Tonight sees the official launch of the free Visit Stratford App, now available to download on Android and iPhone.

Created by Stratford Renaissance Partnership and the London Borough of Newham, the app provides information for Games-time visitors to the area, including listings for Stratford’s shops, bars, restaurants and hotels with up-to-date events and travel information.

Download it now to discover more about this rapidly developing area of East London – one that will become a familiar sight to over 2 billion TV viewers once the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games begin this July.

Other great features of the app include:

• Live tube, bus and DLR information
• Interactive map and audio walking guide
• 2012 Games information
• Digital postcards to send to your friends
• Interactive features showing Stratford’s future

For more information on the Visit Stratford App visit www.stratfordlondonapp.com
You can also download the app from the Apple App Store or from Android Play.

What ho! Did you see these splendid folk out and about on their bikes last weekend enjoying the annual London Tweed run?

Nonusual shared a set of cool photos of the cyclists with the Visit London Flickr group.

Elegant tweed triumphs over sweaty spandex as participants are encouraged to wear traditional British cycling outfits and embrace a more refined, classic style.

The ArcelorMittal Tower is finally complete! To celebrate, here’s a gorgeous timelapse video of the Tower being built in the Olympic Park over the last couple of years.

At 114m, it’s officially the tallest sculpture in the UK. There’s a central lift which will take you up to see the spectacular views from the top; a spiral staircase winds down the central core to bring you back down to earth again.

The Tower officially opens to the public on 28 July.

Punch and Judy professors will gather at The Big Grin festival in Covent Garden this weekend to celebrate the 350th birthday of Mr Punch. The first sighting of Mr Punch was recorded by diarist Samuel Pepys in Covent Garden in 1662.

To mark the anniversary, London has been awarded a new Guinness World Record for the world’s first recorded Mr Punch puppet show. The award is part of World Record London, a series of world record attempts in London this year.

You can join the celebrations in Covent Garden over the weekend. On Saturday there’s a Big 350 Birthday Party with shows by top Punch and Judy performers from around the world, plus a birthday parade and a birthday cake ceremony in a giant booth.

On Sunday there’s a special edition of the traditional Punch and Judy May Fayre in the churchyard of St Paul’s Covent Garden (known as the Actors’ Church), including a procession and a church service with Mr Punch in the pulpit.

• The Big Grin, Covent Garden, 12-13 May 2012 

Update on 14 May: Here’s a great video of the celebrations!

New theatre show The Lion, The Witch And The Wardrobe starts previews in Kensington Gardens tomorrow night. It looks like it’ll be a fantastic evening’s entertainment.

Ahead of their first night, here’s an amazing time-lapse video of the theatre being built.

Interested in seeing the show? You can read more about it, and book tickets here.

We love the lighting in this golden photo of The Monument by atmilinko. Did you know that you can climb all the way up to the top of the Monument and see the views over the City of London?

The Monument was designed by Sir Christopher Wren and celebrated the rebuilding of London after the great fire in 1666.

If you’ve taken a great photo showing London’s rich history, please share your photo with the Visit London Flickr group.

London’s history is dripping with beer. Alehouses have been present in the capital since Roman times and the impure state of London water always guaranteed that beer was in constant demand.

You can trace this history by visiting buildings like the Old Truman Brewery, or examining the codestone lions on Westminster Bridge, which originally graced the entrance of the Old Red Lion Brewery on the South Bank.

Although there are few survivors of London’s original brewing industry, a new generation of artisan brewers has taken up the mantle and there has never been a better time to visit London pubs to taste the best of what the capital produces.

CAMRA’s London: City of Beer is a new website aiming to enhance your experience of beer in London. At the launch, we learned that the city now has 24 breweries that are creating a phenomenal range of exciting brews. Many of them do guided tours and tastings: try Sambrooks in Battersea or the Fuller’s Griffin Brewery in Chiswick.

Fortunately for those who can’t make it down to the breweries themselves, many London pubs offer a wide selection of real ales and other London beers. From smooth malty Porters made at Meantime in Greenwich to intensely hoppy pale ales from Bermondsey’s The Kernel, there is something to suit everyone’s taste.

London also has a fantastic range of beer-related events and you can search for upcoming festivals, tastings and walks on the City of Beer site www.londoncityofbeer.org.uk. A particular highlight will be the Great British Beer Festival, which runs from 7 to 11 August at Olympia and offers over 800 different beers.

London has been named the world’s best destination, thanks to the opinions and reviews of visitors to the capital city.

London came top in the World, European and UK award categories at TripAdvisor’s 2012 Traveller’s Choice Destination Awards.

The award results were determined by a combination of traveller reviews, “favourited” destinations and most highly-rated places on TripAdvisor.

TripAdvisor spokesperson Emma Shaw commented:

“To be crowned the world’s best destination in the Olympic year by millions of travellers is a tremendous honour for London. It’s fantastic to see the capital recognised and rewarded by those that have really experienced the city – travellers themselves”.

TripAdvisor is the world’s largest travel site and is used by 50 million users each month.

The Diamond Jubilee celebrations have already started in the West End, as 147 Union flags are now flying on Oxford Street.

The 12 foot (3.6 metre) tall flags can be seen along all 1.5 miles of the famous high street. They are the first of 500 flags that will be decorating the West End this summer.

Model and designer Jasmine Guinness launched the flags in Oxford Street this morning.

The line-up for London’s Olympic Opening Ceremony Celebration Concert was announced this morning. Snow Patrol, Stereophonics, Duran Duran and Paolo Nutini will headline the concert in Hyde Park on 27 July.

As well as seeing some of the UK’s biggest bands on stage, ticket holders will be able to watch live BBC coverage of the London 2012 Opening Ceremony from the Olympic Park on giant screens.

Tickets go on sale on Friday 4 May at 9am.