Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
fortune. Good budget travelers find that this category has little to do with assembling a
trip full of lifelong and wonderful memories.
July and August are peak season—my favorite time—with long days, the best weather, and
the busiest schedule of tourist fun. Prices and crowds don't go up in summer as dramatic-
Still, travelers during “shoulder season” (May, early June, Sept, and early Oct) enjoy lower
prices, smaller crowds, decent weather, and the full range of sights and tourist fun spots.
London Almanac
Population:
Approximately 8.2 million people
Currency:
British pound (GBP)
City Layout:
London is divided into the City of London (the main financial district)
and 32 administrative boroughs—12 in inner London.
Tallest Building:
The Shard stands at 1,020 feet, making it the tallest building in
Western Europe—for now.
Tourist Tracks:
Each year London hosts 26 million tourists, most of whom stop to
take a photo at Trafalgar Square. London's most popular attraction, the British Mu-
seum, sees 5.9 million visitors annually.
Popular Misconception:
“Big Ben” refers not to the clock, but instead to its 13-ton
bell.
Culture Count:
While the Queen's English is still the language of the land, fewer
than half the residents of inner London speak English as their first language. Nearly
300 different languages are spoken in London's schools. About 60 percent of Lon-
doners are white (many of them Continental Europeans rather than Brits), 18 per-
cent are Asian, 13 percent are black, 5 percent are mixed race, and 4 percent are
“other.” Six in 10 Brits call themselves Christian (half of those are Anglican), but in
any given week, more Londoners visit a mosque than an Anglican church.
Fun Food Facts:
Traditionally, London's most popular take-away foods have been
fish-and-chips and minced-meat pie (the pies were originally filled with eels...so
minced-meat is an improvement). But it's not all about meat; PETA recently named
