Forget Old Street or the IMAX at Waterloo, London’s most magical roundabout is surely Arnold Circus. Hidden just a stone’s throw away from the hipsters, between Columbia Road, Shoreditch High Street and Bethnal Green Road, it’s surrounded by impressive Victorian redbrick buildings, complete with a peaceful garden and bandstand. This is not your average roundabout – it’s worth a visit for its beauty and also for its history. It just so happens to be the home of the very first council estate in the world.

​Constructed in the 1890s from the rubble of the notorious Old Nichol slum that had stood here for decades previously, today Arnold Circus is a people-watching paradise. From families dropping their kids off at The Virginia Primary School to fashion designers heading to their studio at The Rochelle creative hub, the local community is a diverse bunch indeed. The imposing architecture that surrounds them holds a times-gone-by atmosphere, meaning you may even spot a film crew recreating Victorian or Edwardian London.

St Paul’s has one curious and charming phenomenon that should never be missed- the Whispering Gallery. Climb 259 steps up the dome and you will find it. It’s a circular walkway which hugs the dome structure, offering a vertigo inducing view of the cathedral floor far below. 
 
Whisper along the curving wall, and someone on the other side of the circular walkway, more than 33m away, will be able to hear you- clear as if you were standing right next to them. Whilst you’re doing it, imagine the  secrets and sweet nothings, that the dome has heard over the past three centuries!

Pubs are one of London’s most unique and historic institutions that have provided a meeting place for people to gather, drink and shoot the breeze throughout the centuries. The capital has plenty of pubs to choose from - almost 4,000 in fact. Hidden within this crowd of watering holes are pubs that have quite a story to tell, some playing pivotal roles in history. Our selection below celebrates some of these historic pubs and the stories they have to tell.  

Surely one of the world’s most well-known brands is Guinness. With its iconic posters and unique tick-follows-tock TV advertising, it’s really taken the world by storm. Famed all over the globe for its clean, bitter taste and smooth black appearance with a creamy white head, it’s a beer that is as Irish as a leprechaun doing a jig to a Boyzone classic, right? Well… not quite. Many people don’t know that Guinness has an older brother, which goes by the name of Porter. This London stout never got the same snazzy marketing campaigns or international acclaim. No, Porter is like the older sibling that stayed at home with mum (and, you know, with all the true stout connoisseurs) whilst baby brother went gallivanting off on a gap year and never came back.