At a Glance
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When to Visit:
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<p>London is a year-round tourist centre, with few of its attractions closing or significantly reducing their opening hours in winter. Your best chance of good weather is, of course, at the height of summer in July and August, but there's certainly no guarantee of sun even in those months - plus it's when you can expect the biggest crowds and highest prices.</p>
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Orientation |
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<p>The main geographical feature of the city is the River Thames, which meanders through central London, dividing it into northern and southern halves. The central area and the greatest number of important sights, theatres and restaurants are within the Underground's Circle Line on the north bank of the river. In the past decade, however, the south bank of the river has been transformed into one of London's must-see district, with attractions such as Borough Market, the London Eye, Shakespeare's Globe theatre and the Tate Modern art gallery. The tourist-ridden West End includes Soho, Trafalgar Square, Piccadilly Circus, Leicester Square and Regent St. The East End, so beloved of Ealing comedies, lies east of the Circle Line; it used to be the exclusive preserve of the Cockney but is now a cultural melting pot. There are interesting inner-city suburbs in North London, including Islington and Camden Town, with leafy Hampstead further north. Further south, London includes a mix of poor, dirty, graffiti-ridden suburbs, and increasingly gentrifying areas like Clapham and, to an extent Brixton.</p> |
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Getting Around: |
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<p>The dirty, wrathful congestion of London streets makes both driving and cycling an extreme sport. Hop on a bus, a Thames ferry or an elegant black cab - and let a native negotiate the chaos on your behalf. Or take the Tube: you're sure to come up against its notorious, infuriating inefficiencies, but in most cases it's still the quickest way to get about.</p> |
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Weather:
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<p>Many who live in London would swear that global warming has added a twist to the city's unpredictable climatic conditions. While locals used to complain about the frequent, but still somehow always unforeseen, arrival of rain, now they find themselves faced with sudden outbreaks of sunshine and dry heat instead. </p>
<p>Recent summers have seen record temperatures, approaching 40°C and autumns have been positively toasty. As the tube turns into the Black Hole of Calcutta and traffic fumes become choking, London is particularly ill-equipped to cope with such heat.</p>
<p>However, meteorologists point out that recent statistics don't yet represent anything terribly out of the ordinary for such a naturally variable climate. The average maximum temperature for July, the hottest month, is still only about 23°C. In spring and autumn temperatures drop to between 13°C and 17°C. In winter, the average daily maximum is 8°C, the overnight minimum 2°C. </p>
<p>Despite the appearance of snow in the past few years, it still rarely freezes in London.
What weather forecasters do predict in the long-term, as a result of climate change in London, is drier summers, wetter and stormier winters and more flash floods.</p>
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Dial in code(s): |
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Ethnic Groups:
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<p>Anglo-Saxons, Scots, Welsh, Irish, West Indians, Pakistanis, Indians</p>
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Content Source:
Lonely Planet
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