The Tower Bridge is one of the Thames River's many crossings.

For about $58 US, start off by getting your bearings in London the James Bond way – via a high-speed power boat on the Thames. Flying Fish Tours (flyingfish.co.uk) owned and operated by ex-homicide investigators from Scotland Yard, will whisk you around town on its ancient byway, the river. The full tour lasts about an hour and 45 minutes and if they like you they'll give you juicy tales about some of the Yard's most famous cases.

Of course, you'll want to check out the Tower of London to see the crown jewels, the British Museum to see Norman Foster's new arcade and the Elgin Marbles, plus all the usual tourist stuff. Two things we recommend: the changing of the Guard, which is a bit of old British grandeur and happens every day (except in rain) at Buckingham Palace and St. James' Palace (changing-the-guard.com for schedules). And a visit inside Tower Bridge (towerbridge.co.uk) for stunning views of the city and the Victorian clockworks inside. For our money ($12.00) it's more fun than the over-hyped London Eye nearby.

After you've got a bead on the city from the river, go east to where all the action is. First, take the legendary "Jack the Ripper Tour" of Whitechapel to see how far the area has come (london-walks.com.uk). These tours have been taking tourists back in time to the days of London fog and Sherlock Holmes for almost twenty years. Today, the East Side streets they tour are a far different place—filled with art galleries, boutiques, and gourmet food shops. After seeing what the area was like in its most infamous day, take a walk through Spitalfields Marketplace and see its vibrant new self. Nearby, the Old Marketplace in the middle of Whitechapel was built in the late 1890s. Today it is filled with trendy boutiques and stalls that are open all year long, every day from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on weekdays and from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Sundays. Thursday is antiques day. We like FairyGothMother (15 Lamb Street on the outer edge), purveying corsets, petticoats and other glamorous necessities.

After a long day of shopping, you can try to fight the tourists queuing up for curry in Bangladeshi Brick Lane or you can take the tube to Hounslow West where London locals go for the yummiest currys in town (best is Punjabi Spice, 320 Bath Rd., Phone 020 85277 8822). Southall is another just-beyond-the-city option for cool cultural encounters. It boasts a huge Indian community, the second largest Sikh temple in the world and Glassy Junction, an Indian-owned pub where you can get sub-continent brews and pay with rupees (97 South Road, Southall, 020 8574 1626).

Finally, what's more British than good theatre? Get thee to TKTS at Leicester Square (see what's on daily at tkts.co.uk) where you can get tickets to preview shows for as low as $30 US a seat (we saw Orlando Bloom for that price on a weekday). You might even get a ticket to Shakespeare's Globe, across the river next to the Tate Modern. Get across early and have a drink in the Modern's fabu coffee shop with not-to-be-missed views of the city and the famous dome of St. Paul's Cathedral from across the Thames.

Hereford Road

This brand new Notting Hill neighborhood eatery is a great example of London's turn to traditional "Britishness" in food and style. Former head chef at St. John Bread & Wine, Tom Pemberton is boorish on British food—featuring an autumn and winter menu with entrees like braised rabbit, bacon and mustard and Middle White Pork. He tries to get as much of it locally as possible. The result is extremely fresh meats and veggies and some nice old-fashioned extras, like cherry and almond tarts. Wines by the glass and carafe are specially good values here. Don't miss the Treacle Tart for afters (3 Hereford Road).

The Narrow

Gordon Ramsay's new gastro pub might be one reason why the famed chef is tottering on his throne as the King of British Food. Critics say he's spreading himself too thin. But the river views from his new spot in Limehouse are stunning and his list of traditional English puddings is exhaustive (44 Narrow Street).

The Wolseley

Calling itself a "Grand Café normally only found on the Continent" the Wolseley was not named after King Henry's Cardinal but after the name of the original building which was commissioned in 1921 by Wolseley Cars as their West End showroom and was designed by William Curtis Green in the Art Deco style of the time. Decidedly Euro-snobbish, the restaurant's menu relies heavily on French-inspired dishes but gives the nod to Britishness with a Welsh Rarebit or two. Be naughty and go here instead of the Ritz for afternoon tea. You'll be sure to find a perfect cucumber sandwich (160 Picadilly).

An accommodation at the Soho Hotel

Base2Stay

This Kensington entry calls itself a "budget boutique hotel." It is what it sounds like -- a good base to stay. Clean and spacious rooms (ground-floor rooms have little gardens out back) have kitchenettes rather than minibars. You can specially order breakfast boxes but there's actually no breakfast, bar or restaurant in this B&B. The young and friendly staff (mostly from Eastern Europe but all with top language and hospitality skills) will encourage you to explore the neighborhood for dining options and there are lots of good ones a short walk away, as well as a tube station that links in to every major line (from $158, 25 Courtfield Gardens + 44 (0) 845 262 8000).

The Soho Hotel

The staff at this small, gemlike hotel are so helpful they'd just about lay down in traffic for you, which is appropriate, given the fact that the building used to be a multi-level car park. Today, the only vestiges are some interesting pillars in the restaurant (Refuel) but everything else, down to the Ferdinand Botero cat sculpture in the lobby reeks refinement and subtle luxury. The Soho is also favored by celebs for the fabulous cocktails at the bar and the cinema in the basement. But don't worry. Staff have been known to toss "names" out on their ear if they get rowdy or they want to get in and there's no more room. Most democratic of them (from $520, 4 Richmond Mews, firmdale.com).

The Athenaeum

This traditional hotel has long had a great reputation, but was always in a real need for a makeover. Martin Hulbert of Mary Fox Linton has redone the lobby, restaurant and public rooms and is in the process of face-lifting the guest rooms (completion date: Spring '08). The result is a refreshingly non-stuffy take on luxury with open airy spaces and a clean and a sometimes whimsical take on Britishness (some of the rooms have art boxes with toy double decker busses in them). Long-term business travelers can even stow bags on-property through the hotel's "Road Warrior" program (from approximately $360, 116 Piccadilly, athenaeumhotel.com).

The "tube" is one of the best ways to get around the city.

Flights

Major international flights land and take off from Heathrow, Gatwick, and Stansted International Airports (and to a lesser extent, Luton City Airport). All inbound service from the U.S. lands at either Heathrow or Gatwick, with the exception of the new all-business class services that land in Stansted and Luton. American is the first major carrier to experiment with the idea, with a new daily flight to Stansted, and another one coming in 2008.

Don't take taxis from the airport to the city unless you're willing to shell out up to 200 bucks for a one-way ride (albeit an entertaining one, London's cabbies are famous raconteurs). Buses are a cheaper option but can take up to two hours in traffic to get to the city center. You can also take the regular London underground but again, you'll pay in the time it will take to ride a local train to the city center (can be up to an hour).

The best route of entry are the express trains -- all four airports offer them, and the distances are as short as 15 minutes to Paddington on the Heathrow Express or as long as the 45 minutes-to-an-hour Stansted express to Liverpool Street. Tickets for all are generally around $30 each way.

Ground Transportation

London is the ultimate walking city -- take advantage. But when your feet are tired or the weather's worse than usual, it helps to know that public transport in London costs so much these days for visitors, that you are better off cabbing it for short hauls. If you intend to use the Tube repeatedly, get an Oyster Card (available at Underground Stations). It's much more economical than paying fares each time you ride because the prices go up on those regular tickets according to the time of day, whereas the Oyster gets you a standard fare all day long. Remember, if you're out late, the Underground's last trains are about midnight. Afterwards, locals rely on late-night city buses which again are hard to figure out for non-locals. So if it's after midnight, take a Black cab if you can. The unlicensed "mini-cabs" (the regular cars) will often cruise for stranded nightowls and take advantage by charging exorbitant fares.

A great option for travelers concerned about roaming the streets at night, Cabwise is a 24-hour service run by Transport for London. You send a text message (HOME) to 60835 (their phone number) and it will send you the phone number for one taxi (Black) and two local licensed (mini) cab firms that are near where you are. The charge to your cell is 35p.