”When a man is tired of London, he is tired of life,

for there is in London all that life can afford.”

Samuel Johnson

London

is a patchy and unplanned town. Here everyone finds his or her favourite holes and corners. The best way to see London properly is by walking.

Another way to get a real glimpse of the real London is to sit upstairs on a doubledecker bus. You can also get your bearings from a trip up or

down the River Thames. You can easily get around by the London underground called The

Tube or why not take a taxi…?

The London underground – The Tube

…an easy way to get around in London.

Or why not go by taxi…?

This is the area we´re going to visit!

Buckingham Palace is the main London home of the Royal family since Queen Victoria moved here in 1837 when she acceded to the throne. Nowadays it´s

Elizabeth II who is the queen of Great Britain.

God Save the Queen

God save our gracious Queen, Long live our noble Queen,

God save the Queen! Send her victorious, Happy and glorious,

Long to reign over us; God save the Queen!

O Lord our God arise, Scatter her enemies And make them fall;

Confound their politics, Frustrate their knavish tricks,

On Thee our hopes we fix, Oh, save us all!

Prince Charles is the queen´s eldest

son!

Most of the everyday crowds come to see the

Changing of the Guard at 11.30 every morning outside the palace. The New Guard, which marches up from

Wellington Barracks, meets the Old Guard in the fore court of the palace and they

exchange symbolic keys to the

accompaniment of regimental music.

No. 10 Downing Street is the official residence of the prime minister of Great Britain.Tony Blair was elected prime minister of the United Kingdom

in 1997.

The river Thames

is London´s main artery: a trip up and down this

historic highway is the best way to get acquainted

with the city.

The clock tower

of the Houses of Parliament has become a symbol of London. It rises up nearly 330 ft (100 metres) to a spire above the clock and a

13-ton hour bell nicknamed Big Ben after a rather fat official called Sir Benjamin Hall.

Westminister Abbeyis the most historic and religious building in the Great Britain.Most of the present abbey was built in the 13th century.Until the 16th century the abbey was an important monastery and the monks translated and copied important books and manuscripts. They also ran a school to teach reading and writing in English and Latin. Henry VIII dissolved the monasteries in 1534 when he quarrelled with the pope but Westminister Abbey continued to be used as the royal church for coronations and burials, and still is.

The Tower of London is one of the city´s great attractions with its medieval

palace and fort. Being guardian of the crown jewels and steeped in the blood of martyrs, it brings history to life. The crown jewels are the major attraction but you can also see inscriptions in the walls from many eminent

prisoners sentenced to death. The Beefeaters are the wardens of The Tower.

Tower Bridge was built 1894 and is a masterpiece of Victorian

Gothic architecture. It has really become a symbol of London. During the days when the capital was a flourishing port, it opened several times a day.

These days the bridge opens around 500 times a year.

Tower Bridge at night

Rising majestically above the wartime smoke, miraculously

unharmed, was the magnificent dome of

St Paul´s Cathedral.This is undoubtedly Sir

Christopher Wren´s greatest work. Much of the building

was destroyed in the Great Fire of 1666. The construction of the new cathedral started in

1675 when Wren was 43 years old. The architect was 78 years

old when his son finally laid the highest stone of the lantern on the central cupola in 1710.

In 1805 the British fleet under Admiral Lord Nelson secured a

decisive victory against Napoleon´s navy at the Battle of Trafalgar off the Atlantic coast of Spain, establishing

Britain as ruler of the waves. Nelson was fatally wounded in the encounter, and in 1842 was remembered in the building of

Trafalgar Square.

London has more green spaces than any other city of its size in the world. Each has something different to offer and each has its

own special flavour.

The West End is the entertainment

centre of the capital. Here we see pictures

from Leicester Square and Piccadilly

Circus.

And when you´ve walked around

London and enjoyed the atmosphere,

why not have a nice cup of afternoon tea

at the Ritz?

Charles Dickens was a great Victorian writer (1812 – 1870).

He was brought to London at an early age, and started work in a boot-blacking factory off the Strand. He became a reporter in

the House of Commons, and began to write books which reflected areas and themes of London he knew well, such as

Nicholas Nickleby, Oliver Twist and David Copperfield.

William Shakespeare (1564 – 1616) apparently arrived in London in about 1588, and by 1592 had attained success as an actor and a playwright. Shakespeare’s

professional life in London was marked by a number of financially advantageous arrangements that permitted him to share

in the profits of his acting company, the Lord Chamberlain’s Company, later called the King’s Men, and its two theatres, the

Globe Theatre and the Blackfriars.

Goodnight London, surely we´ll return…