London (ˈlʌndən) is the capital and most populous city of England and the United Kingdom. Standing on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its founding by the Romans, who named it Londinium. London's ancient core, the City of London, largely retains its 1.12-square-mile (2.9 km2) medieval boundaries and in 2011 had a resident population of 7,375, making it the smallest city in England. Since at least the 19th century, the term London has also referred to the metropolis developed around this core. The bulk of this conurbation forms the Greater London administrative area (coterminous with the London region), governed by the Mayor of London and the London Assembly.
London is a leading global city, with strengths in the arts, commerce, education, entertainment, fashion, finance, healthcare, media, professional services, research and development, tourism, and transport all contributing to its prominence. It is one of the world's leading financial centres and has the fifth-or sixth-largest metropolitan area GDP in the world depending on measurement. London is a world cultural capital. It is the world's most-visited city as measured by international arrivals and has the world's largest city airport system measured by passenger traffic. London's 43 universities form the largest concentration of higher education institutes in Europe. In 2012, London became the first city to host the modern Summer Olympic Games three times.
London has a diverse range of peoples and cultures, and more than 300 languages are spoken within Greater London. The region had an official population of 8,416,535 in 2013, the largest of any municipality in the European Union, and accounting for 12.5% of the UK population. London's urban area is the second most populous in the EU, after Paris, with 9,787,426 inhabitants according to the 2011 census. The city's metropolitan area is the one of the most populous in Europewith 13,614,409 inhabitants,[note 4][33] while the Greater London Authority puts the population of London metropolitan region at 21 million.[34] London was the world's most populous city from around 1831 to 1925.
London contains four World Heritage Sites: the Tower of London; Kew Gardens; the site comprising the Palace of Westminster,Westminster Abbey, and St Margaret's Church; and the historic settlement of Greenwich (in which the Royal Observatory, Greenwich marks the Prime Meridian, 0° longitude, and GMT). Other famous landmarks include Buckingham Palace, theLondon Eye, Piccadilly Circus, St Paul's Cathedral, Tower Bridge, Trafalgar Square, and The Shard. London is home to numerous museums, galleries, libraries, sporting events and other cultural institutions, including the British Museum, National Gallery, Tate Modern, British Library and 40 West End theatres. The London Underground is the oldest underground railway network in the world.
Area
• Greater London - 1,572.00 km2 (606.95 sq mi)
• Urban - 1,737.9 km2(671.0 sq mi)
• Metro - 8,382.00 km2(3,236.31 sq mi)
Elevation[1]35 m (115 ft)
Population (2013)
• Greater London 8,416,535
• Density 5,354/km2(13,870/sq mi)
• Urban9,787,426
The parts of London
The City
The City is often called the commercial and business heart of London. This is the area with lots of banks and offices. Every morning there are many clerks in suits hurrying to their offices. Very few people live there. Only some five thousand people live permanently in the City today, but nearly a million works there. In the day-time the streets of the city are crowded but late at night they are deserted. It is known as "the Square Mile" (its total area is 2.59 sq km=1 sq mile).
The Royal Exchange, the Stock Exchange. Mansion House (official residence of the Lord Mayor), the Central Criminal Court ("The Old Bailey") and the Bank of England are in the City. In front of the buildings of the Bank there is a monument to the Duke of Wellington, who defeated Napoleon in the battle of Waterloo and brought fame and glory to England.
In the centre of the City there is the Tower of London and St. Paul's Cathedral.
The Tower of London is one of the most ancient buildings in London with very long history. For over 900 years the Tower has been a fortress and a royal palace, a prison and a place for execution, an arsenal, royal mint, menagerie and a safe for Crown Jewels. Now it is a museum.
The Tower of London had never had a chance to serve as a fortress and to resist an enemy's attack.
The Tower does not belong to the City historically. This fortress was built by William the Conqueror at the end of the 11th century. He built it right at the Gates of the City to keep the unruly Londoners in fear.
Later the kings began to use it as a royal residence. They used to spend a night before coronation there.
In the centre of the Tower of London there is the famous White Tower which is the most ancient part of the Tower and the oldest building of London. William the Conqueror built it right away after his successful invasion. It is not white of course, it became dark with age. Its walls are four metres thick and now this building is a museum.
The Tower is also known as Bloody Tower because it once became a state prison and a place for executions for the greatest political leaders of the country. Among them were Sir Thomas More — great scientist was beheaded there. Sir Walter Raleigh — the famous sea captain spent more than twelve years in its walls. Lady Jane Grey, who was the Queen of England for several days, was also kept here.
Only the ravens of the Tower remind of those dark years. Ravens have lived at the Tower of London for hundreds of years. There are six of them, according to the order of King Charles II. The state donates the money to feed the birds. All the visitors must be careful as the ravens are not tame and they do bite.
The ravens are taken particular care of because there is a legend that Great Britain will keep its might and glory until the ravens leave the Tower. If the ravens disappear. Great Britain will face a great tragedy. The Tower is guarded by the Yeomen Warders, who are often called "Beefeaters". They are dressed in traditional medieval clothes of Tudor times. They work as guides and tell this story to the visitors.
The name "Beefeater" is thought to originate from a French word "Buffetier". Buffetiers were guards in the palace of French kings and were responsible for the food in the palace. They are best known for their scarlet and gold dress uniforms which are worn on state occasions. They used to be monarch's private bodyguards. The buffetiers also used to guard the Tower and its prison.
Old traditions and ceremonies are kept up in the Tower of London. One of them is the Ceremony of the Keys. Every night for the last 700 years at 21.53 the Tower has been locked up in the Ceremony of the Keys. The chief Yeoman Warder locks various doors ceremonially.
At the ceremony the Chief Yeoman Warder coir.es out with a bunch of keys and an old lantern. The sentry calls: "Halt! Who comes there?" The Headwarder replies: "The Keys". "Whose keys?" — asks the sentry. "Queen Elizabeth's Keys" is the answer. After that the sentry says: "Advance. Queen Elizabeth's Keys. All's well."
The City of Westminster
Westminster area is also called the City of Westminster. It is the most important part of London, where Parliament and most government offices are located.
Westminster Abbey is regarded as the centre of this area. They say. the City was founded here near the monastery as far back as the 7th century.
In the 11th century King Edward the Confessor decided to build a great abbey church there. It was a monastery for a long time.
William the Conqueror was crowned there and since then many kings and queens of England followed this tradition. There is the ancient Coronation Chair beneath which there is the Stone of Scone (the ancient Scottish Coronation Throne that was brought to England by King Edward I as a sign of defeat of Scotland.
Many English kings and queens and other famous statesmen, writers, scientists are buried in Westminster Abbey. Among them there are two queens rivals Elizabeth I Tudor and Mary Stuart. Oliver Cromwell. Charles Dickens. Rudyard Kipling, Isaac Newton and Charles Darwin. It is famous for the Poet's Corner, where most popular writers (Kipling. Chaucer, Hardy, Dickens), poets and musicians are buried.
Opposite Westminster Abbey there are the Houses of Parliament, which are often called the Palace of Westminster (or Westminster Palace). Westminster Palace was built in medieval days. It was a place of royal dwelling as early as the 11th century, which later became the meeting place of Parliament. It was destroyed many times by fire, and the foundation stone of the new Houses of Parliament was laid in 1840.
It is a beautiful building with two towers. In the north part of the Houses there is Victoria Tower. It is 104 metres high and the national flag is hoisted on its top when the Parliament is sitting. In the southern part of the building there is its clock tower, St. Stephen's Tower with the famous Big Ben.
St. Stephen's Tower is more often called Big Ben, which is actually the name of the largest bell on the clock tower and a part of the Great Clock of Westminster. Its official name is the Great Bell of Westminster. It is 13.5 tons. The origin of the name belongs to Sir Benjamin Hall, the chief Commissioner of Works, when the Houses of Parliament were rebuilt in 1850. Sir Benjamin Hall was a very tall and stout man. His nickname was "Big Ben".
The West End
The West End it is not far from the City and is a part of Westminster. Life never stops in the streets and squares here. The West End is a symbol of wealth and luxury. The best hotels, the most expensive restaurants, clubs, theatres, cinemas, casinos, shops and supermarkets are located here. It is also full of museums and art galleries.
The parks are probably the main attraction of the West End. They occupy the most part of its territory. They say, if gardens and parks are "lungs" of a city, Londoners must have good health. There are many lawns in the parks where people lie or sit about.
Hyde Park is the largest and the most popular of the London parks. This park is famous for its Speaker's Corner which attracts a lot of tourists. Here people of different beliefs and persuasions can say what they want for those who want to hear it. Marble Arch is also here. It was built to commemorate Lord Wellington's victory over Napoleon in the battle of Waterloo.
Next to Hyde Park there is the famous luxury department store which is called Harrods.
Kensington Gardens is also one of the biggest parks.
St. James's Park is one of the royal parks. Here you can see pelicans called "Royal Pelicans". It is located right next to Buckingham Palace.
The Regent's Park is famous for London Zoo which is considered to be one of the biggest zoos in the world.
Piccadilly Circus is the heart of the West End and is the centre of entertainment. It is a famous square which is a meeting point of six streets. It is called "circus" because of its shape. In the middle of Piccadilly Circus there is a graceful statue of Eros. Piccadilly Circus is beautiful with enormous advertisments.
Soho is one of the districts located in the West End (between Regent Street and Charring Cross). The legend goes that in old days there were green fields in this place which were good for fox-hunting. When a hunter saw a fox, he cried to the dogs "So-ho!" and they rushed after the fox. Now the district of Soho is famous for its remarkable restaurants, pubs and night clubs.
There are some other famous streets.
Harley Street is the street where the highest paid doctors live.
Regent Street is best for shopping.
Charring Cross is a famous street of bookstores.
Oxford Street is considered to be the busiest street in London.
The West End is also very popular for its museums.
The British Museum is the best-known national museum of antiquities and ethnography. It is famous for its library and reading halls.
The Tate Picture Gallery on Millbank is another famous museum. It is the redeveloped bankside Power Station. Its collection contains pictures by English masters of the 19th century and the works of West European classics and modern artists (Picasso, Monet and Warhol).
The old district of Covent Garden is also a museum and a great fair at the same time. It is also a theatre district. The famous Royal Opera House (home of both Royal Ballet and Royal Opera) is here but you can see all kinds of theatrical performances right in the squares of the district.
A short distance to the north there is Baker Street. It is the location of Madame Tussaud's Museum, which is famous for its collection of waxworks. The Sherlock Holmes Museum at 221B Baker Street contains a representation of the fictional detective's apartment.
Three of London's largest museums — the Victoria & Albert, Science and Natural History, and the Royal Albert Hall are also here.
Another new attraction in the area is the London Eye — a ferris wheel, which at 137 metres is the tallest one in Europe, offering good views from its enclosed capsules.
The East End
The East End used to be a purely working district where working-class families lived. We still can find a great number of factories, workshops and docks there. But now the docks are being renovated. For example, St. Katharine's Dock, close to Tower Bridge, is now an attractive marina surrounded by wine bars and restaurants.
The East End is in many ways the "real" London. Those who live in the East End are often called Cockneys, i. e. true Londoners. They have got their own peculiar dialect and accent.
The Thames is a natural boundary between the West End and the East End of London.
Anyone visiting London for the first time and walking along the Thames Embankment may be surprised to see an original Egyptian obelisk known as Cleopatra's Needle. It actually has little to do with Cleopatra at all. It has this name because it was brought to London from Alexandria, the royal city of Cleopatra.
On the south bank of the river Thames there is the South Bank Arts Centre which comprises the Royal National Theatre and the Royal Festival Hall as well as MOMI (the Museum of the Moving Image), which traces the story of film and TV technology. Nearby is Queen Victoria Theatre (the Old Vic), one of London's best known theatres. It is one of the leading theatres of the capital.
Greater London
Greater London, metropolitan county of southeastern England that is also generally known as London. A brief treatment of the administrative entity follows. An in-depth discussion of the physical setting, history, character, and inhabitants of the city is in the article London. Descriptions of London from early editions ofEncyclopædia Britannica and from the Book of the Year writings contemporaneous with World War II can be found in BTW: London Classics.
The administrative structure of Greater London includes 33 separate boroughs, 14 of which constitute Inner London and the others Outer London. The Inner Londonboroughs are Camden, Hackney, Hammersmith and Fulham, Haringey, Islington,Kensington and Chelsea, Lambeth, Lewisham, Newham, Southwark, Tower Hamlets, Wandsworth, the City of Westminster, and the City of London. The 19 boroughs of Outer London are Barking and Dagenham, Barnet, Bexley, Brent,Bromley, Croydon, Ealing, Enfield, Greenwich, Harrow, Havering, Hillingdon,Hounslow, Kingston upon Thames, Merton, Redbridge, Richmond upon Thames,Sutton, and Waltham Forest.
London
