Downton Abbey's England

London is one of those metropolises that defies summary: a millennia-old capital of the United Kingdom, it spreads along both banks of the Thames and changes character with every district. Its monumental heart turns around Westminster, where the Palace of Westminster and the Big Ben clock tower face the Gothic Westminster Abbey, setting for royal coronations. A little further on lies St James's Park and, at the end of the Mall, Buckingham Palace with its famous Changing of the Guard. Heading east you reach Christopher Wren's domed St Paul's Cathedral and, on the river, the medieval Tower of London guarding the Crown Jewels, flanked by the iconic Tower Bridge. On the opposite bank, the South Bank lines up the London Eye, the Tate Modern set in a former power station and Shakespeare's Globe Theatre. The great museums are free and astonishing: the British Museum with the Rosetta Stone and the Parthenon marbles, the National Gallery overlooking Trafalgar Square, the Natural History Museum and the Victoria and Albert in South Kensington. Shopping has its temples along Oxford Street and at Harrods and Liberty, while Covent Garden, Soho and Camden Market reveal a younger, more creative London. The West End lights up its musicals each evening and Notting Hill smells of vintage stalls along Portobello Road. The food is an atlas of the whole world, from the curries of Brick Lane to pubs serving fish and chips and a pint of ale, not forgetting the ritual of afternoon tea. Getting around is easy thanks to the Underground and the red double-decker buses. Within easy reach await unforgettable excursions: the royal gardens of Kew, Windsor Castle, Greenwich with its zero meridian. London is a city forever reinventing itself, suspended between royal tradition and contemporary energy.

Oxford instantly conjures its dreaming spires, home to the oldest university in the English-speaking world and one of England's most enchanting cities. Its forty-odd colleges follow one another in a maze of quadrangles, cloisters and libraries: the rotunda of the Radcliffe Camera, the solemn Bodleian Library among the world's greatest, Christ Church College with the dining hall that inspired Hogwarts and its cathedral-chapel. Climbing the tower of the University Church of St Mary the Virgin takes in a panorama of golden pinnacles. The city holds treasures such as the Ashmolean Museum, Britain's first public museum, and the Bridge of Sighs recalling Venice. Along the rivers Cherwell and Isis visitors go punting, gliding in flat-bottomed boats between meadows and willows, while historic pubs like The Eagle and Child evoke Tolkien and C.S. Lewis. Among antiquarian bookshops, cafés and bicycles everywhere, Oxford breathes a timeless, intellectual air. A short way off await the sumptuous Blenheim Palace, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and the honey-stone villages of the Cotswolds. Oxford is a city that makes you fall in love with learning, suspended between academia and beauty.

Newcastle upon Tyne rises on the banks of the River Tyne, a lively north-east English city famed for its hospitality and the energy of its nightlife. Its emblem is the Quayside, a waterfront dotted with spectacular bridges, above all the Tyne Bridge and the tilting Gateshead Millennium Bridge, beside the converted BALTIC art gallery and The Sage concert hall. The old town keeps the Norman castle that gave the city its name and the elegant Georgian Grey Street, reckoned among England's finest. The locals, the famous Geordies, have a unique dialect and warmth, and football passion for Newcastle United fires up St James' Park. The food ranges from traditional pubs to a buzzing dining scene. A short way off await Hadrian's Wall, a World Heritage Site marking the edge of the Roman Empire, and the beaches of the Northumberland coast with its castles. Newcastle is a frank, festive city where industrial history and modern life live together joyfully.

Edinburgh reveals itself as one of Europe's most dramatic capitals, poised between volcanic rock and ever-changing skies. Its Old Town and New Town together form a UNESCO World Heritage Site, two souls separated by a green valley, the Princes Street Gardens. Atop the crag stands Edinburgh Castle, a fortress guarding the Honours of Scotland and offering breathtaking views; from here the Royal Mile descends, the backbone of the old town, down to the Palace of Holyroodhouse, the sovereign's Scottish residence. Along the way open narrow alleys, the characteristic closes, St Giles' Cathedral with its stone crown, and shops of whisky and tweed. The airy, elegant Georgian New Town lines up neoclassical façades and stately George Street. Walkers can climb Arthur's Seat, an ancient volcano giving panoramas over the whole city and the Firth of Forth, or Calton Hill with the monuments that earned Edinburgh the nickname Athens of the North. The National Gallery of Scotland and the Royal Botanic Garden round out the cultural offer, while in August the city erupts with the famous Festival Fringe. The cuisine ranges from historic pubs and traditional haggis to seafood and Scotch distilleries. Within easy reach await the coastal villages of Fife and the bridges over the Forth. Edinburgh blends history, mystery and refinement in an atmosphere unlike any other.

Glasgow pulses with an energy all its own, Scotland's largest city and its creative, musical soul. Once an industrial engine of the Empire, it has turned its Victorian warehouses into galleries, bars and restaurants, earning a reputation as a cultural capital. The medieval Glasgow Cathedral and the nearby Necropolis reveal its oldest face, while George Square anchors the centre with monumental architecture. Not to be missed are the Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum, a free treasure house of art and curiosities, and the works of Charles Rennie Mackintosh, master of the Glasgow Style who designed the celebrated School of Art and many interiors. The West End, around the University of Glasgow and the Botanic Gardens, mixes bohemian cafés and markets, while Buchanan Street is the shopping heart. The city shines after dark among pubs, live music and a lively dining scene, from curry houses to reinvented Scottish cooking. Along the regenerated River Clyde rise the Riverside Museum of transport and the modern SEC auditorium. Glasgow is also a gateway to the Highlands and the western isles, a handy base for exploring Loch Lomond just beyond the centre. Frank and welcoming, Glasgow wins visitors over with its humour, its music and a warmth that lingers.