Nowhere does London come to vivid life as much as in its historic pubs, where the mere act of ordering writes you into a time line stretching back, almost unchanged, for hundreds of years.
For, surely, people back then weren't that much different; chatting, laughing, supping from their pewter tankard of ale or mead. So order a drink, chat to the locals or just watch the world go by - and become part of history.
These 10 drinking dens are all within an easy 5 1/2-kilometre walk in the City of London, often referred to as just the City or the Square Mile. This is the historic heart of London, the area around which the rest of the metropolis grew - an area whose boundaries have varied little since the Middle Ages.
Few of those original inns remain - thanks mostly to the Great Fire of London in 1666 (a date etched into every Londoner's heart) - but many of the pubs that exist today are built on sites where they once stood. Try not to drink in them all in one day, though; it can be done but the next day you'll feel like you've walked 400 kilometres, not just experienced 400 years of history.
Here's how to do it, starting at:
1. The Lamb And Flag 33 Rose Street, WC2
Where Samuel Butler, John Dryden and Charles Dickens are said to have frequented. This lovely little building was built in 1623. Once known as The Bucket of Blood, it was renamed The Lamb and Flag in 1883 and today is popular with tourists and locals alike. The walls are festooned with letters, old newspapers, cartoons, paintings and photos. It's cosy and relaxing with lots of brass and glass and a quiet hubbub that marks it out as a working boozer, not a time-trap or tourist theme pub.