DISCOVER LONDON

The City of London is a small area located within Greater London, and it is from this historic core that London grew and became the modern capital it is today. The boundaries of the City, or “Square Mile” – because it covers an area of about one square mile, has barely changed since the Middle Ages and now represents only a tiny, but important, part of the London metropolis; these terms have now become a figure of speech for the United Kingdom’s financial services industry that has historically been based here.

The City is the heart of the major business and financial centre and ranks with the likes of New York City as a leading global finance centre. During the nineteenth century the City served as the world’s preliminary business centre; today it continuous to be a hub for major business meetings.

While the City has a residential population of 10 000 inhabitants, there are about 330 000 people that work in the financial service sectors. The major component of the western side of the City is the Legal profession, particularly in the Chancery Lane and Temple areas; this is where the Inns of Court are located. Two of these, Inner temple and Middle Temple, fall within the boundaries of the City of London.

Liverpool Street, Tower Hill, Blackfriars and Barbican tube stations form a rough border for the City of London. There are a vast number of gardens and open spaces contained within the City.

Unfortunately there are relatively few notable historic structures that are still intact in the City; this is as a result of fire, bombings and post war development. The key structures today are the Monument dedicated to the Great Fire of London ("the Monument"), St Paul's Cathedral, the Guildhall, the Royal Exchange, Dr. Johnson's House, Mansion House and many churches (many designed by Sir Christopher Wren who designed St Paul’s). There are still several small sections of the Roman London Wall that are intact, the most known being those near the Tower of London and in the Barbican area. The Bank of England, the Old Bailey, Smithfield Market, the Lloyds Building and the Barbican Estate are some of the land mark buildings most visited today. Amongst these landmarks lies the Heron Tower and Tower 42 – examples of the skyscrapers used by the financial sector.

Places of interest:

·         Monument to the Great Fire of London

·         St Paul's Cathedral

·         the Guildhall

·         Royal Exchange

·         Dr. Johnson's House

·         Mansion House

·         Museum of London

·         Smithfield Market

·         Barbican Centre