Samuel Johnson declared that ‘when a man is tired of London, he is tired of life; for there is in London all that life can afford.’ And this is as true today as it was in Johnson’s day. London is exciting – a truly global city in which you can meet every nationality of the world. London has also been described as a hundred distinct villages making one unique city. Its character is reflected in colourful street markets, historic buildings, world-class museums and numerous, surprisingly tranquil, parks. So, whether your preference is for culture, socialising, shopping or sightseeing, it will not be long before London occupies a special place in your heart.

Sure, London can be expensive. But there are a lot of ways to enjoy yourself more economically and you can have a great deal of fun without spending a great deal of money.

You may already know that entrance to most museums and art galleries in London is free. But did you know that around 30% of London is covered in public parks and open spaces? Take a walk up on Hampstead Heath and you won't believe that you're in a city with 7.5 million inhabitants. The Heath has over 320 hectares of woodland and grassland that are open to everyone, to walk or run as they please. In Hyde Park, football and sunbathing are popular, whilst Regent's Park has London Zoo at its north end and a wide range of facilities and amenities including gardens, a lake with a heronry, waterfowl and a boating area, sports pitches, and children's playgrounds.

London is home to some of England's most famous football teams, but going to a Premier League game is not cheap. Do what Londoners do and have a party at home when there's a top game on TV: invite your new friends round, get the drinks and some take-away or home-delivery food in. It's cheaper than eating in a restaurant and the food will taste almost as good.

The luxury shops and department stores in Bond Street and Knightsbridge are enticing, but far too expensive for most of us to shop at regularly. Shop in street markets, however, and you can have fun as well as save a lot of money. You'll find plenty of street markets in London selling fruit, vegetables and other food, many of them open at the weekend. There are also markets that specialise in clothes, in antiques and in flowers. Car boot sales, where private individuals sell goods they no longer want, are a great hunting ground for bargains. CDs and books, clothing and household goods of every sort are displayed on tables lined up in rows behind the owners' cars. Prices are usually very low and the stallholders are ready to negotiate.

Full-time students at Pimlico Academy can get a discount on public transport in the London area, so a trip to visit a gallery or museum is a very cheap outing and an excellent way to learn more about British culture.

The list of things to see in London is almost endless and a lifetime would not allow you sufficient time to see everything. Here, though, is a list of the things you simply must see.

London's museums are a treasure trove waiting to be explored - from contemporary design to the animal kingdom.

The British Museum is the oldest public museum in the world and houses a treasure trove of objects. In more than two hundred years, the museum has built up a collection of over six million objects. Highlights include the Elgin Marbles, Egyptian mummies, Rosetta Stone and the Mildenhall Treasure.

There are extensive collections of Greek, Roman and Egyptian antiquities, plus coins, medals, prints and drawings. The recently opened Great Court has transformed the museum by covering the inner courtyard with a glass and steel roof. It houses new galleries, a restaurant and a dynamic new piazza.

The British Library is the national library of the United Kingdom. It is based in London and is one of the world's most significant research libraries, holding over 150 million items. The Library's collections include around 25 million books, along with substantial additional collection of manuscripts and historical items dating back as far as 300 BC. As of March 2004 the Library held 11.2 million monographs and received more than 41,500 regular serials. As a legal deposit library, the British Library receives copies of nearly all books produced in the United Kingdom, including all foreign books distributed in the UK. It also purchases many items which are only published outside Britain. The British Library adds some 3 million items every year.

The Natural History Museum contains hundreds of exciting interactive exhibits with sections on ecology and the animal world. Highlights include the Earthquake Experience, the Earth Galleries - which tell the story of our planet - and the Dinosaur Gallery. You can see creepy crawlies magnified hundreds of times, hear the roar of a dinosaur, explore the world of mammals, learn more about human biology and see the huge diplodocus skeleton.

The Science Museum is home to the world's most comprehensive collections of science, technology, industry and medicine. Learn about space flight or find out about steam locomotives and the world's first aeroplanes. Charles Babbage's calculating machine, Stephenson's Rocket and the Apollo 10 command module that made the first manned flight around the moon are all on display. There is a special interactive gallery for children called Launch Pad, where you can build a bridge and fly a plane.

The V&A is one of the world's finest museums of decorative arts. Where else can you find calligraphy and graffiti, Medici and Gucci, stained glass and fibreglass?
For 150 years, the museum's unsurpassable collections have intrigued, inspired and informed. Discover 3000 years' worth of amazing artefacts from many of the world's richest cultures. See ceramics, furniture, fashion, glass, jewellery, metalwork, photographs, sculpture, textiles and paintings - all for free at the V&A.

The award-winning Imperial War Museum illustrates life on the home front and on the front lines in the First and Second World Wars. The museum also tackles other conflicts with sensitivity and style. Walk through the Trench experience, share the dramatic Blitz experience complete with the sounds, smells of London during an air raid. The museum has a permanent section on the Holocaust and a changing programme of temporary exhibitions.

The Royal Observatory Greenwich was founded in 1675 by Charles II to find out the 'so-much desired longitude of places for perfecting the art of navigation'. The architect was Sir Christopher Wren, who was himself an astronomer. John Flamsteed, the first Astronomer Royal, moved into the new building, now named Flamsteed House, in July 1676. The Royal Observatory in Greenwich is the home of Greenwich Mean Time (GMT) and the Meridian Line.

The National Maritime Museum explains Britain's worldwide influence through its explorers, traders, migrants and naval power. The galleries include Oceans of Discovery, Nelson, Prince Frederick's gilded royal barge and ship models as up to date as P&O's Grand Princess cruise liner. Visitors will also find features on costume and the ecology of the sea as well as many beautiful maritime paintings.

Dedicated to the world of contemporary design, visitors can discover one hundred years of the best in international design and view state-of-the-art innovations at the Design Museum. Furniture, domestic appliances and graphics show the importance of design in our everyday lives. The museum has an innovative year-round programme of special exhibitions that have covered subjects as diverse as vacuum cleaners and Porsche cars.

London's Transport Museum tells the story of London's famous transport system, from 1800 to the present day. There are displays of buses, trams and trains plus the very latest in interactive displays.

The Theatre Museum illustrates the history of performance in the UK including displays on theatre, ballet, dance and music. There is an unusual programme of special events like workshops on stage make-up and costume.

The Imperial War Museum in Duxford offers a fascinating day out for aircraft enthusiasts of all ages. Learn the story of aviation through a variety of aircraft on display from biplanes and Spitfires though to Concorde and Gulf War jets.
Many of the historic planes housed at Duxford still fly, and you may see one take to the skies during a visit. Other highlights include the largest collection of American combat aircraft outside the US and an interesting collection of tanks and military vehicles. Duxford Airfield also stages a wide range of exhibitions, including 100 Years of Flight.

The Royal Air Force Museum in Hendon is home to a world class collection of over 70 aircraft, aviation memorabilia and artefacts, graphically depicting one hundred years of aviation development. In the Battle of Britain hall, the presentation, Our Finest Hour, uses film footage, audio and special lighting effects to portray the reality of the battle. The interactive Fun 'n' Flight gallery and flight simulator provides entertainment for all ages.

The Museum of London illustrates over two thousand years of London's social history, from prehistoric times to the twentieth century. On display are reconstructed Victorian shops and the Great Fire Experience, which shows how fire destroyed more than three quarters of the city and many of its churches, including St Paul's Cathedral. Archaeologists at the museum recently excavated two deep Roman wells in the City of London, discovering the remains of mechanisms used to lift water to the surface in Roman times.

London's major galleries are homes to work by some of the world's most famous artists. Many have free admission, so you can't afford to miss them.

The National Gallery is a 'must' for any art-loving visitor to London. The Gallery displays western paintings from about 1260-1900 and includes works by Botticelli, Leonardo da Vinci, Rembrandt, Gainsborough and Van Gogh.

The National Portrait Gallery houses a permanent collection of portraits of famous men and women from the Tudors to the present day. The likenesses of poets and princesses, sportsmen and statesmen are all on display. There are also pictures of royalty, including Annigoni's portrait of the Queen as well as the less traditional 1985 version by Andy Warhol. The Ondaatje wing has a Tudor Gallery, Balcony Gallery, a roof top restaurant with fantastic views over Whitehall, a lecture theatre and an IT gallery.

The original Tate Britain houses the national collection of British painting from 1500 to the present day, from the Tudors to the Turner Collection. It holds the greatest collection of British art in the world including works by Constable, Gainsborough, Hodgin, Hogarth, Moore, Rossetti and Turner.

The Tate Modern is the largest and one of the foremost museums of modern and contemporary art in the world. Its displays feature some of the art world's most famous movers and shakers such as Andy Warhol, Rachel Whiteread, Henri Matisse and Henry Moore. All works are arranged into four themes; landscape, still life, the nude and history paintings.

The Royal Academy of Arts is world famous for its continuous programme of outstanding exhibitions. The Academy promotes the work of past masters and contemporary artists and the popular summer exhibition (an open showcase) has been held since 1768.

The Saatchi Gallery is currently in the process of relocating, having left County Hall. It will reopen at the Duke of York's HQ, Sloane Square in early 2007. The gallery provides an innovative forum for contemporary art, presenting work by emerging young artists and international artists whose work is not well known in the UK.

Part of the Southbank Centre, The Hayward shows four exhibitions of international stature annually. The Hayward specialises in the works of modern masters and the most exciting names in contemporary art.

The Barbican Art Gallery has changing exhibitions of photography, art and design covering an exciting range of distinctive work. It reopened in April 2004 following major refurbishment which added 140 square metres of display space over two levels.

Somerset House is home to the Courtauld Institute Gallery of world famous paintings, the magnificent Gilbert Collection of decorative arts and the Hermitage Rooms, a permanent exhibition of treasures from The State Hermitage Museum, St Petersburg. The Gilbert Collection is a gift to Britain from Sir Arthur Gilbert and includes works in gold and silver, Italian mosaics, portrait images and jewellery, and the Hermitage Rooms displays a collection on loan from the State Hermitage Museum in St Petersburg.

London's Royal attractions are famous the world over. They preserve a sense of Britain's royal heritage from times past, as well as celebrating the continuation of the Royal lineage in modern-day Britain.

The London home of Her Majesty the Queen, Buckingham Palace opens its doors in August and September every year. Visitors may tour the State Rooms, including the Throne Room, Picture Gallery and State Dining Room which form the backdrop to the pageantry of court ceremonials and official entertaining. They are all opulently decorated with some of the finest pictures, tapestries and works of art from the Royal Collection. Parts of the gardens have also been opened as part of the tour.

Take a free guided tour with one of the Yeoman Warders around one of the most famous fortified buildings in the world. Discover its 900 year history as a royal palace and fortress, prison and place of execution, mint, arsenal, menagerie and jewel house.

Hampton Court Palace is the oldest Tudor palace in England and has been home to twelve monarchs, including the much-married Henry VIII. The palace boasts enormous Tudor kitchens, a real tennis court, a world famous maze and fabulous State Apartments. The gardens are the most visited gardens in England and include a unique restoration of King William's Privy Garden of 1702.

The original building was completed around 1605. Kensington Palace is probably best known as being the London home of the late Princess Diana. The Palace is also the home of the Royal Ceremonial Dress Collection, a unique display of royal, ceremonial and court dress including a selection of dresses worn and owned by HM Queen Elizabeth II and Diana, Princess of Wales.

This historic castle, dating back to the 9th century, is built upon two islands in a lake and was a royal residence for six of England's medieval queens as well as a palace for Henry VIII. Leeds Castle houses a vast collection of art, furniture and tapestries as well as a unique Dog Collar Museum. The gardens and grounds of the castle have an exhaustive array of attractions including an aviary, duckery, maze, golf course and vineyard. Throughout the year the castle hosts a wide range of events such as the spectacular firework display and magical Christmas festivities.

Situated in nearby picturesque Windsor, Windsor Castle is an official residence of The Queen and the largest inhabited castle in the world. Visitors can enjoy a look around the State Apartments furnished with fine paintings, porcelain, sculpture and armour. Other highlights include Queen Mary's Dolls House and St Georges Chapel, scene of many royal weddings. The beautiful castle gardens are also worth looking at, part of which were transformed by the award-winning garden designer Tom Stuart-Smith to celebrate the Golden Jubilee.

Old Palace, Croydon, is a former home for Archbishops of Canterbury over five centuries and a regular stopover for royalty such as Henry III and Elizabeth I. Highlights include the 15th century Great Hall, the Chapel, Long Gallery and Elizabeth I's bedroom. The palace is now a school for girls but historic tours are available on certain dates throughout the year.

A unique site in south east London, Eltham Palace is both a 1930s Art Deco country house and a magnificent medieval great hall. It was the scene of many society parties as the home of millionaire Stephen Courtauld in the 1930s. In its previous life, the 15th century great hall stood at the heart of the medieval palace and was the boyhood home of Henry VIII.

London’s places of worship, its churches and cathedrals, have played a key role in London’s history.

With its world-famous dome, St Paul's is a major feature on the London skyline. Designed by Sir Christopher Wren and built between 1675 and 1710, it houses famous works of art and intricate mosaics. Climb to the top of the spiral staircase for amazing panoramic views of the city.

Westminster Abbey is one of Britain's finest Gothic buildings, founded by Edward the Confessor in the eleventh century. Coronations, marriages and funerals of British monarchs have taken place there ever since, including the funeral of Diana, Princess of Wales. Visitors can see the Grave of the Unknown Warrior, Royal Tombs, the Shrine of St Edward the Confessor, the Coronation Chair, the Lady Chapel and Poets' Corner as well as the Royal Chapels.

Westminster Cathedral is the mother-church of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Westminster. The Cathedral was designed by John Francis Bentley and is a contrast to the more conventional architecture of England’s other Anglican Cathedrals.

St-Martin-in-the-Fields is a historic church overlooking Trafalgar Square. This is where Mary I worshipped and Charles I was christened. There are free lunchtime recitals on Monday, Tuesday and Friday and a café, art gallery and market in the courtyard. There is also still a Royal Box close to the altar.

St Bartholomew the Great Church was founded in 1123 and is the oldest parish church in the City of London. It features a pre-Reformation octagonal font, a 13th Century coffin, a 15th Century monument to Rahere and a jester at the court of Henry I. More recently, it has been seen in the film Shakespeare in Love.

The Palace was the residence of the Kings of England from the eleventh to the sixteenth century. In Medieval England Kings simply summoned their courts to wherever they happened to be, but by the fourteenth century the judicial and parliamentary courts resided in Westminster. Though the Lords resided in the Palace, they had no permanent meeting place until 1547 when the Royal Chapel of St. Stephen was given to the commons.

In 1834 almost the entire Palace of Westminster was destroyed by fire, with only Westminster hall, the Crypt of St. Stephens Chapel, the cloisters and Jewel Tower surviving the blaze. Westminster Hall and the remains of St. Stephens where then incorporated into the new Houses of Parliament, a building designed by Sir Charles Barry that took more than thirty years to construct.

The Houses of Parliament were hit by an air raid during the Second World War and the House of Commons Chamber was destroyed. The Chamber has since been rebuilt in the image of the original. The houses of Parliament contains one thousand rooms, eleven court yards, eight bars and six restaurants- though none are opened to the public. Members of the public can watch a session of parliament by either the Lords or the Commons from the public gallery.

The Jewel Tower can be found on Abingdon Street, opposite the Southern side of the Houses of Parliament. It is the only surviving part of the Medieval Palace of Westminster which was burnt to the ground in 1834. The building was built to an "L" shaped design as to not interfere with the garden of Edward III. A moat was dug around the tower on two sides. The tower was built to house the Kings Wardrobe- a collection of jewels and decorative items.

The ground floor of the building retains its vaulting and is adorned with grotesque heads and bosses. A marble table dating from the thirteenth century is also on display here. The Jewel Tower's last incarnation as the Board of Trade's Standards Department is evident through the displays of weights and measuring equipment on show.

Today the Jewel Tower is home to the "Parliament Past and Present" exhibition which chronicles the evolution in the government across the centuries. The Tower is easily accessed via Westminster Underground Station and a nominal admission charge is required to maintain the buildings standards.

The area of Whitehall was established on the site of Whitehall Palace, the residence of court until all but the banquet hall was destroyed by fire. The ceiling of the banquet hall was painted by Rubens and is currently used as a chapel royal.

The most famous address in Whitehall is of course number 10 Downing Street the home of the Prime Minister. Downing Street was named after Sir George Downing, the second graduate from the newly formed Harvard College in America. Downing bought land near Whitehall Palace and built a number of houses in the area. Downing Street has been the official residence of the Prime minister since 1732, when George II gave the property to Robert Walpole. No. 10 is not only the home of the Prime Minister; it is also the location of the Cabinet Room and State Dining Room and official offices.

Located on the Strand is the England's primary civil court- the Royal Courts of Justice. Housed within a magnificent Gothic building, the courts handle many of the nation's most serious civil, libel and appeals cases. The building was the last Gothic revival building to be built in London and was designed by G E Street, it is thought that the strain of building such an enormous project led to Streets untimely death. Queen Victoria officially opened the Royal Courts of Justice in 1882. Consisting of more than three miles of corridors and containing more than one thousand rooms- the architectural scale of the courts is breathtaking, the interior of the building every bit as lavish and impressive as the exterior. The public are permitted to view, unsupervised, all 88 court rooms- though Judges have been known to reprimand those who would interrupt proceedings.

Tower Bridge is named after its two impressive towers. It was designed by Wolfe Barry and Horace Jones, the royal architect who also designed the Smithfield Market.
The central section of the bridge can be raised to allow large vessels to pass, though in recent times it is not usually raised more than five times a week. Tower Bridge was completed in 1894 after only eight years in construction. It was the Corporation of London who decided in 1876 that London Bridge was no longer sufficient to cope with the massive amount of traffic that Victorian London required. The problem the commission faced was that the bridge would need to allow water traffic through and so fifty variations of the current design were submitted. These initial designs can be seen at the Tower Bridge Exhibition. Tower Bridge was constructed from more than eleven thousand tones of steel and granite blocks that were transported from Cornwall. The power to raise the bridge was originally powered by steam, although fossil fuels are now used. The Tower Bridge Exhibition has been established for over twenty years and is housed within the structure of the bridge itself.

Trafalgar Square was built in honour of Lord Nelson after his victory at the battle of Trafalgar where he was killed in the battle with Napoleons army. The square was built in the early nineteenth century to a design by the Prince Regents favourite architect, John Nash. The site had previously been a royal stable yard. The most eye-catching sight in the square is Nelson's Column, the eighteen foot statue of Lord Nelson standing on top of the 171 foot column. Before the statue was installed, fourteen stone masons had dinner atop the column! At the Base of Nelson column is a frieze made from a cannon captured during the conflict and four bronze lions designed by Edwin Lanseer.

Piccadilly Circus derives its name from a frilly collar that was popular in the seventeenth century. A dressmaker who made the item became wealthy and bought property in the area. One of the most famous landmarks in Piccadilly Circus is the statue of Eros- the pagan god of love. The Statue was originally called the Shaftsbury Monument after Lord Shaftsbury. Though the fountain is made of Bronze, the figure of Eros itself is constructed from Aluminium, a rare and unusual material for the time.

Piccadilly Circus is instantly recognizable due to the extravagant neon signs, and is one of London most vibrant entertainment areas. The area has many pubs, clubs, cinemas and restaurants. Piccadilly Circus was originally part of the design for the Regent Street area by John Nash but has been distorted over the years. The pedestrianised area of Piccadilly Circus conceals a maze of shops and several shopping malls, some of which are hidden behind the facing of the London Pavilion, a once significant music venue.

Piccadilly Circus is the most visited part of London and is the junction for five major streets. Carnaby Street, Soho,Trafalgar square and Leceister Square are also all within close proximity to Piccadilly and it is because of this position at the crossroads of so many areas that has led to it being dubbed ‘the hub of London’.

Leicester Square was originally set out in 1670. The site was south of Leicester House a former royal building that has since disappeared. Leicester square was once a very fashionable place to live and boasted among its residents Sir Isaac Newton, the scientist who theorized the idea of gravity. The famous artist Hogarth was also a resident here and painted many of his society portraits from his studio at number sixty-eight. In 1801 Hogarth's house was converted into the areas first restaurant; named Hotel de la Sablionere.

The Empire Cinema on Leicester square was formerly a popular music hall with the same name. Towards the end of the twentieth century the Leicester square area had become a somewhat undesirable location until Westminster Council invested heavily in the area during the 1990s. Leicester Square is now home to some of London’s largest cinemas and is the venue for many premiers. The movie influence is apparent from the statue of Charlie Chaplin. To the North of the square is the Swiss Centre famed for its hourly chiming clock. The Society of West End Theatre's ‘half-priced ticket booth is located in the Clock tower buildings and sells reduced tickets to many of London’s shows on the same day as the performance.

Convent Garden Piazza is the area where the world famous Covent Garden Market is held. In the early seventeenth century Inigo Jones was commissioned by the Earl of Bedford to create London’s first residential square, Inigo Jones love of Italian neo-classicism architecture is obvious in the design of the piazza. The market held here consists of over forty stalls selling a variety of quality goods including antiques, clothing and craft items. The area was formerly the site of London’s largest fruit and vegetable market which has since moved to Bermondsey. The piazza is a favourite location for street performers; Peruvian and classical musicians can regularly be found in the courtyards amidst the stalls. The London Transport Museum is now housed in the Victorian Flower Market in the South West of the piazza. Other attractions near to the piazza include Jubilee Hall, the tuscan-style church of St. Paul and the Royal Opera House which is linked to the Piazza via Bow Street. The area is one of the few remaining large pedestrianised areas left in London and as such also attracts large numbers of pedestrians! Many shops and restaurants now cater for the new brand of visitor. Because of the numbers of visitors that the markets attracted over the centuries, Covent Garden Piazza had its own underground station built to ferry these customers and visitors to and from the markets, something which is now appreciated by Londoners and tourists alike as they visit Covent Garden and soak up the cheery atmosphere.

The BA London Eye is a major feature of London's skyline. It is the world's highest observation wheel and offers passengers spectacular views of over 55 of London's most famous landmarks - all in just 30 minutes.

Linking the Magnificent St. Paul's Cathedral across the Thames to the Tate Modern is the remarkable Millennium Bridge. The design was determined by an international design competition which was open to architects, artists and engineers from across the world. The bridge was to represent a colabraration between art, design and engineering to reflect London in the new millennium and also to symbolize the strengthening relationship between the financial community and the arts of the Southbank. The competition was won by sculptor Anthony Caro and engineers Ove Arup and company.

At Madame Tussauds you will come face-to-face with some of the world’s most famous faces. Experience the glittering world of celebrity in “Blush”, our star studded party. Become a cover star alongside Kate Moss, or try squeezing Brad’s bottom without Angelina noticing. Or why not get your challenge in the Big Brother Diary room? From Shakespeare to the Dali Lama you’ll meet history and politics’ most influential figure heads in the World Stage; sing along with Justin Timberlake and Kylie; strike a penalty with football icon Rooney or receive a once-in-a-lifetime audience with Her Majesty the Queen. And there’s more! If you dare, enter “Chamber Live”, a high security prison where serial killers and psychopaths will do their best to make you scream. Then, grab a cab in the “Spirit of London” ride and experience the rich history of London!

Dive down deep beneath the Thames and submerge yourself in one of Europe's largest displays of aquatic life. Opposite Big Ben, the London Aquarium is the only place in the capital where you can come face-to-face with two-metre long sharks. Also discover the world's most venomous fish, gaze at the mysterious seahorses and meet our frenzied piranhas. Friendly rays are waiting to be stroked, while those brave enough can even touch our starfish and crabs.

The Dungeons invite you to a unique feast of fun with history’s horrible bits. Live actors, a ride, shows and special effects transport you back to those black, bleak times. Are you brave enough?

The Globe Theatre is a faithful reconstruction of the open-air playhouse designed in 1599, where Shakespeare worked and for which he wrote many of his greatest plays. The theatre season runs from May to October with productions of the work of Shakespeare, his contemporaries and modern authors.