THE MINI ROUGH GUIDE to LONDON (Rough Guide Travel Guides) - Softcover

Humphreys, Rob; Rough Guides

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1858287758 ISBN 13: 9781858287751

Publisher: Rough Guides, 2000

Synopsis

INTRODUCTION What strikes visitors more than anything about London is the sheer size of the place. With a population of just under eight million, it’s Europe’s largest city by far, spreading across an area of more than 620 square miles from its core on the River Thames. Londoners tend to cope with this by compartmentalizing the city, identifying with the neighbourhoods in which they work or live, and making occasional forays into the "centre of town" – the West End, London’s shopping and entertainment heartland. Ethnically, London is also Europe’s most diverse metropolis, and for those without local roots the place can seem bafflingly diverse. With around two hundred languages spoken within its confines and all the major religions represented, London is more like an entire country than a single city. Over thirty percent of the population is made up of first, second- and third-generation immigrants, while some claim as many as 75 percent of white Londoners are in fact descended from French Huguenot refugees. Despite Scottish, Welsh and Northern Irish devolution, London still dominates the national horizon, too: this is where the country’s news and money are made, it’s where the central government resides and, as far as its inhabitants are concerned, provincial life begins beyond the circuit of the city’s orbital motorway. Londoners’ sense of superiority causes enormous resentment in the regions, yet it’s undeniable that the capital has a unique aura of excitement and success – in most walks of British life, if you want to get on you’ve got to do it in London.

For the visitor too, London is a thrilling place – and since the beginning of the new millennium, the city has also been overtaken by an exceptionally buoyant mood. Thanks to the lottery and the millennium-oriented funding frenzy of the last few years, virtually every one of London’s world-class museums, galleries and institutions has been reinvented, from the Royal Opera House to the British Museum. With the completion of the Tate Modern and the London Eye, the city can now boast the world’s largest modern art gallery and Ferris wheel; there’s also a new tube extension, a new tram system (albeit in the suburbs) and the first new bridge to cross the central section of the Thames for over a hundred years. And after sixteen years of being the only major city in the world not to have its own governing body, London finally has its own elected mayor and assembly.

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 tourists every year. Monuments from the capital’s more glorious past are everywhere to be seen, from medieval banqueting halls and the great churches of Sir 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 pollution – one of its worst problems – is offset by surprisingly large expanses of greenery: Hyde Park, Green Park and St James’s Park are all within a few minutes’ walk of the West End, while, further afield, you can enjoy the more expansive parklands of Hampstead Heath and Richmond Park.

You could spend days just shopping in London too, hob-nobbing with the upper classes in Harrods, or sampling the offbeat weekend markets of Portobello Road, Brick Lane, Greenwich and Camden. The music, clubbing and gay/lesbian scene is second to none, and mainstream arts are no less exciting, with regular opportunities to catch brilliant theatre companies, dance troupes, exhibitions and opera. Restaurants these days, are an attraction too. London has caught up with its European rivals, and offers a range from three-star Michelin establishments to low-cost, high-quality 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.

About this title

Review:

The Rough Guide to London must have represented a considerable challenge for author Rob Humphreys: not only is the library of guide books to the capital overstuffed, Humphreys was faced with creating the definitive insider's guide for an imprint which has long enjoyed very high expectations in its dedicated army of users. The Rough Guide series has always marked itself out as the most incisive, lively, hyper-informed and (most of all) unstuffy series of guides on the market. Previous editions of this pithy and highly accessible book have comprehensively established its credentials, and they're copper-bottomed. Whether you're looking for a truly idiosyncratic guide to the more esoteric byways of the Big Smoke (with particularly useful and offbeat sections on the performing arts and sport) or a straight-down-the-middle guide to all the standard tourist attractions, Humphreys' book pulls off the impressive conjuring trick of functioning on both levels. While the guide is perfectly judged for the reader living on the British mainland, there are useful sections on getting to London from North America, Australia, New Zealand and Ireland, with up-to-date info on visas, customs, tax and work permits (the latter will be particularly useful for students: always a key audience for the Rough Guide series). And the sections on the more boring necessities such as insurance, post and health are dispatched with economy and accuracy. But it's in conveying the city's rich topography and history that Humphreys really soars, and a casual glance at the sections on Fleet Street, the South Bank and trendy areas such as Clerkenwell will have both die-hard Londoners and visitors keen to track down the points he ticks off. As ever in the series, illustrations and colour are kicked out in favour of hard-core info, and even if you've picked up earlier editions, the ever-shifting flux of one of the world's greatest cities has ensured that you probably need this new, comprehensively updated volume. --Barry Forshaw

Review:

Clear and comprehensive...compulsive reading...jam-packed with information. -- The Express, London, UK

Impressive research on architecture and history, and thorough coverage of the capital's attractions. -- People Magazine, USA

About this edition

• Publisher: Rough Guides
• Publication date: 2000
• ISBN 10: 1858287758
• ISBN 13: 9781858287751
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition number: 2
• Number of pages: 400