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| Hot Destinations - London |
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| London Holiday Travel |
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About London:
London is the capital of the United Kingdom and England. It is situated on the banks of the river Thames, in southeast England. It has been an influential city for two millennia and its history goes back to its founding by the Romans then named Londinium
London is one of the world's foremost global cities and the largest financial centre. London contains four World Heritage Sites: the Tower of London; the historic settlement of Greenwich; the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew; and the site comprising the Palace of Westminster, Westminster Abbey and St. Margaret's Church.
Culture of London:
The Culture of London concerns the arts, music, museums, festivals and other entertainment. It has a wide range of peoples, cultures, and religions, and more than 300 languages are spoken within the city. The city is particularly renowned for its theatre quarter, and its West End theatre district has given the name to "West End theatre", the strand of mainstream professional theatre staged in the large theatres.
A variety of landmarks and objects are cultural icons associated with London, such as Big Ben, Buckingham Palace and the tube map. Many other British cultural icons are strongly associated with London in the minds of visiting tourists, including the red telephone box, the routemaster bus, the black taxi and the Union Flag.
Sightseeing in London:
The most famous tourist attractions are
the Changing of the Guard at Buckingham Palace and on Horse Guards Parade are free displays of colourful Royal pageantry. In August and September Buckingham Palace itself is open to visitors. Take a look at the Houses of Parliament and the famous clocktower that houses Big Ben. Other must-see London sights include the London Bridge and nearby Tower of London with its colourful 'Beefeaters', British Museum, Princess of Diana's memorial and Madame Tussauds. Of course, you have to ride on the London Eye - the new landmark for London! London has some of the finest parks in the world. If you have time, pay a visit to Hamstead Health and Kew Garden - you will feel some peaceful in a busy city!
London Festivals & Events:
London is not naturally a festival city. It's simply too large to get into the spirit - Royal funerals seem to be the obvious exception. Many of the best events capitalize on the river, though, and throughout the year innumerable individual festivals and festivities enliven other parts of the city. Some are important dates in the social calendar: the Chelsea Flower Show, Wimbledon, the Proms, Boat Race and Notting Hill Carnival, all in their different ways are enjoyed by ardent fans and are also annual occasions unique to the city. Others, like the Lord Mayor's Show, Trooping the Colour and Beating the Retreat are colourful anachronisms that indulge an enthusiasm for pomp and circumstance. And still more display local communities celebrating their own identity. Whatever the time of year, in this city there's always likely to be some kind of celebration of something going on near you.
How to Get In:
The cheapest and quickest route to London from Europe and a few places in the UK itself is by plane. That said, some of the major airports are more than half an hour by train from the centre.Fairly fast and frequent rail services connect London to all major cities and many large towns in the UK as well as Paris and Brussels. Getting around London is also surprisingly simple: within an hour the tube (underground train system) can rattle you from Brixton in the south to Hampstead in the north, Notting Hill in the west to Docklands in the east. Travelcards make a combination of buses and tubes a straightforward way of zipping around the centre, although at peak times they can be seriously overcrowded. Hop-on hop-off sightseeing tours cover the major sights, although many in the West End or on the river can just as conveniently be reached on foot.
Things to Do in London:
No visit to the capital is complete without checking out its extraordinary cultural life. What other European city offers anything like such vibrant live music or theatre? And these traditionally strong performers have been joined by a brisk stand-up comedy circuit and popularized art scene. Even the sorry decline in the number of independent rep cinemas seems to have slowed. In central London, the lion's share is divided between the West End, with its grand 'theatreland', Covent Garden and blockbusting cinemas in Leicester Square; and the South Bank, home to the state-subsidized Royal National Theatre, National Film Theatre and the eclectic fare provided by the South Bank Centre itself. Beyond these two poles spin a host of other star attractions: indie music rocks, jazz swings and dance beats break in Camden, Soho and Shoreditch; challenging theatricals hit the boards in Islington and Hampstead; orchestras tune up in Marylebone; comedians leave audiences ga-ga in pubs and weird films flicker on the Mall. Prepare to be entertained, very entertained.
Some other major attractions are - London Big Ben, Buckingham Palace, London Eye, Madame Tussauds, Tower Bridge, British Museum,
Kensington Palace, Trafalgar Square, Hampstead Heath and Kew Garden
Adventure and Recreation in London:
Launched under the banner 'leaping for London', the city's bid to host the Olympics in 2012 has pushed this already sports-mad city to fever pitch. Of course football has long been the main focus of attention, although interested visitors may find it next to impossible to obtain tickets for a big match. The same is almost as true for the other big spectator sports: attending the tennis at Wimbledon, cricket at Lord's and the Oval, or rugby at Twickenham requires serious planning. Much easier events to see ad hoc include horse racing, greyhound racing, and the boat races on the river. And there are masses of ways to get active and involved as well. Swimming, watersports, ice-skating, horse-riding, golf, boating, running or dry-slope skiing: you name it, London does it.
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