City Stories Index · United Kingdom · 2026 edition
Colchester vs London
Not opinions, measured walking data. On what we can measure, London leads 4–1. Character is a different question: Colchester is britain's first city; London is the city of kings and crowds.
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| What we measure | Colchester | London | Leads |
|---|---|---|---|
| Places with a storyspots where a route tells you what happened there | 54 | 594 | London |
| How often you pass a storymetres from one story to the next; fewer is better | 312 | 273 | London |
| Historical figuresreal people you meet in its stories | 11 | 184 | London |
| Instagrammabilityscore /100, on the index’s fixed scale | — | 31 | London |
| Group outingsof every 100 plays, how many bring a group of 3+ | 24 | 14 | Colchester |
| International visitors% of player reviews written in a foreign language | 2 | 8 | London |
Differences under 5% count as ties. Sample sizes and definitions on the methodology page.
What their stories are about
How many places with a story each city has per theme: Colchester in orange, London in blue. All bars share one scale, so lengths are comparable everywhere on the chart.
ColchesterLondon
8 places
arts & culture141 places
12 places
faith & churches111 places
10 places
royalty & nobility104 places
3 places
crime & dark history95 places
3 places
parks & leisure74 places
1 place
legends & myths70 places
2 places
guilds & trade68 places
4 places
industry & modern era57 places
15 places
fortification & siege8 places
Colchester scorecard →
Britain's first city
London scorecard →
The city of kings and crowds