London

• the capital of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.
• the largest city and the seat of central government, the residence of monarch, the representatives of the Church of England, government representatives.
• the centre of cultural, political and social activities.

Population: about 9 million inhabitants

HISTORY

History: It was founded by the Roman emperor Claudius and was first called Londinium. The city grew gradually but was afflicted by several disasters:

• 1665 – Black Plague – 70, 000 people killed
• 1 666 – Great Fire – 3000 houses, and 97 churches destroyed, many buildings were made of wood). Although the fire destroyed much of the centre, it helped clean the city and get rid of the Black Plague. Then the city was rebuilt in stone. Many of the buildings were restored by the outstanding English architect Sir Christopher Wren.

LONDON – DIVIDED INTO

1. Central London (Old London)– around the Thames
2. the City of London – important bussiness and financial centre
3. 32 districts

THE MOST INTERESTING SIGHTS OF LONDON

Tower of London

• a symbol of the capital
  • was built by William the Conqueror
  • used to be a royal palace, then a prison (many famous prisoner were imprisoned there e.g. Anne Boleyn, Catherine Howard- wives of Henry VIII)
  • has 13 towers,
  • typical for the Tower = beefeaters – guards from Tudor time (they wear the original uniform) who guard royal jewellery
  • ravens – birds that live there, the legend says that the Tower will last as long as the ravens live there
  • today – museum

Tower Bridge

– stand next to the Tower
– the last bridge before the Thames empties into the sea
– it breaks in the middle to allow ships get through

St Paul’s Cathedral

– built by Sir Christopher Wren
– Charles, Prince of Wales and Lady Diana Spencer were married here

The Houses of Parliament

– on the left bank of the Thames, built in gothic style on the place where Palace of Westminster(used to be a monarch residence till the reigh of Henry VIII) used to be but it was destroyed by the Great Fire
– visitors can go to both the House of Lords and the House of Commons to hear debates

Big Ben

• the bell of the clock tower of the House of Parliament
• it is called after Sir Benjamin Hall, one of the ministers, who was very tall man and he was called Big Ben by people (Ben is short for Benjamin)
• Westminster Abbey
  • many English kings and queens have been crowned and buried there

Poet’s Corner

– famous British writers, poets are buried there

Westmister Cathedral

– catholic church
– typical red bricks fasade and green domes
– inside- 100 types of marble

Buckingham Palace

– the London home of the Queen
– the Royal Standard is flown when the majesty is in residence
– in front of the palace there is a statue of Queen Victoria
– the changing guard – popular ceremony watched by many visitors

The Monument

– the city’s tallest freestanding stone colum
– remain us of Great Fire 1666

Whitehall

– street of government offices

Life Guards – guards on horses stand in front of the Horse Guards (a barrack of royal cavalry)

• the changing ceremony is also very interesting

N o.10, Downing street – the official residence of the Prime Minister Greenwich Park – Old Royal Observatory – can be visited. you can also stand with one foot in the East and one in the West astride the Greenwich Meridian and set your watch every day at 1 p.m. precisely by the falling timeball.

Shakespeare Globe

– its size is the same as the original theatre

PARKS IN LONDON

• Hyde Park, Regent’s Park (contains ZOO), St Jame’s Park, Green Park, Kensington Gardens,

Hyde Park

– the most famous park
– originally a hunting forest of Henry VIII.
– there is the Serpentine Lake (you can swim or row there)
– at the north-east corner of Hyde Park – Speaker’s corner – anyone can stand up there and say whatever he wants

SHOPPING

• The best shopping street – Oxford Street
• other shopping streets – Regent street, Bond Street, Piccadilly

Covent Garden

• a famous fruit and vegetable market
• full of small shops, caffes, restaurants, you can see artist in the street

Camden

• multicultural part of London, a lot of shops, markets
• unusual art , craft can be seen there

SQUARES

Piccadilly Circus

• in the centre – the statue of Eros
• the place where young people meet

Leicester square

• many cinemas and attractions are there

Trafalgar square

• in the centre – the statue of Captain Nelson(defeated Napoleon fleet a the battle of Traffalgar) on a high column
• National Gallery can be visited there (the works of world master painters are kept there e.g Rembrandt, Rubens etc.)
• a palce of demonstrations, celebration
• Soho – famous Chinese part

MUSEUMS

• The British Museum
• the Natural Science Museum
• the Sherlock Holmes Museum (on Baker street)
• Madame Tussaud’s (a museum of wax portraits of famous people)
• West End – a lot of theatres and cinemas are there
• London Eye – the whole London you can see from it

LONDON TRANSPORT

• most used – London Underground = Tube
• typical – black taxis = cabs
• red double-decker buses – they have been removed recently, only two bus lines use this kind of buses
• the most use railway station – Victoria Station
• airports:
  • Heathrow
  • Gatwick
  • Stansted