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Westminster and Royal London. This is the place to embrace the “tourist” label. Snap pictures of the mounted Horse Guards, watch kids clambering onto the lions in Trafalgar Square, and visit stacks of art in the fantastic national galleries. Do brave the crowds to peruse historic Westminster Abbey and its ancient narrative in stone.

St. James’s and Mayfair. You might not have the wallet for London’s most prestigious district, but remember window-shopping in Mayfair is free. St. James’s is the ultimate enclave of old money and gentlemen’s London. Here you’ll find the noted private members’ clubs of Pall Mall, and the starched shirts and cigars of Jermyn Street, where you can shop like the Duke of Windsor.

Soho and Covent Garden. More sophisticated than seedy these days, the heart of London puts Theaterland, strip joints, Chinatown, and the trendiest of film studios side by side. Nearby Charing Cross Road is a bibliophile’s dream, but steer clear of the hectic hordes in Leicester Square, London’s crowd-packed answer to Times Square. Covent Garden’s piazza is one of the busiest, most raffishly enjoyable parts of the city.

Bloomsbury and Holborn. Once the intellectual center of London, elegant Bloomsbury is now mostly a business district—albeit with the mother lode of museums at its heart. The British Museum has enough to keep you busy for a week; otherwise offerings are limited, though the Law Courts and University of London are worth a passing glance.

The City. London’s Wall Street might be the oldest part of the capital, but thanks to futuristic skyscrapers and a sleek Millennium Bridge, it looks like the newest. Fans of history won’t be short-changed, however: head for the baroque dome of St. Paul’s Cathedral; the Victorian iconography of Tower Bridge; and the grisly medieval terrors of the Tower of London.

The East End. Once famed for the 19th-century slums immortalized by Charles Dickens, today the area has become the razor-sharp cutting edge of London’s contemporary art scene. For spit-and-sawdust sensations of market London on the weekend, dive headfirst into the wares at Spitalfields, Petticoat Lane, Brick Lane (popular for curry houses and bagel bakeries), and Columbia Road’s much-loved flower market.

The South Bank. Die-hard culture vultures could spend a lifetime here. The Southbank Centre—including the Royal National Theatre and Royal Festival Hall, the British Film Institute, Shakespeare’s Globe, the Design Museum, and the Tate Modern—showcase the capital’s crowning artistic glories. Or put it all in sweeping perspective from high up on the London Eye.

Notting Hill and Bayswater. For that effortlessly hip North London demeanor, hang out in its coolest residential postal code. Around Portobello Road, Notting Hill Gate is a trendsetting square mile of multiethnicity, galleries, bijous shops, and see-and-be-seen-in restaurants. Bayswater mixes eclectic ethnic fashions and fresh-food shops. Some think it has an appealing edginess, others a nouveau-riche élan.

Regent’s Park and Hampstead. Surrounded by the supremely elegant “terraces”—in truth, mansions as big as palaces—designed by 19th-century starchitect John Nash, Regent’s Park is a Regency extravaganza, and the nearby “villages” of Hampstead and Primrose Hill attract residents like Gwyneth Paltrow and Madonna.

Greenwich. The Royal Observatory, Christopher Wren architecture, and the Greenwich Meridian Line all add up to one of the best excursions beyond the cut-and-thrust of central London.

The Thames Upstream. As an idyllic retreat from the city, stroll around London’s stately gardens and enjoy the stately homes of Kew, Richmond, and Putney. Better yet, take a river cruise and land up at the famous maze of Hampton Court Palace, a vision of Tudor majesty and ambition.

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