33 reasons why we will always love London

There’s no place like home
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Liz Connor7 June 2017

When the news isn't good, it can be all too easy to shut your doors, glue yourself to the TV and fixate on distressing events.

But whatever way you look at it, Londoners are a defiant bunch - and the capital will always be the best place to go to discover the next big thing in music, cheer along some world-class football, see some culture, endure a hilariously bad Tinder date or simply join in with a euphoric sing-a-long in a kebab shop at 3am.

Here, we've rounded up a few mood-lifting reasons why there'll always be no place London.

1. We have inspirational quotes at every Tube station to cheer us up

2. And hilarious station announcers that help us get to work

3. We have annual pillow fights to let out some good-natured commuter rage

Armed and ready: Fighters met at Kennington Park to celebrate International Pillow Fight Day
PA

4. And we’re never short of the time because there’s a giant clock in the middle of the city

Matthew Cattell/Getty Images for Samsung Galaxy S8

5. We’re the home of David Bowie, Adele, Queen and Pink Floyd

Alex Lentati

6. ...and Charles Dickens, George Orwell and Virginia Woolf

London Stereoscopic Company/Getty Images

7. Our population is one of the most diverse in the world

Peter Macdiarmid/Getty Images

8. While random acts of kindness happen everywhere

9. Fortunately, we don’t take ourselves too seriously

10. And even though we’re permanently stressed and tired, we can still have a good laugh about it

11. The sunsets from Waterloo Bridge are some of the dreamiest you’ll ever see

Shutterstock / Cedric Weber

Stunning sunset over London - February 2017

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12. While the street art is easily some of the best in the world

 
London Live

13. As is the hilarious toilet graffiti in the pubs and bars across the city

Imgur

14. We do ridiculous hipster trends better than anywhere else - even Melbourne

15. ...and moan about them better than anywhere else in the world

16. Nothing beats strolling around Soho on a sunny Saturday afternoon

Shutterstock / Ale Argentieri

17. Or seeing your football team win the league

Shutterstock / Oleskandr Osipov

18. We know how to put on a jolly good firework display

Jamie Squire/Getty Images

19. And rally together when a Tube ad enrages us

20. An impromptu 3am sing-a-long in a Tube carraige or a kebab shop is a thing of discordant beauty

21. And our canine population can bring grown men to their knees

22. There are centuries-old, historic boozers to have a pint in

Shutterstock / littleny

London pub cats - in pictures

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23. And spectacular parks to soak up the sun in

A walker in an autumnal Hyde Park as wet weather hit London
PA

24. There are free pianos where you can get serenaded by strangers

(Street Pianos)

25. ...and community libraries that keep us well-read for free

26. You’ll always hear an interesting tale or two from a London cabbie

Medicine will be delivered by black cab drivers
Getty Images

27. While there’s nothing quite like cycling around the streets

Barclays Bikes: iPhone, Android. Free. This smartphone app is the essential accessory for the Barclays Cycle Hire scheme as demonstrated by Boris Johnson and the former California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger. It uses TfL data which updates docking station info every three minutes (though it doesn't account for broken bikes or docks). It means you won't head for empty stations looking for a bike, or - worse - find your destination full as you cheerfully ride up.

28. Some of the world’s most important music scenes started in our dingy dive bars

Shutterstock / dimitris_k

29. And everyone's had a night out in London that they wished would never end

Shutterstock / cha cha cha studio

30. We may be known as impolite, but we know how to come together when it matters

REUTERS

31. And even when we protest, we do it in a supremely British way

32. We throw a party like no other when Pride and Notting Hill Carnival come to town

Andrea Baldo/ Rex Features

33. And while there's no getting around the overpriced cocktails and bad weather, there’s simply no other place like it when the sun comes out

Shutterstock / S.Borisov

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