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London
Tourist Information
Introduction
- London is the
capital of the United Kingdom. It lies astride
the River Thames 45 miles (about 70 km) upstream
from its estuary on the North Sea and has a
population of about seven million. In satellite
photographs the city can be seen to sit
compactly in a Green Belt of open land, with the
M25 orbital motorway threaded around it at a
radius of about 20 miles (30 km) from the city
centre. The growth of the urbanisation was
halted by strict town planning controls in the
1950s. Its physical limits more or less
correspond to the Shire boundaries separating
London from the "Home Counties" of Kent, Surrey,
and Berkshire to the south of the river and
Buckinghamshire, Hertfordshire, and Essex to the
north.
The London
known to international visitors is a much
smaller place than the massive urban sprawl that
comprises the extents of the city. Tourist
traffic concentrates on an area defined by the
main attractions, each drawing many millions of
visitors throughout the year: the British
Museum, the National Gallery, Westminster Abbey,
Madame Tussaud's waxwork collection, the Tower
of London, the three great South Kensington
museums (Natural History, Science, and Victoria
and Albert), and the Tate Gallery. In scale, the
Tourists' London resembles the metropolis as it
was in the late 18th century, a city of perhaps
10 square miles (26 square km) very easily
explorable on foot in all directions from
Trafalgar Square. 
-
One of
London's most famous landmarks, it was was
constructed in the 1890s. Tower bridge features
a road in 2 sections which can be raised to
allow tall ships to pass through to the Pool of
London and an elevated walkway affording
permanent access. There is a museum in the
bridge called the Celebration Story (10:00-18:30
April to October, 10:00-17:15 November-March,
Admission £5). Best viewed from near HMS
Belfast or Butler's Wharf , both on the South
Bank of the Thames
- A
Brief History
-
- London was
founded by the Romans around AD 43, and the
Roman town occupied roughly the same area as the
"square mile" of the "City" today. The Romans
built their town here as it was the furthest
point up the Thames that ships could easily
reach on the tide, and the geological conditions
also meant the the river could be bridged here
too.
The Romans
were temporally removed when Queen Boudicca
sacked their town in AD 60. However the Romans
returned and strengthened their settlement with
a wall about 2 miles in perimeter, 20 feet high
and 9 feet thick. Remains of this wall can still
be seen today in Coopers Row (below left) and
Roman coins are found here too
-
The Roman wall
still was large enough to contain the city 1000
years later, when William the Conqueror arrived
in the town, fresh from his victory at the
Battle of Hastings. By now the city of
Westminster was developing to the west of the
City of London. Edward the Confessor has built
his palace there and had established Westminster
Abbey.
William the
Conqueror set about building a great castle, the
Tower of London. The White Tower, in the centre
of the present complex, is the oldest and most
impressive buildings from this period. In its
time it has been fortress, palace and prison. It
has seen many famous prisoners and many
executions
-
- By 1616, when
the scene below was painted, London was a busy
capital city. Old St Paul's can be seen centre
left,
and old London Bridge centre right, with the
houses and shops built on the bridge itself.
Shakespeare's Globe Theatre had recently opened.
Most of the buildings were made of wood. And
being made of wood was the problem when a bakers
oven overheated in Pudding Lane on 2nd September
1666. The fire quickly spread Only Staple Inn in
Holborn (below left) survives today as an
example of what London looked like then. The
contemporary painting shows the Great Fire at is
height, with Old St Paul's burning in the centre
remarkably only 4 people were killed, but 13,000
houses were destroyed. And a new law was
immediately passed decreeing that all new
buildings had to be in stone or brick! And by
the late 17th century an entirely new city had
arisen on the site of the old. Sir Christopher
Wren created the new St Paul's, on the site of
the 7th century cathedral. 20 more of Wrens city
churches survive today London's population now
started to grow rapidly. Developers like the
Grosvenor family began to build in Mayfair and
St James. The main innovation of this period was
"the square". Also the Royal Parks, once royal
hunting grounds, were gradually opened to the
public
St James
Square has only altered today in that the
fountain (below left) has been replaced by a
garden in the centre Next came the fashionable
terraces of the 18th century. You can see, below
left and right, that these too have stood the
test of time
- The arrival
of the railway created another wave of
development in the late 1800's. St Pancras then
and now looks more like a Gothic castle than a
railway station. Other large railway stations
were built all round the edge of the main
town
And in 1939 to
1945 war, another great change to the landscape
took place as German bombing removed much of the
old housing. Remarkably St Paul's survived the
incendiary bombing - standing above the flames
of all around in this 1940 photograph
Development
has continued in the 80's and 90's with some,
but not many skyscrapers. London has remained
more immune to this form of development than
most modern cities
 - Tower
bridge One
of London's most famous landmarks, it was was
constructed in the 1890s. Tower bridge features
a road in 2 sections which can be raised to
allow tall ships to pass through to the Pool of
London and an elevated walkway affording
permanent access. There is a museum in the
bridge called the Celebration Story (10:00-18:30
April to October, 10:00-17:15 November-March,
Admission £5). Best viewed from near HMS
Belfast or Butler's Wharf , both on the South
Bank of the Thames
- Tower
of London
The most famous fortress in the England
was originaly built as a watchtower for William
the Conqueror. The original construction was
added to over the centuries, it is now most
famous for housing (and guarding) the Crown
Jewels.
Be sure to
arrive early as this is a very popular
attraction. It is best to purchase your
admission ticket in advance (available combined
with a tube ticket at all London Transport
Stations) - You'll avoid the biggest queue of
the day by doing this (the one to get in!)
Join a guided tour at the Tower these are led by
actual Beef eaters (The men in red and black who
guard the jewels and look after the ravens).
These brave defenders of the realm actually live
with their families in the walls of the tower,
their wit and story telling prowess add a
colourful flavour to your visit.
Buckingham
Palace
Visitors can tour the State Rooms, including the
Throne Room, Picture Gallery and State
Dining Room. These are the principal rooms,
which form the backdrop to the pageantry
of court ceremonial and official entertaining,
and occupy the west front overlooking the
garden and are all opulently decorated with some
of the finest pictures, tapestries and works of
art from the Royal Collection. There is no
access to the private apartments. The Palace is
open to the public from 6 August until 1
October. It's open daily from 9.30am with
last admission at 4.30pm. Admission is
£10.50 for adults and £5 for
children. The nearest underground station is
Victoria or Green Park. -
-
Piccadilly
Circle London
intersection and popular meeting place.
Lying between the neighbourhoods of St. James
(south) and Soho (north) in the borough of
Westminster, it serves as the hub of Coventry
Street, Shaftesbury Avenue, Regent Street, and
Piccadilly.
The crossroads
was originally built in 1819 by the crossing of
Piccadilly with Regent Street, which was being
laid out under the direction of John Nash. The
circus lost its circular form in 1886 with the
construction of Shaftesbury Avenue, which was
built over former rookeries (slums) in Soho and
St. Giles.
Piccadilly's
first electric advertisements appeared in 1910,
and from 1923 giant electric billboards were set
up on the facade of the London Pavilion (then a
theatre). Many of the surrounding buildings were
redeveloped to house retail shops in the 80s.
The 19th-century Criterion building was restored
in the early 90s. As a traffic hub and neon-lit
gathering place it gained notoriety in the 60s
as the centre for drug users, Piccadilly Circus
attracts visitors from throughout the world,
many of whom sprawl on the steps of its stone
island, which is crowned by the 1893 aluminium
statue of Eros, which was built as a memorial to
the 7th earl of Shaftesbury.
-
 Big
Ben is
possibly London's most famous
landmark.
"Big Ben" does
not refer to the whole clock tower, but to the
huge thirteenth century bell which strikes the
hour. The bell was named after a city engineer.
The tower also houses Buchanan's and Hitchcock's
infamous "Thirty-nine steps".
Westminster
- Known as The
Palace of Westminster, The Houses of Parliament
also incorporates The House of Commons
(destroyed in WW2, rebuilt 1950), The House of
Lords & Westminster Hall.
You can visit
the Houses of Parliament to watch proceedings
from the public gallery. Beware, MPs have nice
long holidays or "recesses". Call 020 7219 4272
for details.
-
- St
Pauls Sir
Christopher Wren completed his masterpiece in
1711. It was hailed as the world's first
Protestant cathedral and to this day dominates
much of the City's skyline.
Towering above
many of today's young pretenders it is eclipsed
by only a few monoliths such as the Nat West
Tower. Inside it houses Flaxman's Nelson
memorial and Steven's Duke of Wellington
monument.
The huge dome
houses the "whispering gallery" with its eerie
and echoey acoustic effects. It is said that if
you ask a question to someone on the other side
you will hear the answer in the whispering
gallery
Open Mon-Sat
8.30am-4.15pm. Admission £3 (limited
access) , £5 (all galleries)
- Trafalgar
square
- A trip to
London is not complete without a visit to
Trafalgar square to see the famous Nelson's
Column. This Square in the City of Westminster,
London, named in honour of Lord Nelson's naval
victory ((1805) in the Battle of Trafalgar.
Possibly the most famous of all London squares,
Trafalgar Square has always been public and has
had no garden. Seven major roadways pass traffic
around the great paved space, which is
overlooked by Nelson's Column (1839-43), a
185-foot- (56-metre-) high monument to Nelson
that includes a 17-foot- (5-metre-) high statue
of him by E.H. Bailey. At the corners of the
column's plinth are four bronze lions sculpted
by Sir Edwin Landseer and cast by Baron
Marochetti.
- London
Eye
- Over the
years London has served its millions of visitors
badly when it comes to offering a platform from
which to view the great city. That changed with
the launch of two hot air balloons which are
permanently tethered to strategic points in
Vauxhall and near London Bridge, but better
still is that the arrival of the British Airways
sponsored London Eye, the world's highest
observational wheel now gives visitors to the
Capital unrivaled views. The Eye stands an awe
inspiring 135 metres high on the South Bank
between Waterloo and Westminster Bridges,
opposite Big Ben.
It
provides stunning views over central London and
beyond on a clear day. Visitors will be treated
to a gently paced half-hour ride in space age
capsules holding 25 people each, hopping on and
off as the wheel moves.
Early
predictions are that the Eye will attract 2
million visitors a year for the next five years.
Some mystery surrounds the big wheel's long term
future. Officially, it will have to be shifted
to pastures new after the five years are up but
many commentators believe the Eye's popularity
will ensure it a longer life span on the South
Bank.
Enjoy your
visit to London!
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