The Big Smoke

Often seen as grey, slabbed in concrete, glass and steel.

It’s more than that.

Londinium. As they called it when the Romans officially made it a city. The Big Smoke. Teething with curious architecture, from Roman and Tudor to Victorian and now the modern skyscrapers in the east. Rich with maze-like cobbled streets. Even after 26 years of living here, I am always finding new places. All you have to do is take two lefts and a right, maybe two rights and then a final left and you’ll end up somewhere completely new. Some tiny Jack-The-Ripper style alleyway opening up in cavernous courtyards with food stalls and shops and coffee and drinks. I will never get bored of this city. I will never get bored of the views, the people, the bustle. It’s not just that everywhere is within walking distance, despite the immensity of the city, it’s that walking from place to place is beautiful.

The melting pot of culture this place brings. It has over 270 nationalities living within and 300 languages. It’s no wonder you can find any type of food, any type of culture, any type of person. There is something for everyone here. It’s a mixture of every type of nation, all the arts and flavours stewing together to create something truly unique. No other place I have ever visited is like this. The wondrous colours and artwork of Camden and Brixton to the regal of Buckingham Palace and the awe-inspiring free-to-visit museums.

It’s the fact that you can watch street performers in Covent Gardens, go for lunch by the river or in one of the many parks and then visit all the major museums without getting blisters on your feet. All in time to catch a show in the west-end after your evening meal. That is why I love this city. And if you don’t want to walk, if it’s raining or snowing, the oldest underground system in the world will get you to where you need to go. Go get lost, endless discoveries of place after place, and when you’re done it doesn’t matter where you’ve ended up, just find an underground stop.

It has all the seasons. Frozen snowy winters where Victorians used to ice skate on the Thames. Scorching summers where citizens kick back in Hyde Park eating ice cream. Everything in between, though it’s best you don’t forget your umbrella. It is one of the greenest cities in the world. Trees and parks and nature reserves everywhere. Wild deer that roam through Richmond Park, only half an hour from the Square Mile, the centre of the city. Ponds and lakes and of course the river. One can walk and cycle and run seemingly forever and always stumble into something new.

The speakeasy bars, hidden behind plain doors and secret knocks. The casinos and bars and flourishing pubs. The garden that sits in the sky. It doesn’t matter if you’re an early bird or a night owl or both. It’s all here.

And then, my favourite. The discovered silences. The quiet moments that are experienced on your own while walking through a park in the fog. The couple slow dancing in the snow in the dead of night. The one light on at three AM in the tower block - the business creating, the artists working. The hidden spots, the rooftops, the tiny little cafes and the wistful second-hand bookshops. The underground, like a beating heart, carrying life, people, from place to place. The way you become immersed and part of the gears, and if you choose, the invisibility this city offers. London for everyone, where everyone is welcome. There’s no surprise it is one of the most visited cities in the world.

It doesn’t matter where you’re from. It doesn’t matter what language you speak, what food you eat.

Everyone has something for London. London has something for everyone.