Setting: London

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The city of London is a vast and varied place, with more to offer than could ever be summarized in a forum post. A good place to begin looking for information on what your character might find in London is the city's Wikipedia entry, or the city's official site.

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The famous Bankside district is located on the Thames, and quite close to the University. It's home to shops, pubs, nightclubs, restaurants and nearly anything else one could hope for in a city. The district's most singular attraction is the rebuilt Globe Theater, which has a busy schedule of Shakespeare to entice any theater or classic's buff.

For students, this is the area of the city they are most likely to head to when seeking out the city's nightlife, as it's close and offers a good time for any taste. It's not a cheap place to spend an evening, but going to a club or on a pub crawl is rarely cheap regardless of location.

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By far the most expensive and upper-class area of the city, Mayfair is a beautiful and exciting district to visit. It's located in the heart of London, and features high end shops, beautiful parks, and upscale restaurants. The historical power of the aristocracy is easy to sense here, with venerable old houses and buildings dotting the district, and interesting spots like the Burlington Arcade, a garden that is patrolled by private security.

Places to see in Mayfair Include:

The Burlington Arcade: Beautiful gardens and shops, patrolled by uniformed 'beadles' who may eject anyone who runs, carries large packages, opens an umbrella, whistles, hums or sings.

Bond Street: A seriously upmarket shopping area, only for those with means, or looking to splurge.

Grosvenor Square: A property of the Duke of Westminster, featuring a historical mansion and surrounding gardens. The gardens are now a public park.

Shepard's Market: A pedestrian only area for shops, open air cafes, and other leisure activities. It's long been rumored that this is also an area to pick up high-class prostitutes, but the matter is a subject of some debate.

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A series of Open Air markets, the Camden markets range from beautiful shops to flea markets. This is a place where the high and the low mingle in London, you can get everything here from designer shoes to tattoos to brass flatware. The variety among people and goods both seem to be endless, it's a fun area, very vibrant and young. You could shop in Camden every week, and still see something different every time.

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The mighty Thames runs through the city of London and far beyond, but in particular, this section is the bit of the river that runs along the Northern edge of the North Campus. The city is built right up to the edges of the river on all sides. Access from campus to the river's South bank is via a broad stair that leads down to a boardwalk. From there one can enjoy the London skyline, or the meandering river itself.

There are often food booths and other tourism based businesses on the boardwalk, especially since the school was built. It can be a fun place to relax and see the water, take someone on a date, or get a hot-dog and some cotton candy.

There isn't much access to the other side of the river from the boardwalk near the school, so students and staff wanting to cross the Thames either need to be able to fly, or go around a few kilometers to a bridge.

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London's Chinatown is distinct from some other famous Chinatowns in that very few Chinese actually live in the district. It has become less of a residential area over time, and now there are few people at all who live within the district itself. Instead, it has become a commercial and cultural area, full of the flavor of China. There are restaurants and shops as one would expect, but there are also events happening year round, parades, festivals, and other community events.