London, the city which shaped your destination

Whether you realize it or not, London shaped your destiny. There’s hardly a quarter of the globe that it hasn’t changed. The United States was founded in reaction to London’s edicts. Australia was first peopled with London’s criminals. Modern Canada, South Africa, and New Zealand were cultivated from London. India’s course was irrevocably changed by the aspirations of London businessmen, as were the lives of millions of Africans who were shipped around the world while Londoners lined their pockets with profits. You’re holding proof in your hands of London’s pull: that you bought this book, written in English somewhere other than in England, is evidence of London’s reach across time and distance. And its dominion continues to this day: London is the world’s most popular destination for foreign tourists.

To enter the United Kingdom, all U.S. citizens, Canadians, Australians, New Zealanders, and South Africans must have a passport valid through their length of stay. No visa is required. A passport will allow you to stay in the country for up to 6 months. The immigration officer may also want to see proof of your intention to return to your point of origin (usually a round-trip ticket) and of visible means of support while you’re in Britain (credit cards work). If you’re planning to fly from the United States or Canada to the United Kingdom and then on to a country that requires a visa (India, for example), you should secure that visa before you arrive in Britain.

In order to get the best out of London, you need to be as informed as possible: To know the hotspots from the not-spots, the bargains from the rip-offs, and the up-and-coming from the down-and-going. London continues to be the city that sets the trends, rather than merely following them. On the streets of Soho, the trading floors of the Square Mile, or the mighty bridges spanning the River Thames, it still feels like London is the fulcrum of the world — just as it was at the height of its power, when half the world was run from Westminster. Expect to discover a city steeped in history and nobility, certainly, but one that’s also inventing the future.  Follow Spotlife Asia for the latest News and Updates.

The old always sits alongside the new here — nowhere more so than at Wren’s great baroque dome of St. Paul’s Cathedral, framed by 21st-century skyscrapers — and London is rightly famed for its museums and galleries. Prized collections, ancient and contemporary — from Bloomsbury’s British Museum to the South Bank’s Tate Modern — share top billing with small spaces such as the Sir John Soane’s Museum that could only exist in this city. Ride the London Eye observation wheel to get to grips with the city’s layout.

Whatever your favorite flavor, you’ll find it somewhere in this global culinary city. As London’s center of gravity moves east, so does the dining scene. British classics Rulesand J. Sheekey are as good as ever, while celebrity chefs reinvigorate forgotten neighborhoods. Areas with lower rents continue to attract skillful chefs to gastropubs, cool cafes, and a new breed of tapas bar.

The variety of shopping districts can be bewildering, even for a regular visitor. Knightsbridge and Chelsea have the chi-chi boutiques, Mayfair the finest men’s tailors, and the latest in street-style springs up from Shoreditch and the East End. This is a city with something for every taste or budget, and best buys remain collectibles, vintage fashions, and accessories. Street markets as diverse as Columbia Road (flowers and niche design) and Portobello (antiques, secondhand goods, and fashions) are experiencing a mini-renaissance.

When darkness falls, the historic monuments and grand museums fade into the inky night, and a whole new London comes to life. The West End‘s bright lights draw the crowds with long-running mega-musicals and big-name dramas. Less well known is London’s growing taste for the offbeat, from cabaret and Charleston revival parties to dubstep, burlesque, and even underground bingo. Soho is still buzzing — and the streets of Shoreditch, Hoxton, and Dalston are jumping well into the small hours.

Londoners call their 402km (249-mile) metro system the Underground, its official name, or just as commonly, “the Tube.” Its elegant, distinctive logo—a red “roundel” bisected by a blue bar—debuted in 1913 as one of the world’s first corporate symbols, and it remains one of the city’s most ubiquitous sights.

To a dazzling degree, London attractions cater to the family market. The kingly treatment starts, at many places, with the so-named Family Ticket, which grants a low price for parents and kids entering together, and continues with a huge array of activity trails, kid-focused exhibits, activities, and even costumes to try on. Weekends are prime time for the availability of family activities, but always ask what’s available.

Guides to city-planning rarely use London as an example of how things should be done, preferring instead to cite more neatly ordered metropolises with carefully drawn grid plans and formally delineated zones.

London is certainly not neat. But then the city wasn’t so much planned as made-up, created piecemeal as and when new bits were required. It represents 2,000 years of local projects, individual labors, grand aristocratic ambitions, philanthropic ventures, government schemes, and royal follies — all created with little reference to each other — and then placed on the same patch of ground like the pieces to 500 separate jigsaws.

This history can, unfortunately, make it confusing for visitors to find their way around. Roads don’t meet at precise right-angles, but wind and roam, seemingly at random. There appears to be no obvious city center — or conversely, several separate centers vie for your attention. This occasionally maddening muddle is also a huge part of London’s charm.

One thing the city’s great mish-mash layout guarantees is surprises — hidden alleys, unexpected delights, stumbled-upon treasures — as well as the near certainty that you’ll get lost at some point (even locals do, all the time). For peace of mind, it’s worth investing in an A to Z street atlas, available in all good bookshops, and quite a few central newsagents.