Inevitably sombre, but also at times inspiring and fascinating, the Imperial War Museums are more than just collections of weapons, and seek to explain the experience of modern wars and their impact on individuals and societies. The main focus is on the two world wars (a replica WW1 trench and 1940s house to show what daily life at home was like, and the Blitz Experience, where you sit in an air-raid shelter and listen to the sounds - and feel the impact - of bombing; and most moving of all, the Holocaust exhibition).

Leighton House Museum (SV)

Studio and house of the Victorian painter Lord Leighton. Ornately decorated in exotic tiling.

London Canal Museum

Life and work on the inland waterways.

London Transport Museum

Due to reopen in autumn 2007, the museum tells the story of London's public transport, with a large collection of historic buses, trams, trains and so on - and a strong focus on interesting the children. The shop (which remains open) offers a large number of London and tube-map-themed souvenirs at all price ranges.

MCC Museum of Cricket

Situated at Lord's, the museum contains many cricket memorabilia, and chiefly the "Ashes" - would any other country so cherish as an historic international trophy a symbol of defeat?

Museum of Garden History

The museum is concerned with the history and development of gardening in the UK, with reference to European influences, garden design, gardeners and historic garden tools. It is in St Mary-at-Lambeth church, where the plant collector John Tradescant and his son are buried.

Museum of London

Museum of the history and development of the first "world city" in all its successive periods, from prehistory to the present day. As you pass through the reconstructions of Roman domestic interiors, you can gaze down on the remains of part of the Roman and mediaeval city wall. The domestic, economic and social life of Londoners in the different periods is on display through all sorts of interesting detail. Look out for the "Cheapside hoard" of Tudor jewellery, the panorama of the Great Fire of 1666, the cell from Newgate Gaol and the reconstructed Victorian shops.

National Army Museum (SV)

Set near the Royal Hospital Chelsea (home of the "Chelsea Pensioners" and site of the Chelsea Flower Show each summer), the Museum tells the story of the British Army through the centuries.

National Gallery (SV)

The national collection of Western European art. Many great treasures (for which entrance is free) and regular special exhibitions.

National Portrait Gallery (SV)

The story of Britain through portraits of its famous - and some not so famous - personalities.

Natural History Museum (SV)

A glorious Victorian building that you might recognise from films, housing collections aimed at promoting the discovery, understanding, enjoyment, and responsible use of the natural world. Particularly popular are the dinosaur skeletons.

Old Operating Theatre

The only surviving 19th century operating theatre, complete with observation galleries for students and the curious/ghoulish. It is set in the "Herb Garret" where the hospital apothecary prepared his medicines.

Science Museum

A museum of scientific, technological and medical change since the eighteenth century, with plenty of buttons to press and experiments to experience.

Serpentine Gallery

Gallery of modern and contemporary art. Each year an architect is invited to design and build a temporary pavilion outside for the summer, often with eye-catching results.

Sir John Soane's Museum

An extraordinary collection reflecting the antiquarian, artistic and architectural tastes and interests of one of the great architects of the late 18th to early 19th centuries. Contains Hogarth's great series of pictures, "The Rake's Progress" and "The Election".

Tate Britain (SV)

The Tate's collection of British art.

Tate Modern (SV)

The Tate's collection of modern art, in a converted power station. The turbine hall alone is worth the visit, but there is so much more.

The Gilbert Collection

A magnificent collection of the art of gold and silversmiths (and Italian mosaic); moving in early 2008 from Somerset House to the care of the Victoria and Albert Museum, and due to reopen in 2009.

The Queen's Gallery (SV)

Treasures from the Royal Collections.

The Royal Mews (SV)

The stables of Buckingham Palace - exhibition of coaches and other vehicles used for state ceremonials.

Victoria and Albert Museum (SV)

The great museum of decorative art and design, with artifacts from many of the world's richest cultures including ceramics, furniture, fashion, glass, jewellery, metalwork, photographs, sculpture, textiles and paintings. Strong in Indian and Asian as well as European arts. Always something new to see.

Wellcome Collection

Both permanent collections and temporary exhibitions on themes connecting medicine, art and anthropology.

Coram's Fields

Children's playground and park, with supervised activities: adults may only enter if accompanied by a child.

Green Park (SV)

As the name suggests, more of a park and less of a garden than some others - grass, trees and (mostly) peace and quiet between Piccadilly and the Palace. Contains the Canadian war memorial near the Palace and the memorial gates on Constitution Hill commemorating those from the Indian sub-continent, the Caribbean and Africa who served, as volunteers, in the armed forces during two world wars. Green Park is also one of the places where gun salutes are fired (for the Queen's official birthday in June).

Hyde Park (SV)

Plenty of space to walk, ride, swim or just sit.

Kensington Gardens (SV)

Stretching between Hyde Park and Kensington Palace, the Gardens contain the Round Pond, the Peter Pan statue and the Serpentine Gallery.

Primrose Hill (SV)

No sign of primroses, but famous for its panoramic view across London. The surrounding streets house quite a few celebrities and film stars, apparently.

Regent's Park (SV)

Famous for the Zoo, for Queen Mary's Gardens and plenty of sports facilities.

St James's Park (SV)

Almost the front garden to Buckingham Palace, this is a favourite place to feed the birds, stroll and get away from the surrounding hustle and bustle. Open to the public since the days when a "crown" was a coin, it is said that in the eighteenth century, the then Queen asked the Prime Minister what it would cost to enclose it and return it to the private use of the royal family. "Only three crowns, ma'am", he said, "those of England, Scotland and Ireland". And that was that.

Barbican (SV)

Concert hall, theatre and cinema at the heart of the City of London's attempt to repopulate the business and financial heart of London through an upmarket housing estate.

English National Opera (SV)

Opera in English (and ballet), with a rather more adventurous reputation than the Royal Opera House.

Globe Theatre (SV)

A modern reconstruction of Shakespeare's Globe, performing a summer season, but with a year-round exhibition devoted to the Bard. The café and restaurant offer panoramic views of St Paul's and the City.

National Film Theatre

Tucked in under Waterloo Bridge, the NFT offers interesting programmes of all sorts of cinema. A café looks out on to the river and the weekend bookstalls outside.

National Theatre (SV)

Not everyone's favourite building from the outside, perhaps, but both impressive and welcoming inside. Lots of daytime activities in the foyers.

Royal Albert Hall (SV)

One of the great concert halls and entertainment venues. Famous as the home of the BBC Proms concerts in the summer, there are events here all the year round.

Royal Festival Hall (SV)

Due to reopen in 2007 after extensive refurbishment, the RFH is a legacy of the Festival of Britain in 1951, and consciously sets out to be an inclusive and welcoming home of all sorts of music and art. Plenty of restaurants and cafés, and a bookshop.

Royal Opera House, Covent Garden (SV)

Classical opera and ballet. The foyers are open to the public, and you may be able to stop in the Floral Hall to see some of their historic costumes.

Wigmore Hall (SV)

Premier venue for classical chamber music. Their "coffee concerts" are a different way to pass a Sunday morning.

Bermondsey Antiques Market

Friday morning (early!) market.

Borough Market

London's premier "farmers' market" is packed with gourmets and gourmands on Fridays and Saturdays (wholesale fruit and vegetables the rest of the week).

Brick Lane Market

Proceeds from achingly trendy to interesting junk to a general street market, the further north you go. The surrounding area is an attractive Georgian relic with an interesting social history.

Camden Markets (SV)

Collection of general, antique, alternative, arts and crafts and street style markets in and around Camden Lock and Camden High St.

Covent Garden and Seven Dials

In addition to the activity around the market piazza, look along Neal St, Shelton St, Monmouth St and Earlham St for any number of small specialist shops - not just fashions, but also delicatessens, Neal's Yard with its cheese shop, a kite shop, a ships' chandlery, a bead shop, a shop specialising in all things to do with tea, and Stanford's maps and travel books on Long Acre.

Knightsbridge and Environs

Knightsbridge, Brompton Road and Sloane St offer a rather less hectic shopping experience than Oxford St (Harrods, perhaps, apart), for upmarket, luxury and designer fashion and accessories in paricular.

Leadenhall Market

The glory of Leadenhall Market is its Victorian shopfronts, cast-iron arcading and cobblestones. But it's also a busy and active shopping centre.

London Silver Vaults

A collection of dealers in antique and modern silver and related items.

Oxford Street

From grand department stores at one end to cheap clothes and electronics at the other, Oxford St becomes a shorthand word for shopping in London. The link here takes you to the BBC's general overview guide of London shopping.

Petticoat Lane Market

General market, but mostly cheap clothing. Not the institution it once was, as tastes have changed.

Portobello Road Market

Famous antiques market, not just among the street stalls. Further north, nearer the Westway, there's a general market, some clothes and Afro-Caribbean specialities.

Spitalfields Market (SV)

Arts, crafts, clothes and antiques market - very popular on Sundays.

30 St Mary Axe (the 'Gherkin') (SV)

This striking building (I don't care, I call it the Crystal Suppository) is an office building and, as such, is only open on special occasions like the London Open House weekend.

City Hall (SV)

The new building for a revived London-wide government, under an executive Mayor and an Assembly. The building is striking with its internal spiral walkway, but the only things that need detain the passer-by are a large model of London and temporary exhibitions in the café/atrium area.

Cricket: Lord's (MCC) (SV)

The home of cricket.

HMS Belfast (SV)

The Belfast saw action at D-Day and in Korea, and is now open to visit as a museum.

London Eye (SV)

The ultimate Ferris wheel, and much classier than that sounds.

London Zoo (SV)

Madame Tussaud's (SV)

Not my sort of thing, but if you like waxworks of famous people....

Millennium Bridge (SV)

Pedestrian bridge connecting Bankside and Tate Modern with St Paul's and the City.

Peter Pan Statue (SV)

Controversial when erected (sounds familiar?), this rather sentimental and whimsical statue became a much-loved feature in Kensington Gardens.

Speaker's Corner (SV)

In one corner of Hyde Park is a space where anything and everything may be said.

St Katharine Docks (SV)

Now converted into an upmarket residential and office area with a marina, the Dock offers plenty of boats to see and cafés and restaurants to see them from.

Tower Bridge (SV)

A marvel of up-to-the-minutes 19th century technology (despite its Gothic cladding to blend in with the Tower), the Bridge opens to allow tall ships into the Pool of London - less often now that the port of London has moved downriver. It's possible to visit the upper walkways and the Victorian steam engines.

Barbican Station (SV)

Station on the line that runs through London, connecting Brighton, Gatwick Airport, central London, Luton Airport and Bedford.

City Thameslink Station Holborn (SV)

Holborn concourse for this station on the line that runs through London, connecting Brighton, Gatwick Airport, central London, Luton Airport and Bedford.

City Thameslink Station Ludgate (SV)

Ludgate Hill concourse for this station on the line that runs through London, connecting Brighton, Gatwick Airport, central London, Luton Airport and Bedford.

Euston Station (SV)

Trains to north-western suburbs, the West Midlands (Birmingham), North Wales, North-Western England (Manchester, Liverpool, Lancashire and the Lake District), and western Scotland (Glasgow).

Farringdon Station (SV)

Station on the line that runs through London, connecting Brighton, Gatwick Airport, central London, Luton Airport and Bedford.

Fenchurch St Station (SV)

Trains for suburbs and towns in south Essex, and Southend-on-Sea.

King's Cross Station (SV)

Trains for the north-eastern suburbs, Hertfordshire, the East Midlands (Cambridgeshire, Linconshire), North-East England (York, Leeds), Northumbria (Newcastle) and eastern Scotland (Edinburgh).

King's Cross Thameslink Station (SV)

Station on the line that runs through London, connecting Brighton, Gatwick Airport, central London, Luton Airport and Bedford.

Liverpool Street Station (SV)

Trains for eastern and north-eastern suburbs, and for eastern England (Essex, Suffolk, Norfolk, Cambridge).

London Bridge Station (SV)

Trains for southern and south-eastern suburbs, east Surrey (including Gatwick airport) and Kent.

Marylebone Station (SV)

Trains to north-western suburbs, including Wembley, Buckinghamshire, North Oxfordshire. Warwickshire and Birmingham.

Paddington Station (SV)

Trains to western suburbs (including the Heathrow Express), the Thames valley and western England (Bath, Oxford, Windsor, Berkshire, Wiltshire, Devon, Cornwall) and Wales.

St Pancras Station (SV)

Trains for the central Midlands (Leicestershire, Nottinghamshire, Derbyshire, South and West Yorkshire). From late 2007, St Pancras will be the terminal for Eurostar services to Paris and Brussels.

Transport for London

Responsible for planning and managing all aspects of public transport in London. Use this link to find out about the underground (or tube), buses and taxis (and the mysteries of the Oystercard). Look out for the visitor map, which shows you central London bus routes in relation to all the major attractions.

Victoria Coach Station (SV)

The main London terminal for long-distance buses ("coaches").

Victoria Station (SV)

Trains to central southern and south-eastern suburbs, and central southern England - Gatwick Airport and towns in Surrey and Sussex and parts of Kent.

Waterloo Station (SV)

Trains for south-western suburbs, Windsor and the Thames valley, and southern and south-west England (west Surrey, Berkshire, Hampshire, Dorset and Devon). Also (until late 2007) Eurostar trains for Paris and Brussels.

"East End"

Traditionally, the poorer part of London and home of its most industrial elements, now increasingly "gentrified" as the old Docklands have been redeveloped as centres for finance and expensive residential accommodation. The 2012 Olympics are intended to regenerate a further swathe.

"Theatreland"

Most "West End" theatre is in or around Piccadilly Circus, Shaftesbury Avenue and Leicester Square. There are other theatres further afield, such as the Lyric Hammersmith, Theatre Royal (Stratford East), Hampstead Theatre, Richmond Theatre, Wimbledon Theatre, Hackney Empire, and the National Theatre on the South Bank.

"West End"

The term is often used as a synonym for the commercial, as opposed to the subsidised, theatres, but also for less everyday shopping, entertainment and nightlife (to go "up West" for a special day or night out), or for upmarket residential accommodation. It originally meant anywhere west of the original City of London, but now implies the area north of the parks: Mayfair, Piccadilly, Oxford St, Marylebone.

Bloomsbury (SV)

The squares and streets around the British Museum. Home in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries to intellectuals and professionals, now best known for different branches of the University of London and other academic institutions. Home too, to many B&Bs and small hotels, cafés and restaurants.

Borough and Bankside (SV)

From London Bridge through Borough Market and along the riverside to Tate Modern and the Globe Theatre, and beyond to the South Bank, Bankside is one of the newer "destination" areas of London, with plenty to see and explore. Don't forget to check out the yards of the old coaching inns on Borough High St., particularly the George, which retains its old external galleries.

City of London (SV)

The original medieval city, now the financial and business centre, governed by its own corporation and headed by the Lord Mayor.

Covent Garden

Famous for the successful resistance to comprehensive redevelopment plans in the 1970s, the area in and around the former wholesale fruit and vegetable market in the Covent Garden piazza and its 17th century market building are a major draw for visitors and Londoners alike. In addition to the street life around the market, the area contains the Royal Opera House, St Paul's (the "actors' church) and the London Transport Museum (the Theatre Museum has now closed as a separate entity on this site).

Kensington and Chelsea

The Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea covers a number of areas familiar to visitors: the shopping centres of King's Road, Sloane St, Knightsbridge, South Kensington and High St Kensington; the South Kensington museums, the hotels in and around all of those areas, and Gloucester Road, Earls Court, Notting Hill and Holland Park.

Pool of London (SV)

Once the inner port of London, between Tower Bridge and London Bridge. Though the area is still predominantly office and business oriented, the former Hay's Wharf is now a shopping galleria, and the London Dungeon and Britain at War Experience are just across Tolley St, if that's your sort of thing.

Soho

The area south of Oxford St and west of Charing Cross Road; once - but no longer - synonymous with sleaze, it is home to many companies in film, advertising and related media, but more interestingly it is still home to small specialist shops (second hand records and CDs, silk and other clothing along Berwick St, for example), cafés and restaurants, and retains, with some difficulty, a varied and "alternative" atmosphere - especially along Old Compton St, which is as near as London offers to a "gay village".

South Bank (SV)

Site of the Festival of Britain 1951, and now dedicated to arts, music and fun - with the Royal Festival Hall, the Queen Elizabeth Hall, the Purcell Room, the Hayward Gallery, the National Theatre and the National Film Theatre, with all the associated cafés, restaurants and bookshops (and extensive secondhand bookstalls under Waterloo Bridge).

Temple/ Inns of Court (SV)

On a line running broadly northwards from the Temple, the "Inns of Court" are groups of lawyers' offices, developed from the areas around the inns and taverns where they stayed and did business from medieval times onwards (conveniently situated between the Tower and the City, and the royal palace at Westminster). From this they developed into collegiate organisations, of which four now also control the professional training and development of barristers, but the term "Inn" is applied to a number of similar organisations and buildings in the area. Some, particularly the Temple (which was the London base of the Knights Templar until their suppression), have historic halls and chapels and attractive gardens which can be visited. Shakespearean legend has it that the Wars of the Roses began when disputants over rival claims to the throne picked white and red roses in the Temple gardens.

Westminster and Whitehall (SV)

Westminster is the home of Parliament, Whitehall the home of government offices. The surrounding area houses many political and quasi-governmental organisations, and the London homes of many Members of Parliament.

Walking Route 1

London walks

London is a city for strolling, with layers of history telling you the story of so many different lives and lifestyles. I can only suggest you search the internet for "London walks" for guided and self-guided tours, as there are so many options!

Walking Route 4

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Slow Travel Google Map: United Kingdom, London

Ancient Monuments

The Roman Wall of London (SV)

Historical Buildings

Buckingham Palace (SV)

Dennis Severs's House (SV)

Eltham Palace (SV)

Guildhall (SV)

Houses of Parliament (SV)

Kensington Palace (SV)

Lloyd's Building

London Open House Weekend

Somerset House (SV)

St James's Palace (SV)

The Banqueting House (SV)

The Jewel Tower (SV)

Castles

The Tower of London (SV)

Churches

Southwark Cathedral (SV)

St Martin-in-the-Fields (SV)

St Mary-le-Bow (SV)

St Paul's Cathedral (SV)

Westminster Abbey (SV)

Westminster Cathedral (SV)

Wren Churches

Gardens

Bunhill Fields and City Gardens (SV)

Postman's Park

Queen Mary's Gardens (SV)

St Dunstan's in the East (SV)

Victoria Embankment Gardens (SV)

Monuments

Albert Memorial (SV)

Diana Memorial Fountain (SV)

Edith Cavell Memorial (SV)

Parliament Square (SV)

The Cenotaph (SV)

The Monument (SV)

Trafalgar Square (SV)

Museums

24-Hour Museum

Apsley House (SV)

Bank of England Museum (SV)

Bramah Museum of Tea and Coffee

British Library (SV)

British Museum (SV)

Cabinet War Rooms

Charles Dickens Museum

Courtauld Institute Gallery

Design Museum

Dr. Johnson's House

Fashion and Textile Museum

Florence Nightingale Museum

Foundling Museum

Geffrye Museum (SV)

Handel House Museum

Imperial War Museum (SV)

Leighton House Museum (SV)

London Canal Museum

London Transport Museum

MCC Museum of Cricket

Museum of Garden History

Museum of London

National Army Museum (SV)

National Gallery (SV)

National Portrait Gallery (SV)

Natural History Museum (SV)

Old Operating Theatre

Science Museum

Serpentine Gallery

Sir John Soane's Museum

Tate Britain (SV)

Tate Modern (SV)

The Gilbert Collection

The Queen's Gallery (SV)

The Royal Mews (SV)

Victoria and Albert Museum (SV)

Wellcome Collection

Parks