Attractions in London

With a population of just under eight 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 metropolis: around two hundred languages are spoken within its confines, and more than thirty percent of the population is made up of first, second- and third-generation immigrants. 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.

Highgate Cemetery
The leafy and tranquil Highgate Cemetery is the ultimate Victorian Valhalla, famous as the resting-place of Karl Marx.

Kew Gardens
Without doubt the world's most perfect botanical gardens, the expansive Kew Gardens is part royal pleasure garden, part research institute. The curvaceous, dripping hot Palm House is the focal point.

Westminster Abbey
London's finest Gothic monument, Westminster Abbey, has been a coronation venue for nearly a millennium and is the burial-place of poets, politicians and royalty.

Docklands Light Railway
Take the driverless Docklands Light Railway for a bird's-eye view of the Docklands development, finishing up with a great view across the Thames to Greenwich.

Lunchtime in Chinatown
London is renowned for its multicultural cuisine. Chinatown, right at the heart of the city, has the full spectrum of restaurants and cafés. Go for dim sum at lunchtime - picking at will from trollies piled high with mouthwatering nibbles.

Victoria and Albert Museum
Free admission is a thing of the past, but this is an applied arts collection with something for everyone: from Raphael's Cartoons to a sofa based on Mae West's lips.

Old London Double Deckers
The #11 bus will take you from the House of Parliament and Westminster Abbey, up Whitehall, round Trafalgar Square, up the Strand and down Fleet Street and deposit you outside St Paul's Cathedral.

Harrods
London's most famous department store is also the city's third biggest tourist attraction. Though you can buy most things more cheaply elsewhere if you can do without the famous green carrier bag, the food halls are a work of art, and the building itself is a landmark.

Tower of London
Entrance charges to the Tower of London are extortionate, but there's something for everyone: the crown jewels, Beefeaters, torture instruments and a millennium's worth of blood-curdling history.

Spitalfields Market
Visit the old Spitalfields fruit and vegetable market at the edge of the East End on a Sunday and you'll find London's finest organic market, craft stalls, a miniature railway and lots of stands with delicious food.