Flavors and culture of Southwest 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.

Plymouth carries its maritime calling in its name, a historic port city of south Devon from which the Pilgrim Fathers sailed aboard the Mayflower in 1620. Its most striking spot is Plymouth Hoe, a wide grassy esplanade overlooking the sea with a panoramic view and the striped Smeaton's Tower lighthouse. Just below, the historic Mayflower Steps recall the settlers' departure for the New World, while the Barbican quarter keeps cobbled lanes, Tudor houses, art galleries and the country's oldest gin distillery. The modern National Marine Aquarium and the lively waterfront round out a visit. Plymouth is also a gateway to spectacular scenery: nearby await the wild moors of Dartmoor National Park, with its ponies and granite tors, and the rugged coasts of Cornwall. Among seaside pubs, fresh seafood and a long naval tradition, Plymouth tells of centuries of exploration. It is a city with its gaze fixed on the ocean, proud of its place in history.

St Austell lies in the heart of Cornwall, a town historically tied to the mining of china clay, which shaped the surrounding landscape of whitish hills. Today, however, its fame rests above all on the nearby Eden Project, one of the United Kingdom's most visited attractions: huge geodesic domes, the biomes, enclose tropical and Mediterranean gardens in a former quarry transformed into a garden of Eden. Close by, the Lost Gardens of Heligan enchant with their Victorian gardens brought back to life after decades of neglect. The town offers a compact centre and a bay facing the Channel, while the nearby coast alternates beaches, harbours and fishing villages. St Austell is a handy base for exploring southern Cornwall, among extraordinary gardens, cliffs and the authentic charm of the Cornish countryside.

Bristol blends a maritime past with creative fervour, a south-west English port city that has become an icon of independent culture and street art. Its centre revolves around the Floating Harbour, an old port turned into a lively area of museums, restaurants and boats, where the SS Great Britain is moored, the steamship designed by the famous engineer Isambard Kingdom Brunel. Brunel also designed the iconic Clifton Suspension Bridge, a daring span across the Avon Gorge and the city's emblem. Bristol is the home of the artist Banksy, whose murals dot the city's walls in an open-air gallery. Districts like Stokes Croft and Clifton offer cafés, markets and bohemian atmospheres, while the cathedral and medieval quarter tell the older story. Each year the city brightens with the spectacular hot-air Balloon Fiesta. A short way off await Bath, the Cheddar Gorge and the Somerset coast. Bristol is a young, rebellious city where tradition and innovation dance together.