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Trafalgar Square – once the royal mews – is a hub of the West End and a venue for public rallies and events. From the top of a 50-m (165-ft) column, Admiral Lord Nelson, who famously defeated Napoleon’s fleet at the Battle of Trafalgar in 1805, looks down Whitehall towards the Houses of Parliament. The column is guarded at its base by four huge lions – the work of Edwin Landseer. On the north side of the square is the National Galleryand the church of St-Martin-in-the-Fields while, to the southwest, Admiralty Arch leads to Buckingham Palace.

Admiralty Arch

Located adjacent to each other at the top of Trafalgar Square, these comprehensive galleries make up the core of Britain’s art collection.

This royal abbey has, since 1066, been the place where all Britain’s monarchs have been crowned (seeWestminster Abbey and Parliament Square).

The official home and office of Britain’s Prime Minister is one of four surviving houses built in 1680 for Sir George Downing (1623–84) who went to America as a boy and returned to fight for the Parliamentarians in the English Civil War. The building contains a State Dining Room and the Cabinet Room, where a group of 20 senior government ministers meets regularly to formulate policy. Next door, No. 11, is the traditional residence of the Chancellor of the Exchequer. Downing Street has been closed to the public for security reasons since 1989.

During the dark days of World War II, Winston Churchill and his War Cabinet met in these rooms beneath the Government Treasury Chambers. They have been kept just as they were left in 1945, with sandbags piled up outside and colour-coded phones. Take a guided audio tour through the rooms where ministers plotted the course of the war or visit the Churchill Museum which opened here in 2005.

When the Pool of London was the gateway to the city’s larder, this flamboyant bridge was constantly being raised and lowered for sail and steam ships bringing their cargoes from all corners of the Empire. Pedestrians who needed to cross the river when the bridge was open had to climb up the 300 steps of the towers to the walkway overhead. Today, visitors on the 90-minute Tower Bridge Exhibition tour still have views from the 40-m (135-ft) high walkways. The entrance is beneath the north pier, where a “journey through time” begins. It ends with a hands-on experience in the massive engine room, and exits via a shop on the south bank of the river.

This stunning, blade-like suspension bridge links Tate Modern on Bankside with St Paul’s and the City opposite. Unfortunately, this new footbridge suffered from excessive movement when it opened to a rush of pedestrians in 2000. It has since reopened and is a delightful and apt approach to Tate Modern.

This gigantic observation wheel (the largest ever built) is opposite the Houses of Parliament, on the South Bank, and offers great views of the city (see London Eye).

To see a Shakespeare play at the reconstructed Globe is a magical experience. Seated in three tiers, open to the skies, the audience is encouraged to heckle and shout as they did in Shakespeare’s day. Except when a matinee is playing, visitors to the exhibition next door are given guided tours of the theatre by staff.

The oldest museum in the world, it contains a rich collection of treasures and artifacts from every corner of the globe (see British Museum).

In this museum, which is housed in part of the former Bethlehem (“Bedlam”) Hospital for the Insane, a clock in the basement moves remorselessly on, recording the world’s war dead – a figure that has now reached 100 million. Six million of them are commemorated in the Holocaust Exhibition. Other displays include evocative re-creations of World War I trench warfare and the life of Londoners during the World War II Blitz. Now it is “total war” that we have to contemplate, and this, too, is explored.

It is well worth the effort to visit this museum, which documents the social effects of war as much as the technology involved in fighting it, with displays on food rationing, censorship, air-raid precautions and morale-boosting strategies. Concerned mainly with conflicts in the 20th century to the present, it has changing exhibitions and an excellent shop that will appeal to those with a nostalgia for wartime London.

This museum of decorative arts is one of London’s great pleasures, with 145 astonishingly eclectic galleries. One of the highlights is the huge Fashion Collection, with exhibits dating from 1600 to the present day. The museum also has collections of jewellery, ceramics, metalwork, glass, paintings, prints, sculpture and rooms full of Indian and Far Eastern treasures.

Now housed in a spectacular new building in St Pancras, the British Library holds copies of everything published in Britain, as well as many historical publications from around the world. Members have free access to these, while non-members can enjoy the magnificent space and the regular exhibitions put on here. A dazzling, permanent display in the John Ritblatt Gallery includes the earliest map of Britain (1250), a Gutenberg Bible (1455), Shakespeare’s first folio (1623), Handel’sMessiah (1741) and many breathtaking illuminated manuscripts. The glass walls in the core of the building reveal the huge leather volumes from the King’s Library, donated by George III. There are regular talks and events, a café, restaurant and, of course, a well-stocked bookshop.

This 62-m (202-ft) monument by Sir Christopher Wren is the world’s tallest free-standing stone column. Its height is equal to the distance from the baker’s shop in Pudding Lane where the Great Fire of London began in 1666 – the event that it marks. Inside, 311 stairs spiral up to a viewing platform; when you return to the entrance, you will receive a certificate to say that you have made the climb.

The World Heritage Site of Greenwich includes Sir Christopher Wren’s Old Royal Naval College, Greenwich Park and the Royal Observatory Greenwich where the Prime Meridian, Longitude 0 , was established. In the fine park are the Queen’s Houseand National Maritime Museum. Greenwich has several excellent restaurants and marine-related shops as well as a market selling arts, crafts and antiques. The old tea clipper, theCutty Sark , is nearby.

Clock at Royal Observatory

The world’s largest maritime museum, perfectly located in part of Wren’s Royal Naval Hospital, has much to offer. The 1805 Battle of Trafalgar is re-enacted, and Admiral Nelson’s fatally pierced tunic is on display. Antarctic expeditions are recalled and there is a collection of boats, from coracles to royal barges. State-of-the-art simulators give an idea of modern navigation and what it was like when theTitanicwent down.

Designed by John Nash as a junction in Regent Street, the Circus is the endpoint of the street called Piccadilly. Its Eros statue – erected as a memorial to the Earl of Shaftesbury – is a familiar London landmark and a popular meeting place. Piccadilly Circus is also renowned for its neon advertising displays, which mark the entrance to the city’s entertainment district. On the south side of the Circus is the Criterion Theatre, next to Lillywhite’s – a leading sporting-goods store.

London’s most famous and exclusive department store is more of an event than a shop. Covering seven bustling floors, it is full of extraordinary things to buy – from wild animals to pianos to children’s racing cars – all with equally extraordinary prices. The food hall is rightly famous, and don’t miss the tiled meat hall or basement pantry and cheese hall.

Claimed to be the largest bookshop in Europe, Waterstone’s stocks a quarter of a million titles. There’s a restaurant, cafés and bars.

This flagship British brand is known for its underwear and food.

London’s most exclusive shopping street, Bond Street (known as New Bond Street to the north and Old Bond Street to the south) has long been the place for high society to promenade: many of its establishments have been here for over 100 years. The street is home to top fashion houses, elegant galleries such as Agnews and the Fine Art Society, Sotheby’s auction rooms and jewellers such as Tiffany and Asprey. Where Old and New Bond Street meet, there is a delightful sculpture of wartime leaders Franklin D Roosevelt and Winston Churchill – well worth a photograph.

One of an excellent chain of sandwich bars with a selection of sandwiches, soups, sushi and salads.