Discover London with a walking city break

With superb parks, landmark buildings and a huge variety of areas to explore, London is a great city to enjoy on foot.

But knowing the best routes to cut out the smoggier main streets and see the quieter side of the city can take quite a bit of insider know how.

To give active holidaymakers keen to discover the capital's treats on foot, the travel experts at Lastminute.com have just launched its new range of London walks.

The walks are dedicated to London areas ranging from Westminster, the West End and Hyde Park to Greenwich, Primrose Hill and Hampstead.

With some of the capital's finest hotels, places to eat and royal parks, Westminster can offer a great walking experience - travelbite.co.uk was there to test out the new Lastminute Westminster walk route.

Downing Street
The Westminster walk fittingly begins at Downing Street, not far from the tourist centre of Trafalgar Square.

Though currently in the middle of a messy summer roadworks project, the imposing gates and steely-eyed armed guard make the road still worth stopping at, if only for the great views of the houses of Parliament in the distance.

From here the route takes a sharp right down towards the Cabinet War Rooms and Churchill Museum, passing the tall and impressive Treasury and Foreign Office buildings.

The museum gives a detailed insight into how Winston Churchill directed the UK in the second world war thanks to the rooms being left almost untouched from the moment the cabinet left, on August 16th 1945 - paperwork, books, charts, pins, maps and all.

Westminster Abbey
Next on the itinerary are the grounds of Westminster Abbey, where you can take in all the flying buttresses and stained glass windows, as well as statues depicting 20 Christian martyrs, including Martin Luther King Jnr, over the Great West Door.

From here it is on to the Houses of Parliament, before winding your way through the pretty back streets to the hidden-away St John's Church; a concert venue well worth visiting for the baroque surroundings alone.

Keep walking and you reach the lengthy Horseferry Road - home to the glass Channel 4 building, which features glass pod-like lifts on the outside, and was designed by the British architect Richard Rogers, who also created the Pompidou Centre in Paris and Madrid airport.

St James
Continue in the same direction and it is not long before the revolving triangle and 60s tower of New Scotland Yard comes into view, and moments later you can head into St James Park to take in an array of impressive wildlife on the park's waters, from gigantic white pelicans to the bright blue beaks of ruddy ducks.

At the other side of St James Park is Buckingham Palace and Green Park, where you can wander through grand chestnut tree-lined paths up to the glitz and glamour of Piccadilly.

If you want to do as the Mayfair locals do then head into the Ritz or the Sheraton Park Lane Hotel for an afternoon tea or gourmet food shopping at Fortnum & Mason.

For more information on the walks see lastminute.com