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London is the capital city of England and of the United Kingdom.
It´s situated in the south-east of England, on the River Thames.
It´s got a population of 14 million people.
Millions of tourists visit the city every year
LONDON
Its motto is :
“Domine Dirige Nos” or
“O Lord direct us”
London is one of the oldest cities in the world.
It was founded by the Romans in 40 AD.
They called it Londinium.
LONDINIUM
CLIMATEIt has got an oceanic climate:
- very rainy- mild temperatures:
- warm summers and chilly winters
- August is the warmest month- January is the coolest month
- usually cloudy and very foggy
DISTRICTSLondon has got 32 districts and the City.
The most important areas are:
- The West End: the aristocracy and bourgeoisie area. A place for shopping and entertainment. Trafalgar Square and the National Gallery are here.
- The East End: the Olympic Park and the Docklands are here.
- Westminster: in central London, it´s a tourist attraction for its many historic buildings: Buckingham Palace, Palace of
Westminster and Westminster Abbey are here.
- The City: the business and commercial area. St. Paul´s Cathedral and the Mansion House (official
residence of the Lord Mayor) are in this district.
The River Thames runs through London, dividing the city in two.
It´s 215 miles long.There are many bridges to cross over it.
THE THAMES
London TransportLondon is very big, so you cannot walk everywhere. People travel by:
Taxi
Underground
Taxis or cabs are black and spacious, but very expensive.
London buses are called double-decker buses or red buses.
BusThe underground or 'the Tube' is the quickest and easiest way of travelling around London.
Places to visit
What to see in London?
MUSEUMS:1. Madame Tussauds Museum2. The Sherlock Holmes Museum3. The Natural History Museum4. The Science Museum5. The British Museum6. The National Gallery7. The Globe Theatre
In London you can’t miss the visit to Madame Tussauds Museum. It is a wax museum.
In the museum there are a lot of figures made of wax which present famous celebrities like Robert Pattinson or Lady GaGa.
One can admire the wax figures of the Royal family, David and Victoria Beckham and many others.
Do you believe that they are wax figures?
It is on 221b, Baker Street.It was the house of the famous detective Sherlock Holmes.You can see his violin, his notebook, his pipe and his hat.As he always said: “Elementary, my dear Watson”.
The Natural History Museum in London exhibits a vast range of specimens from various segments of natural history: botany, mineralogy, paleontology, zoology, …
It is a museum dedicated toscience: astronomy, computers,telecommunications, medicine,maths, geophysics, …
Here you can have fun with science and interact withdifferent gadgets, robots,games, puzzles and more.
The British Museumcontains Egyptiancollections of mummiesfound in the Pyramids,Greek sculptures fromthe Parthenon in Athensand two of the fourexisting original copies ofthe Magna Carta.
The National Gallery isone of the most importantart galleries in the world. It has got a collection ofpaintings by many
famousartists like Van Gogh.“The Sunflowers” are
here.
It is not a proper museum.It is a reconstruction of theold theatre built by WilliamShakespeare in the XVIIcentury.
It is a circle open-air theatre.You can see performances ofmany Shakespearian plays.
What to see in London?
HISTORIC BUILDINGS:
1. The Tower of London2. Tower Bridge3. The Houses of Parliament4. Big Ben 5. Buckingham Palace
In In the pastthe past, the building was a fortress, , the building was a fortress, a a prison, prison, a a palace, and even a zoo. palace, and even a zoo. Today it is Today it is a museum. The British crown jewels are kept a museum. The British crown jewels are kept here.here.The buildingThe building is guarded by ’Yeomen Warders’is guarded by ’Yeomen Warders’ or “Beefeaters”, who also take care of some or “Beefeaters”, who also take care of some ravens.ravens.
Tower Bridge is a bridge close to the Tower of London, whichgives it its name. It has become an iconic symbol in London, and it’s situated
overthe River Thames.
The Houses of Parliament or Palace of Westminster is where the
British politicians have got their meetings. It´s a Gothic building.It has got 2 chambers: the Houses of Commons and the Houses
ofLords.
On 5th November 1605, Guy Fawkes tried to assassinate the Kingand the parliament members in the Gunpowder Plot, by blowing upThe Houses of Parliament but he did not succeed. Since then, people celebrate Bonfire Night or Guy Fawkes Nightevery November the 5th with bonfires and fireworks.
Big Ben is a tower clock in theHouses of Parliament. It isn’tthe clock on the tower, butjust the bell inside it. The clock has got 4 faces.
People all over the world canhear its sound on the radioand TV programmes.
It’s always right, never toofast or too slow.
Buckingham Palace is the official home of the British Monarch in
London. The Queen of the UK is Elizabeth II. When the flag isput up on the pole, it means that the Monarch is in the palace. It is also a famous tourist attraction because of the Queen’sRoyal guards. At 11:30 every day, you can watch a ceremony
called“The Changing of the Guard”.
The Queen of Great Britain is Elizabeth II. Her husband is the Duke of Edinburgh.She is the longest reigning monarch in British history (63years in the throne).
What to see in London?
CHURCHES AND CATHEDRALS:
1. Saint Paul´s Cathedral2. Westminster Abbey
It is an Anglican cathedral and the seat of the Bishop of London.It sits on Ludgate Hill, at the highest point of the City of London.It is also very famous for its dome. You can climb the stairs, go to the very top and enjoy the fantastic views.
Westminster is a large Gothic abbey church in London. It is one of the most notable religious buildings in the UK
becauseit has been the traditional place of coronation and burial sitefor British monarchs. It´s got the coronation chair.
What to see in London?
PARKS:
1.Hyde Park2.Regent´s Park3.St. James´ Park4.Greenwich Park5.Kensington Gardens
The parks are a real part of Londoners life.People have lunch in the parks, spend their free time and enjoy in many pools and little lakes.
Hyde Park is one of the largest parks in the central London,famous for its Speakers’ Corner. In the past, it was a royal
huntingpark.It’s devided by the Serpentine Lake.
It has got a zoo, an open-air theatre and a canal. In fact, you
can go to the zoo by boat.
St. James Park is the oldest Royal Park in London and it issurrounded by three palaces: Westminster, St. James´ Palaceand Buckingham Palace. It is very common to see squirrels and swans on these parks.
Greenwich Park is an old hunting park in Greenwich, South EastLondon. It is very famous because the International Prime Meridian(Greenwich Meridian) passes through the Royal Observatory.
They are very famous for the statue of Peter Pan, the Diana Memorial Playground and the Albert Memorial.
It´s got magnificent trees and ornamental flower beds.
Kensington Palace and the Italian Gardens are also here.
What to see in London?
STREETS AND SQUARES:
1.Trafalgar Square 2.The Mall3.Picadilly Circus4.Leicester Square5.Oxford Street6.Whitehall
Trafalgar Square is the most famous square in London.Its name commemorates the Battle of Trafalgar (1805), a British naval victory of the Napoleonic Wars. There is acolumn in honour of Admiral Nelson and 2 fountains.The National Gallery is also on this square.
The Mall is a road in Westminster that leads up to Buckingham Palace.
The surface of The Mall is coloured red to give the effect of a giant red
carpet leading up to Buckingham Palace. It is closed to traffic on Sundays and public holidays, and on
ceremonial ccasions.
Piccadilly Circus is a famous road junction in London.It connects several important streets. It´s got a statue in
honourof Eros, the god of love, and many neon lights and signs.
Leicester Square is a pedestrianised square in the West End
of London, near Picadilly Circus.It´s got a park in the centre with a fountain and a statue ofWilliam Shakespeare.It´s the heart of entertainment because of its famous
cinemasand theatres.
This street is very long: it is more than 2 km long.It is very famous for its shops.It has got half a million visitors every day and more than
300shops.
Whitehall is the street of goverment offices.Downing Street is a quiet a small street where the PrimeMinister lives at number 10.
What to see in London?
MARKETS:
1.Candem Town Market2.Portobello Road Market3.Covent Garden Market
London markets sell everything from food to flowers, modern
art to antiques, clothes to curious objects. If you want to spend a day out, wandering around, looking
for afew bargains along the way, then go to a market.
What to see in London?
Other places to visit:
1.Harrods 2.The London Eye3.Hamleys4.M&M´s shop
It´s the oldest toy shop in the world.It´s got 7 floors and more than 50,000 toys on sale.More than 45 million tourists visit it every year.
It is a very big and expensive department store in London.
Its motto is: “Omnia Omnibus Ubique», «All things for allpeople, everywhere».
A sweet shop dedicated to these famous chocolate sweets.
It has become a tourist attraction.It´s located in Leicester Square.
If you want to have fun and watch the beauty of London, you can go on a trip on the London Eye. The trip takes about 30 minutes.It is a giant wheel (135 metres tall), next to the River Thames. It was built in the year 2000, with the new millennium.
As you can see, you can´t be bored of London.
There is lots to do and see.
