"The London page of Jacob M" a London Travel Page by jacob_m

I doubt London needs any further presentation.
It is one of the most important and famous cities in Europe.
It is also the financial center of Europe. All major European banks have branches here, all financial institutes have representation here, and all larger companies have offices here.

London has incredibly 7 million inhabitants, 10 million including some surburbs.
It is a very culturally diverse city.
Far from all those 10 million people are originally British.
There are many minority groups in the city. Large groups come from India, Pakistan, China, West Indies, and some African countries.
Besides that there is also a large number of students, people with temporary jobs, au pairs and other visitors.
I wonder how many people move in or move out of this city every day?!

I came to this city as a student to get a good university degree.
UK generally has a reputation of having a good higher education and there are several good universities in Greater London.
What I like about this city is that London is always alive, there is always something happening.
On the other hand I also have a need to get away from it every now and then, it is a large difference between living in London and going to London as a visitor/tourist.
I think most people here sometimes need to get away from all the traffic, all the crowds of people, and the pollution.
It just gets too much!

Great things about London
*Shopping: There are enough shops in the city to cover all tastes and needs.
There are Harrod's and Bond Street for luxury shoppers, CD department stores for music-lovers, lots of nice outdoor markets, Carnaby street, Oxford street, and much more...
Although shopping in London is expensive.
*Museums: There is a large number of great museums. Also all state-owned museums now have free entrance.
Check my travelogue to see what museums I prefer.
*Restaurants and food: As the London community is large and diverse, so is the restaurant business.
There must be restaurants with kitchens from each corner of the world here.
Eating out can be expensive though!
*Sights: I think most people agree if I say there are enough sights to fill most visits and most tastes.
Few cities have so many famous sights as London has.
*Nighlife: I once saw a number of how many pubs there are in London, although I have forgotten it, but there must be thousands of them.
There isn't a lack of trendy clubs either...or bars.
But if you're planning on a night out in West end, make sure your wallet can cope with it.

Less fun things about London
Yes, everything isn't great about London...
*The weather: It is very hard to predict the weather. It can be very cold, or very hot. It can rain nonstop for a week, or be very sunny.
It does rain a lot! Bring clothes for all kinds of weather.
*Costs: London is expensive. Restaurants, hotels, shops, transporation...everything costs. You do end up spending a lot of money here, especially as a tourist.
But there are ways to save money, things you learn once you move to the city.
*Traffic and transporation: The traffic and the pollution can drive me crazy. There just seems to be an endless stream of cars.
The underground normally works fine, except when something goes wrong.
A disruption of 10 minutes during rush hour means chaos, it really does.
In central London during that time they often have to close entire stations, just because the platforms get congested so fast.

Enjoy your stay in London!

I will try to update and extend this page in the near future.
There are so many more things to write about.
Feel free to rate what I've written so far or leave a comment.