"A Tale of One City" London by Ramonq

click: Streets of London music

For those who come from English-speaking countries, this is the mother city where it all started. It was once the centre of the vast British Empire, that by the early 20th century during Queen Victoria's reign, it was literally an empire where the sun never sets. The empire's legacy has turned London into one of the greatest cities in the world. Former colonial cities as diverse as Wellington, Mumbai, Vancouver, Yangon, Perth, or Cape Town echo some of London's architectural styles. Despite losing all her colonies, as nation after nation claimed independence during the second half of the 20th century, London still has that majestic imperial aura about her, and visitors will notice this as soon as they arrive. London is where the throne of the British monarchy still stands. Everywhere there are constant reminders of the regal presence in London. From everyday things like postboxes and phone booths, to the numerous grand civic buildings around the capital city, the symbols of royalty are visibly imprinted on them.

London also lives on her trademarks very well. Londoners have a penchant for uniforms which have become part of London's image. The beefeaters, the bobbies, the pearly cockneys, the bowler hats are classic London styles and the desire to be distinctive even extends to the city's public transportation such as the red double decker buses, the hearse-like black cabs, and the underground tube. I haven't seen a city with so many trademarks that even though most world cities are starting to look like each other, London stands out from the crowd. London is a brand name with a distinctive logo to separate her from others.

London got its name from its ancient namesake, Londinium which the ancient Romans gave to the ciity when they built the town by the River Thames. London was once a small northern outpost of the Roman Empire on the spot near the Barbican. The collapse of the empire gave rise to small Christian European kingdoms with the papal blessing from Rome. Medieval London built abbeys, cathedrals and monasteries and generations of kings and queens also built castles, palaces, parks, stately homes and fortresses. By the 17th century, London embarked on empire building in the Americas and expanded further to other continents until it waned in the 20th century. The rise of the British Empire made London extremely prosperous and populous but the onset of the Industrial Revolution in the 19th century created massive inequality in the distribution of wealth. Parts of London were cold, fetid, wretched slums amidst pomp and circumstance, all breathing foul smoke from coal-powered mills and factories. The class system has become entrenched with the rise of the middle classes who built comfortable terrace homes around the city. London now is a cleaner city and the historical landmarks still stand despite fires and Nazi bombing.

Most of the tourist spots in London are located in the northen bank of the River Thames. There are many districts in London and each one hosts lots of interesting places to visit. The City of London itself has the Barbican, St. Pauls Cathedral, Tower of London and the Tower Bridge; The St James/Belgravia district has the Westminster Abbey, Big Ben, Parliament House, Downing Street, Trafalgar Square, Buckingham and St James Palaces. The Soho/Mayfair district is the entertainment and shopping centre with the Picadilly Circus as its core. Knightsbridge/Kensington district has the famous Hyde Park, Kensington Palace and the Victoria-Albert Hall. Bloomsbury district has the British Museum.

I explored these areas initally by foot and if you start from Aldwych Street, most of these areas are within 3 kms. from here. Of course, London has an efficient public transportation. They can all be reached by underground trains or those red doubledecked buses.

London was the first city to have the population reach the million mark as a result of industrialisation. It still dominates British society and other cities like Birmingham, Manchester or Liverpool pales in comparison to London. Its importance to Britain and the world is obvious. The city is one of the greatest financial centres of the world. It is the seat of power for the United Kingdom, as well as the throne for its royal head of state. London is also a global cultural centre where many artistic trends germinate and hosts some of the best museums in the world where precious artworks are displayed. London is one of the greatest First World cities which accounts for its popularity with the jetset crowd. It is an "Alpha" world city, up there with the likes of New York, Paris and Tokyo

Greater London now occupies a huge area and it is surrounded by congested ring roads and from where its tentacles branch out in the form of motorways. The city's main gateway, one of the world's busiest airport, Heathrow Airport, is in the western outskirts of the megalopolis. Dormitory suburbs are growing around pastures that surround it and a few have become large communities themselves such as Harrow in the northeast, Barnet in the north, Barking in the east and Croydon in the south. Because of its popluarity and importance, London has become so expensive that many of its residence have been moving out of the city centre and into the outlying suburbs. I have met Londoners who commute 2 hours a day just to get to work downtown. London is quite a dear city to visit. I recommend having a large budget when in London.

Londoners are a diverse lot. It is a melting pot as a result of migration from its former colonies and from other parts of the British Isles. It also has a huge expatriate communities from continental Europe and the United States. In London, there is a game called "spot the Englishman" because many of the citizens on the streets are descendants of immigrants from the Indian subcontinent, West Indies, Hong Kong, West Africa, or camera-toting tourists from Brisbane, Dallas, Osaka and continental Europe. There also appears to have a class divide in London where "proper breeding" , speech and family background determines ones status in the British society. In London, there are so many English accents being spoken that some of them sound almost like a foreign language. I was spoken to by a West Indian Londoner and believe me, I couldn't understand the word she said even though it was in English.

It's hard to write briefly about London because its colourful history, varied lifestyles, extensive infrastrustructure, and its sheer size will take a lot of thought into it. All I can say to conclude thiis intro on London is derived from a famous quote "If you're tired of London, then you're tired of life"

• Pros:Plenty of things to see and do
• Cons:Overpriced
• In a nutshell:London, difficult to fit in a nutshell