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hate. Navigation around the complex is via the yellow lines running, Wizard-of-Oz-like, along the floors, with signs on the walls, although it’s still easy to get lost. Actors rate the theater acoustics especially highly, and the steep rake of the seating makes for a good stage view. The dance, music, and theater programs have been transformed into a yearlong fest named BITE, which stands for Barbican International Theatre Events, and encompasses dance, puppetry, and music. The emphasis is on presenting tomorrow’s names today, although there are performances by established companies and artists, such as Merce Cunningham. | Silk St., The City | EC2Y 8DS | 020/7638–8891 box office | www.barbican.org.uk | Barbican Centre free, art gallery £6–£8, films £8.50, concerts £6.50–£45, theater £7–£50 | Barbican Centre Mon.–Sat. 9 am–11 pm, Sun. and holidays noon–11; gallery Thurs. 11–10, Mon., Fri.–Sun. 11–8, Tues.–Wed. 11–6 | Moorgate, Barbican.

Dr. Johnson’s House.

This is where Samuel Johnson lived between 1748 and 1759, compiling his famous dictionary in the attic as his health deteriorated. Built in 1700, the elegant Georgian residence, with its paneled rooms and period furniture, is where the Great Bear (as he was known) compiled his Dictionary of the English Language—two early editions of which are among the mementos of Johnson and his friend, diarist, and later, his biographer, James Boswell. After soaking up the atmosphere, repair around the corner in Wine Office Court to the famed Ye Olde Cheshire Cheese pub, once Johnson and Boswell’s favorite watering hole. | 17 Gough Sq., The City | EC4A 3DE | 020/7353–3745 | www.drjohnsonshouse.org | £4.50 | May–Sept., Mon.–Sat. 11–5:30; Oct.–Apr., Mon.–Sat. 11–5; closed bank holidays | Holborn, Chancery La.

Guildhall.

The Corporation of London, which oversees The City, has ceremonially elected and installed its lord mayor here for the last 800 years. The Guildhall was built in 1411, and though it failed to avoid either the 1666 or 1940 flames, its core survived. The Great Hall is a psychedelic patchwork of coats of arms and banners of the City Livery Companies, which inherited the mantle of the medieval trade guilds. Tradesmen couldn’t even run a shop without kowtowing to these prototypical unions, and their grand banqueting halls, the plushest private dining venues in The City, are testimony to the wealth they amassed. Inside the hall, Gog and Magog, the pair of mythical giants who founded ancient Albion and the city of New Troy, upon which London was said to be built, glower down from their west-gallery grandstand in 9-foot-high painted lime wood. The hall was also the site of famous trials, including that of Lady Jane Grey in 1553, before her execution at the Tower of London. To the right of Guildhall Yard is the Guildhall Art Gallery, which includes portraits of the great and the good, cityscapes, famous battles, and a slightly cloying pre-Raphaelite section. The construction of the gallery led to the exciting discovery of London’s only Roman amphitheater, which had lain underneath Guildhall Yard undisturbed for more than 1,800 years. It was excavated, and now visitors can walk among the remains, although most of the relics can be seen at the Museum of London, through which guided tours can be booked. | Aldermanbury, The City | EC2V 5AE | 020/7606–3030, 020/7332–3700 gallery | www.cityoflondon.gov.uk | Free; gallery and amphitheater £2.50 | Mon.–Sat. 9:30–5; gallery Mon.–Sat. 10–5, Sun. noon–4, last admission 4:30 or 3:30 | St. Paul’s, Moorgate, Bank, Mansion House.

Old Bailey.

If you’re lucky, this is the place to watch the real-life drama of justice in action in one of the 16 courtrooms that are open to the public. Previous trials have included those of Crippen and Christie, two of England’s most notorious wife murderers, as well as the controversial trial of Oscar Wilde and, less so, the notorious East End gangsters, the Kray twins. The day’s hearings are posted on the sign outside, but your best bet is to consult the previous day’s tabloid newspapers for an idea of the