The Young Dancer ballerina statue rests her hands on her legs outside the magnificent Royal Opera House building in Covent Garden. Image credit: William Barton/Shutterstock

Past and Future

Pubs, taxi cabs, and bright red buses are typical sights in London. Image credit: Skip Caplan/Alamy Stock Photo

A London bus whizzes over Tower Bridge, which is lit up at night. Image credit: Javen/Shutterstock

Captivating cultural havens

When your train pulls into Blackfriars station, you realize that the long, narrow platform straddles both banks of London’s famous river, and that you have, surprisingly, stopped directly above the Thames. It’s an impressive bit of engineering, but that’s not why you catch your breath or why your fellow passengers suddenly look up from their phones. Through the station’s gleaming glass windows, the view is astonishing. Stretching along the riverbank, there’s the towering 18th-century dome of St. Paul’s Cathedral, then the jagged spire of The Shard spearing the sky at 1,016 feet. Beyond that, you can see the creamy walls of Shakespeare’s Globe theater, the Tate Modern’s stout, indomitable chimney, and Tower Bridge’s intricate Victorian steelwork in the distance. You can get an eyeful of London’s skyline from all kinds of wonderful spots – savoring a picnic on Primrose Hill with a hamper from local deli Melrose and Morgan or holding a cocktail in the Sky Garden at the top of the “Walkie Talkie” building. But to see this cross-section of the city’s history on an everyday train journey? It gets me every time.

London’s streets are famous for how they artfully – and sometimes haphazardly – accommodate the past and the future. Many neighborhoods sprang up long before urban planning, jostling alongside the city’s ancient sites. The Great Fire of London in 1666 reshaped the city; 84 years ago, the Blitz did the same. There’s an energy in how London is stitched together, with surprises in every seam. History – both ancient and modern – is baked into the Barbican’s beautiful Brutalist architecture. This visionary city-within-a-city was created after the area was razed during World War II, and it remains a fabulous time capsule of 1970s design: apartments, a concert hall, a gallery, and an indoor garden where tropical plants creep over concrete walkways. Seek out the locations that were featured in a recent Harry Styles video or follow the trail revealing remnants of the London Wall, which the Romans erected around Londinium back in AD 200. Afterward, order an excellent coffee at the Barbican Kitchen and settle in for some gold-standard people watching: young professionals, art students, and families all wearing cutting-edge labels with élan.

Taking out-of-town visitors to the Tower of London might be an essential part of my tourist guide playbook, but as the landmark is steeped in so many centuries of history, I learn something new on each tour. Ask your guide (always a smartly dressed “Beefeater,” or ceremonial guard) to tell you the sorry tale of Lady Jane Grey, the “Nine Day Queen,” who was executed at the Tower when she was only 17. Her story is often lost amid the Tower’s history of violence and intrigue. Afterward, I’ll walk to Tower Bridge. Out of the Thames’ 35 crossings, this stately stone and steel one, commissioned by Queen Victoria, is easily my favorite. You can stroll its high-level glass walkway or book a tour of its subterranean engine rooms – just don’t be standing in the middle when the bridge opens for tall boats. There are a dizzying number of museums and galleries in London. I take the “see less, absorb more” approach. At The British Museum in Bloomsbury, I sidestep the buzz around the Rosetta Stone to marvel at the Great Court’s soaring glass ceiling and linger in the reverential quiet of the circular Reading Room, modeled after Rome’s Pantheon. I’m convinced that if I spent a few afternoons with my laptop here, my first novel would practically write itself. It seems to have worked for Bram Stoker.

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The London Eye towers above the city that’s lit up at night. Image credit: Charlotte Gilliatt/Alamy Stock Photo

Local writer Torri Mundell shares everything she loves about London, Britain’s dynamic capital city, where curiosities can be found around every corner

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Tucked away alleys and mews are scattered around London. Image credit: John Michaels/Alamy Stock Photo

Among the joys of living in one of the most diverse cities in the world is the way it can accommodate even the most idiosyncratic of interests. In Chiswick, a charming village suburb near Richmond Park, there’s a monthly market devoted entirely to cheese. Last year, a friend and I launched a running club called Pastry Quest, where we jog to a different part of the city and sample delicacies from a local, hyped-about bakery (currently topping the leaderboard are the creamy beignets at Fortitude Bakehouse in Bloomsbury, and the bacon and maple rolls at the Islington branch of Pophams). On Marylebone Lane, I’m drawn magnetically to V V Rouleaux’s jaw-dropping displays of ribbons before I stop for a coronation chicken “sarnie” from Paul Rothe & Son, a traditional British deli with a succinct menu – soup or sandwiches – that’s been going since 1900.

Gourmet Pleasures and Melodic Tunes

Despite 30 years of living in the capital, the law of diminishing returns has never applied to my enjoyment of the city. I still feel a thrill when I dash past Trafalgar Square’s stately buildings on my way to work or when I cycle alongside the pastel townhouses in Notting Hill, primly lined up like a box of macarons. I’ve never walked past the Henry Moore sculpture in Hyde Park without taking a picture. But my experience of London isn’t just made up of landmarks and grand gestures. Discovering my adopted city’s hidden corners and uncovering the different perspectives of those who lived here before me has been, thankfully, the work of a lifetime.

Neal’s Yard in Covent Garden is covered in lush plant life. Image credit: Anthony Shaw/Alamy Stock Photo

Covent Garden has come a long way since Eliza Doolittle first peddled her flowers here, though the newly opened urban garden, Floral Court, pays homage to the neighborhood’s past life as an orchard. The cobbled streets of Seven Dials are crammed with hundreds of intriguing independent shops; looking at the jewelry shop windows along Monmouth Street never fails to make my heart skip a beat. Nearby, I discovered an excellent street food market because I simply couldn’t resist its name: Cucumber Alley.

Despite 30 years of living in the capital, the law of diminishing returns has never applied to my enjoyment of the city

Many neighborhoods sprang up long before urban planning, jostling alongside the city’s ancient sites

Ducking from the hustle-bustle of St. Martin’s Lane through the hush of Goodwin’s Court feels like time travel; the cobbled road is lined with iron-barred, bow-fronted windows and gas lamps. It’s said to have inspired Harry Potter’s Diagon Alley. You can also slither through London’s narrowest alley, the 15-inch-wide Brydges Place, for a pint at The Marquis, Charles Dickens’ local pub, at the other end. Near St. Paul’s Cathedral is another curiosity: the covered walkway memorial in Postman’s Park, conceived by artist George Frederic Watts in 1880 to commemorate “ordinary” heroes. The walkway’s 54 plaques make for melancholy but fascinating reading – William Drake, for instance, died “averting a serious accident to a lady in Hyde Park” involving runaway horses.

Even better for me are the smaller galleries that reflect the unique personalities of their curators, such as Sir John Soane’s Georgian home, festooned with his signature plaster reliefs. Leighton House in Holland Park, once the residence of flamboyant Victorian artist Frederic Leighton, thrums with exotic tiles, jewel colors, and art by John Everett Millais and John Singer Sargent. Near Selfridges department store is the Wallace Collection, a museum-mansion hybrid where fine art is displayed in opulent wallpapered rooms. I’m always drawn to the collection of exquisite miniatures as well as tea and cake in the blush pink courtyard.

Red phone boxes are a familiar sight throughout the city. Image credit: Alan Novelli/Alamy Stock Photo

The small but perfectly conceived Design Museum in Kensington celebrates a beguiling mix of cutting-edge design and pop culture, from Zaha Hadid’s architecture in the permanent gallery to blockbuster exhibitions about anything from sneaker design to the macabre world of filmmaker Tim Burton. Meanwhile, Dennis Severs’ House is a candlelit, immersive experience that feels like stepping into a painting. Dennis restored his Spitalfields home to evoke a wealthy 18th-century Huguenot silk-weaving family, even blending in the sounds of horses’ hooves and crackling fires. A different but no less vivid trip through history can be found at Highgate Cemetery, one of the most romantic spots in the city. Not far from Hampstead Heath, its moss-covered monuments and winding paths are more than beautiful – they’re a testament to someone’s love for those no longer with us. George Michael, Karl Marx, and George Eliot are just a few of the luminaries laid to rest here.

A Yeoman Warder, known as a “Beefeater,” stands sentinel at the Tower of London. Image credit: Peter Phipp/Travelshots.com/Alamy Stock Photo

Though the West End is known for its big-ticket shows, London’s smaller theaters offer more eclectic options for every taste. The intimate Bridge Theatre is staging Richard II with Bridgerton’s Jonathan Bailey this spring. Alternatively, you can wander through the winding paths of Regent’s Park for a performance of musical comedy Shucked at the Open Air Theatre. On a balmy night, clutching a gin and tonic, it’s hard to imagine a finer way to be entertained. For jazz lovers, Soho institution Ronnie Scott’s has been serving up silky bossa novas and funk nights for 66 years. Everyone has played here, from Miles Davis to Jamie Cullum. And tucked inside an old Islington pub is one of London’s grassroots comedy clubs, The Bill Murray, where you might see a seasoned pro or a rising star at one of the open mic nights. More than nine million people live in London, and everyone thinks their favorite little pocket of the city is the best. Remarkably, none of them are wrong. Whether it’s a fragment of the ancient city nestled next to a gleaming high-rise, or simply an awe-inspiring sandwich, there are countless more hidden corners for me to discover. I’m depending on it.

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The London Eye towers above the city that’s lit up at night

Pubs, taxi cabs, and bright red buses are typical sights in London

The Young Dancer ballerina statue rests her hands on her legs outside the magnificent Royal Opera House building in Covent Garden

Gourmet Pleasures and Melodic Tunes

Tucked away alleys and mews are scattered around London

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