London is a legacy of their colonialist past and a great contributor to its vibrant culture today: according to the 2001 census, over a quarter of the population of London was born outside the United Kingdom. Home to Big Ben, the Queen of the United Kingdom, the Tower of London, Piccadilly Circus, Buckingham Palace and fish and chips in your local, London provides days of distraction for the first time tourist. For return visitors, London’s size and diversity offer something new to see on every trip. The city is the biggest in the UK and one of the biggest metropolitan regions in Europe with almost 14 million inhabitants.

London consists of the City of London, 32 boroughs and two liberties, which are informally divided into the following sub-regions.

How, you may be wondering, can there be a City of London within London itself? Because the modern municipality – the Greater London Authority – does not govern the actual City of London.

The City of London itself is located on the north bank of the Thames.

The City of London itself is located on the north bank of the Thames in the eastern part of the modern city center. This was the Roman city of Londinium, and in its modern incarnation it is the world’s largest international financial center. It is a separate Ceremonial County from the Greater London and occupies a square mile, in comparison to the 609 square miles (approximately 1,500 square kilometers) of Greater London. Its cathedral is St Paul’s.

Central London, like any other city center in the world, is the place where the hive of activities and sights are concentrated. There is no official definition for the Central London boundary. Colloquially, Londoners refer Central London as the Zone 1 of the city’s public transportation fare zoning system. Zone 1 covers the City of London; part of the boroughs of Camden, Islington, Kensington & Chelsea, Lambeth, Southwark, and Tower Hamlets; and the City of Westminster.

The only borough with a city status within Greater London is the City of Westminster, a couple of miles upstream adjacent to the west of the City of London. This is the seat of government, and its protestant cathedral is the church of St Peter’s, otherwise known as Westminster Abbey.

West London is the area on the west side of London, on the north bank of the River Thames. The boroughs in this unofficial sub-division are Brent, Ealing, Hammersmith and Fulham, Harrow, Hillingdon, Hounslow, and Kensington and Chelsea.

The London boroughs of Barnet, Camden, Enfield, Haringey and Islington are located in the area known as North London.

The north eastern part of London – the east of the north bank of the River Thames – is commonly referred to as East London. The boroughs in East London are Barking and Dagenham, Hackney, Havering, Newham, Redbridge, Tower Hamlets and Waltham Forest. The Summer Olympics in 2012 will be held on this side of the city.

South East London, the eastern half of the south bank of the River Thames in London, is occupied by the boroughs of Bexley, Bromley, Greenwich, Lewisham and Southwark.

Popular attractions in the south-east.

Popular attractions in the south east include the Cutty Sark, Maritime Museum and the Royal Observatory, home of 0° longitude, the Prime Meridian.

South West London is the western half of the south bank of the River Thames in London. The boroughs in this part of London are Croydon, Kingston upon Thames, Lambeth, Merton, Richmond upon Thames, Sutton and Wandsworth.

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Skyscrapers are packed into a relatively small skyline on Hong Kong Island, as the fast-paced lives of business people tick away at ground level. Hong Kong retains its culture in rather remarkable fashion, with traditional street vendors occupying alleyways between said skyscrapers, floating restaurants operating in the harbor, or fishing families recalling Hong Kong’s origins as a fishing village. These emblems of Chinese culture are all but invisible from the heights of Victoria Peak; but the breathtaking spectacle of Hong Kong’s skyline, harbour and outer islands leaves no room for disappointment.

Uman settlement in the area now known as Hong Kong dates back to the late Paleolithic and early Neolithic era. The area’s earliest recorded European visitor was Jorge Álvares, a Portuguese explorer who arrived in 1513.

In 1839 the refusal by Qing Dynasty authorities to import opium resulted in the First Opium War between China and Great Britain. Hong Kong Island became occupied by British forces in 1841, and was formally ceded to Britain under the Treaty of Nanking at the end of the war. The British established a crown colony with the founding of Victoria City the following year. In 1860, after China’s defeat in the Second Opium War, the Kowloon Peninsula and Stonecutter’s Island were ceded to Britain under the Convention of Peking.

In 1898, under the terms of the Convention for the Extension of Hong Kong Territory, Britain obtained a 99-year lease of Lantau Island and the adjacent northern lands, which became known as the New Territories. Hong Kong’s territory has remained unchanged to the present. During the first half of the 20th century, Hong Kong was a free port of the British Empire.

Hong Kong was a free port of the British Empire.

Japan invaded Hong Kong on 8 December 1941 in the Second World War. The Battle of Hong Kong ended with British and Canadian defenders surrendering to Japan on 25 December. During the occupation, civilians suffered starvation, rationing, and hyper-inflation Hong Kong lost more than half of its population in the war. In 1945 Great Britain regained control of the colony. Hong Kong’s population recovered quickly as a wave of migrants from China arrived for refuge from the ongoing Chinese Civil War. When the People’s Republic of China was proclaimed in 1949, more migrants fled to Hong Kong in fear of persecution by the Communist Party. Besides the influx of immigrants there was also a flow of businesses mainly from Shanghai and Guangzhou that moved to Hong Kong.

Hong Kong rapidly industrialised, with its economy becoming driven by exports, and living standards rising steadily. The construction of Shek Kip Mei Estate in 1953 marked the beginning of the public housing estate programme, designed to cope with the huge influx of immigrants. Trade in Hong Kong accelerated even further when Shenzhen, immediately north of Hong Kong, became a special economic zone of China, and established Hong Kong as the main source of foreign investment to China. During the 1980’s China took over the role of Hong Kong as a heaven for lowcost labour, and Hong Kong’s economy became based on services.

In 1983, Hong Kong was reclassified from a British crown colony to a dependent territory.

In 1983, Hong Kong was reclassified from a British crown colony to a dependent territory. However with the lease of the New Territories due to expire within two decades, the governments of Britain and China were already discussing the issue of Hong Kong’s sovereignty. In 1984 the two countries signed the Sino-British Joint Declaration, agreeing to transfer sovereignty to the People’s Republic of China in 1997, and stipulating that Hong Kong would be governed as a special administrative region, retaining its laws and a high degree of autonomy for at least fifty years after the transfer. The Hong Kong Basic Law, which would serve as the constitutional document after the transfer, was ratified in 1990, and the transfer of sovereignty occurred at midnight on 1 July 1997.

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Located along the northern Californian coastline, the weather here can be a little less sunny and generally colder compared to the southern parts. September and October are considered the most reliable months for a visit. Famous for the Golden Gate Bridge and Alcatraz, San Francisco will occupy you for at least a few days, but its friendly atmosphere and diverse suburbs will probably keep you longer than you intended to.

San Francisco is awash in fun activities for practically everybody. Events and happenings in everybody’s favorite city are always changing. The local visitors’ bureau has a really good events calendar, with information about what’s currently going on in town. Alternatively, try the Fisherman’s Wharf website for a list of everything happening at the city’s most popular tourist attraction.

Don’t forget to check on which days museums offer discounted entrance, or are hosting special events such as film festivals or parties!

San Francisco can be downright cold at some times. Because it’s right on the bay the temperature stays about the same all year round. Even in the summer, a thick jacket is needed in the evenings if you’re going to walk around. September and October are normally the more stable months with the highest chance of dry and sunny weather.

Temperatures during the summer peak at 21 °C on average.

The months of May through September are dry with temperatures during the summer to peak at 21 °C on average and with an average low of about 10 °C. From November through March, rain is a common occurrence with mild winter temperatures at an average low of 7 °C and peaking at about 15 °C. Snowfall is extremely rare in San Francisco, as is frost. Fog can be a problem year round, reducing visibility sometimes for days.

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