Pointing you in the right direction in England’s capital

Some of London’s most famous attractions soar in and around the Square Mile, and although red double-decker buses and underground trains can help you on your way, more or less everything is within walking distance.

At the City’s south-eastern corner, the Tower of London and Tower Bridge stand proud above the River Thames, while a 20-minute stroll to the west — to the Square Mile’s highest point — will have you marvelling at St Paul’s Cathedral, with Ludgate Hill and Fleet Street flowing behind towards the West End’s hedonistic wonderland.

But there are countless other sights and covert delights to detain you in the City, from the Barbican estate and arts centre, a post-war brutalist-style village hedged by relics of the ancient city walls, to the Mithraeum, which showcases the ruins of a Roman temple built in AD240 when London was Londinium.

This is a typical stop on the guided walking tours that share fascinating insights about the merchants, guilds, monks, monarchs, lawyers, soldiers, architects, politicians, pilgrims and writers to leave their mark on the City.

If you’re exploring independently, you could seek out Charles Dickens’ old haunts — try Ye Olde Cheshire Cheese off Fleet Street — or scale one of the Square Mile’s lofty vantage points for thrilling London-wide panoramas.

Climb the 311 steps up The Monument, a fluted 62m-high column that commemorates the 1666 Great Fire of London, or take the lift up to the Sky Garden at 20 Fenchurch Street — a 21st-century skyscraper dubbed the Walkie Talkie. To access it you need to either reserve a table at one of its bars and eateries, or a free slot for the public garden.

If you’re in the City on a weekday, another intriguing, free-to-enter diversion is the Bank of England Museum, which displays gold, silver and banknotes from its extensive collection, and reveals how the institution has steered the British economy since its founding in 1694.

Even older are some of the markets in and around the Square Mile. Traders have earned their crust at Leadenhall Market since the Middle Ages, although the beautiful arcade you can walk through today — and pause for shopping, wining and dining — dates from the Victorian era. You might recognise it from the 2001 movie, Harry Potter And The Philosopher’s Stone.

Later this year, the London Museum (formerly the Museum of London) will reopen at two spruced-up market buildings at Smithfield, where livestock was traded between the 12th and 19th centuries, before the site became home to London’s main meat and poultry wholesale market.

Other enduring markets nestle just beyond the former city walls.

Between the vibrant East End enclaves of Whitechapel and Shoreditch, you’ll find Spitalfields, a neighbourhood that’s also strewn with old factories, warehouses and breweries, and has been shaped by centuries of immigration from around the world.

French Huguenot and Jewish silk merchants, South Asian textile workers and chefs — and more recent arrivals from Hong Kong — have all made their mark on Brick Lane, a strip known for its curry restaurants, bagel shops, street art and markets selling everything from bags and clothes to cosmopolitan food and drink.

While the local pubs do a roaring trade in pints, pies and roasts, Sundays usually see large crowds on Brick Lane and also at the nearby Petticoat Lane Market, where dozens of eclectic stalls pitch up on Middlesex and Wentworth streets, while a smaller food-oriented market conjures sizzling aromas in the area from Monday to Friday.

Luring Londoners and tourists seven days a week is Old Spitalfields Market, a covered Victorian market that neighbours a modern extension. You’ll find dozens of permanent stalls, shops, boutiques and kitchens, and different guest traders depending on the day.

Each Wednesday, independent artisans flaunt their wares at the Urban Makers Market, while antique and vintage dealers flock here on Thursdays.

There’s a fortnightly vinyl market on the first and third Friday of the month, and seasonal events and activities are hosted at the market throughout the year, from Lunar New Year celebrations to autumnal wine and cheese evenings.

Just outside the market on Commercial Street is Christ Church Spitalfields, distinguished by its Gothic-inspired steeple jutting from a neoclassical, baroque-style facade. Designed by Nicholas Hawksmoor in the early 18th century, it’s one of dozens of landmarks that will stop you in your tracks on your wanderings in and around the City of London.

fact file + London Walks offers a variety of guide-led strolls in and around the Square Mile (and in other parts of London). The walks are priced from £20 ($38) for adults, £15 ($29) for over-65s and full-time students, and £5 ($9.50) for children aged eight to 15. For itineraries and times, see walks.com. + To help plan a trip to London and Britain, see visitlondon.com and visitbritain.com.