The great City. When you travel it is a must see.

It has a cosmopolitan character of its own, is cute and is great fun to explore. But it is too expensive and can tire you if you are not accustomed to the British mentality (though you have plenty of options)

An amazing city for families if price is no object. Had a great time there, interspersed culture (Tate Modern) with kid stuff (Legoland) and touristy activities (London Eye). Everyone had a fabulous time. Spent very little time on the historical sites -- kept that for the next adventure.

The weather's not great, but this is still a cool, historic town.

Love the beer. . .love the history. . .love the women. . .you will meet people from all over the world. . .just an amazing city- can't wait to go back. But it's so huge it helps if you know a local who can help get you around. . .

London is the worse place on earth, and i'm English. It's probably fun to visit as is any major world city. But having lived there for the last few months I can honestly say the standard of living is extremely poor. No wonder we were so keen to start an empire....anywhere to flee to. There are no real Londoners anymore, the place is overun with immigrants that can't speak english and act as if they own the place. Getting around is pretty tough as there is no real metro area and distances are great which in turn are serviced by a really poor tube network. And don't get me started on how expensive it is. Anyway check it out for yourself.

Amazing city. Lots to do there. Buildings such as westmiinister and St.Pauls Cathedral are just breath-taking. I visit there twice a year, and especially like all the different cultures you can see by visiting market stalls and shops.

Very expensive, but so much to do! Great shopping, museums, and cocktail bars. If you need to escape from all the people, take a relaxing break in Regents Park. It has a beautiful rose garden and Shakespeare in the Park in summer.

I grew up here but London is sometimes a bit over-rated in many aspects in my opinion. Sure it's an absolute melting pot of cultures and it's thriving with a bustling 'happening' atmosphere that I'm sure most cities envy, however I've been fortunate enough to live and work in some parts of Europe and New York, aswell as the West Coast, L.A and Vancouver, in comparision, England's infrastructure is at times a mess beyond belief and it doesn't seem to be getting any better. In many ways it's a stressful city since theres more people here than the city itself can handle and the constant background noise and pollution and sheer amount of people constantly in your face can take it's toll on you eventually.

Underneath all the hustle and bustle lies a city with a very poor infrastructure. Plumbing problems continue to exist in this late 20th century and public transport is really no better than some third world countries. Housing is expensive and the standard of living is definitely below average. Hygiene has always seemed to be lowest priority in this city as poorly treated patients at hospitals are prone to bugs and fatalaties due to poorly trained staff.

A city I would visit, yes by all means. As a tourist you will no doubt like what you see in a short period of time. You can shop til you drop in this city and visually there's alot to take in.
Live here, no thanks.

I had the opportunity to visit London a few times and it would definitely be my second choice place to live. I enjoyed the people, walking in the beautiful Hyde Park, knowing that at every tube stop is some wonderful museum or point of interest. The people in London are so civilized; they take pride in the beautiful gardens, they walk everywhere and adore cats and dogs. There are some great restaurants and boutiques also. I wish I could afford to go back for a vacation this year.

London is a wonderful city with everything imaginable. It is an extremely easy city to visit because there is so much tourist information. The public transportation system is convenient. There are grand parades and reviews of some kind every day. Pubs abound along with reminders of yesteryear on every corner. London can be very expensive, similar to NYC, but with imagination and pre-planning one can see and do hundreds of free things. The open air markets are a lot of fun and the people watching is superb. We go there whenever possible. travelingfool

a fantastic city steeped in history, with grand buildings and fantastic arcutecture. one of the three cities holding up the stock market. the most stylish city in europe

Most Awesome city ever!!!! Never a dull moment!

London is one of the worlds most remarkable and exciting cities. It is one of only two genuinely global financial centres(the other being New York). London is Europes largest and richest city, it is the financial capital of the EU. Some statistics about London the financial centre... The London foreign exchange market is the largest in the world with a $753bn foreign exchange turnover each day (31% of the global share and more than New York and Tokyo combined)), London has 43% of the global foreign equity market, 70% of all eurobonds traded in London(oh the irony), London has $643bn daily turnover in 'over the counter' derivatives (42% of global share). There are 242 foreign banks in London (for comparison a city like Sydney has 34) and 519 foreign companies are listed on the London Stock Exchange, London is home to 75% of Fortune 500 Companies and is home to more than 150 of europe's top 500 companies. If it were a country, the London metropolitan area would be the 13th largest economy in the world - higher than the GDP of nations like Holland and Australia. That's all pretty impressive and it's only the half of it.


It's not all just business though. This vibrant metropolis embraces the diverse cultures of its population, reflected through cuisine, shops, music and colourful festivals.London is Europe's most multi-cultural society, 30% of London's population were born overseas, over 250 languages are spoken in London. All this gives London cosmopolitan feel that no other European city can compete with. This was probably a key to London winning the 2012 Olympics IMO. Multi-culturalisim also plays an important part in the cuisine of Europe's premier city. In 2005 London was voted the gourmet capital of the world by the prestigiuos American food magazine, Gourmet: Ruth Reichl, editor of the Gourmet magazine said in her editors letter, London is a city filled with chefs at the top of their powers, and all they want to do is make their guests happy.

. "We were hoping to find good food, but we didn't expect to find so much of it. We were blown away.

"What London has that other cities don't right now is high-quality food at all levels. In every category, from comfort food to gastronomic experiments, we loved what we ate.

"When people ask me where to go I tell them 'London'. The glory days are back."

As well as raving about London's restaurants, the magazine highlights the capital's thriving cultural life.

"You are about to enter a city brimming with culinary and cultural possibilities," the introduction to the issue advises readers.

"Great gastropubs, hidden gardens, free concerts, lively markets, cool bars, and fabulous food from around the world. The journey into 21st century Britain starts here."



London has something to offer every type of traveller, even those who want to only see only the grey and depressing. Sure there is lots of bad things about London (the 'weather' to name but one), but what great city is perfect? I dare you to name just one.

I'll let the doctor sum up :When a man is tired of London, he is tired of life; for there is in London all that life can afford" - Dr. Samuel Johnson

Been to some major cities-New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Toronto, Paris, Edinburgh, Havanna, Honolulu, but I think London is my favorite so far.

THE city of the world! London is absolutely marvelous . . . culture . . . history . . . arts . . . people . . .quaintness . . .and on . . .

When a man is tired of London, he is tired of life, for there is in London all that life can afford. --Samuel Johnson, 1777. And it continues to be true today. One wonderful city with activities, culture, and history enough to satisfy the most jaded.

Although i wouldn't say London is a terrible place.I certainly couldn't see muself living there.I do agree with some of the comments.I think it is very much over-rated.Maybe my expectations were a bit high.You certainly think of London as one of Europes great cities.But that probably has to do with finance more then anything else. The weather is not good at all.The life style seems rather bland.And the nightlife wasn't very impressive,apart from the famed club scene. I remember aproaching Trafalgar square with tremendous expectation only to find my self extremely dissapointed. The parks and greenery of the city is lovely though.But as a whole the word dissapointed is the word i would use the most when describing London.

How anyone can dislike London is beyond me, fantastic museums and sights, so much to see and do night and day.......all i can say is wow!

I totally hate London & The whole of England & Europe. But England sucks big time. I hated it so much I am happy to say I now live in Canada . Things I hate about the UK I hate the ignorant louts I hate Drunks Puking on walls I hate the constant swearing I hate Soccer or as the Brits call it Football I hate Cricket & Rugby I hate the Pub Culture I hate the whole God Dam Dirty City I hate British Food I hate British Politics I hate British Opinion I hate British Weather I hate Coronation Street Crossroads The Bill Emerdale Farm & Eastenders I hate Cockney I hate all the uneducated People I hate the British Weather I hate the small talk I think the only good thing in the UK are a few nightclubs but if I never see England ever again it will be to soon. I pray I never have to return to the the horrible place called of England. I am sooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo happy I no longer live in the UK.

The most over-rated city in Europe.Liked nothing about it.Some on this forum say that London has everything you can imagine.Really?Where is the blue,sunny skies?The beaches?The street life?(so limited and inexistent when compared to other cities like Madrid or Milan).It doesn't look like a grand city like Paris.It's more of a large number of villages put together.Apart from a couple of nightlife areas,it is like a deserted town at night.Boring. And apart from a few grand buildings it is architecturally un-inspiring.And how about those early closing hours?Not for me thanx.

Extremely Overrated! Big Ben and parlament aren't as interesting as they make it seem. It's always gloomy and gray. ALthough it's not the worst city in europe but I like it more than paris!

London has always had a rich heritage. Throughout its history, London has managed to survive. Through bombing raids by the Luftwaffe during World War II, London has embodied the resolute spirit of Sir Winston Churchill. It's just amazing to me that a city such as London seems to strike a balance between the new and old. And perhaps because of this, it has again won the right to host the 2012 Summer Olympics. But there is no doubt it is a great city.

I lived there for a year in high school, so I have definitely experienced it thoroughly. London's huge, and unfortunately pretty dirty in spots, but it is one of the best 3 cities in the world. The best places to see, in my opinion, are Buckingham Palace, Regents Park, Big Ben/Parliament, St. Paul's Cathedral, Tate Modern Museum, and the London Eye.

This is one of the hardest places to rate (Really, I hate the idea of rating most anything but its an awesome vehicle to vent for the opinionated). By its very nature, London defies definition and breathes contradiction. It has been said about London, 'when you are bored of london you are bored of life'...Apparently the author was biased in typical old British fashion and didn't have an empty pocketbook. I've spent enough time in London to think of it as a second home - long enough to be bored at times and yet this city still remains elusive to me. Part of it has to do with its sprawl - London is so big and unlike New York, very horizontal. Another is the fact that I'm a not a true Londoner, if indeed, there is such a thing. This is a place that accepts all graciously but marries few.

The greatest city in the world, the true Urbi et Orbi. This city is not only the capital of the British Empire, but the captial of the world. All the world pays it homage and tribute. There is no other place in the world that compares with it. I just wish they would do something about their transportation infrastructure, particuarly the decrepit overpriced tube!

The planets ultimate city.......

There are lots of things to see and do in London. Plan on using the Tube, you do not want to drive unless you absolultly have to. Its an old town with a lot of vehicles on the road. Plenty of history and entertainment. Another nice place to visit but I would not want to live there. People are not the friendliest.

The city is very hip, the people warm, open-minded and friendly. Very trendy and people dressed up-to-the minute fashion as London is one of Europe's major innovation centres. Downside:as a born and bred Londoner, it is disappointing to see that due to it being a 24 hr place it has been impossible to keep clean, lots of graffiti, litter, unattended road and building works; grimy streets, badly maintained, broken railings and fences and posters slapped everywhere, the people not socially considerate any more. Unchecked mass immigration is greatly diluting its Englishness- I know that sounds old-fashioned but I think it's sad. Lots of new high rise structures that make no effort to harmonise with the rest of the landscape. The parks however are great and ARE very English and the South Bank route along the Thames is great for a sense of British history; the London Eye is a particularly superb new attraction, despite its rather odd location. The city is frankly a rip-off, unnecessarily expensive and Londoners stress over the highest taxes/costs than any other European city. Leicester Sq used to have a wonderful Swiss Centre restaurant and food shop but now it's a tacky cheap tatty clothes store. I hear Westminster Council are seeking to renovate the entire north area of the Square- that'd be good! Having said all that, London can be anything you want it to be and definitely has a buzz like no other place on earth. So much to see and do and a friendly, tolerant place. You should see it at least once in a lifetime.

Probably the best city in the world. You can do anything here!

One thing i can't figure out? What is up with this whole city of london and then all these little seperate towns or boroughs that don't really consider themselves part of london, yet make it look like a huge city, the city of london actually only has about 4000 people. I understand the borough system of New York City, but i just can't seam to grasp the one of london, where do those places stop becoming boroughs that are part of london, and start becoming their own seperate towns?

Go see the sights and get out! Dirty unfriendly, busy, smelly and huge.

Love it and had a great time. I would not recommand this for people that don't like to walk or want to be around people.

London is a great city to visit, there is so much to see and do. You can walk for miles and never get bored. There is a wonderful sense of history about the place as well. Sure it's busy and crowded but this all adds to the excitement for me. I've never had a problem with the people in London either. Wouldn't want to live there myself as I think I would be overwhelmed...and the prices are quite high. Nice place though.

Narendar, you have to be a certain type of person to make the most of a city where anything is possible. You obviously failed miserably. I'm Anglo-Indian and you are talking bollocks about the British. Best bugger off somewhere else, eh?

There is so much to do in this city. There are many museums and galleries and of course the Tower of London. London has a unique history that's worth checking out. There's amuzement parks, zoos, parks, places to eat and shop. This town is beautiful and is a safe city. If you go to London, make sure you go all over the country because it is beautiful.

ANSGARD is an idiot. Nice thinking, pretending to be from Italy. England Rocks, so much great music comes from there, more in fact than from anywhere else in the world. I'd love to go there.

I wanna go back.

Hate the place. Overated and unpleasant.

London is second only to Paris as Europe's greatest city (and that's only due to climate). Nothing to do in London? HA! Museum of Natural History, National Gallery, and the British Museum are three of the best museums in the world. Take a historical walking tour. Tour Churchill's underground bunker from WW2. Go watch Parliament. Go to Hyde park and watch the public speakers (or even summon the courage to do it yourself!). The London Zoo is among the best in the world. The nightlife on the southside is fantastic, not to mention the amazing variety of theater productions all year. Plus, there are easy day-trips to Cambridge, Stratford, and other great places. If you found London boring, then you're simply not trying. And London need not be expensive. Stay in a B&B instead of a hotel, use the subway, and eat pub grub and London will not threaten your budget. I've been to London 5 times and I will never get tired of it.

It's the worse city i ever seen to be honest. Nothing like the pics you see on magazines...no no It's dirty, crowded, a mess basically.. Plus there's nothing really good to see...It's really ugly looking

The worst capital in Western Europe. Dirty, overpriced, hectic, rude people, too big but still cramped. I live in the UK and am at a loss to figure out why most tourists stay in London and rarely venture out except on day trips to see the usual cliches e.g Bath, Stratford etc. It's a stinking cesspit. Scarlet Feather - if you come to London it's best that you're aware of the sordid reality rather than be sorley disappointed. There are some nice areas like Richmond Park and Hampstead. But for each of these there are dozens of run down, crime infested hovels caked in litter and pollution such as Harlesden, Hackney, Tottenham, Stockwell, Brixton etc etc. Also i suggest you avoid tourist hotspots like Bath, Cambridge and Stratford on Avon. They're always heaving. Try less tourist heavy places like Shropshire, the Peak District, the Brecon Beacons and North Yorkshire.

Certainly deserves to be on top of this list as a CITY tourist destination. Very good public transport, relatively safe, with the very best of historical, artistic and cultural attractions that any single city may have, the details of which are beyond a the scope of this brief message. But do not just stay in London, there is a lot more to Britain than London, so try to get out if U get a chance.

lilili, and GuavaMonkey, how do I know that you're not saying these awful things about London to keep us Yanks from moving over there? Is it really so bad? I guess I will just have to come over there and see for myself.

OK, visit if you want to, but warning: DO NOT LIVE HERE! Seriously, if you're some Europe-enamoured American, please stop and think about how delusional you are. The houses are puny, and before you actually own a medium/small house, you'll have to have worked decades, since a house that size costs half a million quid + mortgage interest. The pollution, expensiveness, claustrophobia/crowdedness, dirtiness, crime and lack of sunshine (awful damp climate in general - winters are really grey and dark, SNOWLESS, sunless with very short, sombre days, wet, windy, murky, too long, depressing and gloooooomy - summers are usually cool and cloudy but really humid and unpleasant. If you get any sunshine, it will be through a kilometre thick haze) will get to you eventually. These things will slowly consume you, and before you know it, it's too late to escape. Visit, please. Your money eases our suffering. But don't live here. Oh, and don't get a train to the city centre before 10am. It might only be a couple of miles, but it will cost you 12, which is like 20 dollars. It's cheaper to pay the fine.

London has to be one of the great cities of the world. My comments are based on too many visits for me to count (I think it's up to about eight) between about 1992 to 2000).Don't go if you want to relax, because there's just too much to do. There's something for everyone. Possibly the only negative note is that you really have to get used to watching to your right instead of left before you cross a street because of the British habit of driving on the wrong side of the road. Food is good (maybe not great); everything from fish and chips (those are great) to Chinese, Indian, Italian, yhou name it food. The people usually are so polite and correct it makes you wish we had some of the same here in the States (it seems as if every female in a service job calls every male Dear of Love). Hotels in London tend to be somewhat stodgy, and room sizes and comfort vary widely. First time I stayed the bathroom was larger than the bedroom (no joke). Prices can be high, but use common sense. Go to a Tesco (a supermarket chain) and get ready-made sandwiches and reasonably priced soft drinks for lunch. Stay away from sidewalk vendors for drinks - they will gouge you. If you're there for a couple of days or more, get a London Walks brochure (available in most hotel lobbies), and take as many of these walking tours as you can. First-rate guides (many are actors or writers in their regular jobs), and there's a real variety of walks (ghost walks, pub crawls, Jack the Ripper, etc.).I could go on and on, but suffice it to say, it's worth the visit (and the language is not a problem - well, sometimes it is. As they say, Brits and Americans are two peoples divided by a common language!).

too dirty and people r rude

Aaaaaaarrrrgggghhhhh!!!! Too Hectic! Did you know more people live crammed into London than in the whole of Scotland? I'm English, so London isn't just another tourist destination for me. There are undeniably loads of things to do there, but it's too overcrowded, overpriced, the tube feels more like a cattle car at times and most of the buildings are ugly. Speaking as an ENGLISH person, Paris is much nicer.

As a fellow Brit, I feel I have to say something about my capital. I have been visiting London since I was knee high, usually on my Birthdays and it has always appealed as an exciting place. Seeing as I only live 40 minutes away, I regularly visit for restaurants, clubs, museums, exhibitions, theatres, hotels and of course shopping. There is so much to do and historicaly you can't beat it. I do recommend you get off the beaten track occasionally just to sample the true London - get on the tube and get out of the heart. As a downside and seeing as I did work there for five years I would say it is very, very busy - England is a small country and we are finding it hard to cope with the tourism, let alone our own traffic and population problems but no matter what you might hear, we are not all pretentious and stuck up and we welcome happy tourists. If you are highly opinionated, easily offended and narrow minded then steer clear. Otherwise, you havn't lived if you don't spend at least three days in London. If you want to know any more, by all means leave me a private message.

Can't wait to visit London someday. The history of london is fascinating! I can't wait to see all the old buildings and try to guess what they've seen through the years.

ok and nice

I've lived in London all my life (age 18) and in my opinion it's a city which has it all... I live in a place called Maida Vale at the moment which is in Westminster and I go to college on Notting Hill Gate itself. If you have never been here then you should definetly pop over one day, it really does have something for everyone

The ideal tourist city. Public transportation is a breeze in this city, between the tube (mind the gap), the plentiful, comfortable cabs, and the red double-decker buses. It seems that everywhere you go there is something interesting to see - from art galleries, to ancient buildings, to the theater district - and the city is extremely safe and tourist friendly. Arguably the capital of the world, you will hear every imaginable language as you walk around this city. While the local cuisine gets a bad rap, I was perfectly happy with the pub food, and found there to be a tremendous variety of ethnic restaurants - I thought the Greek and Indian restaurants were especially good. The nighlife is worldclass as well - have a couple pints of bodington's in the local pub, and head for the clubs around ten. Londonders are extremely trendy, and definitely cast off an aura of urban hip. It doesn't hurt that most people speak English either...

I kinda liked it, Oxford street was cool, but it was kind of expensive. And there were homless like-everywhere. That I did not understand. What is it with the londoners? They only care about money and themselves. And FOOD. Come on, get over yourselves. Yet, it´s a beautiful town. Maybe I´ll see you around, next time?

The culture and history is truly amazing. The food sucks. The weather sucks.

I pity the 99.9% of the World's population who don't live in London ! We have evrything you could possibly need - theatre, music, castles, palaces, museums, history - did you know Queen Boudicca died on platform 10 at King's Cross Station ? Wait, on the other hand - you don't want to come here and clutter up my beautiful city with tourists - how about Paris ????

I've lived in London for nearly a year now and I still love the place - despite the numerous amounts of people in the centre which can make it impossible to get around. London is full of amazing buildings and has such unique places to visit. I work near Piccadilly Circus and am greeted with the sight of Eros and the horses statues every time I go to work, Leicester and Trafalgar Squares are close by as is Buckingham Palace. Thats the thing about London, things are close by, but sometimes you just don't realise it. I do advise people who are planning to come over to make sure of one thing, if you are planning to see a lot and will be using the tube, ensure there isn't a strike taking place. You can check