As you might expect from a site constantly inhabited since the Roman invasion of Britain, and probably before, London has managed to assemble a vast array of good, bad and ugly landmarks. The city is, in fact, stuffed with them, and the following is a slightly subjective rumination on a small proportion of some of the most noteworthy.
London gracefully bears a massive weight of history, and many of its landmarks reflect this. One of the oldest is the remains of the Temple of Mithras (Map 16) on Walbrook, built by the Romans when London was Londinium. Parts of the London Wall (Map 18), also originally built by the Romans, still exist, the best fragments are around Tower Hill station. In Medieval times London became a bustling place; celebrate one of its most beautiful churches by visiting the oddly named St Giles’ Cripplegate (Map 7), which is ensconced within the brutal Barbican Centre (Map 7), a landmark itself. By the 1600s, London was bustling so hard it got the plague and then some idiot burnt the entire city down in 1666. Celebrate three days of the Great Fire by climbing to the top of the 202 feet high Monument (Map 18), before visiting post-fire architect Christopher Wren’s masterpiece, St Paul’s Cathedral (Map 16). Into the 18th century, things became a little more sophisticated and some of London’s prettiest domestic architecture bloomed. Stroll down Bloomsbury’s Doughty Street (Map 5), stopping at Charles Dickens’ House, for perfectly proportioned Georgian elegance. The Victorians had a huge impact on London, with whole tracts of the city bearing the stamp of the starched times of chimney sweeps and empire bashing. For the lighter side of Victorian London, poke about the museums quarter from the Victoria & Albert Museum (Map 37) up to the Albert Memorial (Map 36). For the darker, dodge the elderly at the St Pancras Hospital (Map 78), an ex-workhouse.
London has a host of over-exposed landmarks that are honey to the swarms of tourist worker-bees but over-rated in the eyes of many Londoners. We don’t necessarily share this view, but if you want to venture beyond the crowds at Big Ben (Map 22), try some of the following. The aforementioned St Paul’s Cathedral (Map 16) is an absolute wonder, although try the smaller Southwark Cathedral (Map 106) for a more intimate option. The British Museum (Map 4) is a beauty made fairer by its recent courtyard renovation; peruse the library to see where Marx pondered upon ‘Das Kapital’. The Burlington Arcade (Map 10) is how shopping should be. The crypt under St Mary-le-Bow Church (Map 16) is 11th century weirdness complete with its own vegetarian restaurant. The Thames is long enough to provide you with your own spot of riverside tranquillity. If you’re scared of bridges, burrow under the river at the Greenwich Foot Tunnel (Map 120), or chug across it on the free Woolwich Ferry. For a weekend mooch, try the Grand Regent’s Canal (Map 71).
The 20th century blessed the city with some opinion splitting contributions. The Hayward Gallery (Map 104) and National Theatre (Map 104) are both concrete frighteners which we are learning to love. Despite originally housing a power station, Tate Modern (Map 105) has been more graciously received. Meanwhile, further down the river, long abandoned Battersea Power Station (Map 133) will be undergoing major developments in 2013 and will be replaced by some form of flashy money-without-substance monstrosity. The BT Tower (Map 3) is like a 1960s lighthouse for central London drunks. The Lloyds Building (Map 18) and Tower 42 (Map 18) are both absorbing odes to the banker and glare menacingly at new rival One Canada Square (or Canary Wharf Tower) (Map 100). A more recent contribution to the city is the Canary Wharf Underground Station (Map 100). Until at least 2014 the 150-year squabble over what to put in Trafalgar Square’s (Map 24) fourth and only empty plinth rages on. Expect modern, classic and performance art in this space for the time being, at least, until they add a statue of Britain’s future supreme commander Rupert Murdoch strangling Lady Justice in 2014.
In these clean times of starchitects, steel and glass, a few minutes spent gawping at Elephant and Castle (Map 105) shopping centre is enough to remind anyone how awry a landmark can go. Even a quick squizz at the nearby Faraday Memorial (Map 105) may not lift your gloom, largely as it now forms the body of a clogged roundabout. However, London can do lowbrow with the best of them, starting with the Westway Flyover (Map 31): a noisy, dusty shard of concrete to remind you that the car is still king. The disused Kingsway Tram Tunnel (Map 4) is a forgotten piece of prime underground real estate and Centre Point (Map 4) and Millbank Tower (Map 21) are good examples of dodgy skyscrapers that no-one needed. Battersea Park Gasometers (Map 133) are imposing monsters, whereas Lots Road Power Station (Map 50) is fast becoming London’s trendiest disused power station. If you must jump upon band wagons, keep your eyes peeled around east London for art left on walls by Banksy. Mobile lowbrow starts with a trip on a Routemaster, despite the buses being withdrawn in 2005, two heritage routes are still running. Lowbrow (along with logic, aesthetic quality and planning) finishes with Euston Station (Map 78), which is, simply, disgusting.
