Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Earl's Court
Earl's Court lies south of
Kensington and just west of South Kensing-
ton. For decades the favored haunt of visit-
ing Australians (hence its nickname,
“Kangaroo Valley”), the area is still home to
many immigrants—mainly eastern Europe-
ans these days—and is also a popular base
for budget travelers, thanks to its wealth of
B&Bs, inexpensive hotels, and hostels, and
its convenient access to central London: A
15-minute Tube ride takes you into the
heart of the West End. Littered with fast-
food joints, pubs, and cafes, it provides a
cheap, cheerful base, but little in the way of
refinement and no major sights.
SOUTH BANK
Lying south across the Thames from Cov-
ent Garden, this is where you'll find the
London Eye
(p. 107),
National Theatre
(p. 162), and
Southbank Arts Centre
(p. 165; the largest arts center in Western
Europe, and still growing). It's reached from
the south via Waterloo Station, and from
the north by crossing any one of Westmin-
ster Bridge, Hungerford Bridge, or Water-
loo Bridge.
Although the area's time as a top hotel
district may yet come, that day certainly
hasn't arrived yet. A few interesting accom-
modations aside, the South Bank is, how-
ever, a popular evening destination for
culture and dining. To the east the South
Bank bleeds into Bankside, the site of
Ta te
Modern
(p. 109),
Shakespeare's Globe
(p. 163), and
HMS
Belfast
(p. 106), and
today the two areas are generally regarded
as forming a single riverside zone linked by
a cheery riverside path taking you all the
way—via a couple of inland detours at Lon-
don Bridge—from Westminster Bridge to
Tower Bridge.
THE CITY
The Square Mile
When Londoners speak
of “the City,” they mean the original Square
Mile that's now Britain's main financial dis-
trict. The City was the original site of “Lon-
dinium,” the first settlement of the Roman
conquerors. Although it retains some of its
medieval character, much of the City
was swept away by the Great Fire of 1666,
the Blitz of 1940, and the zeal of modern
developers. Landmarks include Sir Christo-
pher Wren's masterpiece,
St. Paul's Cathe-
dral
(p. 111), which stood virtually alone in
the surrounding rubble after the Blitz, and
the curvy glass skyscraper 30 St. Mary Axe,
better known as the “Gherkin.” Some 2,000
years of history unfold at the City's
Museum
of London
(p. 114). Most of the hotels are
set up for business travelers, not sightseers.
However, that can sometimes mean week-
end bargains at upscale establishments;
see p. 192 for our favorite City hotels.
Holborn & the Inns of Court
The old bor-
ough of Holborn (pronounced
Ho
-burn),
which abuts the Square Mile southeast of
Bloomsbury, and Temple, south of Holborn
across the Strand, represents the heart of
legal London—this is where you'll find the
city's barristers, solicitors, and law clerks,
operating out of four Inns of Court (legal
associations that are part college, part club,
and part hotel): Gray's Inn, Lincoln's Inn,
Middle Temple, and Inner Temple. Still Dick-
ensian in spirit, the Inns are otherworldly
places to explore, away from London's traf-
fic, with ancient courtyards, mazy passage-
ways, and gas lamps.
Clerkenwell
This neighborhood, north
and a little west of the City, was the site of
London's first hospital, and is the home of
several early churches. In the 18th century,
Clerkenwell declined into a muck-filled
cattle yard, home to cheap gin distilleries
and little else. A handful of hot restaurants
and clubs have sprung up, and art galleries
line St. John's Square and the fringe of
Clerkenwell Green. The area is a good base
for young and fashionable visitors, just a
couple of stops on the Tube away from
Oxford Street and a short walk from the
Square Mile itself.
EAST LONDON
The East End, Hoxton & Dalston
A multi-
tude of slums formed east of the old city
walls during the intense industrialization
and urbanization of the 19th century, many
of which were bombed out of existence
during World War II. Cheap rents have
attracted a certain type of young, design-
savvy entrepreneur to some parts, and
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