The buses

The bus is ideal for short hops (a cheap fare for short journeys on most bus routes). The top of a double-decker has been hailed as one of the best ways to see the city centre. Most London buses are red, some are in different colours, but they will display the sign: "London Transport".

The famous red buses offer extensive services throughout the capital and there is a frequent and reliable privately-run sightseeing service.

With 17,000 bus stops all over London, you are rarely more than a minute walk from one. You can board at two types of bus stops:

Compulsory-Buses will automatically stop, unless they are full.

Request-Buses will only stop if you put out your arm in good time.

When you board a bus, take a seat if one is available or hold on tight.

You pay the bus driver (or conductor) or show a Travelcard.

When you want to leave the bus ring the bell once, unless a "bus stopping" sign is lit. Buses offer a friendly, personal and safe service; nearly all vehicles have video cameras on board. All buses are No Smoking. Special "N" numbered Night Buses run through the night- some follow daytime routes, others have their own routes. Fares are slightly higher than on day buses and you cannot use a One Day Travelcard, LT Card or One Day Bus Pass. There are no child fares on Night Buses (or any bus after 2200). All Night Buses pass through Trafalgar Square and serve theatres, cinemas and entertainment areas.

The city

The City, colloquially called "The Square Mile", is the oldest and the most historic part of London. Today the City is one of the world's great financial centres. In the heart of the City is the Bank of England, the "old lady of Threadneedle Street".

The central spot in the City is an open space from which eight streets radiate. On the south side is the Mansion House designed in the mid-18th century as the Lord Mayor's residence, office and court and which is still so employed by each Lord Mayor during his one-year term.

Westward is the Monument by Christopher Wren which was erected in 1677 to commemorate the Great Fire of 1666.

St. Paul's Cathedral, was built on the site of the medieval church destroyed in the Great Fire. It's Christopher Wren's masterpiece and one of London's prime attractions. Wren also designed many other City churches. Many of these were destroyed or badly damaged by bombing during the last war. St. Paul's Cathedral is the scene of many great occasions - the funeral of Sir Winston Churchill and the wedding of Prince Charles to Lady Diana Spencer, in particular.

The City's institutions are as varied as they are ancient. Nurses begin to prepare patients for surgery at St. Bartholomew's ("Bart's"), London's first hospital (founded in 1123) and the place where, in the 17th century, William Harvey first demonstrated the circulation of blood. Closer to St. Paul's Cathedral, there is the Central Criminal Court where most of Britain's sensational murder trials have been held.

Barbican is a City redevelopment on World War II bomb craters around the 16th-century church of St, Giles Cripplegate. In addition to offices, shops and restaurants, there is a new building for the old City of London School for Girls. Also at the Barbican is the Barbican Centre: an art gallery, three cinemas, a library, two exposition halls, two theatres for the Royal Shakespeare Company and a 2000-seat concert hall, the residence of the London Symphony Orchestra.