Hotels in London

Central London is the busy heart of the capital – it’s where you’ll find famous sights like Buckingham Palace, Big Ben, the West End, Covent Garden and the main shopping streets like Oxford Street and Regent Street. Greater London is much bigger. It includes all 32 boroughs plus the City of London – areas like Camden, Haringey, Richmond and Greenwich are all part of it. You’ll still find great attractions outside the centre, from historic palaces to big stadiums and lovely parks.

Greater London covers such a large area because over time, the city grew way beyond its original boundaries. As more people moved in smaller towns and villages around London were gradually absorbed into one large urban area. In the 20th century, the government officially brought these areas together to help manage the city's rapid growth. That’s why you’ve got a single region called Greater London, which includes everything from busy boroughs like Hackney and Lambeth to quieter areas like Barnet and Richmond.

There are 9 travel zones in total, with Zone 1 right in the centre and Zone 9 covering the outer edges. Most of the top tourist attractions are in Zones 1 and 2, but plenty of interesting places sit further out too – like Wembley Stadium (Zone 4), or Heathrow Airport (Zone 6).

Greater London, as we know it today, was officially created in 1965. That’s when a new administrative area was formed to include the capital and all the surrounding boroughs, helping to better manage things like transport, planning and services across the whole city. Of course, many of the places inside Greater London are much older. Some areas have histories going back hundreds or even thousands of years!