REBECCA GILBERT takes a flying visit to London to check out its latest attractions

IT has been said that anything with 'Millennium' in its name is bound to go wrong, which made me a little apprehensive about going on a trip entitled 'Discovering Millennium London'.

But I spent three years living in the capital as a student and had more faith in the city than to write it off on the strength of the much criticised Millennium Dome and malfunctioning Millennium Wheel...despite both attractions being listed on the itinerary.

A brochure featuring a plush room in the hotel I'd be staying in Little Venice was another pull. Some of the rooms had four-poster beds and all of them would be a vast improvement on my student flat where the walls were green with damp, traffic blasted past day and night and drunks from the next-door pub would occasionally break into the downstairs hallway and relieve themselves on the doormat.

I travelled in style on a British Midlands plane from Leeds-Bradford to Heathrow, from which I let the escalator take the strain and jumped on to a Heathrow Express train to Paddington, relaxing in front of a film of hot air balloons before being released into the London throng.

Air travel, no matter how short the journey, is tiring and I felt it wasn't worth doing when there is the option of getting a train at York and being at London Kings Cross in two hours. A standard class return flight costs around £84 including tax.

On arrival, however, all my care-worn worries were whisked away by the welcoming staff of the Colonnade Townhouse, a plush newly-converted Georgian townhouse, in Warrington Crescent, with its own resident cat known for snuggling up at the end of favourite guests' beds.

Despite my vivid fantasies about sleeping in a four-poster bed I ended up with a normal double, albeit decked in velvet and piled high with plump white pillows. A delicious bowl of chocolate-coated strawberries was a nice touch, but no more than you would expect for £110-a-night...I managed to enjoy a rushed half hour of decadence in the hotel bathrobe and slippers before it was time to dress for dinner.

On to the Green Olive, a short walk away in Warwick Place, for a delicious Italian meal enjoyed in warmly-lit surroundings accompanied by long-haired bohemian types and wealthy-looking young professionals.

The price of a three-course meal hovers around £24.50, which is well worth it if you're rich or have saved up to celebrate a special occasion.

A mouth-watering Torta di Verdure was followed by a surprisingly-meaty roast fillet of tuna wrapped with aubergine, delissimo!

Next day was a fantastic, if a little chilly, trip on the Regent's Canal with Jason's traditional narrowboats. Marian, a weathered riverboat devotee, who spends summer in a half-converted barge in London and the rest of the year in Australia, gave us the tour.

London Zoo, Lu Lu's pad and the mansion belonging to the Sultan of Oman were just a few of the sights we saw before arriving at Camden Lock, turning round and going back for a delicious lunch at Jason's famous fish restaurant.

The trip departed from Jason's Wharf, opposite 60 Blomfield Road, nearest tube Warwick Avenue. It took 45 minutes one way and was good value at £4.95 for a single or £5.95 return.

Food is available on board including Jason's Picnic Selection at £8.50. The renowned fish and seafood restaurant has a separate price list, is open all year round, and is so good it attracts many a high-profile customer.

On to the London Eye where the views were breathtaking but the staff seemed blissfully unaware of what they would do if someone went into labour, or had a heart attack, or set fire to themselves...

The structure moved surprisingly slowly and the views were the best this side of the Greenwich Observatory. Worth it for £7.45 a ticket but at that price don't forget to take a camera.

I'll not linger too long describing the Dome as it has been done by many before me. The body zone provided a rather confusing prcis of the workings of the human machine, I learned nothing from the learning zone and the work zone was dominated by hamsters and Post It notes and must have been devised by someone who'd never done an honest day's work in their life. At £20 for a single and £57 for a family of five, it's a bit steep but the children I saw seemed to enjoy it.

Dinner was enjoyed at The Alchemy, like the Colonnade, another of the Eton Town House Collection's newly-converted properties, and just a stone's throw from my student union in Bloomsbury. A delicious meal in surroundings which set me off on another trip down memory lane.