This week’s travel dream: London during the Olympics

The Olympics are thrusting London and its citizens into the spotlight, and we’re not comfortable with it, said A.A. Gill in The New York Times. Londoners aren’t show-offy types, and we’ve “collectively, osmotically” decided that we hate the Olympics and the hassle they’re causing. So come for the Games in late July, but don’t expect a warm welcome, or several of the things we’ve become famous for. “Stiff-lipped men in bowler hats and cheeky cockneys” no longer exist, nor do punks on King’s Road, psychedelia on Carnaby Street, or cigar-smoking men outside Pall Mall clubs. There is no fog, and you certainly won’t find Harry Potter.

What you will find is worth the trip—an “amazingly polyglot and variegated” city, perhaps the “most successful mongrel casserole anywhere.” You’ll be able to wander in wonderful, often artfully wild-looking parks, including Hyde Park and Kensington Gardens, home to a Peter Pan statue that’s “one of the most charming sculptures in any city.” Though I caution against it, you will surely seek out such tourist traps as Tower Bridge and the dull Tower of London. But you shouldn’t miss the “single greatest building in Britain,” St. Paul’s Cathedral. Inside is a memorial chapel dedicated to America for its help during World War II. Keep your eyes open and you’ll learn that London is full of such unexpected small finds, like the alley that houses the original Embassy of Texas. On scattered buildings, you’ll see blue plaques noting famous past residents. “Jimi Hendrix lived next door to Handel, in space if not in time.”

“If you do only one thing while you’re here,” get yourself onto the Thames. From a boat on the river, “London glides past you like human geology.” You should also visit some pubs, of course. Though I can heartily recommend the Mayflower, located in the East End, “beautiful and elegiac pubs” are everywhere, and “you should come upon them serendipitously.” If you stay for a second pint—or better yet, stay for years longer—you’ll find that though Londoners may be taciturn, they’re anything but parochial. In fact, “you’ll be very welcome indeed.”

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For more information about planning a London visit, go to visitbritain.com.