Essential London | The top sights in London and beyond
The best cultural and historical sights in London and beyond.
Soho is a well-known district of the City of Westminster in London. This article describes how Soho evolved into the epicentre of London’s entertainment scene. Soho is thought to take its name from the hunting cries used when it was a royal hunting park belonging to King Henry VIII, who hunted here with members of [...]
Spitalfields is an historic area to the east of the City of London. Since the 1660's, it has been the traditional first stop for immigrants arriving in London - and has suffered its share of poverty and destitution. Today, however, the area is a melting pot of the creative industries, street art and bohemian residents. [...]
It’s time to plan your itinerary for the oldest and grandest civic procession in the world taking place in London in early November, as usual. This is the Lord Mayor’s Show in the City of London. Knowing the best place to watch the Lord Mayor’s Show will add to your enjoyment. The show can trace [...]
In Brook Street, Mayfair there is an extraordinary couple of houses - turned into a museum. Numbers 23 and 25 were homes to two musicians 200 years apart; Jimi Hendrix in London and the house of George Frideric Handel! Handel House G F Handel was born in Germany in 1685. He moved to London age [...]
The chances are you’ll come across Shakespeare at least once during your visit to London. You might even visit the Globe Theatre for a performance. Here’s a primer on how Shakespearean theatre started in London. Shakespeare was born in Stratford-upon-Avon in 1564 and spent the greatest part of his working life in London - living [...]
The heart of Chinatown is Gerrard Street. Here, we have a fusion of Hong Kong and mainland China in the centre of London! In 2019, Chinese New Year is on 5 February and the main public celebrations will take place on Sunday 10 February. 2019 will be the year of the pig. [...]
The London Jazz Festival is in full swing! We took in the world famous Jeff Watts trio with celebrated guitarist Kurt Rosenwinkel on Tuesday evening (main photo). A great evening of free flowing modern jazz and food at Pizza Express in Soho. The festival continues in London to Sunday 25 November. The big performers [...]
Number 44 Berkeley Square is what Nikolaus Pevsner, the architectural critic, described as London’s finest terraced house. Since then, the building has housed a famous casino and nightclub. The house was the original location of John Aspinall’s ‘Clermont Club’ (est. 1962) and (at the same time) Mark Birley's ‘Annabels’ - the famous basement nightclub named [...]
London partied in Piccadilly yesterday to launch the NFL season in the UK. America's National Football League consists of 32 teams. The exciting thing is that six of the teams will play in London during 2018/19. The results all going forward to the American league – so we’re guaranteed some fireworks, both on and off [...]
Canary Wharf is the name of the second financial district for London. It is situated about three miles to the east of the ‘City of London’ in the former London Docklands. The addition of Canary Wharf was to provide additional capacity for the ‘City’ – a top-ten world economy, if it were a country in [...]