United Kingdom

Cost of living

What a month costs

One of the priciest cities in Europe, rent eats most of your budget.

The scores

How it rates for a moving family

See and do

Top 10 in London

1. Tower of LondonA thousand-year fortress guarding the Crown Jewels.
2. British MuseumFree galleries packed with the Rosetta Stone and world treasures.
3. Westminster AbbeyCoronation church where kings and queens are crowned and buried.
4. Buckingham PalaceThe monarch's London home and the Changing of the Guard.
5. Tate ModernVast modern art in a converted power station on the South Bank.
6. St Paul's CathedralWren's great dome with sweeping views from the Whispering Gallery.
7. Hyde ParkRowing on the Serpentine and soapbox speeches at Speakers' Corner.
8. Tower BridgeThe Victorian bascule bridge with a glass walkway high above the Thames.
9. Borough MarketA centuries-old food market heaving with traders under railway arches.
10. Natural History MuseumA cathedral of a building full of dinosaurs and a blue whale.

Where to go

Weekend escapes

1. OxfordHoney-coloured colleges and riverside pubs an hour up the line.
2. BathGeorgian crescents and Roman baths in the west country.
3. BrightonPebble beach, a pier and a lively seafront under an hour by train.
4. The CotswoldsStorybook stone villages and green hills for a slow weekend.
5. CambridgePunting on the Cam past old colleges and manicured lawns.

Coffee

Best cafes

1. Monmouth CoffeeCult roaster near Borough Market with serious single-origin brews.
2. Bar ItaliaA Soho institution pulling espresso around the clock since 1949.
3. Maison BertauxLondon's oldest patisserie, a slice of old Soho with cream cakes.
4. KaffeineAntipodean-style flat whites and pastries just off Oxford Street.
5. Prufrock CoffeeA Clerkenwell landmark for the city's speciality coffee crowd.

Restaurants

Where to eat

1. St. JohnFergus Henderson's nose-to-tail British cooking near Smithfield.
2. DishoomBombay-cafe menus and long queues at every branch.
3. The WolseleyA grand European cafe on Piccadilly for all-day dining.
4. GymkhanaMichelin-starred Indian in a colonial-club setting in Mayfair.
5. RulesLondon's oldest restaurant, serving game and classic British fare since 1798.
6. SketchThe pink Gallery room is one of the most photographed dining spaces in town.
7. HawksmoorBritish steakhouse turning out top-grade cuts and killer cocktails.

Morning

Best breakfast

1. The WolseleyThe grand power breakfast, from eggs Benedict to viennoiserie.
2. Regency CafeA classic Pimlico greasy spoon for the full English done right.
3. The Breakfast ClubCheerful all-day brunch that started the London pancake craze.
4. Granger & CoBill Granger's famous ricotta hotcakes and sweetcorn fritters.
5. DishoomThe bacon naan roll is a legendary London morning fix.
6. E PellicciA family-run Bethnal Green cafe, listed and beloved for its fry-up.
7. Riding House CafeBrasserie brunch of chorizo hash and lobster omelettes near Fitzrovia.
8. Cecconi'sMayfair Italian doing a stylish breakfast of pastries and eggs.
9. OttolenghiBright Middle Eastern plates and pastries in Islington.