Introduction
The London 2012 Olympics left the UK capital with a new-found confidence and a collection of shiny new venues. It is said that London is a collection of villages – and with more transport links, including an expanded overground rail network, it is getting easier to village hop.
More from London PDF VersionEssentials
- There’s nothing like a London park, whether it’s St James’s, Regent’s, Hyde or the wilds of Hampstead.
- Going to the pub is still an important activity. The Jerusalem in Clerkenwell is a good place to start.
- The Tate’s two museums (Modern and Britain) are a perfect way to while away an afternoon.
- Street-market sweep: Broadway Market for homegrown Saturday lunch and Columbia Road for flowers and a coffee on a Sunday.
- “Boris Bikes”, nicknamed after Mayor Johnson who introduced the city’s cycle-hire scheme, are well maintained and easy to use.
Two-hour tour
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Sightseeing walk — Start at St Paul's tube station and walk past the cathedral, across the Millennium Bridge to Tate Modern and down to the Globe Theatre.
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Alfies Antique Market
13-25 Church Street
+44 20 7723 6066
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Canal cruising — The Regent Canal's towpath has become an axis of leisure and loft conversions. It also leads you to the Olympic Stadium from Islington. Two hours should do it.
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Hotels
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The Grazing Goat
6 New Quebec Street
+44 20 7724 7243
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Charlotte Street Hotel
15-17 Charlotte Street
+44 20 7806 2000
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The Dorchester
Park Lane
+44 20 7629 8888
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Dining
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The Wolseley
160 Piccadilly
+44 20 7499 6996
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Barrafina
54 Frith St
+44 20 7813 8016
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Tate Modern
Bankside
+44 20 7401 5014
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Momo
25 Heddon St
+44 20 7434 4040
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Granger & Co
175 Westbourne Grove
+44 20 7229 9111
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Workshop Marylebone
75 Wigmore Street
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River Café
Thames Wharf, Rainville Road
+44 20 7386 4200
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Providores
109 Marylebone High Street
+44 20 7935 6175
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La Famiglia
7 Langton Street
+44 20 7351 0761
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La Bodega Negra
9 Old Compton Street
+44 20 7758 4100
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Claridge's Bar
Brook Street
+44 20 7629 8860
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Reading
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Daunt Books
83 Marylebone High Street
+44 20 7224 2295
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Charlotte Street News
66 Charlotte St
+44 20 7636 4270
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Shopping
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The Monocle Shop at Hyatt Regency London – The Churchill
30 Portman Square
+44 20 7299 2370
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Menswear from Trunk
8 Chiltern St
+44 20 7486 2357
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Toys from Honeyjam
2 Blenheim Crescent
+44 20 7243 0449
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Monogrammed stationery by Smythson
40 New Bond Street
+44 20 7629 8558
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Liberty
Great Marlborough Street
+44 20 7734 1234
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Notebooks, clothes, scents and bags from the Monocle Shop
2A George Street
+44 20 7486 8770
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Transport
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Buy a pass — An Oyster card will get you all across London for under a tenner a day. Although black cabs are good, if you join citycarclub.co.uk you can drive off in a brand new motor from one of dozens of locations.
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Black cabs — Download this app to find your nearest cabbie.
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Limousine/car
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Addison Lee
+ 44 20 7387 8888
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Fitness
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KX Gym
151 Draycott Avenue
+44 20 7584 5333
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Good running route — Hyde Park – though be sure to avoid the horses and rollerbladers.
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