About London and it’s

touristic attractions

Here are some interesting facts

about London:
1. London is the capital and largest city of both England and
the United Kingdom, as well as the largest city within
the European Union.

2. More than 300 languages are spoken in London, so when

you are in London, the chances of finding someone who
speaks your change is really high up there.

3. Big Ben is one of the highlights of Europe tourism. But

contrary to popular
perception, (hold your breath), Big Ben is not the tower, it is
the bell inside it. We bet you didn’t know it before.
 The Tower bridge
Tower Bridge is in
London: it crosses
the River Thames
near the Tower of
London. It is a
drawbridge, which
allows ships
through the
bridge deck when
the deck is raised
in the centre at
an angle.
If you want to visit The Tower Bridge , here are some
usefull details : it is opened to visitors from 09:30 to
17:00;You can get there by bus (bus routes that will take
you there:15 , 42 , 78 , 100).You can also get there by
train , by boat , or by car. If you want to know more about
visiting The Tower Bridge, you can call at +44 (0) 20 7403
3761 between 09:30 and 17:00.
 The Buckingham Palace

Buckingham
Palace is the
London
residence
and

administrative headquarters of the monarch of the United

Kingdom. Located in the City of Westminster, the palace
is often at the centre of state occasions and royal
hospitality. It has been a focal point for the British people
at times of national rejoicing and mourning. Buckingham
Palace is open to the public during the summer months
and for a limited number of tours in December, January
and at Easter each year. Find out more about visiting the
Palace on the Royal Collection Trust website.
 The London Eye
The London Eye is a cantilevered observation wheel on
the South Bank of the River Thames in London. It is
Europe's tallest cantilevered observation wheel, is the
most popular paid tourist attraction in the United
Kingdom with over 3.75 million visitors annually, and has
made many appearances in popular culture. The London
Eye is busiest between 11 a.m. and 3 p.m. during the UK
school
holidays, and
is quieter at
the
beginning
and end of
their opening
hours, which
vary
throughout
the year. As a rough guide, summer hours are 10am --
8.30pm, and winter hours are 11am -- 6pm, but do check
in advance on their site. It's worth bearing in mind that it
closes for around two weeks every January, for annual
maintenance. Waterloo station (served by the tube and
overland trains) is the closest to the London Eye, at just a
five-minute walk away. Both Embankment and Charing
Cross are fairly close, at around a ten-minute walk.
Westminster station is a short and picturesque walk over
the river.

The Shard
The Shard, also referred to as the
Shard of Glass, Shard London Bridge
and formerly London Bridge Tower, is
a 95-storey supertall skyscraper,
designed by the Italian architect
Renzo Piano, in Southwark, London,
that forms part of the Shard Quarter
development. Standing 309.6 metres
(1,016 ft) high, the Shard is the
tallest building in the United
Kingdom, the tallest building in the
European Union, and the fifth-tallest
building in Europe. It is also the
second-tallest free-standing
structure in the United Kingdom, after the concrete tower of the
Emley Moor transmitting station. It replaced Southwark Towers, a
24-storey office block built on the site in 1975. London's highest
and best view is situated at the top of The Shard, on floors 68, 69
and 72. At almost twice the height of any other viewing platform
in the capital, it offers visitors unparalleled 360-degree views for
up to 40 miles. All tickets include the following:Admission to
London’s highest viewing gallery situated at the top of The Shard
– Western Europe’s tallest building.Access to the indoor viewing
platform and the open air Skydeck on Level 72 where you’ll be
exposed to the elements and the sounds of the city below.Access
to London’s highest Champagne experience.Drinks and snacks
available to purchase throughout the attraction.No time limit in
the attraction.

The Big Ben

 Big Ben is the
nickname for
the Great Bell of
the clock at the
north end of the
Palace of
Westminster in
London and is
usually
extended to
refer to both
the clock and
the clock tower.The official name of the tower in which
Big Ben is located was originally the Clock Tower, but it
was renamed Elizabeth Tower in 2012 to mark the
Diamond Jubilee of Elizabeth II. To visit The Big Ben you
don’t have to pay for anything , it is free.
Saint Paul’s Cathedral
St Paul's Cathedral, London, is an Anglican cathedral, the seat of
the Bishop of London and the mother church of the Diocese of
London. It sits on Ludgate Hill at the highest point of the City of
London and is a Grade I listed building. Its dedication to Paul the
Apostle dates back to the original church on this site, founded in
AD 604. The present cathedral, dating from the late 17th century,
was designed in the English Baroque style by Sir Christopher
Wren. Its construction, completed in Wren's lifetime, was part of a
major
rebuilding
programme in
the City after
the Great Fire
of London. The
cathedral
building
largely
destroyed in
the Great Fire,
now often
referred to as
Old St Paul's Cathedral, was a central focus for medieval and early
modern London, including Paul's walk and St. Paul's Churchyard
being the site of St. Paul's Cross. The cathedral is one of the most
famous and most recognisable sights of London. Its dome, framed
by the spires of Wren's City churches, has dominated the skyline
for over 300 years.[3][page needed] At 365 feet (111 m) high, it
was the tallest building in London from 1710 to 1967. The dome is
among the highest in the world. St Paul's is the second-largest
church building in area in the United Kingdom after Liverpool
Cathedral.
 Hyde Park
Hyde Park is a Grade I-listed major park in Central London. It is
the largest of four Royal Parks that form a chain from the entrance
of Kensington Palace through Kensington Gardens and Hyde Park,
via Hyde Park
Corner and
Green Park
past the main
entrance to
Buckingham
Palace. The
park is divided
by the
Serpentine and
the Long Water
lakes.Set right
in the heart of
London, Hyde Park offers both world-class events and concerts
together with plenty of quiet places to relax and unwind. Hyde
Park is open from 5:00 am until midnight all year round. Hyde Park
is highly accessible by public transport. There are also car parking
facilities available but we recommend that visitors avoid coming
by car as there are limited places.If you are using a mobile device,
the postcode for the park is W2 2UH, but note this is for guidance
only as the park covers a large area.
 Kensington Palace

Kensington
Palace is a
royal
residence set
in
Kensington
Gardens, in
the Royal
Borough of
Kensington
and Chelsea
in London,
England. It has been a residence of the British Royal
Family since the 17th century, and is currently the official
London residence of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge,
Princess Eugenie and her husband Jack Brooksbank, the
Duke and Duchess of Gloucester, the Duke and Duchess
of Kent, and Prince and Princess Michael of Kent.
Kensington Palace is open daily , from 10:00 to 18:00,
except 24-26 December.
 The Royal Opera
House

The Royal
Opera House
(ROH) is an
opera house
and major
performing
arts venue in
Covent
Garden, central London. The large building is often referred to as
simply "Covent Garden", after a previous use of the site of the
opera house's original construction in 1732. It is the home of The
Royal Opera, The Royal Ballet, and the Orchestra of the Royal
Opera House. Originally called the Theatre Royal, it served
primarily as a playhouse for the first hundred years of its history.
In 1734, the first ballet was presented. A year later, Handel's first
season of operas began. Many of his operas and oratorios were
specifically written for Covent Garden and had their premieres
there.The Royal Opera House is open to visitors daily , from 10:00
to 15:00. The nearest Underground stations are Covent Garden,
Leicester Square, Holborn and Charing Cross.

30 St Mary Axe

30 St Mary Axe (known

previously as the Swiss Re
Building), informally known
as The Gherkin, is a
commercial skyscraper in
London's primary financial
district, the City of London. It
was completed in December
2003 and opened in April
2004.With 41 floors, it is 180
metres (591 ft) tall and
stands on the former sites of
the Baltic Exchange and
Chamber of Shipping, which were extensively damaged in 1992 in
the Baltic Exchange bombing by a device placed by the
Provisional IRA in St Mary Axe, a narrow street leading north from
Leadenhall Street.

After plans to build the 92-storey Millennium Tower were dropped,

30 St Mary Axe was designed by Norman Foster and Arup Group.
It was erected by Skanska; construction started in 2001.
The building has become a recognisable landmark of London, and
it is one of the city's most widely recognised examples of
contemporary architecture.The Gherkin it’s not open to the public.

St
James
Park

St James's
Park is a
23-hectare
(57-acre)
park in the City of Westminster, central London.
The park lies at the southernmost tip of the St
James's area, which was named after a leper
hospital dedicated to St James the Less. It is the
most easterly of a near-continuous chain of parks
that also includes (moving westward) Green Park,
Hyde Park, and Kensington Gardens.The park is
bounded by Buckingham Palace to the west, the
Mall to the north, Horse Guards to the east, and
Birdcage Walk to the south. It meets Green Park at
Queen's Gardens with the Victoria Memorial at its
centre, opposite the entrance to Buckingham
Palace. St James's Palace is on the opposite side of
The Mall. The closest London Underground stations
are St James's Park, Green Park, Victoria, and

Westminster.

Millenium Bridge

The Millennium Bridge, officially known as the London

Millennium Footbridge, is a steel suspension bridge for
pedestrians crossing the River Thames in London, linking
Bankside with the City of London. It is located between
Southwark Bridge and Blackfriars Railway Bridge. It is
owned and maintained by Bridge House Estates, a
charitable trust overseen by the City of London
Corporation. Construction began in 1998, and it initially
opened in June 2000. The Millennium Bridge is
approximately 10.8 metres high (above the River Thames
at high tide), and its unique aluminum deck is about 4
metres (or 13 feet) wide. The total structure length is
approximately 325 metres (or 1,066 feet), and its three
sections are comprised of 81 metres (or 266 feet), 108
metres (354 feet), and 144 metres (472 feet). If you're
only in London for a short amount of time and want to see
as many tourist attractions as possible, St. Paul's is a five-
minute walk away from the Millennium Bridge, as well as
Tate Modern (a four-minute walk away), and
Shakespeare's Globe Theatre (a two-minute walk away)

The Rose Theatre

The Rose was an Elizabethan theatre. It was the fourth of
the public theatres to be built, after The Theatre (1576),
the Curtain (1577), and the theatre at Newington Butts (c.
1580?) – and the first of several playhouses to be situated
in Bankside, Southwark, in a liberty outside the
jurisdiction of the City of London's civic authorities. Its
remains were excavated by archaeologists in 1989. Open
Days:Every Saturday from 10am - 5pm, explore the
fascinating history of The Rose and its exciting future. At
present two thirds of the original foundations have been
excavated
and protected
for future
generations
to
experience.
The Rose
Theatre Trust
is now
engaged in
raising funds
to excavate
the remaining
third and to
make the site
a permanent
display as an educational and historical resource for the
public to learn from and enjoy. Tickets £12.
 Trafalag Square

Here are several different monuments in Trafalgar Square, with

the most important being Nelson’s Column located at the centre,
which has four lion statues at its base as well as fountains which
were designed by Sir Edwin Lutyens. The four lion statues were
sculpted by Sir Edward Landseer and melted down from cannons
which were aboard French and Spanish ships during the Battle of
Trafalgar. At the top of a column there is a statue of Horatio
Nelson (who was the vice admiral of the British fleet during the
Battle of Trafalgar).There are
also many statues and
sculptures located in Trafalgar
Square, such as a bronze
equestrian statue of George IV,
General Sir Charles James
Napierby, and Major-General
Sir Henry Havelock. There are
also three busts of admirals on
the north wall of the square of
Lord Jellicoe and Lord Beatty, and a bust of the First Sea Lord
Admiral Cunningham from World War II was installed in 1967.On
the southern side of the square you will see a bronze equestrian
statue of Charles I which was placed in in 1678, and also two
statues of James II and George Washington on the lawn in front of
The National Gallery.The National Gallery is located on the
northern end of Trafalgar Square, while the historic St Martin-in-
the-Fields Church is located on the eastern side. Canada House is
located to the west, as well as the South Africa House on the east
side. The square is also attached to The Mall (through the
Admiralty Arch), the Strand as well as Charing Cross Road.
 HMS Belfast
HMS Belfast is a Town-class light cruiser that was
built for the Royal Navy. She is now permanently
moored as a museum ship on the River Thames in
London and is operated by the Imperial War
Museum. Take the helm of HMS Belfast, the
famous Second World War survivor and iconic
London landmark. Journey through the rooms of
this floating city, climbing up and down ladders to
navigate your way around all 9 decks. From the
guns that fired some of the first shots on D-Day
right down to the engine rooms 15ft below sea
level, get up close to the inner workings of a
warship and hear hundreds of powerful stories from
those who worked on board.It is open to visitors
from 10am to 6pm every day, last admission is at
5pm.