Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
could be manufactured during World War I without rationed products; it coincided with the
new belief that soft toys were good for a child's development; it was an acceptable “doll for
boys”; and it was
the
toy children kept long after they'd grown up.
Cost and Hours:
£6, kids-£3, generally Mon-Sat 10:00-17:00, closed Sun, last entry
30 minutes before closing, 1 Scala Street, Tube: Goodge Street, tel. 020/7636-3452,
www.pollockstoymuseum.com
.
A fun retro toy shop is attached.
When Londoners say “The City,” they mean the one-square-mile business center in East
London that 2,000 years ago was Roman Londinium. The outline of the Roman city walls
can still be seen in the arc of roads from Blackfriars Bridge to Tower Bridge. Within The
City are 23 churches designed by Sir Christopher Wren, mostly just ornamentation around
St.Paul'sCathedral.Today,whilehometoonly7,000residents,TheCitythriveswithnearly
300,000officeworkerscomingandgoingdaily.It'safascinatingdistricttowanderonweek-
days, but since almost nobody actually lives there, it's dull in the evenings and on Saturday
and Sunday.
You can download a free Rick Steves audio tour of The City, which peels back the many
Sir Christopher Wren's most famous church is the great St. Paul's, its elaborate interior
capped by a 365-foot dome. There's been a church on this spot since 604. After the Great
Fire of 1666 destroyed the old cathedral, Wren created this Baroque masterpiece. And since
World War II, St. Paul's has been Britain's symbol of resilience. Despite 57 nights of bomb-
ing, the Nazis failed to destroy the cathedral, thanks to the St. Paul's volunteer fire watch-
men, who stayed on the dome.
Cost and Hours:
£15, includes church entry, dome climb, crypt, tour, and audioguide;
Mon-Sat 8:30-16:30, last entry for sightseeing 16:00 (dome opens at 9:30, last entry at
16:15), closed Sun except for worship, sometimes closed for special events, no photos, café
and restaurant in crypt, Tube: St. Paul's.
