Machu Picchu—the “lost city of the Incas”—sits at 7,970
ft (2,430 m) in the remote Peruvian Andes.
84 CITIES & BEYONDlondon
ENGLAND
History has dealt London many hammer
blows—the Great Fire of 1666, the Blitz of
1940, the decline of its docks in the twilight
of empire—but none have had any lasting
efect on this charming city that manages to
reinvent itself while continuing to treasure
its past. Heritage and a vibrant present com-
mingle among the city’s superlative muse-
ums, beautiful parks, cozy pubs, iconic red
buses, and stunning sights such as St. Paul’s
Cathedral and Buckingham Palace. Only the
bowler hat has been consigned to history.DON’T MISS
Take a bus to the Royal Albert Hall—being sure to
sit upstairs, of course, to enjoy the views—and walk
through Hyde Park, heading first to Kensington Pal-
ace, then past the Round Pond and the Serpentine
(a lake), concluding at Hyde Park Corner.Sunset over London as seen—note the foreground
spires—from the dome of St. Paul’s Cathedral