For 20 years after the estate's completion in 1976, City living meant the Barbican. With 2,014 homes, it is still the largest residential district. The Barbican complex is bordered by London Wall. Aldersgate Street, Moorgate and Chiswell Street. It is described by the City Corporation, which controls it, as a 'city within a city' - and so it is. The whole estate has been designed to resemble a small walled town which helps to provide both privacy and a protection from noise. There is still a considerable sense of openness due to careful use of space.

The fortress image is even more accurate: the whole thing turns inwards, looking down on the open space in front of the magnificent Barbican Arts Centre. Worryingly, there is no street level: walkways, stairs and lifts form a 3-D maze so cunning that yellow stripes had to be painted on the paving to guide bemused visitors to the arts centre. The three main towers - just some of the 21 residential blocks - dominate much of the Square Mile's skyline.

The name of the Barbican comes from the low Latin word Barbecana which means an outwork. Gradually the meaning changed, along with the pronunciation, to identify a fortified outpost or gateway, such as an outer defence to a city or castle and any tower situated over a gate or bridge which was used for defence purposes. Today the Corporation of London has its own replica of a fortified gateway in Aldersgate Street. 

The Barbican Estate is situated on the northern edge of what was roman Londonium. Indeed, many of the surviving examples of the old London Wall are to be seen preserved in the Barbican Estate, making a fascinating link with the past.

The wall as we see it today is to a great extent composed of Tudor bricks. Thus the wall was put to much usage long after its role in defending the City had ended.

The cultural jewel of the City, owned, funded and managed by the Corporation of London, the Barbican Centre is a modern building of some complexity. Home of two of the best theatre and music companies in the world: the Royal Shakespeare Company and the London Symphony Orchestra, the Barbican Centre is the City's most important arts complex. Theatre, cinema, concerts, dance and exhibitions can all be seen here, and there are plenty of restaurants, cafes and bars. The centre also contains a library, convention hall and music school. Opened in 1982, the arts complex is part of a major development covering 20 acres and flanked by 42-story blocks of flats.

Access from the Barbican tube station is along a marked route above ground level, passing the Museum of London and looking down on the church of St. Giles Cripplegate. This church, dating from 1550, is a lone survivor of World War II bombs. Nearby St Alphage's Church is a charming little relic situated on London Wall. A 14th century monastery, it was believed to have vanished entirely until bombings in 1940 revealed that it had been used as a foundation for a later building.

The Museum of London is an essential visit for anyone interested in the history of London. The city of the past is evoked through reconstructed streets, shops, and domestic interiors and visits are organized to historic London buildings.