Since the north side of Trafalgar Square was converted into a pedestrian zone, many music and other live... events have taken place here. Sometimes you have to fight your way up the wide steps which lead to the National Gallery. The Neo-Classical building (designed by William Wilkin in the middle of the 19th century) houses one of the most important collections of paintings in the world. Here you can admire works by Leonardo da Vinci, Michelangelo, Rubens, Rembrandt, Monet, Cézanne, Van Gogh and many others. Early Renaissance works can be found in the Sainsbury Wing added in 1991. The gallery rooms are quietest on weekday mornings and on Wednesday evenings between 6 pm and 9 pm. The ambitious restaurant "The National Dining Rooms" or the delightful "National Café" are perfect for a taking a breather over lunch or afternoon tea. more

The huge castle right beside the River Thames is one of the British capital's foremost tourist attractions.... Encircled by mighty walls, buildings from different eras are grouped around velvety green lawns. For 900 years the Tower has been bound up with the story of London and of England as a whole. Its heart, the White Tower, was built by William the Conqueror. His successors built additional palaces within the protective confines of the Tower. When later kings took up residence in Westminster, the Tower served as a prison and a place of execution. A brass plate in the inner courtyard marks the place where two of Henry VIII's wives mounted the scaffold. The Beefeaters, guards in traditional uniform, will be happy to tell you about prominent prisoners and unsolved crimes which took place in the Tower. The priceless British Crown Jewels, which can be admired in the Jewels House, contrast in sparkling fashion with the more gruesome side of the Tower of London. Royal crowns heavily embellished with diamonds and precious stones, swords, decorations and royal tableware make a dazzling spectacle. more

London has a number of first-class art galleries, but the Tate leads the field both with respect to the... importance of its collections and also in the popularity stakes. This, the original Tate Gallery, which has outposts in St Ives and Liverpool as well as the Tate Modern in the former Bankside power station, now aptly calls itself Tate Britain. It houses the national collection of British paintings from the sixteenth century onwards. The international classics of the modern era are also well represented. The works on display range from sculptures by Picasso and Henry Moore through to the paintings of Mark Rothko. Altogether the Tate owns some 5,000 paintings and sculptures, plus around 30,000 drawings, sketches, etc. Since only 1,000 works can be exhibited at any one time, those on view are changed at regular intervals. The collection of works by Joseph Mallord William Turner in the adjoining Clore Gallery is simply incomparable. It includes some of the artist's most famous oil paintings and watercolours. more

This small area between Oxford Street, Regent Street and Covent Garden is home to a melting pot of different... cultures. Immigrants from France, Italy and Greece opened small grocery stores, where to this day the employees of the film and advertising agencies around the green space of Soho Square do their shopping. The aroma of cappuccino wafts across from Italian bars, and elegant restaurants offer tempting French cuisine. A traditional fruit and vegetable market (Mon-Sat 9 am-6 pm) runs along Berwick Street, where the first exotic fruits were offered for sale in London. London's small Chinatown around Gerrard Street is a truly exotic experience, dotted as it is with Chinese restaurants and shops full of herbs & spices and watercolours, and with its telephone boxes adorned with pagoda-style roofs. Shimmering illuminated advertising hoardings in Piccadilly Circus, jazz sessions in cellar bars, cabaret shows and drag queens, huge discos and cinemas in Leicester Square, gay clubs and theatres - all these are essential ingredients of Soho by night. more

When the Queen is away on a State visit, you can still see her here along with all her family. Prominent... politicians, stars from the worlds of pop music and showbiz, sporting personalities and film stars are honoured in wax at Madame Tussauds. New examples of the great and the glorious are constantly added to the carefully arranged groups of figures and settings. The huge numbers of visitors never cease to be amazed at how lifelike the models are (NB: children under 16 must be accompanied by an adult). But don't be surprised if the security guard doesn't answer your question about the Chamber of Horrors, which contains the most infamous criminals to have lived in the realm - he may be made of wax too. After your tour, take a ride in a motorised black cab on the 'Spirit of London' through the sights, sounds and smells of 400 years of London life before you visit the gift shop. The former Planetarium was converted into the Stardome in 2006, where virtual extra-terrestrials hurtle towards Earth through various spheres. more