If you are tired of London you are tired of Life<\/p>\n\n\n\n
-Dr. Johnson<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Ask Londoners or tourists to name some London icons, as the\nTourist Board did a few years ago, and both groups come up with remarkably\nsimilar lists. Buckingham Palace, double-decker buses, Big Ben and the British\nMuseum are all mentioned. If you’ve never visited London before, of course, you\nwon’t want to miss its most famous attractions. But even if you’re a\nfirst-timer, why not see them from a new angle, one that shows this great world\ncity in all its complexity and diversity and \nthat is as popular with Londoners as it with visitors?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Iconic London<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Big Ben, silhouetted against the sky, is London’s most\nfamiliar sight. Technically, the name doesn’t refer to the famous Westminster\nclock at all but to the bronze bell inside it. To see Big Ben, along with the\nrest of Parliament, Westminster Abbey and most of London, from an altogether\ndifferent perspective, take a ride on London’s newest icon-the London Eye. The\ngigantic observation wheel rises 135 meters above the Thames’ South Bank (about\nas high as a 40-sotry building). Controversial when first proposed for the\nMillennium, it’s now London’s favorite visitor attraction. From the top,\nBuckingham Palace stands out against a forest of royal parks. Rent binoculars\nin the tickets hall, and you might also make out the thousands waiting for the\nChanging of the Guard. Those with a bit more “nous” (rhymes with\n“house”- Londonese for common sense) stroll up the road to the Horse\nGuards Parade. There, at the Palace of Whitehall, the ceremony of the Queen’s\nLife Guards offers more regalia and a better view. Mounted officers in red\nuniforms and plumed helmets have been performing the daily ritual since 1660.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
London’s best museums<\/p>\n\n\n\n
If you think going to museums is a rainy-day activity, it’s\na good thing London has wet weather. The gallery at the Courtauld Institute of\nArt (free before 2 p.m. on Mondays) is small, but crammed with familiar\npaintings by van Gogh, Cezanne, Manter, Seurat, Picasso and Gauguin. But\nfamiliarity is the last thing you should expect at the Tate Modern on the South\nBank. The work of such “Brit Pack” conceptual artists as Tracy Emin,\nDamien Hirst and Rachel Whiteread may challenge your very definition of art.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The cool, echoing chamber of the British Museum are bursting\nwith delights for history buffs-the Rosetta Stone, the Elgin Marbles that once\ngraced the Parthenon in Athens, and more. The Victoria & Albert Museum is a\nvast storehouse of applied and decorative arts. A Dale Chihuly chandelier in\nthe entrance dome-16 feet of sparking green and blue glass tendrils and balls\nheralds the museum’s National Glass Collection. The rest of the 6,000-piece\ncollection, just one among hundreds of tempting exhibits, includes everything\nfrom prehistoric and medieval pieces to the latest modern art glass.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Cultural London<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The commercial theaters clustered in the West End are only a\nsmall part of the arts scene. Londoners like the barbican complex for unusual\nensembles and challenging world theater, and the Royal National Theatre for\nhigh-quality repertory theater. For something completely different, cross the\nriver and join the “groundlings” at Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre.\nFounded by the late American actor\/director Sam Wanamaker, this faithful\nreconstruction, near the site of the original, has its own company to stage the\nBard’s plays in the open air. Seats under the thatched canopy are booked months\nin advance, but the tickets to mill about in front of the stage like a regular\nElizabethan are usually available. Between seasons, the theater and exhibition\ntour are worth a visit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Overall, the menu of arts is remarkable. There are 13\nclassical orchestras and ensemble, two major opera com- panies, dozens of jazz\nand world music venues. The Proms- a series of concerts at the Royal Albert\nHall, featuring visiting artists from all over is one of the great traditions\nof British summertime. With the exception of the hottest tick ets in town and\nseats at the Royal Opera Covent Garden, tickets for most performances can be\nhad at normal box-office prices on the day. Half-price tickets for West End\nproductions are also available from the Society of West End Theaters’ TKTS\nKiosk in Leicester Square.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Shopping in cool Britannia<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Fashionistas head for Harvey Nichols in Knightsbridge, just\ndown the road from that London institution, Harrods. Among the department\nstores Liberty remains a cherished favorite among shoppers out for originality\nand quality. The store’s reputation for craftsmanship dates from its founding\nin the late 19th century.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
London’s fashion school graduates head straight to the East\nEnd to set up shop where the wildest fringes of fashion can currently be found.\nA changing feast of little shops, specializing in everything from handmade\nshoes and hats to “deconstructed” tailoring men’s suits tuned inside\nout and turned into women’s clothing can be sampled in the streets and lanes\nbetween the Brick Lane and Spitalfields Markets. Like the markets, most are\nopen only on Sundays.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Among London’s many markets, the foodie paradise of Borough\nMarket is currently the place to shop for French, Italian and English cheeses\n(Stinking Bishop, anyone?), artisan breads, exotic fruits and vegetables, and\ngourmet goodies from all over the world. Go for lunch; eat and drink your way\naround the stalls, then buy some handmade Indian condiments from Mrs. Bassa, or\nSpanish sauces from Brindisa, to take home.3<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
If you are tired of London you are tired of Life -Dr. Johnson Ask Londoners or tourists to name some London icons, as the Tourist Board did a few years ago, and both groups come up with remarkably similar lists. Buckingham Palace, double-decker buses, Big Ben and the British Museum are all mentioned. If you’ve […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1284,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1271","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-international"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/biz.golamfaruque.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1271","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/biz.golamfaruque.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/biz.golamfaruque.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/biz.golamfaruque.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/biz.golamfaruque.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1271"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/biz.golamfaruque.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1271\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1285,"href":"https:\/\/biz.golamfaruque.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1271\/revisions\/1285"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/biz.golamfaruque.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/1284"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/biz.golamfaruque.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1271"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/biz.golamfaruque.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1271"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/biz.golamfaruque.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1271"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}