London provides spectacle and entertainment outside the theaters, too. The royals embody for Americans and locals, as well, Britain’s link to a long and colorful past. Tourists still gather in large numbers to watch the changing of the guard and to tour the palaces— Buckingham in the city and Hampton Court and Windsor Castle just outside. Most museums are excellent, but the British Museum in Bloomsbury has no peer in size and quality of its exhibits. Venturers emphasize the diversity of activities and talk about the energy of the city. When in urban areas, venturers concentrate on diverse activities and getting to know people rather than merely seeking active recreation. They somment that London is a “great walking city” with lots of unique shops and restaurants that can’t be discovered from a bus, along with interesting street activity, especially in ethnic areas. The city also is a convenient base for excursions to the nearby countryside.

Centrics and authentics highlight sightseeing opportunities (as well as the shopping). Most of us have studied English history at school, watched movies or plays about its kings and queens, and read English writers from Charles Dickens and George Eliot to Agatha Christie. But centrics are especially eager to see all of the places in London they’ve carried for years in their imaginations. Like centrics, authentics are eager sightseers, and they are made more comfortable in this city because of the language, the friendliness of the British and the excellent and easy-to-use public transportation system. They also can choose from many good guided tours. Evenings find them at a fine restaurant (the food is quite good in London and can be expensive) or at the theater. They return home satisfied that they have experienced an entertaining and cultural vacation.

In urban centers where less outdoor recreation is available, walking can satisfy the need for action. Here are some neighborhoods of particular interest: The City is the financial hub; Soho and Chelsea are comparable to New York’s Greenwich Village; Whitehall contains the prime minister’s residence and other government buildings, and the redeveloped Docklands on the Thames is self-explanatory.

Take to the Thames. You’ll get a different perspective on London by boat (either hired with crew or self-piloted). Rowing, sailing and canoeing are options.

For catching the city’s nighttime buzz, talk to your hotel concierge and buy a copy of “Time Out” magazine for its listings.

Plan a walk, as short or long as you dare, along the Thames Path, which is a sign-posted footpath that follows the river for most of its length from its source in Gloucestershire to London. Just think of walking back to London from Hampton Court or Windsor!

Ride a canal boat on regular services between Camden and London’s Little Venice. Alternatively, check your options for renting a canal boat.

Rent a car for area excursions and constantly remind yourself to drive on the left!

Fly in the London Eye for a sky-high view of Britain’s capital.

Take the Blood and Tears Walk or the Ghost and Murder Walk or the Haunted and Sinister Walk. Or spook yourself in other ways, with the Grisly Ghost Tours at Hampton Court or, around Halloween, the Creepy Cruise, which lets you hear the scary stories while afloat, then take a fright-night flight on the London Eye.

You’ll need some energy to see the Tower of London. This is a fortress on the river with several buildings, the oldest dating to the 12th century. Henry VIII’s second wife, Anne Boleyn, was beheaded here, as were other well-known personages. Many historical characters and events passed through or occurred inside the Tower, and the atmosphere lingers on. See the Crown Jewels displayed here.

Hyde Park, near the center of the city, is famous for its Speakers’ Corner where debaters and orators hold forth on any subject, at any time. The park is lovely, too.

Take the train or travel by boat on the Thames to Hampton Court (not that far from the city, Heathrow is farther). Walk through its famous maze. Check for reenactment events on site; Halloween and Christmas-to-New Years are possibilities.

Have a drink at the bar at the Courthouse Hotel Kempinski. The building was a courthouse, and the bar is where the lock-up was. Private tables in the bar are placed inside three original prison cells.

Go to Leicester Square to buy half-price tickets to many of London’s fine theatrical productions. In the season, attend a show at the nearly roofless Globe Theatre.

Kew Gardens is also the Royal Botanical Gardens. A short trip will bring you to an oasis of thousands of plants and trees separated by rolling lawns and paths. The British are great gardeners, and this is their showplace.

Shop at Harrods by all means (and see its food courts), but don’t neglect other areas: Portobello Road for antiques on Saturdays; Fulham, Chelsea and Notting Hill Gate for moderate pocketbooks; Beauchamp Place and Bond Street for the wealthy. Regent and Oxford streets provide many items that tourists want. And, be sure to stop at “Marks and Sparks” (Marks and Spencer) department stores for clothing — and food.

The British Museum is king, but include others on your list, too. Try the Victoria and Albert, the National Gallery, the Tate Gallery and the Tate Modern, plus some of the city’s specialty museums such as the Clink Prison Museum, displaying instruments of torture that tourists can try on, temporarily. The real Clink Prison gave us the word clink meaning jail.

Take a hop-on, hop-off bus tour in order to get acquainted with the city and see it at your own pace.

In London, see the newly opened Benjamin Franklin house, the home on Craven Street near Charing Cross railway station where Franklin lived for the better part of 16 years before the American Revolution. It is his only surviving residence.

Indulge yourself: Take high tea in one of the city’s top hotels.

Take a sightseeing cruise on the River Thames. There is a wide array of sightseeing boats and itineraries to choose from.

See Westminster Abbey, of course, but don’t overlook the Temple Church, built in the 12th century by the Knights Templar, an order of crusading monks founded to protect pilgrims headed to the Holy Land. In the Round Church (yes, it is round), you will see the life-sized effigies of nine knights. Come for a service in a church noted for its music.

For more information, consult Visit London at www.visitlondon.com

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