Understanding London

To begin, welcome to London! The largest city in the European Union with over 7,000,000 inhabitants, and with a fantastic and vibrant history at the heart of world events for centuries, London is one of the world’s greatest cities by any measure. It is also one of the most diverse cities in the world, with over 30% of residents born overseas.

To start becoming a Londoner, the first thing you must understand is our confusing use of the word “city”. London is a city (small c), meaning a major conurbation of people. However, the city we think of as London is, strictly speaking, a County, which has 33 subdivisions – 32 “boroughs”, plus the ancient “City of London” (large C). The “City” is just one square mile in size and has just 20,000 inhabitants. It is primarily a business district and does not have what modern standards would call “democracy”. It has its own police force and runs many services separate to the rest of the County. Just to make things more confusing, the City of London is not the only city in London – as there is also the City of Westminster, one of the 32 “boroughs”, which is where LSE’s campus is located. If you’re confused, you should be!

Areas of London

London is divided into numerous districts, far too many for us explain, but the (very) brief general points you should know are...

The City

The City is the Business heart of London. Home to St Paul's Cathedral, Tower Bridge, the Tower of London, the Bank of England and Monument (an tall tower which you can ascend for a great view of London). The City is also worth a visit at the weekend for the 28 Days Later-style ghost-town atmosphere. 

Westminster

Alongside the City, Westminster is the other principal centre of London. Home to the Palace of Westminster (Houses of Parliament), Wesminster Abbey, Downing Street and, of course, LSE!

Canary Wharf

Canary Wharf is a modern second business centre of London, built up since the 1980s as a glistening district of glass skyscrapers in what used to be a post-industrial wasteland. Many investment banks, law firms etc are located here.

West London

West London has a reputation for being a more prosperous and upmarket place to live. In the centre, the West End is London's entertainment and shopping district.

North London

North London is home to many good residential areas, as well as the home of the Arsenal and Tottenham football clubs and the English national stadium at Wembley. 

East London

East London has an industrial reputation tied to its location downriver from the rest of London - this is where, historically, the docks were located. In recent decades there has been huge regeneration here - most notably Canary Wharf (see above) and now the Olympic Park area in Stratford. The famous "cockney" accent is associated with East London.

South London

South London has unfortunately a rather poor reputation, which isn't always deserved. Wimbledon, the home of British tennis, is in South-West London, and the outer suburbs are very nice. They also have an Ikea in Croydon.

Check out the London Wikitravel Guide for a better understanding of all the diverse areas of London!