London

Christopher Wren Submitted a Fake Dome Design to Get Approval, Then Secretly Built the One He Actually Wanted

The committee overseeing St Paul’s construction required a simpler model before they would approve the project. Wren submitted one and then quietly built the dome he had always intended. The structure completed in 1710 uses three concentric shells – a brick inner dome, a hidden brick cone that bears the lantern’s weight, and the lead outer dome visible from the Thames – and it was considered architecturally controversial long before the story of its deception became well known. Climbing to the Whispering Gallery, where whispered words travel around the circular wall to the opposite side, then to the Stone Gallery outside, then to the Golden Gallery at the very top gives the best high-level city view accessible in London without a dedicated attraction ticket.

London was founded as Londinium around 47 CE, burned in Boudicca’s revolt in 60 CE, rebuilt, burned again in the Great Fire of 1666, rebuilt again, bombed in the Blitz, and has been rebuilding in patches ever since. The result is a city where St Paul’s dome, the Shard, the medieval Tower of London, a Victorian housing estate, and Norman Foster’s Gherkin share the same skyline without apology.

The Landmarks That Earn Their Reputation

The British Museum is free, vast, and properly inexhaustible: the Rosetta Stone, the Parthenon sculptures, the Sutton Hoo helmet, Assyrian lion hunt reliefs, Egyptian mummies. The Great Court’s glass roof, designed by Foster and Partners and opened in 2000, is worth seeing for itself.

The Tower of London has served as a royal palace, prison, treasury, armoury, and menagerie across 1,000 years. The Crown Jewels are the primary draw: the actual working coronation regalia, including the 530-carat Cullinan I diamond. Book the first morning entry slot for the Jewel House before queues build.

The National Gallery in Trafalgar Square holds Van Gogh’s Sunflowers, Velazquez’s Rokeby Venus, and Turner’s Fighting Temeraire. Free entry. Tate Modern in the converted Bankside power station has the best contemporary collection in Britain; the Turbine Hall installations are frequently spectacular and free for the permanent collection.

Shakespeare’s Globe: GBP 5 standing groundling tickets for summer evening performances are one of the best deals in London. Standing for three hours is a real commitment; the open-air Elizabethan theatre and the company make it worthwhile.

New in 2026

The V&A East Museum opened in April 2026 in Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, bringing the V&A’s collections to East London with accessible storage that lets visitors explore hundreds of objects directly. The London Museum also opened in a new home in 2026. Alexandra Palace’s SUMMIT rooftop walk – 130 metres above sea level with views stretching 25 miles across the city – is a new and genuinely worth adding to the list.

Neighbourhoods

Borough Market on the South Bank (operating in various forms since 1014, current structure from the 1800s) is the best food market in London. Friday and Saturday are the full market days. Shoreditch and Spitalfields for street art at scale, Spitalfields Market on Sundays. Hampstead village for the heath, open-water swimming ponds (cold, year-round), and the Spaniards Inn on the edge.

Eating

London is a genuinely great food city now. Post-war immigration from Bangladesh, Jamaica, Nigeria, Vietnam, and dozens of other countries filled it with serious cooking traditions that British chefs have used confidently. A Sunday pub roast with roast potatoes and Yorkshire pudding. Fish and chips from a chippy wrapped in paper. Dishoom’s black daal, cooked overnight, at multiple London locations.

Practical Notes

Use contactless payment on the Tube, bus, and Overground – automatically capped at the daily Travelcard equivalent rate. The Elizabeth Line across the city is fast, air-conditioned, and reduces journey times significantly: Paddington to Liverpool Street in 17 minutes. Most national museums are free. Carry a light waterproof in any season.