Guide to Having a Drink in London

Most of the pubs in London and throughout the United Kingdom are tied to a particular brewery and sell only that brewery’s beers. You see the name of the brewery on the sign outside. Independent pubs can sell more brands than a tied pub. Either way, you still have to choose from what may seem like a bewildering variety. The colorful names of individual brews don’t provide much help — you can only wonder what Pigswill, Dogs Bollocks, Hobgoblin, Old Thumper, Pommies Revenge, or Boondoggle taste like. Depending on all sorts of factors — the water, the hops, the fermentation technique, and so on — the brewery crafts the taste of any beer, whether on draught or in a bottle. You can get a few U.S. and international brands, but imports are more expensive than the home-brew.

When ordering beer in a pub, specify the type, the brand, and the amount (pint or halfpint) you want. Asking the bartender to recommend something based on your taste preferences is perfectly okay. Just remember that most English beer is served at room temperature. The following brief descriptions of the most common types of beer will come in handy in a pub:

• Bitter is what most locals drink. It’s a clear, yellowish, traditional beer with a strong flavor of hops. Real ale is a bitter that’s still fermenting (“alive”) when it arrives from the brewery; it’s pumped and served immediately.  
• Ale isn’t as strong as bitter and has a slightly sweeter taste. You can order light or pale ale in a bottle; export ale is a stronger variety.  
• Lager, when chilled, is probably the closest you can come to an American-style beer. Lager is available in bottles or on draught.  
• Shandy is equal parts bitter and lemonade (sometimes limeade or ginger beer); it’s for those who like a sweet beverage that’s only partially beer-like in taste.  
• Stout is a dark, rich, creamy version of ale. Guinness is the most popular brand. A black and tan is half lager and half stout.

See also: The Best Museum of London

The Best of London’s Performing Arts

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London's Urban Charms

London is one great city that has actually gotten better over the years. In deference to the millennium year 2000, the city dusted itself off and spruced itself up in ways that have benefited residents and visitors alike. The best museums of London, such as the Great Court in the British Museum, have been revamped with stunning results, and new museums, such as Tate Modern, have opened. Sleek, new bridges now span the Thames, and riverside areas have seen a flurry of development. Trafalgar Square has been joined to the National Gallery, making pedestrian access a breeze rather than a chore. All in all, London has shaken off its old mantle of hidebound traditionalism, has embraced multiculturalism, and is now high tech and cutting edge.

But the old fabric of London still remains and invites exploration. Despite all the improvements in public transit, London remains a city where walking is a joy that reveals no end of simple urban pleasures; Let me tell you about the best.

London is blessed with marvelous parks. You may have heard of them: Hyde Park, Kensington Gardens, St. James’s Park, Green Park, and Regent’s Park. These carefully groomed havens, where you can stroll beneath stately trees, lounge on the grass, watch ducks in a pond, or admire the color of the springtime daffodils, were former royals-only hunting grounds. Now they’re part of every Londoner’s life and life’s blood, the green lungs of an otherwise congested city.

What could be more fun than just wandering around London’s streets? Try it. Pick a neighborhood — the City, Soho, Chelsea — then just stroll at will, taking note of the wealth of architectural styles, the curious reminders of days gone by, and the array of local sights, such as the blue, “famous-person-lived-here” plaques on house fronts. On some streets, you can almost hear the horses’ hooves clopping on the cobblestones as they did up until about 1915.

The South Bank and Southwark areas on the “other” side of the river have been opened for pedestrians and show off an ancient area of London that’s been completely revitalized. You can enjoy a waterside walk with city views from Westminster Bridge to Tower Bridge.

The variety of architectural styles adds to the beauty of the city. Because the Great Fire of 1666 burned down most of medieval London, the building and house styles that you see tend to range from the sober neoclassical of the early 18th century, to the more elegantly light-hearted Regency style of the early 19th century, to the heavier and less graceful Victorian period of the mid- to late 19th century. The human scale of London streets, with their long terraces of attached brick, stone, and stucco homes built around leafy squares, gives the city a charm and character that intrigues and delights the eye. London grew from a series of villages, and you can still find that village like character in many London neighborhoods.

See also: The Best of London’s Performing Arts

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The Best of London’s Performing Arts

London is a world capital, and that includes being a world capital of the performing arts. When the sun goes down, the curtain comes up.

Theater

For many visitors, going to the theater is reason enough to go to London. When actors of the highest caliber are on the boards — as they always are in London — you don’t need to think twice about going to the theater; you just go. The London theater scene is phenomenal, and prices are lower than in New York. Take your pick:long-running international-hit musicals, light comedies, hard-hitting dramas, new works in “fringe” venues, everything from William Shakespeare to Oscar Wilde to Neil LaBute, the modern musicals and beyond.

Opera

Opera buffs appreciate the fact that London has two major opera companies. International stars appear at the historic Royal Opera in Covent Garden, where operas are performed in their original languages. A few blocks away is the English National Opera, where every opera is sung in English by mostly British performers and the productions tend to be more adventuresome.

Classical music 

Every night, lovers of classical music have an embarrassment of riches to choose from. London is home to several world-class symphony orchestras. The London Symphony Orchestra plays at the Barbican Center, where good seats cost as little as £15. The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra performs at Cadogan Hall and the Royal Albert Hall. The newly refurbished Royal Festival Hall is home to four resident orchestras: the London Philharmonic, the Philharmonia Orchestra, the London Sinfonietta, and the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment. Other renowned U.K. and European orchestras perform regularly in the city, as do internationally known chamber music ensembles. A summer highlight is the Proms concerts at Royal Albert Hall, featuring an international roster of the best orchestras and soloists in the world.

Ballet 

Dance aficionados can enjoy an evening at the Royal Ballet and/or the English National Ballet, both of which have regular London seasons. Smaller dance companies, from traditional to cutting edge, are at home in venues throughout the city.

See also: The Best Museum of London

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The Best Museums of London

If you’re a dedicated museum maven, London’s selection will keep you going for days, weeks, months, even years. This city is loaded with every conceivable kind of treasure from all over the world. And, amazingly enough, entrance to all the great national museums is free.

National Gallery

The National Gallery houses the nation’s greatest collection of British and European paintings from the 13th to the 20th centuries. Here, you find works by Italian masters, such as Leonardo da Vinci and Raphael; canvases by every great French Impressionist; a stunning Rembrandt collection; and paintings by great British artists, such as Turner and Constable.

British Museum

The venerable British Museum, with its unparalleled collection of antiquities, comes out on top — the magnificent Parthenon sculptures (formerly called the Elgin Marbles) understandably hold pride of place there, but you’ll be amazed by the superlative Egyptian and Roman collections, as well as the ancient treasures found in England.

National Portrait Gallery

If you tire of the great Western European masterworks hanging in the National Gallery, you can walk next door to see images of pop icons like Elton John and Princess Di in the National Portrait Gallery. Here, you’ll find a visual who’s who of every famous Brit in history, captured in paint, stone, bronze, and photographs.

Victoria & Albert Museum

Keen on decorative and applied arts? Then head over to the Victoria & Albert Museum, a linchpin in the cluster of great South Kensington museums. The V&A, as it’s called, houses wonderfully decorated period rooms, a comprehensive fashion collection, Italian Renaissance sculpture, and acres more.

Natural History Museum and the Science Museum 

The other two outstanding museums in South Kensington are the Natural History Museum and the Science Museum. Animatronic dinosaurs, including a hungry T. rex, are the cold-blooded stars in the Natural History Museum’s famed dinosaur exhibit, but while you’re there, check out the mind-boggling collection of gems. In the Science Museum, you come face to face with legends from the world of science and technology.

Tate Modern

London’s South Bank is buzzing with the addition of the stunning Tate Modern. Housed in a former power station on the river, the museum exhibits an international roster of contemporary greats.

Tate Britain

Tate Britain holds the world’s greatest collection of British art. Wander through rooms filled with works by William Blake, Turner, Hogarth, Sir Joshua Reynolds, Constable, and all the pre-Raphaelites.

Museum of London

London lovers will love the Museum of London, probably the world’s most comprehensive city museum, which features an amazing collection of Roman antiquities (the museum incorporates part of a 2,000-year-old Roman wall) and tells the fascinating story of London through the ages.

Spencer House, Apsley House and Hertford House

You can also enjoy masterpieces in museums that were built as private palaces, such as Spencer House, former home of Princess Diana’s family; Apsley House, home of the first Duke of Wellington; and Hertford House, home of the Wallace Collection, a national museum.

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