4. London

4. London

London is capital city of the England, The United Kingdom and Great Britain. It lies on the river Thames in the south-east of England.

It is the most populous city in the UK and the population is over 8 million inhabitants. It is a cosmopolitan city, so it means that people of many nationalities live there.

It was founded by the Roman who named it Londinium. The town was surrounded by a wall because of defence. The area within the walls is now called the City of London.

It consists of the City of London and 32 boroughs. The part of London located to the west of the City is called the West End and it is centre of entertainment.

London is one of the most visited cities in the world. It is centre of culture, art, education, health care, entertainment, business, commerce, fashion, …

London is the seat of the Monarch, the Parliament, the Government and the Supreme Court.

London has an excellent transportation system to get you where you need to go. The London Underground is called tube and it is the oldest one because it was the first underground in the world. The city’s bus line is known for its famous red double-decker buses. If you sit on the top deck, you will get a nice view of the sights on your journey. You can also go by black taxis called cabs. There are 3 very important airports and they are called Heathrow, Stansted and Gatwick.

Central London is full of places of interest, historical buildings, museums and galleries. For example, there is Tower of London which is one of the most important pieces of medieval architecture. The oldest part of the Tower is
The White Tower built by William the Conqueror. In the past the Tower used to be a royal residence, a fortress, a prison and an execution place. Today, the Tower is a museum of historical weapons and Crown Jewels. The guards of the Tower are called Beefeaters. We can also find ravens there. They are there for centuries. According the legend, they guard the Tower and if they leave the Tower the Kingdom would fall apart so that’s why the ravens’ wings are cut short.

London’s beautiful parks cover almost one third of the city and once were defined as the lungs of London. Hyde Park is the largest one, mainly famous for its Speaker’s Corner. Here, people, often standing on chairs or boxes, could make speeches on anything they wanted.

Tower Bridge is a symbol of London and the best-known of all the bridges over the River Thames.
It opens in the middle and goes up when huge ships want to pass through. It is named after the Tower of London that stands next to it.

The Houses of Parliament are officially called the Palace of Westminster. It has two main towers. Clock Tower, called Big Ben, and Victoria Tower, where flies the union jack whenever Parliament is sitting

Buckingham Palace is the official residence of the British monarch. Queen Elizabeth II. and royal family live there. When she leaves on summer holiday, you can visit Buckingham Palace.
The Changing of the Guards takes place in front of the Palace every day. Thousands of tourists watching it.