• BRAND NEW - FULL-COLOR GUIDE!
• Our authors, longtime London experts, show you the highlights of this world capital. They hit the city's many unique attractions, including its best museums (from the masters at the National Gallery to the quirky Vinopolis wine museum). They also describe attractions especially for kids.
• London is a culinary mecca with 45 Michelin-starred restaurants, and our authors take you on a foodie's tour--from varied ethnic cuisines, to haute dining, to Indian feasts on Brick Lane, to delicious pub grub.
• Detailed listings show you the best places to shop in London, from small antiques shops and vintage clothing stores to its famous outdoor markets and posh department stores.
• The guide also includes a quick jaunt to Windsor and Eton, and side trips to the university towns of Oxford and Cambridge, the revered site of Stonehenge, and Shakespeare's Stratford-upon-Avon.
• PLUS: Hundreds of color photos, foldout map and detailed maps throughout, as well as exact prices, directions, opening hours,and other practical information

Amazon.com Review
Discover The Best of London
Content from Frommer's London 2010

The British capital is alive and well and culturally more vibrant than it has been in years. The sounds of the latest music pour out of Victorian pubs, experimental theater is popping up on stages built for Shakespeare’s plays, upstart chefs are reinventing the bland dishes British mums have made for generations, and Brits are even running the couture houses of Dior and Givenchy. In food, fashion, film, music, and just about everything else, London now stands at the cutting edge, just as it did in the 1960s.

If this sea of change worries you more than it appeals to you, rest assured that traditional London still exists, essentially intact under the veneer of hip. From high tea almost anywhere to the Changing of the Guard at Buckingham Palace, the city still abounds with the tradition and charm of days gone by. Discovering London and making it your own can be a bit of a challenge, especially if you have limited time. Even in the 18th century, Daniel Defoe found London “stretched out in buildings, straggling, confused, out of all shape, uncompact and unequal; neither long nor broad, round nor square.” The actual City of London proper is 2.6 sq. km (1 sq. mile) of very expensive real estate around the Bank of England. All of the gargantuan rest of the city is made up of separate villages, boroughs, and corporations—each with its own mayor and administration. Together, however, they add up to a mammoth metropolis.

Luckily, whether you’re looking for Dickens’s house or hot designer Vivienne Westwood’s flagship store, only the heart of London’s huge territory need concern you. The core of London is one of the most fascinating places on earth. With every step, you’ll feel the tremendous influence this city exerted over global culture back when it was the capital of an empire on which the sun never set.

London is a mass of contradictions. On the one hand, it’s a decidedly royal city, studded with palaces, court gardens, coats of arms, and other regal paraphernalia; yet it’s also the home of the world’s second-oldest parliamentary democracy (Iceland was the first).

Today London has grown less English and more international. The gent with the bowler hat is long gone; today’s Londoner might have a turban, a mohawk, or even a baseball cap. It’s becoming easier to find a café au lait and a croissant than a scone and a cup of tea. The city is home to thousands of immigrants and refugees, both rich and poor, from all reaches of the world.

London's Top Destinations by Category

The Most Unforgettable Travel Experiences	The Best Splurge Hotels	The Most Unforgettable Dining Experiences
The Best Museums	The Best Activities for Families	The Best Things to Do for Free (or Almost)