History
London was born in the Roman invasions of Britain in the 1st C. B.C. It soon became the largest town in the country anl in 1066. Very little remains of the city as it was before the great fire of 1666.
In the 18th C. it grew d became the capital in 1066. Very little remains of the city as it was before the great fire of 1666.
Life
Pleasant London is one of the very few main centers of the human race, a world center of finance, business and politics. The pavements of the city center are crowded with people of all nations, many of them from distant corners of the world. Its inhabitants are unusually civilized. They even have time to help strangers.
It is not only on business that people visit London. It is no ordinary, busy city. It is also a quiet city with plenty of scope for relaxation. It is a city of gardens, big and small. It is a low-profile city of low-rise houses lining narrow and winding streets. It is also a conservative city of old mores and customs.
Leisure opportunities in London are a magnet. It is the soccer capital of the world and the theater capital of the world. Its pubs are justly famous. The cinemas are on top of everything new. It is a world center of pop music and one of the top fashion centers. Famous museums are also attractive. London is not beautiful, but it is a leisured city of many charms.
Nightlife
In spite of British stiff upper lip, London is a swinging city. The glitter of its night-life is most obvious at the discos of the town and other dancing venues, sometimes called clubs or nightclubs. Discos rise and fall so quickly that it is difficult to give up-to-date information in a travelers’ guide. We concentrate on those who have shown some staying power.
Pleasure
Nothing is simpler than killing time in London. Some like nothing better than to be driven around in the best taxis in the world. The restaurants cover the ethnic picture of the whole world. Wine bars are a distinct specialty of this world city. And pubs are very much a British institution.
In addition there are many and varied amusements for everybody’s taste. Some of us are theater addicts and others are cinema fans. Still other concentrate on discos or jazz cellars. We do not either forget the Saturday soccer game. Finally there are also some well advertised and mostly uninteresting arrangements for tourists, as set down in brochures available everywhere.
Soccer
London is the home town of a few famous soccer clubs, with Arsenal and Tottenham traditionally at the top. During season you can expect at lest one important soccer game in London each Saturday afternoon.
The play usually starts at 14, but fans arrive much earlier. It is advisable to have plenty of time as traffic jams around the stadiums can become heavy. Those with time on their hands can amuse themselves by watching the proceedings of the fans outside and inside the stadium.
Theater
London is world center of theater. Everybody can find something to suit his tastes, be it ballet, opera, musicals, comedy or drama. Many famous film actors regularly perform in London plays. A normal ticket price is £12 and higher for musicals.
Many of the main theaters are in the Covent Garden area and some in adjoining Soho. Those who want to become acquainted with the newest, will find experimental theaters in the suburbs. Information on plays is in daily newspapers and weeklies for visitors.
In most good hotels the hall porters are happy to help in acquiring tickets to the theater. In some hotels there are special ticket offices. On Leicester Square there is a kiosk where you can buy tickets at reduced prices for the performances of the day. You should have more than one play in mind to be ready to choose from those who have seats available.
Villages
London is a peculiar collection of villages of different personalities, of different attractions. As Westminster is a world different from City, so Covent Garden is a world different from its neighbor Soho. Instead of calling London a world city, we might as well call it a collection of world villages.
Embassies
Australia
Australia House, The Strand WC2. Phone: 379 4334.
Canada
Macdonald House, 1 Grosvenor Square W1. Phone: 379 4334. (D1).
New Zealand
New Zealand House, 80 Haymarket SW1. Phone: 930 8422.
United States
24 Grosvenor Square W1. Phone: 499 9000. (D1).
Accident
Phone: 999.
Ambulance
Phone: 999.
Complaints
The police in London is exemplary in their readiness to help people.
Dentist
Phone: 837 3646.
This emergency number answers day and night. Emergency dental care is available during the day at Royal Dental Hospital, 32 Leicester Square WC2, tel. 171 930 8831. After 17 it is at St. George’s Hospital, Tooting Grove, Tooting SW17, tel. 171 672 1255.
Fire
Phone: 999.
Hospital
Hospitals with emergency wards in central London are the Middlesex Hospital, Mortimer Street W1, tel. 171 636 8333; St Mary’s Hospital, Praed Street W2, tel. 171 262 1280; and St Thomas’s Hospital, Lambeth Palace Road SE1, tel. 171 928 9292.
Medical care
Medical Express, 17a Harley Street W1, tel. 171 499 1991, is a private clinic that guarantees treatment within 30 minutes.
Pharmacy
(E2).
Boots, Piccadilly Circus W1, tel. 171 734 6126, is open 8:30-20 Monday-Friday, 9-20 Saturday, 12-18 Sunday.
Police
Phone: 999.
Precautions
London is a relatively safe place for travelers. Even petty crime is rare.
Banks
Hours: 9:30-15:30 Monday-Friday.
Credit cards
Credit cards are accepted in hotels, restaurants and shops. Visa and Access (Eurocard, MasterCard) have the largest circulation.
Electricity
British voltage is 220V, same as in Europe. The plugs are different, with three pins.
Hotels
London hotels are generally rather clean, sometimes not well maintained, especially the plumbing. Small hotels, relatively few in central London, can be very good, even if they do not have TV sets in guest rooms. A bathroom is taken for granted nowadays.
We only include hotels with private bathrooms, and in most cases we also demand a direct telephone line, working air-condition, and peace and silence during the night. Only hotels in the city center are included as we want to avoid long journeys between sightseeing and our afternoon naps.
The price ranges from £25 to £220, in most cases including a substantial breakfast. There is no low season in London.
We checked all the hotels in this database during the winter of 1995-1996 as everything is fickle in this world. We have also tested some other hotels that are not included as they were not on par with the best in each price category.
Money
The currency in Great-Britain is the Pound Sterling, £, divided into 100 pence, p. There are £50, £20, £10, £5 notes, and coins for £1, 50p, 20p, 10p, 5p, 2p, 1p.
Prices
Prices have lately become stable in England.
Street numbers
There is scant logic in London street numbering. Sometimes odd and even numbers are on each side of the street. Sometimes the numbering goes up one side of the street and back the other side.
Tipping
Service is generally included in hotel and restaurant bills. If not, 10-15% is customary. Taxi drivers expect 10-15%. Porters, hairdressers and cloakroom attendants get small change.
Toilets
Avoid those in streets, parks and underground stations. Prefer those in museums, galleries, department stores and railway stations. You can use those of cafés for the price of a cup of coffee.
Tourist office
(D4).
The central information service of the British Tourist Authority is at 4 Grosvenor Gardens SW1, tel. 171 730 3400. The London Tourist Board answers at 171 971 0026.
Water
London tap water is drinkable.
Accommodation
Tourist information desks at Heathrow Central Station and at platform 15 in the Victoria railway station find accommodation for travelers.
Airport
The Piccadilly underground line brings you in 45 minutes from central London to Heathrow airport and goes every 5 minutes. A taxi takes the same time and costs ca £25. Check-in occasionally can take one hour. Gatwick airport connections are by rail and bus from Victoria Station. The train brings you in 35 minutes to that airport.
Check carefully which of the four terminals at the is your point of departure or whether your flight leaves from Gatwick airport. Heathrow Terminal 1 is for BA European flights, 2 for non-British European flights, 3 for non-British overseas flights and 4 for BA overseas flights. At Gatwick there are two terminals.
News
Information on goings-on in London is in the weeklies Time Out and What’s On and in the evening daily Standard. Ticket offices are numerous, often situated in lobbies of large hotels.
Phone
The British country code is 44. The local code for central London is 171, for other parts of London it is 181. The foreign code from Britain is 010.
Post
(E2).
The post office at William IV Street at Trafalgar Square is open day and night.
Railways
The British railway system is reliable.
Taxis
Taxis are better in London than anywhere else. They are roomy and reliable and their drivers know where they are going.
Traffic
Rush hours are 8-9:30 and 17-19 Monday-Friday. One-day, four-days and seven-days tickets with unlimited access in chosen city zones to all lines of buses and the underground railway system are available at stations and at newsagents. Most sights are in zone 1.
Cuisine
London is not a place for any recognizable English cooking. Most quality restaurants in London go in for French cuisine. The English have embraced French cuisine as suitable for their upper class dining.
The importance of London in gastronomy emanates from the many varieties of ethnic restaurants, representing all the corners of the world. Even New York with its many ethnic restaurants, does not have the same variety as London. Many ethnic restaurants in London are inexpensive. It is best to seek those out that cater to their own nationals.
Pubs
British pubs are justly world famous. Some of them still have beautiful decorations from the end of the 18th C. They are world renowned centers of rendez-vous. Each tavern has its own atmosphere made of its furnishings and clientele. In the city center they are usually open 11-15 and 17:30-23 and Sunday 12-14 and 19-20:30.
Unhappily some pubs have become a haven for idle drunkards. Others have been invaded by noisy electronic gadgetry and games machines. Still there are taverns who keep standards and are cozy resting places between planned activities of London visitors.
Restaurants
Lunch hour is 12:30-14:30 and dinner time is 19-23.
Wine
The British are wine connoisseurs. In fact they have always been leading in the systematic study of wine, even if producing very little of it. The lack of local produce has made it easier for them to seek wines from many countries and of many styles. The preference though is for French wine.
Wine bars
Wine bars have blossomed in London. As wined drinkers usually have a keener nose and tongue than beer swillers, they usually are more demanding of the food. Therefore wine bar fare is usually better than pub grub. All wines bars also serve good wines at a reasonable price, some of them by the glass.
1996
© Jónas Kristjánsson
