City of London - 503 km

London covers 600 square miles and has a population of 8.6 million, but only its oldest part, just one square mile in size, is called the City of London. That is where the Romans founded the city of Londinium shortly after they arrived in 43AD. Today, the City of London– or simply “the City” – is the centre of London’s finance industry. The City is where you find the Bank of England, the London Stock Exchange, the investment banks, insurance companies and financial markets. It combines the most modern headquarters buildings with Roman remains and medieval churches.

Geography plays a key role in the success of the City of London. Unlike New York, Tokyo or Hong Kong, the City’s business day overlaps those of all the world’s financial centres. The City can trade with the Eastern Hemisphere in the morning and the Western Hemisphere in the afternoon, allowing its dealers to trade in all major markets in one day.

Though it is the oldest part of London, the City doesn’t look very old. That is because it has been almost entirely destroyed and rebuilt twice: once in the Great Fire of London in 1666, and then again after being bombed in the second World War. It is fascinating to track down the structures which survived the Great Fire and World War 2.

The Bank of England was devised by a Scot, William Patterson, and its first Governor was a Frenchman, John Houblon. It is the central bank for the whole of the United Kingdom, and yet it is called the Bank of England. Up until 1980, any bank operating in The City of London needed to have an office with a 10 minute walk of the Bank of England. This was so the Chief Executive of every bank could be at the Bank of England within 30 minutes in times of crisis. The City of London is the centre of global foreign exchange dealing. Over 40% of all the world’s foreign exchange transactions are made in the City – a total of $2.7 trillion per day!

Amen Court is thought to be one of the most haunted parts of the City of London. One of the walls on the site is all that remains of Newgate Jail, with Deadman’s Walk on the other side. Deadman’s Walk is where prisoners were lead to their death and it is the site of many burials.