Mercure's travel guides

Beefeaters, Buckingham Palace; red double-decker buses trundling down Oxford Street; crowded streets dotted with old-fashioned pubs and bright red post boxes; Harrods, Hamleys and Hyde Park. Just some of the associations that 'London' revives.

But the United Kingdom's capital city, housing around 7 million residents, is much more than a postcard city. It leads the world in politics and finance – from Westminster's iconic Houses of Parliament in the shadow of Big Ben to the so-called Square Mile of the historic City of London and Canary Wharf's newly gleaming skyscrapers. Its shopping scene is second to none and its many parks and gardens provide respite and picnic opportunities galore: spend the afternoon in Hyde Park, stroll through St James's Park or visit the Royal Botanic Gardens at Kew – arguably the most important collection of plants and trees in the world. And although London's weather has a reputation for being grey and grisly, its bright lights more than make up for the odd rainy day.

Take a trip on the London Eye big wheel for a bird's-eye view of the city – it's particularly spectacular by night. You'll see the different areas spread out before you: the West End with its many theatres and restaurants; Covent Garden's market area filled with pedestrians and street performers; Leicester Square's neon-lit buildings; Soho's hip (and slightly seedy) streets; posh Chelsea and Kensington...the River Thames snakes its wide, leisurely way through the urban sprawl; take a boat trip for the best views.

The Olympics comes to London in the summer of 2012 and preparations are well underway for the prestigious event. Stratford is being redeveloped for the new Olympic park, but many sporting events will take place in London's excellent existing stadia: Wembley for soccer, Wimbledon for tennis, The O2 in Greenwich for basketball and gymnastics.

London is huge and sprawling, so you're best off travelling around on the world's first underground railway, known locally as the Tube. Buses are another good option, although the old-fashioned red Routemaster buses with open backs and conductors are being phased out. Black cabs are everywhere, and their chatty drivers ('cabbies') know their way around the city like the back of their hands. Since the introduction of a Congestion Charge limiting traffic in the city centre, it's now also safe and pleasant to scoot around by bicycle and, in many areas, by foot.