A City in Perpetual Motion
Far from being a historical monument, England’s capital city is a living metropolis with new stories built alongside the old. Founded in 47CE by the Romans, London has seen centuries of growth, royal moments and one-of-a-kind architecture shape the city’s neighborhoods and the people who live in them.
Whether you’re looking to experience London’s historic past or want to discover its modern life, here’s a peek at what you can explore.
London Timelapse
Stunning timelapse images of London.
London | East Vs West City Guide
From street food to fine dining, historic museums to edgy art installations, London’s different neighborhoods have something for everyone. The Vagabrothers explore.
Historic and Contemporary Architecture
The Shard
Designed by Italian architect Renzo Piano, the Shard—one of the dominant features of the London skyline—opened to the public in February 2013. In this BBC Witness podcast, hear from engineer Roma Agrawal, who helped build the structure.
Saint Paul’s Cathedral
Art historians Beth Harris and Steven Zucker explore Christopher Wren’s masterpiece to St Paul, the anchor of the rebuilding campaign that followed the Great Fire of 1666.
Secrets of Tower Bridge
Everyone recognises Tower Bridge. But did you know about its atmospheric bascule chambers, the Victorian workers who threw and caught white hot rivets while building the structure, or the derring-do/reckless pilots who flew through the middle of it? Here Londonist editor-at-large Matt Brown offers a special tour behind the scenes of one of London’s great icons.
Richard Rogers on his radical Lloyd’s building in London
Often cited as a pioneering example of high-tech architecture, Lloyd’s building was considered radical because, like Rogers’ preceding Centre Pompidou in Paris, all of its services, including staircases, lifts and water pipes, are on display on the outside of the building. In this interview, the architect speaks about the project and explains why he is not completely comfortable with the “high-tech” label that is often applied to his work.
A Living City
Jamming in Notting Hill
This podcast heads to west London to explore the streets of this famed neighborhood and nearby Ladbroke Grove. The area has seen many changes, from being home to artists, to slums where race riots occurred in the 1950s and finally to a cosmopolitan blend of people. It is also known for its famous carnival held every August by members of the area’s Afro-Caribbean community.
Public Places, Private Lives: Trafalgar Square
Explore London’s iconic Trafalgar Square through the stories and perspective of the people who live, work and play in this important gathering point in the United Kingdom’s capital city.
An altogether new approach to telling the city’s story: an anthology of short diary entries from more than two hundred writers, one or more for each day of the year, which, taken together, provides an impressionistic portrait of life in the city from Tudor times to the 21st century.
