London is the capital and largest city of both the United Kingdom and of England, and the largest city in western Europe. Situated on the River Thames in South-East England, Greater London has an official population of roughly 7.5 million people—although the figure of over 14 million for the city's total metropolitan area more accurately reflects London's size and importance. London is historically one of the great "world cities" and remains a global capital of politics, culture, fashion, trade and finance..
The name "London" originally referred only to the once-walled "Square Mile" of the original Roman (and later medieval) city (now confusingly called the City of London, or just "The City"). "London", however, has taken on a much larger meaning, to include all of the vast central part of the modern metropolis, the city having absorbed numerous surrounding towns and villages over the centuries. Reflecting the massive size of the metropolis, therefore, the term "Greater London" embraces central London, together with all the outlying suburbs that lie in one continuous urban sprawl within the lower Thames valley. Though densely populated by New World standards, London retains large swathes of green parkland and open space, even within the city center.
Greater London consists of 32 London boroughs and the City of London that, together with the relatively new London mayoralty, form the basis for London's local government. The names of several boroughs, such as 'Westminster' or 'Camden', are well-known and self-explanatory, others less so, such as 'Hackney', or 'Tower Hamlets'. A traveller's London, however, is better defined not by strangely-shaped and often fairly arbitrary administrative divisions, but rather by recognized functional, cultural, and social districts of varying types and sizes:
- Central
- The City of London - the historical, and financial, core of the city
- Westminster including St James's - a city in its own right, and home of the British government and royal family
- West End - theatres and shops
Chinatown - the Chinese district
- Covent Garden - designer and alternative shopping, as well as a famous opera house
Leicester Square - one of the mainstream entertainment hubs, lots of cinemas
- Oxford Street - high-street shopping
- Soho - nightclubs and restaurants, the heart of Gay London
- Trafalgar Square - churches, galleries, monuments
- Holborn
- South Bank - a vibrant, artsy district fronting the river Thames
- Bloomsbury - academic and intellectual area, many of the University of London's constituent colleges are based here
- Mayfair
- Marylebone
- Clerkenwell
- Paddington - centered around Paddington Station, includes Bayswater and Queensway
- West - major centers include Kensington, Chelsea, Hammersmith, Fulham, Shepherd's Bush, Chiswick, Acton and Ealing.
- North West - the upscale areas of St. John's Wood, Maida Vale, Finchley, Hampstead Garden Suburb and Hampstead; but also includes immigrant and working class Wembley and Kilburn.
- North - covers Archway, Camden, Crouch End, Islington and Wood Green.
- North East
- East - a mixture of galleries and bustling nightlife, as well as the some of the most deprived areas in the country. Now the focus of redevelopment for the London 2012 Olympic Games. covers Bethnal Green, Bow, Brick Lane, Clerkenwell, Docklands, Hackney, Mile End, Poplar, Shoreditch, Stepney, Stratford, Walthamstow and Whitechapel
South West - covers Battersea, Brixton, Clapham, Kingston, Putney, Richmond, Twickenham, Wandsworth, Wimbledon, Streatham and Tooting.
- South East - covers Greenwich, Bromley, Croydon, Deptford, Dulwich, Lewisham and Penge.
London is easily the largest city in the United Kingdom, eight times larger than its second largest city, Birmingham, and ten times larger than the third, Glasgow, and dominates the economic, political, and social life of the United Kingdom (much to the annoyance of people in "the provinces" - i.e. everywhere except London). The city is full of excellent bars, theatres, museums, art galleries, and parks. It is also the most culturally and ethnically diverse part of the country, and, for a visitor, a nice side-effect of this is the wide range of cuisines available. Samuel Johnson said "When one is tired of London, one is tired of life." Whether you are interested in ancient history or modern art, opera or underground raves, London has it all.
England's royal families have, over the centuries, added much to the London scene for today's traveller: the Tower of London, Buckingham Palace, Kensington Palace, the Albert Memorial, the Royal Albert Hall, and Westminster Abbey being prominent examples.
London possesses one of the best collections of museums and galleries anywhere in the world. World cultures throughout history are well represented, for example, at the British Museum.
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