Clebrity Night Shot

If you had visited London as late as the 1960s, the river would have been busy with vessels of all sizes, particularly beyond Tower Bridge. The Thames, a 337km (21 a-mile) river linking the Cotswolds with the open sea near Southend in Essex, was still the city's lifeblood. It had been that way since the Romans built their first major settlement on its edge in AD 50. When London celebrated the millennium in 2000 with three major new attractions along the water - Tate Modern, the Millennium Bridge and the London Eye - it was another sign that the Thames was again coming into its own.

There are few more enjoyable ways to get a sense of London than by taking a boat trip. A number of companies operate services, which last from 30 minutes to four hours. Taken together, they cover 48km (30 miles), from Hampton Court in the west to the Thames Barrier in the east. The most popular run is from Westminster to Tower Bridge. The river's strategic importance is signaled repeatedly along this central stretch, particularly at the beginning and end points: the Houses of Parliament and William the Conqueror's Tower of London. But property with a river frontage has long been the choice of royalty, the Church and others with influence, so you will also spot the palaces of Lambeth and Winchester (now reduced to ruins), as well as places such as Somerset House, home at various points to the Duke of Somerset, Elizabeth I and other royals, and then the Admiralty.

Other highlights are views of Christopher Wren's St Paul's, Giles Gilbert Scott's Bankside Tate and Norman Foster's Swiss Re building, as well as his City Hall and reconstructed Shakespeare's Globe. A boat ride is, of course, also an excellent way to see London's bridges. If you can, do make time to go on to Greenwich. The Victorian warehouses en route, now converted into exclusive loft apartments, were once the nerve center of Britain's trade with its empire, taking in shiploads of raw materials and sending out manufactured goods in return.

The area's transformation into Docklands in the 1980s and 1990s is one of London's success stories. Canary Wharf, with its corporate headquarters, is, among other things, a new financial centre. The lovely Greenwich Park and Queen House await opposite, on the South Bank.