The original. The numero uno. The settlement for the Romans all the way back in 1st century AD. An old-time area in the heart of cosmopolitan central London, the cobblestone streets of The City will enchant you… right into one of its many, many pubs.
The City of London is one of my favourite boroughs in the capital, and one I was lucky enough to live in for a few years. Despite its lack of parking (something Dad loved to remind me of whenever he visited), it’s a great spot to stroll around on an afternoon.
The oldest in town
As the original settlement to the Romans, there’s some pretty old stuff about. As I learned on a Halloween ghost tour, Cloth Fair is home to the oldest residence in London, while sections of the original London Wall built around the city (well, the settlement of Londinium at the time,) still stand, peppered around the borough. Conveniently, many wall fragments sit within a five-minute walk of tube stations, including Tower Hill, Liverpool Street, and St Pauls, and often along the aptly named London Walk road - check out all the points here. If you fancy a night-time stroll, I do recommend one of the ghost tours in the area; they serve more as a cool history lesson, rather than a fright night. Oh, and Christmas time; it really is like something out of the Christmas Carol.
London Wall
Tourist attractions
A number of London’s main tourist attractions sit in the area, all within walking distance of one another. Let’s start with a big one - literally. The Grade I-listed St Paul’s Cathedral sits in all its Renaissance glory at the highest point of the City of London. Built in 1675, you can admire it both inside and out: it’s free to enter for a church service, or under £20 for tourist purposes (this includes the galleries, tombs, etc).
To find out about the Cathedral’s conception, along with the rest of London as it is today, take the seven-minute walk to the Museum of London (please note, location change pending circa 2024). The museum walks you through London chronologically from the Romans to the current day, with old maps and original artefacts. It was really interesting to be able to put our little existence into perspective.
The brutalist Barbican Centre is a five-or-so minute walk from the museum, famed for its arts centre and self-sufficient residential area. While, years later, I’m still sour at its lack of movie popcorn at the (beautifully designed) cinema, I will sing praises for the afternoon tea at the Barbican Conservatory. Enjoy tea, bubbly, sandwiches and cake at the glorious indoor garden with 1,500 different plant species. On your way home, be sure to stop to admire the original Banksy in the tunnel leading to Barbican station.
Quirky aesthetics
After all the sightseeing, quench your thirst at one of the many, many pubs in the area. To put it in perspective, I had 5 different pubs within a two-minute walk of my front door… Some look old, some look a little newer, some can fit about 20 people tops inside. I loved the vast differences between them all and looking back, I really didn’t make the most of it. Make note though, many of them are closed at the weekend.
Other than the pubs, another quirky factor of the area are the bollards, each colourful with the coat of arms. Speaking of coats of arms, similarly, the area has strong links with Companies, as in the Clothworkers and the Freemasons. In fact, one of my housemates and her family were part of one, so it was great that she got to live in the area (with bollards that by default she owned, which we liked to laugh about). The uniqueness of the area hasn’t gone unnoticed by the big screen either; scenes in James Bond, Four Weddings And A Funeral, and Last Christmas were all filmed here (plus many others).
Location, Location, Location
Once you’ve soaked up all the area has to offer, anything else you may need is SO accessible. The Thames is minutes away from the edge of the borough; my flatmate and I once enjoyed a leisurely two-hour walk along the water from Chelsea all the way home. You can also get to West End, Chinatown and Soho in 30 minutes by foot, and Liverpool Street in 15. Public transport wise, as mentioned, Liverpool Street is nearby, as is Kings Cross, for all your further afield pursuits.