Leading the world in fashion, music and the arts, London is now also rated as the restaurant capital of the world. Hyperbole or reality? Just look around. Ten years ago, when I wrote my first guide to London, the vast majority of visitor attractions were 'look but don't touch', you couldn't get a decent meal without paying the earth, a cappuccino was still an exotic novelty, beer or wine was off limits for much of the day, and the only way to get into Buckingham Palace was to scale its walls.

Today, London is more European, more worldly, more open in its outlook. The great London institutions of the British Museum, the Tower of London, the museums of South Kensington and the Royal Opera House have all recently undergone (or are currently in the process of) major improvements, and London's developing South Bank and Docklands are also springing to life. Meanwhile, visitors returning to the capital can rest assured that the unsung heroes of London life - the quiet leafy squares, the parks and its myriad tiny unspoilt churches, pubs and shops - soldier timelessly on.