London – a City of Contrasts

London consists of four parts which differ from one another:

 the City
 Westminster area (or the City of Westminster)
 the West End
 the East End
The City of London known as "the City" and the City of Westminster are the most
ancient parts of it. These parts seem to belong to different towns and epochs.
The City of London is the birthplace of London. It was a place of the original Roman
settlement and later commercial and trading centre. Meanwhile, Westminster was outside
London's walls and became England's administrative capital after its transfer from Winchester in
the 11th century. When the first English Parliament was called here in the 13th century the
Westminster area was a separate City of Westminster. So, London has no obvious centre,
because it grew out of two formerly distinct cities.
Central London includes the West End, the City of Westminster and the City. This area is
roughly bounded by the Underground Circle Line (the British call their underground "the tube).
They say, the City is "the money of London", the West End is "the goods of London", the East
End is "the hands of London".

The City
The City is often called the commercial and business heart of London. This is the area
with lots of banks and offices. Every morning there are many clerks in suits hurrying to their
offices. Very few people live there. Only some five thousand people live permanently in the City
today, but nearly a million works there. In the day-time the streets of the city are crowded but
late at night they are deserted. It is known as "the Square Mile" (its total area is 2.59 sq km = 1
sq mile).
The Royal Exchange, the Stock Exchange. Mansion House (official residence of the Lord
Mayor), the Central Criminal Court ("The Old Bailey") and the Bank of England are in the City.
In the centre of the City there is the Tower of London and St. Paul's Cathedral.
The Tower of London is one of the most ancient buildings in London with very long
history. For over 900 years the Tower has been a fortress and a royal palace, a prison and a place
for execution. Now it is a museum. The Tower does not belong to the City historically. This
fortress was built by William the Conqueror at the end of the 11th century. He built it right at the
Gates of the City to keep the unruly Londoners in fear.

The West End

The West End it is not far from the City and is a part of Westminster. Life never stops in the
streets and squares here. The West End is a symbol of wealth and luxury. The best hotels, the
most expensive restaurants, clubs, theatres, cinemas, casinos, shops and supermarkets are located
here. It is also full of museums and art galleries.
The parks are probably the main attraction of the West End. They occupy the most part of
its territory. They say, if gardens and parks are "lungs" of a city, Londoners must have good
health. There are many lawns in the parks where people lie or sit about.
Hyde Park is the largest and the most popular of the London parks. This park is famous for
its Speaker's Corner which attracts a lot of tourists. Here people of different beliefs and
persuasions can say what they want for those who want to hear it. Marble Arch is also here. It
was built to commemorate Lord Wellington's victory over Napoleon in the battle of Waterloo.
Next to Hyde Park there is the famous luxury department store which is called Harrods.
Kensington Gardens is also one of the biggest parks. St. James's Park is one of the royal
parks. Here you can see pelicans called "Royal Pelicans". It is located right next to Buckingham
Palace. The Regent's Park is famous for London Zoo which is considered to be one of the biggest
zoos in the world.
Piccadilly Circus is the heart of the West End and is the centre of entertainment. It is a
famous square which is a meeting point of six streets. It is called "circus" because of its shape. In
the middle of Piccadilly Circus there is a graceful statue of Eros. Piccadilly Circus is beautiful
with enormous advertisments.
 Soho is one of the districts located in the West End (between Regent Street and Charring
Cross). Now the district of Soho is famous for its remarkable restaurants, pubs and night clubs.
There are some other famous streets. Harley Street is the street where the highest paid doctors
live. Regent Street is best for shopping. Charring Cross is a famous street of bookstores. Oxford
Street is considered to be the busiest street in London.
The West End is also very popular for its museums. The British Museum is the best-known
national museum of antiquities and ethnography. It is famous for its library and reading halls.
The Tate Picture Gallery on Millbank is another famous museum. It is the redeveloped bankside
Power Station. Its collection contains pictures by English masters of the 19th century and the
works of West European classics and modern artists (Picasso, Monet and Warhol).
The East End
The East End used to be a purely working district where working-class families lived. We still
can find a great number of factories, workshops and docks there. The East End is in many ways
the "real" London. Those who live in the East End are often called Cockneys, i. e. true
Londoners. They have got their own peculiar dialect and accent. The Thames is a natural
boundary between the West End and the East End of London.

The City of Westminster

Westminster area is also called the City of

Westminster. It is the most important part of
London, where Parliament and most
government offices are located. Westminster
Abbey is regarded as the centre of this area. In
the 11th century King Edward the Confessor
decided to build a great abbey church there. It
was a monastery for a long time.

Opposite Westminster Abbey there are the Houses of Parliament, which are often called the
Palace of Westminster (or Westminster Palace). Westminster Palace was built in medieval days.
It was a place of royal dwelling as early as the 11th century, which later became the meeting
place of Parliament. It was destroyed many times by fire, and the foundation stone of the new
Houses of Parliament was laid in 1840.