East City, London

The City church of St Mary-le-Bow, with its famous bells, occupies a special place in the affections of Londoners. To be a genuine Cockney, it is said, you must have been born within the sound of Bow Bells. The church, originally a Norman foundation and one of London's oldest stone churches, was rebuilt by Wren between 1670 and 1683. It suffered heavy damage during World War II and was re-dedicated after extensive restoration in 1964. Its most notable feature is the 73m/221ft high steeple containing the bells which is topped by a weathervane nearly 3m/9ft high. Bricks dating from the Roman occupation of Britain may be seen in the 11th century crypt.

The Mansion House, the official residence of the Lord Mayor, was built by George Dance the Elder between 1739 and 1753 but has undergone a number of later alterations. The imposing Corinthian colonnade serves a ceremonial as well as a decorative function, for it is here that the Lord Mayor appears on the occasion of royal and other official processions. The principal reception room is the Egyptian Hall. Visitors are also shown the Conference Room, with a fine stucco ceiling; the Saloon, with beautiful tapestries and a Waterford glass chandelier; the Drawing Rooms; and the tiny Court of Justice, with cells beneath.

The Royal Exchange building was founded by Thomas Gresham in 1566. He is commemorated by a statue on the east side of the 60m/197ft high tower and by the weather vane in the form of a grasshopper, the heraldic device of the Gresham family. The building was burnt down in 1666 and again in 1838. In 1844 Sir William Tite designed the Exchange in its present classical form. Above the gable tympanum is a relief by Sir Richard Westmacott representing "Trade and the Freedom of the Exchange". Traditionally from the top of the steps the new monarch is always proclaimed, a declaration of war announced and the conclusion of a peace treaty made known. The carillon in the tower plays daily at 9 a.m., noon, 3 and 6 p.m. English, Welsh, Scottish, Irish, Canadian and Australian traditional tunes.

Lombard Street (named after the moneylenders from Lombardy who had their houses here in the 13th century) has been London's banking and financial center since medieval times. The street is of interest not so much for its 19th and 20th century buildings, as for the bank signs hanging above the pavement - continuing a tradition dating from the Middle Ages, when illiteracy was rife and the bankers' customers were able to identify them only by their heraldic emblems.

This tall column, 61.5m/202ft high, was erected between 1671 and 1677 to commemorate the Great Fire. It stands exactly 61.5m/202ft from the spot in Pudding Lane where the fire started. Although attributed to Wren, it was probably designed by Robert Hooke. The view from the platform, just below the golden urn (311 steps up), is somewhat obscured by office blocks. The column is topped by an urn with a gilded flaming ball, 14m/42ft high.

"London Bridge is falling down," says the old rhyme. In fact London Bridge has never fallen down, though it has twice been pulled down and replaced by a new bridge. The London Bridge of the rhyme was a 12th century stone bridge lined on both sides with houses, which were later removed to make room for recesses in which pedestrians could take refuge from the heavy traffic on the narrow carriageway. In 1831 this bridge was replaced by a new one, which by the 1960s had become inadequate to cope with the flow of traffic and was due in turn to be superseded by a more modern bridge. The 1831 bridge was then bought by an American (under the belief, it was said, that he was acquiring Tower Bridge), transported across the Atlantic and re-erected at Lake Havasu City in Arizona. Remains of a Roman bridge have also been found in the area. The present London Bridge was opened to traffic in 1973.

The insurance undertaking Lloyds can look back on a tradition which has lasted for 300 years. It originated in a coffee house owned by one Edward Lloyd, where ships' captains, shipowners and merchants used to meet and arrange insurance for their vessels and cargoes. Lloyds is not an insurance company in the usual sense of the term but a concern which arranges policies with individual insurance firms. The new building, opened by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II in 1986, was designed by Richard Rogers, the architect who also designed the Pompidou Centre in Paris. The architectural novelty of the building is that the internal fittings - elevators and stairs and pipes - are placed on the outside, which gives the building a bizarre appearance. The interior is laid out as an atrium with 14 stories, rising to a height of 76m/250ft. In the center of the interior under a baldachin hangs the bell recovered from the French frigate "Lutine" in 1799, which had a cargo of silver and which was insured with Lloyds. The bell used to be rung once to indicate bad news and twice for good tidings. It is now rung only on special occasions. Nearby stands a high desk, on which lies an account book. Even today the traditional practise is maintained, that when a ship which is insured with Lloyds sinks, an entry in this book is made with a quill pen. Since a bomb was found in the viewing gallery the interior of the building is no longer open to the public.

Tower Bridge, opened in 1894, is one of London's best known landmarks, with its two neo-Gothic towers rising 65m/200ft above the river. The two heavy bascules or drawbridges bearing the roadway can be raised in a minute and a half to allow large ships to pass through (a rare occurrence nowadays, since cargo vessels now moor farther downstream). Since 1975 they have been raised by electric power. There is also a museum housing the older hydraulic machinery which is still maintained in working order so as to be available in case of emergency. The glass covered walkway, 43m/142ft above the Thames, gives a splendid view of the river. Both towers contain an interesting exhibition employing animatronic characters and other special effects to explain the history of the bridge.It was designed by Horace Jones and engineered by Wolfe Barry.

St Helen's is one of the finest and most interesting churches in the City. Originally built in the 12th C, it was altered between the 13th and 14th C, and has been preserved mainly in its 14th C form. It has two parallel naves of equal size, one originally reserved for the nuns of the convent to which the church belonged, the other for the lay congregation. Features of particular interest are the monument of Sir John Spencer, Lord Mayor of London (1608), on the south wall; the pulpit and altar; the canopied tomb of Sir William Pickering, ambassador to France in the 16th century; and the table-tomb of Sir John Crosby (d. 1475).

Doggett's Coat and Badge Race upstream from London Bridge to Chelsea Bridge takes place in July. The custom was begun in the 18th century by the Irish comedian Thomas Doggett when he could not find anyone to take him home. Finally he came upon a young man who rowed him upstream against the tide.

The London Stock Exchange was founded in 1773, quickly developed into the leading institution of its kind in the world and is still one of the most important. Following the reform of the Exchange in 1986 all the firms are now concentrated here and the distinction between "broker" (agent) and "jobber" (dealer) has been abolished. In the Great Hall the members of the Exchange would transact business with a huge turnover in accordance with the motto "dictum meum pactum" (my word is my bond). This is enshrined in the coat of arms of the Exchange. Nowadays transactions are made at the computer terminal. After a bomb attack in 1991 the visitor center was closed and for the time being the Exchange is not open to the public.

Visitors can experience London during the Second World War "Blitz" including a London Underground air raid shelter. Enter a BBC Radio Studio to hear messages from Churchill, Chamberlain, Roosevelt and Hitler. Other exhibits include rare documents, ration books and gas masks.

Leadenhall Market offers meat, poultry, fish and cheese.This market area provides a fascinating look at London's Victorian architecture. The covered market was built in 1881.

Visitors can see a 19th C surgical operating theater.The theatre is found in the roof space of an English Baroque Church. Students from the neighboring hospital would come in to watch the surgeries.

Petticoat Lane is London's most famous market, busy and noisy and full of interesting characters. In this market, it is possible to buy almost anything and at a reasonable price.

The fabulous church of St Magnus is described as one of Wren's finest pieces of architecture. It holds a beautifully decorated interior.The church was also home to Miles Cloverdale, publisher of the first English translation of the Bible.

Brick Lane Market offers a wide variety of both new and second-hand clothes, and articles of all kinds.

Bishopsgate Library is situated opposite Liverpool Street Station.

Columbia Road Market offers an extensive range of flowers.

Pierced tracery lines the girders and columns of this cathedral-like station.