Health Warning , you may need a week just to get over the night before. The city centre has its share of clubs, pubs and shows, with the touristy ones centred around Leicester Square , trendy ones in Soho and the twee ones in the West End . The majority of pubs close around 11pm inspite of recent law changes to allow 24hr opening so the choice is to either drink up or get into a dance club. Cool bars like Belushi's and The Walkabout across London attract an international crowd as well as locals for the DJ's, live music, late license and snakebites are mandatory. The London club scene is truly something else. Timeout magazine lists all pubs, clubs, bars and events.
London is actually the greenest city in Europe with a total of 13,041 parks . The royal parks are free and open from dawn to dusk. Hyde Park is the largest in central London and is closed to traffic on Sundays. Slap on the sunscreen and play with the squirrels in ST JAMES'S PARK, GREEN PARK, REGENTS PARK, KENSINGTON GARDENS, HOLLAND PARK, KEW GARDENS and HAMPSTEAD HEATH.
Entry is free but additional charges may apply to selected exhibitions and/or attractions. Take minimum 2-3 hours to view.
BRITISH MUSEUM, Great Russell St, WC1
One of the worlds finest, with 6 million artefacts including the Rosetta Stone and the Elgin Marbles. Open Sat-Wed 9am-6pm, Thu-Fri 9am-11pm.
VICTORIA & ALBERT MUSEUMS, Cromwell Road, SW7
A collection of decorative arts such as sculpture and ornaments. Open daily 10am-5.45pm, 10am-10pm Wed and last Fri of month.
SCIENCE MUSEUM, Exhibition Road,SW7
Excellent hands on and interactive displays to bring out the kid in everybody. Open 10am-6pm daily.
NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM, Cromwell Road, SW7
Bones, bugs, fossils, ferns and the largest blue whale skeleton on display. Open 10am-5.50pm Mon-Sat, 11am-5.50pm Sun.
Entry is free but additional charges may apply to selected exhibitions and/or attractions. Take minimum 2-3 hours to view.
TATE MODERN, Bankside SE1
Housed in a disused power station the Tate Modern opened in 2000 to display international and local modern artworks in a 34,500 sq m space. Open 10am-6pm Sun-Thu, 10am-10pm Fri and Sat.
TATE BRITAIN, Millbank, SW1
Part 1 of the four gallery Tate collection, opened in 1897 and is home to those paintings from1500 to the present day. Open daily 10am-5pm, 10am-10pm first Fri of the month.
NATIONAL, Trafalgar Square, WC2
Houses a massive collection of western art from the 13th to 20th centuries. Open 10am-6pm daily, 10am-pm Wednesdays.
NATIONAL PORTRAIT, 2 St Martins Place, WC2
Tucked in behind the national gallery there are around 10,000 portraits of the infamous and famous Britons from over the past 4 centuries. Open 10am-6pm daily, 10am-9pm Thu and Fri.