London is an extremely large city, one of the capitals of the world, and it offers anything its citizens and tourists can imagine. However, if you decide to visit London for two or three days, bear in mind that you will not have much time for exploring the city and its neighbourhoods in detail, so the best thing to do would be to get a tour around the most popular landmarks for which London is famous all around the world. There is also plenty to discover in London surroundings.
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| Houses of Parliament and the Westminster Bridge are at the heart of the City of Westminster |
Houses of Parliament, also known as the Palace of Westminster, are a landmark of incredible architectural beauty. They proudly stand right next to the Thames. The Houses are of impressive size and ornament, and while walking along them, one can admire the statues of different monarchs and politicians, like Oliver Cromwell and Richard II. The oldest part of the Palace of Westminster is Westminster Hall, which dates back to the late 11th century. The roof is as impressive today as it was in the past - made completely of wood. This Hall is one of the biggest halls in Europe. It had several functions, but it was mostly used as a court. There were three courts: the Court of King's Bench, the Court of Common Pleas and the Court of Chancery. These later merged into the High Court of Justice. Walk about Westminster Hall and you will be able to see marked spots where men like Thomas More and William Wallace were told they were going to be executed. Coronation banquets were also held here, last of which was for King George IV in 1821. The Houses of Parliament are divided into the House of Commons and the House of Lords. The House of Commons is where members of Parliament and the government meet and discuss political affairs and propose laws. The House of Lords is where Lords meet to revise the proposed bills in full detail. All proposals must have the Lords' assent to become law. The monarch is not allowed to enter the House of Commons ever since the seventeenth century when King Charles I burst into the chamber and attempted to arrest some MPs. At annual opening of Parliament, Black Rod (the Gentleman Usher of the Black Rod) knocks on the door of the House of Commons and demands that the MPs let the Queen in and tell them what "her" government will do the following year. The Commons always refuse due to the incident with Charles I. Since the monarch is not allowed entry in the House of Commons, MPs come through to the House of Lords and meet the Queen there. Both Houses are open to the public. Visitors can see the MPs and the Lords at work from the visitors' galleries. Big Ben also forms a part of the Houses and is synonymous with London. It actually refers to the biggest bell in the Clock Tower and not the entire tower. The origin of the name is still uncertain, however, there are several theories, one of which says that the bell got its name after Benjamin Hall, the man who supervised the installation of the bell itself.
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| Trafalgar Square |
Trafalgar Square, one of the most beautiful squares in the centre of London, is dedicated to the 1805 Battle of Trafalgar, during which the British fleet led by Sir Horatio Nelson defeated Napoleon. Originally, the square should have been named after King William IV, but eventually it was given the name by which we know it today. The current architecture of the square was designed by Charles Barry, and the works were being carried out in 1845. There are two fountains between the obelisk, topped with a statue of Horatio Nelson, and the National Gallery. Allegedly, from the point where the statue is set on top of the obelisk, you can see the Northern Sea. The square is often used to hold political and art events, and in winter, it hosts a giant Christmas tree, supposed to be the alter ego of the one in Grand-Place in Brussels, Belgium.
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| Tower Bridge |
The Tower Bridge is one of the symbols of the capital of the UK, built in gothic style in 1886 based on the project of Horace Jones and Wolfe Barry, and carried out eight years later. The bridge is made of two parts that can be completely lifted in less than a minute. The two parts used to be lifted five times a day, but today they hardly ever move as there is not so much boat traffic in this point of the river Thames. The bridge features two 25-metre-high towers that make it recognisable when compared to other bridges. Once, the towers were used as prison or to exhibit the heads of executed outlaws, and today they contain exhibitions and a museum: the Tower Bridge Exhibition. The tops of the two towers are reachable by lift or on foot, after climbing 300 steps. The catwalk is the pedestrian zone which allows people to cross the bridge event when its parts are lifted.
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| Tower of London is one of London's most famous attractions |
The medieval Tower of London is the official Her Majesty's Royal Palace and Fortress, although it ceased to be a royal residence in the 17th century. Also known as the White Tower, the square edifice with towers on each corner is a complex of different buildings lying on the bank side of the river Thames. It was used as a fortress, an armoury, a palace, a mint, an observatory and as a special prison for noblemen and royalty. The first known fortification on the site was a Roman edifice that Claudius built for the protection of the city of Londonium. In 1078, William the Conqueror ordered the construction of the White Tower to defend the Norman people from Londoners and other invaders. The primitive fortifications were made of wood, but William demanded the new tower to be made of Caen stone, specially brought from France. It was Richard the Lionheart who ordered the construction of the curtain wall and the digging of a moat around the fortress filled with water from the Thames. The moat was drained because of cholera outbreaks in the mid-19th century. In the 19th century, the Tower started to lose its primary function as a fortress and was opened for public. Today, it is one of the major London landmarks and a World Heritage Site with more than 2 million visitors each year.
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| Royal Albert Hall |
The Royal Albert Hall is one of the best known and most recognizable concert halls in the world. The Hall was built as the fulfilment of Prince Albert's vision of a 'Central Hall' that would be used in promoting the Arts and Sciences. The Royal Albert Hall is located in Knightsbridge opposite Kensington Gardens and Albert Memorial. It is listed as a Grade I building, and since its opening in 1871, it has been in constant use. The Hall is a multipurpose building, used not only for concerts, but also for exhibitions, sporting events, public ceremonies, among other things. As a registered charity held in trust for the nation, the Hall is financially self sufficient and does not receive any government funding. Each year, the Royal Albert Hall hosts over 350 events including concerts of rock, pop and classical music, ballet and opera performances, award ceremonies, and the list of popular artists who performed in the Hall includes Jimi Hendrix, The Beatles, Led Zeppelin, Frank Sinatra, The Who, Eric Clapton, Elton John, Kaiser Chiefs, Snow Patrol and the Killers, to name some. Queen Elizabeth II, Sir Winston Churchill, Nelson Mandela, His Holiness The Dalai Lama and Bill Clinton are among the world leaders who have spoken at the Albert Hall. The Royal Albert Hall is now primarily known for hosting the annual BBC Proms.
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| Piccadilly Circus in snow |
Piccadilly Circus is probably the most photographed road junction in the world. There isn't a visitor to London who doesn't take home at least one photo of the neon commercials lighting up this roundabout. Piccadilly Circus was built in 1819 to connect Regent Street with the major shopping street of Piccadilly, and today it links to the theatres on Shaftesbury Avenue, the Haymarket, Coventry Street, and Glasshouse Street. Piccadilly Circus is in the heart of the West End, and it's not only a major traffic intersection, but also a busy meeting place and a tourist attraction. The video display and neon signs upon the corner building on the northern side, the Shaftesbury memorial fountain and the statue of Eros are the Circus' best known spots. However, there are also several noted buildings, such as the London Pavilion and Criterion Theatre. Piccadilly Circus London Underground station is located directly under the Circus. Piccadilly Circus has been surrounded by illuminated advertising hoardings on buildings since the early 1900s, but today the signs are mounted on just one building on the corner of the Circus. The earliest signs were made of incandescent light bulbs, which were later replaced with neon lamps and moving signs. The sign for the British delicacy Bovril was the very first neon sign. Digital projectors for the Coke were used from December 1998, but since the early 2000s there's been a gradual move to LED displays. Since 2008, there has been six illuminated advertising screens on the building on the north corner of the Circus. Sanyo's is the oldest sign among the six, it has been put up in the 1980s and has remained the same ever since.
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| Shakespeare's Globe |
The original Globe Theatre was built in 1599 by Shakespeare's playing company, the Lord Chamberlain's Men. The theatre was destroyed by fire on 29 June 1613. By June the following year, a second Globe Theatre had been built on the same site, but it was closed in 1642. In 1997, Shakespeare's Globe, a modern reconstruction of the theatre, opened. The Old Globe was owned by actors of Lord Chamberlain's Men and was built in 1599. On 29 June 1613 the Globe Theatre burnt down during a performance of Henry the Eighth because a theatrical cannon, set off during the performance, misfired, and ignited the wooden beams and thatching. In 1614, the theatre was rebuilt but it was closed down by the Puritans in 1642 and pulled down in 1644. Shakespeare's Globe was founded by an American actor and director Sam Wanamaker. It serves as a unique resource dedicated to the exploration of Shakespeare's work. Shakespeare’s Globe Trust was founded in 1970 and it celebrates the work of the greatest dramatic poet in the English language.
