Europe - the most exciting city in the world with its outstanding reputation for first class culture, fascinating history and pageantry. meeting, incentive programme, exhibition and conference. Nowhere else in the world has such a fantastic combination of the new and the old.

It has an amazing array of new museums, galleries and attractions and its theatre goes from strength to strength, with long standing musicals still pulling in the crowds and world famous stars choosing to tread the London boards.

London offers excellence in its facilities, culture, attractions, hotels and venues.

Six thousand restaurants offer cuisine from over 60 countries; venues can cater for everything, from the small business meeting to the sumptuous banquet or an international exhibition.

Summer is a great time to visit. Make the most of the sunshine in the capital's Royal Parks, relax al fresco at a pavement cafe, take in a show and pick up some bargains at the summer sales.

Over recent years, London has seen an unprecedented growth in the number of attractions it has to offer, from Tate Modern, the British showcase for international modern art to the redevelopment of Somerset House containing the magnificent Gilbert Collection of gold and silver decorative arts, The Hermitage Rooms with collections on loan from the State Hermitage Museum in St Petersburg and the Courtauld Gallery of Impressionist paintings. Other top new attractions in London include the British Airways London Eye, the British Museum Great Court and the Wellcome Wing at the Science Museum.

The changes don't stop there, London is constantly evolving with new attractions, hotels and exhibitions. For example the Impossible Microworld opened in Covent Garden in June, featuring the smallest man-made creations on earth by Willard Wigan and some of London's hotels are offering some great offers over the summer months.

As well as all the new things on offer, don't forget that London also has a unique heritage to explore. Just one part of this is the Changing of the Guard ceremony, involving the familiar soliders of the household division in all their finery.

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Topology and Climate

London's topology consists of level land to rolling plains.

The myth that it always rains in London and that the ‘smog’ remains is fortunately just a myth. London’s weather is generally warmer than continental Europe in winter and even when the weather is poor, it is very changeable and will not last long.

Average temperatures

Winter months – an average of 6°C
Temperatures do not fall below zero very often.

Spring – 10-15°C
It is possible that you will enjoy wonderful sunny weather but it might equally be cold and wet.

Summer – low 20°Cs
Summer can get quite hot in London. Londoners head to the parks at lunchtime to soak up the rays and pubs spill out into the streets in the early evenings.

Autumn – 10-15°C
Come prepared for variable weather. Bring rain protection and warm clothes, but equally, if you are here outside winter, you may have wonderful weather.

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London's Top Attractions

Shakespeare’s Globe Exhibition
Address : New Globe Walk, Bankside, London SE1 9DT
Telephone : (020) 7902 1500 Fax : (020) 7902 1515 Website : www.shakespeares-globe.org
The world’s largest exhibition dedicated to Shakespeare and his workplace opened at the Globe in 2000. The exhibition, located beneath the theatre, focuses on the actors involved in staging Shakespeare’s plays, the architecture of the playhouses and the audiences attending the performances.
Public information: 020 7902 1401
Theatre performances: May-September.
Box office: (020) 7401 9919
Open Times : 2001: Open Oct-Apr, daily, 1000-1700, including Bank Hols; May-Sep, daily, 0900-1200. Tours run every half hour for individuals. Closed 24,25 Dec.
Open all year

British Airways London Eye
Address : Jubilee Gardens, South Bank, London SE1
Telephone : 0870 5000 600 Website : www.ba-londoneye.com
The British Airways London Eye celebrated its first birthday on 8 March 2001. Standing 135m above the ground, this is the world’s highest observation wheel. It is situated at County Hall, on London’s South Bank, and offers spectacular views across London during a 30 minute ‘flight’. On a clear day it is possible to see for 25 miles, as far as Windsor Castle or Heathrow Airport.
Public booking number: 0870 5000 600">
Open Times : Flights until 30 Mar, daily, 1030-1900; 31 Mar-25 May, daily, 1030-2000; 26 May-9 Sep, daily, 1000-2200; 10 Sep-30 Sep, daily, 1030-2000; 1 Oct-30 Dec, daily, 1030-1900. Closed 25 Dec. Opening times subject to change.
Open all year

Tate Modern
Address : Bankside, London SE1 9TG
Telephone : (020) 7887 8008 Fax : (020) 7401 5052 Email : information@tate.org.uk
Website : www.tate.org.uk
Tate Modern is Britain's new national museum of Modern Artdating from 1900 to present day. Housed in the former Bankside Power Station, on the banks of the River Thames. The collection is housed within the spectacularly transformed Bankside Power Station. Work is displayed within the grand Turbine Hall on the ground floor as well as in the other three floors of galleries and features work by artists such as the world famous Tate collection of International Modern and Contemporary Art, including major works by Bacon, Matisse, Rothko and Warhol as well as contemporary work by artists such as Rebecca Horn, Steve McQueen and Gillian Wearing.. Tate Modern also has a shop and two cafes and the view from the seventh floor is not to be missed.
Public information: 020 7887 8000

Royal Opera House
Royal Opera House Covent Garden
Address : Covent Garden, London WC2E 9DD
Telephone : (020) 7240 1200 Fax : (020) 7212 9502 Website : www.royaloperahouse.org
This world-famous theatre, home of the Royal Ballet, the Royal Opera and the ROH Orchestra, is open during the day to the general public, as well as being open to ticket holders during performances. The redeveloped Royal Opera House opened in December 1999. From January 2000 pre-booked guided tours are available daily. The public is able to visit new and refurbished areas of the Opera House such as The Floral Hall, the Amphitheatre Terrace and the foyers of the 1858 building. The new Royal Opera House also offers backstage tours and the chance to watch members of the Royal Ballet taking their daily ballet lessons. Free lunchtime concerts are staged every Monday and tickets can be obtained from the box office on the day. Enjoy a morning coffee or lunch at the Amphitheatre Restaurant, or take a drink out to the Amphitheatre Terrace with its stunning views across the Covent Garden Piazza. Buy a ticket for a performance from the Box Office and visit the ROH shop for a wide range of souvenirs.
Box office: 0171 304 4000 (lines are open from 10am to 8pm Monday to Saturday)
Open Times : 2001: Foyers and Amphitheatre restaurant open Mon-Sat, 1000-1500, except when there is a public performance during the day. Closed Easter (13,15 Apr), 25,26 Dec.
Open all year

National Portrait Gallery
Another new opening in 2000 was the new wing of the National Portrait Gallery. The development adds new facilities to the Gallery such as a Balcony Gallery for portraits from the 1960s and 1980s and a roof top restaurant.
Public information: 020 7306 0055

Gilbert Collection at Somerset House
The Gilbert Collection opened to the public on 26 May 2000. The collection is a gift to Britain from Sir Arthur Gilbert and forms part of the redevelopment programme of Somerset House. Gilbert has decided to bequest his collection of 800 works of art to the country of his birth. The bedazzling collection includes works in gold and silver, Italian mosaics, portrait images and jewellery.
Public information: 020 7240 4080

Hermitage Rooms at Somerset House
The third opening at Somerset House took place in November 2000 with the opening of the new Hermitage Rooms, a collection on loan from The State Hermitage Museum in St Petersburg. The first exhibition is Treasures of Catherine the Great, showing jewels and other precious items to illustrate the life of Catherine the Great (1729-1796). The Hermitage Rooms at Somerset House offers visitors the feeling of entering a lost wing of the Museum in St Petersburg as the galleries are decorated in the style of the Winter Palace. Features of the exhibition include a miniature of one of Catherine’s most famous lovers, Count Grigory Orlov, painted in enamels on gold, medals commemorating important events during Catherine’s reign and Catherine’s wig made of silver thread never before publicly exhibited.
Public information: 020 7845 4631

Imperial War Museum – Holcaust Exhibition
The Holocaust Exhibition at the Imperial War Museum opened in June 2000. The exhibition, which forms the largest element of the new extension to the museum, includes an outstanding collection of original documents, artefacts, film and photographs to illustrate the story of the Nazis’ genocidal programme. This incredibly moving exhibition concentrates on the plight of the Jews but also tells the story of Gypsies, Poles, Soviet prisoners of war, people with disabilities, homosexuals and prisoners of conscience in the wide ranging persecution. Exhibits include the letters of an eight-year old French-Jewish boy who hid in an orphanage before his betrayal and deportation to Auschwitz-Birkenau, shoes and clothes of the camp prisoners and a model depicting events at Auschwitz-Birkenau in May/June 1944. The video testimony of survivors serves to remind visitors of the reality of this historical event.
Public information: 020 7416 5320

Wallace Collection
The Wallace Collection’s Centenary Project opened in June 2000 to mark the museum’s 100th anniversary as a national museum. The £10.6 million project includes four new galleries: one for the Reserve Collection, a Watercolour Gallery, an Exhibition Gallery and a Conservation Gallery. Also included in the development is a new study centre with a 150 seat lecture theatre, a seminar room, education room and library.
Public information: 020 7935 0687

Wellcome Wing at the Science Museum
The new wing offers exhibitions presenting the latest ideas and issues in science and technology, allowing visitors to find out what is going on in the world of science and how it may influence their lives. Larger exhibitions explore contemporary scientific issues such as the latest developments in biomedical science. The exhibitions are regularly updated and are ‘hands-on’. The Wellcome Wing enables the Science Museum to acknowledge the work of today’s scientists as well as achievements of the past.
Public telephone: 0171 938 8008

British Museum Great Court
The Queen Elizabeth II Great Court opened at the British Museum in December 2000. Housed under a steel roof, it is a new education centre, with new galleries and enhanced visitor services. Central to the Great Court is the restored 19th century Reading Room, one of the world’s most famous libraries. Previously only accessible to those with a reader’s ticket, the Reading Room is open to the general public for the first time in its history.

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London Nightlife

London is one of the world’s great cultural cities, and is home to internationally renowned concert halls, theatres, nightclubs and sporting venues. The scene may well be described as more diverse than any other city in the world.

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Sports, Games and Amusement

Sports are important, and London is home to internationally renowned sporting venues.

An estimated 30 million people participate in a variety of sports, including football (soccer), rugby, croquet, tennis, polo, horse racing, field hockey, and of course, cricket.

Considered the national game of England, cricket is also popular in countries that were formerly British colonies. Every summer the international Test matches are held at Lord's, a cricket ground northwest of London, and matches can last from three to five days.

Almost everywhere in London and in other places in the United Kingdom, there are performances of plays, operas, oratorios, variety shows with comic acts and songs, pantomime performances including songs, dances and slapstick comedy, ballet and dance performances, concerts, and drama. The West End district is home to over 150 professional theaters successfully producing plays; millions of visitors from all over the world come annually.

There are also countless amateur theatrical groups, opera societies, choirs, musical groups including orchestras, dance, brass and steel bands, and rock and jazz groups that perform throughout Britain. Part of the British way of living is either be involved with any of these performing artists themselves, or be spectators.

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Getting to and around London

Getting to and around London is simple. London Heathrow is the world’s busiest international airport, and supported by Gatwick, Stansted and London City airports, provide gateways to London from destinations around the globe.

A comprehensive rail and bus network exists in the United Kingdom, and London’s famous underground and red buses, along with river services and trams make getting around London easy, wherever you are staying.

There are a whole range of good value passes to help you make the most of London’s comprehensive public transport network.

If you are only planning to move around the central Zone 1 of London by tube, it might be a good idea to purchase a Carnet – 10 single tube tickets (11.50) or a book of six bus tickets (£3.90).

The most common travelcard is the one day travel pass or the weekly travel pass.

A one day pass allows you to use buses, tubes and trains in the two most central zones (1-2, cost £4) after 09:30. They are also available for zones 1-4 and 1-6.

A weekly pass is most suitable for those here for a longer time. You will need a passport type photo for the identity card and the ticket can be bought at any underground station. A zones 1-2 pass costs £18.90.

Family passes and weekend passes also exist.

London attractions passes
The London Pass offers unlimited access over one, three or six days for £18, £42 or £74 for adults and children pay £11, £22 or £38 for the same duration. The London Pass contains free entry to more than £200 worth of attractions such as the London Aquarium, Cutty Sark, the HMS Belfast and the Battersea Zoo; visitors can save money after seeing just two attractions. Free travel in London is also included under the pass. Details on 020 7287 6020 or visit their website at www.londonpass.com.

Great British Heritage Pass gives unlimited access to over 600 properties throughout the UK. It can be purchased at a cost of £30 for seven days and is available from British Tourist Authority offices, only to overseas visitors.

The London for Less card offers reductions at over 200 places in Central London, including money off theatre, concerts, opera and ballet tickets. It costs £12.95 and is available from bookshops and the British Travel Centre in Regents Street.

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Festivals and Events

January/February
If you’re in London to celebrate the New Year the annual New Year’s Day Parade is a colourful extravaganza that covers two and a quarter miles from Parliament Square to Berkeley Square. Later on in January or early February the Chinese community have their New Year celebrations in Soho, another lively affair including the famous Lion Dances.

March/April
Spring in London is full of sporting events and for those people who are not feeling energetic enough to take part there is plenty of opportunity to be a spectator and cheer the participants on. The Head of the River Race from Mortlake to Putney, the Oxford and Cambridge Boat Race from Putney to Mortlake and the Flora London Marathon all take place between March and April.

May/June
During May and June, London is a hive of activity with a variety of events to choose from. Chelsea is in full bloom in May when it hosts the flower show while in June the Royal Academy holds its summer exhibition, the largest open contemporary art exhibition in the world. For a chance to witness London’s pageantry in action, Trooping the Colour, the Queen’s birthday takes place every second Saturday in June; and on a sporting note, don’t miss the world famous Wimbledon Lawn Tennis Championships.

July/August
Over the summer months, London is filled with music, starting with the Promenade Concerts at the Royal Albert Hall in July. August sees the streets around trendy Notting Hill coming alive with a blend of reggae, soca, jazz, hip-hop and house music during Europe’s largest street festival. The Notting Hill Carnival also includes colourful costumes and carnival floats.

September/October
Autumn in London sees a variety of events from those of a sporting nature to seasonal harvest activities. The Great River Race from Richmond to London Docklands and the Horse of the Year Show both take place in September. If you’ve ever wanted to see traditional London Pearly Kings and Queens then October is your chance to do so at their annual Harvest Festival Service in St Martin-in-the Fields.

November/December
During the winter months London celebrates a number of anniversaries and ceremonies. Remember, remember the fifth of November when fireworks light up the sky all over London for Guy Fawkes night. The Lord Mayor’s Show, Remembrance Sunday and the State Opening of Parliament also take place in November. Christmas in London is celebrated by the ceremonial ‘turning on of the Christmas lights’ in Oxford Street, Regent Street and Bond Street and the huge Norwegian Spruce Christmas Tree that adorns Trafalgar Square, donated every year since 1947 by the city of Oslo.

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Food and Dining

London is a paradise for lovers of good food, and fine wine and ale with over 6,000 restaurants and 5,000 pubs. Try out cuisines from around the world; London has cuisine from over 60 different countries. London pubs are renowned the world over for their great atmosphere and character, not to mention their beers - bitter, lager and stouts.

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Electric Current

Europe uses 220 Volt current rather than the 110 Volt standard in the US. Basically this means your laptop, razor and hairdryer will require converters to function. Not only is the current different, but the outlets are incompatible as well.

But it's getting easier all the time. Many hotels provide a usable 110 outlet. Many razors and PCs have a 220 setting. However, to be safe you should make it a point to buy a set of outlet and current converters suitable for the countries you'll visit. (Also, remember to bring an extension cord in case you want to use your unconverted PC anywhere other than the bathroom.)

Water

Tap water is drinkable in London. In a restaurant, you can ask for tap water if you do not want to buy still or sparkling water.

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London has a huge number of Internet cafes to allow you to check your email while you are here. The most widespread is the EasyEverything chain who have mega cafes in Victoria, Oxford Street, Trafalgar Square, Tottenham Court Road and Kensington. The cafes are open 24 hours a day. www.easyeverything.com

Other smaller cyber cafes include Webshak in Soho, Cyberia in Whitfield Street,W1, Offshore Café behind Piccadilly Circus in Sackville Street. You can even surf at Waterstone’s bookshop in Piccadilly.

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Money can be exchanged at banks, bureau de changes and some post offices. In addition, it is often possible, depending on your card, to withdraw money from cash machines (ATMs).

Banks are typically open from 09:30 to 17:00 and some branches are open on Saturday mornings. It is advisable to compare exchange rates and check whether commission is charged before changing your money.

Travellers cheques
These are the safest way of carrying money. American Express offices will exchange Dollar travellers cheques without commission. They have branches in Victoria, Bloomsbury, Mayfair, Knightsbridge, the City, Kingston and Croydon, among others.

International Money Transfers
Western Union, American Express and Thomas can all provide this service.

Bureau de change
Thomas Cook, American Express, Exchange International, International Currency Exchange and TTT Moneycorp all have branches in London.

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Shopping

No visit to London would be complete without a trip round the shops. Knightsbridge is home to the upmarket department stores Harrods and Harvey Nichols. Other elegant emporia include Liberty in Regent Street and Fortnum & Mason in Piccadilly. Alternatively, there are London's lamous markets excellent places to hunt for unusual bargains. Anything from antiques to second-hand bric- a-brac and designer clothes are sold at Portobello Road and Camden Lock markets. Central London's Covent Garden specialises in handmade crafts and trendy clothes, and mainstream fashions can be brought along Oxford Street or Kensington High Street.

Departmental Stores:

• Harrods
• Harvey Nichols
• Johns Lewis
• Marks & Spencer
• Selfridges

Gifts and Toys:

• Hamleys
• Habitat
• The Museum Store
• Covent Garden

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Violent crime against visitors is almost unknown. However, pickpockets do target unsuspecting tourists in crowded areas.

A few tips to ensure a happy holiday:

• Always keep an eye on your bags and keep them with you.
• Keep your valuables close to you in crowded areas where pickpockets might function such as the tube or busy shopping street.
• Don’t walk down badly lit streets.
• Be careful that you put your money away carefully after taking it out of a cash point or changing it at bureau de change.
• Don’t forget that traffic travels on the left hand side of the street, so you will need to look right before crossing.
• Do not jump off a double decker bus until it has stopped.
• Do not give money to people in the street as this shows people where you keep your money.
• Do not accept or buy drugs, if offered.
• In the worst case scenario:
  The police, ambulance and fire brigade can be reached by dialling 999 on any public phone.

Women travellers

London is a safe place for women travelling alone. But just to be sure:

• Don’t walk down dimly lit streets or wander the parks or canal towpaths alone after dark.
• Don’t accept the offer of a lift from a minicab in the street. either hail a black cab or ask the hotel/restaurant to book a mini cab for you. If you travel on public transport, make sure you are in a carriage with other people.
• Many London hotels try and give women travellers a room on upper floors by a lift in the most brightly lit areas.
• It is common for women to be out on their own in cafes, bars and restaurants. Sometimes it is less comfortable in a pub, but you will be able to judge quite easily.

Tipping and service charges

Tipping is not common in the U.K. as compared to other countries; for instance, the Unites States. However, there are situations where you should give a tip.

Most restaurants add service charge to your bill. This varies from 10% to 17%, but 12.5% is most common. This is discretionary and you are entitled to have it removed if you did not enjoy the service. However, this would be an unusual occurrence. If service is not added to your bill, you should leave approximately 10%.

IMPORTANT: Always check the "Emergency Numbers" for the area you are in; and add them to your address book. When roaming with a GSM mobile phone in the European Union, use 112 for emergency services.

Travellers cheques / credit cards
US dollar travellers cheques can be conveniently cashed at all provincial banks and authorized money changers. Travellers cheques in other currencies are best changed in Bangkok where better rates prevail.

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