London: Introduction: Why Go Now

London is nudging past New York as the world’s financial capital, and the ripple effects are being felt all over town. Investment bankers in the City received record bonuses this year of nearly $18 billion, with one banker getting $98 million. From Russian patriarchs to hedge fund managers, London’s new elite is busy spending its unprecedented earnings and pushing up the prices of luxury goods, from fancy flats to contemporary art to expensive wines and fast cars (the $1.5 million Bugatti Veyron is the current favorite). Housing prices are doubling and tripling in a few months’ time. An apartment in the Belgravia neighborhood recently sold for $5,900 a square foot, making it the most expensive apartment in the City, until four enormous penthouses at a new development, One Hyde Park, went for $8,200 a square foot soon after—and they weren’t even built yet. The nightclub set thinks nothing of spending $1,000 on a group cocktail. Sotheby’s is seeing record-breaking sales in modern and Impressionist art. In short, London is sizzling hot, making it the perfect time to enjoy the cosmopolitan British capital.