Ye Olde Cheshire Cheese on Fleet Street is one of the oldest. Rebuilt in 1667, the year after it was destroyed by the Great Fire of London, there are records of a tavern on the site in 1538 and the cellars are thought to belong to a guesthouse of a 13th century Carmelite Monastery.

Inside is a maze of narrow corridors and staircases leading to cosy bars and dining rooms panelled in dark wood and down into the ancient stone cellars. Famous patrons through the ages include Dr. Johnson, Voltaire and Charles Dickens – there’s even a copy of Dr Johnson’s dictionary (English’s first) on display.

The Ten Bells in Spitalfields is a Victorian East End pub that’s not nearly as old but has a dark history. The current name comes from the long competition between local churches to claim the finest bells. The pub’s name commemorates the adding of a tenth bell (there are now twelve) at Christ Church Spitalfield.

But the pub used to be called ‘The Jack the Ripper’ because it was associated with two of his victims – Annie Chapman and Mary Kelly. Jack the Ripper memorabilia used to be displayed there and it was used for a scene in the 2001 Johnny Depp film ‘From Hell’.

Dirty Dick’s may not sound appealing and the legend behind the name certainly isn’t. But being in Bishopsgate, just across the road from Liverpool Street Station, today it’s a clean pub offering a range of tasty beers that pulls in a more sophisticated crowd of city types.

So where did the name come from? In the 18th century a merchant called Richard Bentley owned a shop and warehouse that, following the death of his fiancée, he never cleaned. The level of dirt his businesses descended into made him something of a local celebrity – letters addressed to ‘The dirty warehouse, London’ would reach Bentley.

For years the pub kept the legend alive being equally festooned with cobwebs, mould and other disgusting things that included a dead cat.

Today the pub is clean and light, but the staff will eagerly tell you the gory details of what they found during the clean up. And, if you’re feeling brave, you can descend into the famous vaults to see that cat and other unpleasant things from the pub’s less sanitary past.

OK, so villainous murderers and dead cats might not be what you first think of when you’re looking to book hotels in London, but these pubs only scratch the surface of the many colourful and intriguing places to be explored within walking distance of most London hotels.

‘Must-visit’ destinations for those staying at home are likely to include the nation’s capital, as it has so much to offer in such a relatively small space. For example, The London Eye, which will probably retain its number one spot as the nation’s most popular attraction by drawing in tens of thousands of visitors during summer, closely followed by the waxworks at Madame Tussauds.

The London Aquarium is becoming increasingly popular, especially in drawing visitors to its glass walkway beneath the sharks. Because of its proximity to the London Eye it is likely to be visited by many taking in both attractions.

Because of the increase in the number of stay-home holidaymakers there is a fair chance that London accommodation will be in short supply during the height of summer. However, those who think they may struggle to get reasonably priced digs may inadvertently benefit from a recent unexpected tragedy.

The death of Michael Jackson which led to the subsequent cancellation of the 50 gigs he was due to perform at the O2 Arena will impact on numerous hotels in London. That is because many of the singing star’s global army of fans were planning on travelling from all four corners of the world to see their hero in action, and had already reserved rooms at many London hotels.

Many of those reservations are bound to be cancelled meaning that there may be some great London hotel bargains to be had at the height of summer.

Also, because of the hole in the O2’s schedule the venue is adding new productions daily including a superb event taking place there during September, namely a live presentation of Ben Hur which promises to include the spectacular chariot race, which is central to the story.

Without adding the expense of buying tickets to London attractions there are plenty of things to see in the capital that are free of charge. Fabulous historic buildings such as the Houses of Parliament, Big Ben, Buckingham Palace, the Tower of London, Tower Bridge and many others can be viewed from the outside for free. Indeed, there is so much to do and see in London the only difficult choice will be what to leave out!