The City & Square Mile - England's coffers are literally in the Square Mile; one of the few places where the streets might as well be paved with gold. Modern blocks, such as the Lloyd's Building and the Daily Express Building, outnumber the more ancient edifices such as Lincoln's Inn, the Bank of England and the Old Bailey. The City encompasses the sacred in St. Paul's and the quotidian in Spitalfields Market and Leadenhall Market. Geography & History of London - It was the Romans, who established Londinium in 43AD. Building a wall around their settlement and a bridge over the river Thames, they set the city up as an important trade centre. By the end of the first century AD, London was the capital of Roman Britain. After the Romans' departed it was deserted, sacked, burnt, occupied, captured and fought over by the Scandinavian Vikings and the Germanic Saxons for the next 550 years. The Middle Ages saw London grow, despite fires sweeping through the place and a plague of Black Death in 1348 which wiped out nearly half of the city's 60,000 inhabitants. The Tudors took over in 1485, and the infamous Henry VIII was a major player in the radical transformation of the country. He wanted a son, which meant getting a younger wife, it meant a divorce - which the Pope wouldn't allow. So he outlawed Catholicism. In London this meant that all the land previously owned by the church was now his. He set about carving it up and giving large chunks to his friends and more importantly to his potential enemies. The land previously owned by Westminster Abbey, covering much of what is now the West End, was released for private development. In short, a new-look London was born. The City's population expanded to 750,000 people in 1720 - but the Industrial Revolution in the 19th century saw it explode to 2.5 million. The author Charles Dickens graphically depicts the London of this time - portraying a grimy, smoggy, poor and crime-ridden city. During World War II much of London was destroyed. Rebuilding began in 1945 and one result was the South Bank Centre. Designed as a centrepiece for the arts. Meanwhile, progress from old industrial revolution, city of London became the most established financial city of the world connecting from Far East to America. Food - Londoners are spoilt for choice when it comes to dining out. Today, you can pick almost any country in the world and its cuisine can be sampled here in the capital. Take your pick from Korean to Burmese, Argentine steak to Vegan, Malaysian to Mauritian, Modern British to Hungarian. Food is the new hedonistic pleasure, with food halls emerging as trendy hangouts, chefs becoming TV stars and cookery books turning into hot best sellers. Naturally every area and every other road in London has a place to eat. Entertainment - Art is alive and kicking in London. The injection of new British vitality spearheaded by Damien Hirst and the proliferation of hip, trendy and increasingly famous young British artists merely add to the wealth of more traditional art that London has to offer. The National Gallery and the Tate Gallery are mainstays. Courtauld Institute of Art, the National Portrait Gallery, the Barbican Centre and Hayward are lesser known but just as good. For a modern challenge check out the Institute of Contemporary Arts (ICA) Gallery and of course, the Bankside behemoth that is the Tate Modern. Museums are abundant and of excellent quality. The Science Museum, the Natural History Museum and the Victoria & Albert are all located in South Kensington. There are an absolute myriad of smaller, often fascinating museums throughout London - Pollock's Toy Museum, the Design Museum and the Horniman Museum and Gardens are just a few examples. Theatre in London may be separated into three parts. First there are four repertory companies based in their own theatres: the Royal Shakespeare Company, the Royal National Theatre, the Royal Court and The Globe Theatre. This is the sophisticated end of the theatre spectrum - plenty of Shakespeare and excellent modern plays. Then there are the 'West End' shows - this refers to the big productions, not to where they're located. Many of the West End shows can be found on or around Shaftesbury Avenue and Charing Cross Road. Long-runners which are worth checking out include Les Miserables and the non-musical, Art. But there are many other big-production musicals and plays that make for a great evening out. The rest are generally known as Off-West End. One of the best exponents of this sector is the Almeida Theatre where film stars Ralph Fiennes and Nicole Kidman have trod the boards. Also regularly putting on good quality productions are The Lyric and the Young Vic. Classical music has three main homes in London: the Barbican Centre, the South Bank Centre and the Royal Albert Hall. The London Symphony Orchestra is resident at the Barbican and the Philharmonia is based at the Royal Festival Hall, which is part of the South Bank Centre. The Royal Albert Hall plays host annually to the Proms - a fabulous summer-long festival of classical music.