City of London Information Centre - London

En Y. L.

London is the capital and largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of 8,866,180 in 2022. Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Western Europe, with a population of 14.9 million. London stands on the River Thames in southeast England, at the head of a 50-mile (80 km) tidal estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a major settlement for nearly 2,000 years. Its ancient core and financial centre, the City of London, was founded by the Romans as Londinium and has retained its medieval boundaries. The City of Westminster, to the west of the City of London, has been the centuries-long host of the national government and parliament. London grew rapidly in the 19th century, becoming the world's largest city at the time. Since the 19th century, the name "London" has referred to the metropolis around the City of London, historically split between the counties of Middlesex, Essex, Surrey, Kent, and Hertfordshire, which since 1965 has largely comprised the administrative area of Greater London, governed by 33 local authorities and the Greater London Authority.

As one of the world's major global cities, London exerts a strong influence on world art, entertainment, fashion, commerce, finance, education, healthcare, media, science, technology, tourism, transport, and communications. London is Europe’s most economically powerful city, and is one of the world's major financial centres. It hosts Europe's largest concentration of higher education institutions, including some of the highest-ranked academic institutions in the world: Imperial College London in natural and applied sciences, the London School of Economics in social sciences, and the comprehensive University College London. It is the most visited city in Europe and has the world's busiest city airport system. The London Underground is the world's oldest rapid transit system.

London's diverse cultures encompass over 300 languages. The 2023 population of Greater London of just under 10 million made it Europe's third-most populous city, accounting for 13.4% of the United Kingdom's population and over 16% of England's population. The Greater London Built-up Area is the fourth-most populous in Europe, with about 9.8 million inhabitants as of 2011. The London metropolitan area is the third-most populous in Europe, with about 14 million inhabitants as of 2016, making London a megacity.

Four World Heritage Sites are located in London: Kew Gardens; the Tower of London; the site featuring the Palace of Westminster, Church of St. Margaret, and Westminster Abbey; and the historic settlement in Greenwich where the Royal Observatory defines the prime meridian (0° longitude) and Greenwich Mean Time. Other landmarks include Buckingham Palace, the London Eye, Piccadilly Circus, St Paul's Cathedral, Tower Bridge, and Trafalgar Square. The city has the most museums, art galleries, libraries, and cultural venues in the UK, including the British Museum, National Gallery, Natural History Museum, Tate Modern, British Library, and numerous West End theatres. Important sporting events held in London include the FA Cup Final, the Wimbledon Tennis Championships, and the London Marathon. It became the first city to host three Summer Olympic Games upon hosting the 2012 Summer Olympics.

London’s a sprawling city at the centre of everything: art, history, culture—you name it. But what sets it apart from other major hubs are its distinct neighbourhoods, each with their own vibe. Spend an afternoon with the fam in Kensington: It’s got museums, parks, and plenty of other kid-approved things to do. Or check out edgy Shoreditch for cool shops and street murals (perfect for photo ops), then head to Soho where you can grab a pint at a pub or hit a club and party ‘til dawn.

Chaim N.

This is an important location because it's a formal/official tourist information center. As such, it offers lots of reliable information and references on attractions in and around London, as well as maps of different sizes, foci and sorts, guide books and the like.
It's located right near St Paul's Cathedral and I recommend making a stop by here.

LeAnh D.

Excellent service. We signed up for the London Roman tour. Ticketing is issued by Eventbrite but my tickets did not go through. They have little trinkets/souvenirs and I plan to come back for those before my trip ends

macedonboy

A very good Tourist Information Centre located in a modern and very stylish looking building. It's close to St. Paul's, so a good way to find out about other "touristy" things you could do in London. They even have free maps and lots of one or multi day ideas for things to do.

Erin A.

Really helpful to make your plan in London. There are a lot of information categorized into walk tour, plays, family tour and so on. You can easily find out the info that you need.

Donal M.

I bought tickets for my family of five in May 2024 in the Information Centre in order to visit the Cathedral. The person behind the desk cancelled the card payment mid way through the transaction as they had considered a more cost effective method of combining a family pass with a single ticket which was subsequently paid. On returning home I found that we had been charged twice. Despite several attempts emailing and phoning to try and correct the matter we have been completely ignored. BUY YOUR TICKETS IN THE CATHEDRAL NOT HERE AT INFO CENTRE.

Priscillia C.

great City london is a City amazing and big i love the store is impressive and beautiful and cheap london is just a great destination

Phil

Good location for an information centre but also possible to get better London maps for free from Underground stations such as Temple.
Notice an awful lot of the photographs for the information centre are of St Pauls and basically irrelevant