SIGHTS IN LONDON - London 2015 - page 109

You can tour the bridge at the Tower Bridge Exhibition, with a history display and a
peek at the Victorian engine room that lifts the span. It's overpriced, though the city views
from the walkways are spectacular.
Cost and Hours: £ 9, £ 10.50 combo-ticket with Monument, daily 10:00-18:00 in
summer, 9:30-17:30 in winter, last entry 30 minutes before closing, enter at northwest
tower, Tube: Tower Hill, tel. [phone], www.towerbridge.org.uk .
Nearby: The best remaining bit of London's Roman Wall is just north of the Tower
(at the Tower Hill Tube station). The chic St. Katharine Dock, just east of Tower Bridge,
has private yachts, mod shops, the recommended medieval banquet, and the classic Dick-
ens Inn, fun for a drink or pub lunch. Across the bridge, on the South Bank, is the upscale
Butlers Wharf area, as well as City Hall, museums, the Jubilee Walkway, and, towering
overhead, the Shard. Or you can head north to Liverpool Street Station, and follow my
East End Walk (described next).
East London
▲ East End Walk: Markets, Banglatown, and Jack the Ripper
The East End has a long history as London's poorer side of town—even in medieval times,
this was the less desirable end, in part because it was downwind from the noxious hide-
tanning district. London's east/west disparity was exacerbated in Victorian times, when
the wind carried the pollution of a newly industrialized London. These days, it still lacks
the posh refinement of the West End—but the area just beyond Liverpool Street Station
is now one of London's hippest, most fun spots. Take a walk around the Spitalfields Mar-
ket neighborhood to see the colorful mix of bustling markets, late-night dance clubs, the
Bangladeshi ghetto, and tenements of Jack the Ripper's London, all in the shadow of glit-
tering new skyscrapers. This walk—which takes about an hour without stopping to slurp a
curry or shop the markets—is best on Sunday afternoons, when the Spitalfields, Petticoat
Lane, and Backyard markets thrive (for more on these markets, see here ) .
Getting There: Ride the Tube to Liverpool Street, and head into the train station. Exit
the busy station through the Bishopsgate exit (with your back to the train tracks, it's on
your left and up the stairs/escalators).
Self-Guided Walk: Outside the train station, cross Bishopsgate street and turn
left—you'll pass Dirty Dick's Pub on the right (this is where we'll end our walk). Contin-
ue two blocks ahead to the glassy, modern RBS building, then turn right on Brushfield
Street; from here you can see the steeple of Christ Church (described later).