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If you’re like lots of foreign visitors to London, you’ve probably got West End fever. Buckingham Palace, Parliament, Horse Guards Parade, Hyde Park, Harrods, Soho, and West End Theatres are the big draws in the West End. But, as we’ve documented in these pages before, there’s much more to London than the West End. In fact, we’ll dare to rewrite Horace Greeley by suggesting that, in London, to find adventure, go east, young man, go east. Take a chance, and come along for a half-day’s discovery tour through parts of London not knee-deep in tourists. Walk with us in the City of London. |
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THIS ARTICLE FIRST APPEARED IN APRIL, 2005. |
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"The City", or "The Square Mile", is the original city of London and
London’s financial & banking center. The City is home to the Bank of
England, London’s International Stock Exchange, Lloyds of London, and
many other major financial institutions. During working hours on
weekdays The City has a population of 300,000, making it a densely
populated square mile. But after 5PM and on weekends and holidays The
City of London is home to only about 7,000 residents, changing its
character to something more like a provincial town. |
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the founding of Londinium in the 1st century. |
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Romans abandoned London to the Saxons in the 5th century, London
expanded beyond the Roman walls. But, with the Norman Conquest the
borders of the City of London became fixed to approximately its current
limits. Neighboring cities and boroughs, like the City of Westminster (a
principal piece of the West End) and the Borough of Tower Hamlets just
east of The City (including St. Katharine’s Marina), grew up around the
historic City of London. Although a few tantalizing sections of the old London Wall remain—including a very visible portion Home at First guests pass every day as they walk the 5 minutes to Tower Hill Underground Station—the traditional borders of The City have long ago disappeared. In fact, despite its continuous habitation for two millennia, the principal evolution of The City of London has been driven by conquest, disease, fire, and war. Remarkably, The City of London has rebounded to greater size and success after each calamity; renewing and reinventing itself has been the salvation of The Square Mile. Still, if you know where to look, you can still spot evidence of the previous incarnations of the last 2,000 years of history tucked among some of the most expensive real estate on earth. A walk through the southeastern quadrant of The City provides more than a few clues into the rich past of this oldest part of London. |
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Follow the golden trail on the interactive map below. Click on the links in the 10 captions below or on sections of the interactive map that follows to see details of what you will be seeing and experiencing along the way, including:
1. Discover
Romans,
Saxons, Normans, and headless nobles en
4. Find out what brought John Wayne, Harry Potter, Angelina Jolie,
6. Heft gold bars for free at the
Bank of England.
8. Learn why London’s second Great Fire may have been a good thing,
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London with Home At First. (When you do, you can easily walk through the City of London in a day.) Home
At
First offers travel to London and many other great regions throughout the British Isles. |
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