London: main attractions, photos, videos

😉 Hello dear friends! In the article “London: the main attractions, photos, videos” I invite you for a walk around the capital of England.

The flight Moscow-London takes 4 hours. Time difference between countries minus 3 hours. If it is 7.00 in London, 10.00 in Moscow. In this article I will describe our trip and what to see in London.

Great Britain and England. What is the difference? It’s simple – the full name of the state: “United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland”, which includes England, Scotland, Wales, Ireland.

London is the capital of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. Administratively it forms the Greater London region of England, divided into 32 self-governing districts and the City.

What to see in London

London was founded about 43 years ago under the name Londinium by the Romans after their invasion of Britain.

City of london

Among the skyscrapers is the Church of St. Giles (1090). Ben Johnson and Daniel Defoe were baptized here, Shakespeare and John Bunyan were parishioners. Oliver Cromwell was married here.

I heard from many that the British treat Russians very badly. And that London is gloomy, fog and constant rains! But fortunately, all this was not confirmed. The hotel staff, locals, metro employees and passers-by were very friendly to us.

We love London!

We spent 8 happy days in London. And lucky with the weather! Sometimes there were clouds, but no rain. We didn’t need the umbrellas that we brought! The September sun was shining every day, the air temperature at night was + 15, during the day + 25 +27.

The climate here is temperate and mild, it is caused by the influence of the warm oceanic current of the Gulf Stream.

There are a lot of parks where you can always see people doing sports. Even all roads on the carriageway are marked for cyclists. London is the first city in the world to host three Olympiads: in 1908, 1948 and 2012.

Friends, palm trees grow here, magnolia blooms in March! This is the favorite city of Russian oligarchs, here is the estate of the late B. Berezovsky, O. Deripaska, R. Abramovich, E. Baturina – the wife of Yu. Luzhkov.

We love London! Sir London is beautiful! London is clean! At the entrances to pubs, hotels, shops – metal boxes for cigarette butts on the walls. All ingenious is simple! And it’s amazing that the queen always drives in a car without flashing lights and never block the roads for this!

The first metro in the world

London has the first underground in the world! The London metro is different from the Moscow one. There is no luxury of some Moscow stations: marble, chandeliers, stucco. Very modest English-style stations, but they seemed very nice and even cozy to me.

The main convenience for passengers: accurate work of the metro and there would be where to sit on the platform. But you will not sit up for a long time – the train interval is 3-5 minutes. The first line of the London Underground opened in 1863. Baker Street, Paddington stations are the oldest.

Visiting Sherlock Holmes

Be sure to check out the Sherlock Holmes Museum. It is located on Baker Street, in a four-story Victorian house. Built in 1815 and included in the list of Her Majesty’s buildings of architectural and historical value.

According to the plan of Arthur Conan Doyle, the great detective lived on Baker Street, at 221 B. Not only in London they know this address!

The famous address in the world is 10 Downing Street. This is the seat of the Prime Minister of Great Britain. The fence was installed under Margaret Thatcher, many in England did not like her.

Queen Victoria

Queen Victoria is the ancestor of the House of Windsor, which reigns in Britain and to this day. She was on the throne for 64 years! Born at Kensington Palace. Princess Diana lived here with Prince Charles, then the family of Prince William and Kate.

I was shocked by the love story between Queen Victoria and Prince Albert. Prince Albert died in 1861 of typhus. He was 42 years old. Victoria survived her husband by 40 years. She lived in deep spiritual sorrow, wore black dresses. But she asked to be buried in a white dress, in which she would meet with Albert.

On her initiative, a grandiose cultural center, an embankment, a bridge, and an expensive monument were built. All in memory of her husband.

The Royal Albert Hall is the UK’s most prestigious concert venue. Built by Queen Victoria to commemorate Prince Albert.

Prince Albert Memorial in London. Located in Kensingston Park. The monument was opened in 1875 and cost £ 120000.

Palace of westminter

Until 1529, Westminter Palace served as the capital of the English kings. After the fire in 1834, the palace was rebuilt. Here are the meetings of the British Parliament.

I used to think that Big Ben is a separate clock tower. In fact, it is one of the six towers of Westminter Palace.

This watch is the world’s largest four-sided striking watch. The total weight of the movement is 5 tons. The dial diameter is 7 meters. The length of the arrows is 2,7 and 4,2 meters.

At the base of each of the four watch dials there is a Latin inscription “Domine Salvam fac Reginam nostram Victoriam primam”. Russian translation: “God save our Queen Victoria the First”. Along the perimeter of the tower, to the right and left of the clock, is another phrase in Latin – “Laus Deo” (“Glory to God” or “Praise to the Lord”)

Westminster Abbey

Place of coronation, wedding and tomb of monarchs. It was in the abbey that the grandiose wedding of Prince William and Kate Middleton took place.

The abbey was founded in the XNUMXth century. The building that exists today was built in the XNUMXth century by King Henry III. The abbey got its modern look around the middle of the XNUMXth century.

The rival queens Elizabeth Tudor and Mary Stuart are buried here. There was the grave of Oliver Cromwell. Two years after his death, Cromwell’s corpse was removed from the grave, hanged and beheaded. Buried:

• Charles Dickens;
• Richard Sheridan;
• Edmund Spencer;
• Alfred Tennyson;
• Charles Darwin;
• Isaac Newton’s ashes rest here.

The interiors of the building keep such treasures as the throne on which all the rulers of England were crowned, made in 1300 for Edward I. As well as the legendary Skunsky stone, popularly called the Stone of Destiny (152 kg, lies under the throne).

St Paul’s Cathedral

The Anglican Cathedral is dedicated to the Apostle Paul. It is located at the highest point and is the seat of the bishop.

The cathedral is the tomb of nearly two hundred of the most famous British citizens. Its architect, Christopher Wren, is buried in the cathedral. There is no monument on his grave, and only an epitaph in Latin is given: “Reader, if you are looking for a monument, just look around.”

The most notable persons resting in the cathedral: Duke of Wellington, Admiral Nelson, Sir Alexander Fleming, painter and sculptor Henry Moore. The funeral service for Winston Churchill was held here, the wedding of the English Prince Charles and Diana Spencer took place.

Buckingham Palace

The official London residence of the British monarchs, currently Queen Elizabeth II.

When the monarch is in the palace, the royal standard flies over the roof. Initially, Buckingham Palace was built for the Duke of Buckingham (since 1703). It was acquired by King George III in 1762 as the future private residence of the monarch.

Every day at 11:30 from April to August (every other day during the rest of the year) a changing of the guard ceremony takes place.

The famous caps of the guardsmen are made from the fur of the North American grizzly bear. The weight of the cap is 3 kg! The caps of the guardsmen are inherited, from demobilized soldiers – to young conscripts. The caps last for almost a hundred years! Members of the animal welfare society can rest assured.

It’s amazing that in the center of London, this building houses the royal stables and barracks on three floors! The Guards Cavalry was created in 1661 by Charles II. Historically, it consists of two regiments – the Life Guards and the Blues and Royals.

Horse Guards parade ground. There is an annual parade in honor of the Queen. Previously, the parade ground served as an arena for knightly tournaments at the White Hall Palace. Tournaments were held here during the time of Henry VIII.

Tower

1078. The foundation of the Tower fortress is attributed to William I. During its history, the Tower was a fortress, a palace, a repository of royal treasures, a mint, a prison, an observatory, and a zoo.

In front of the chapel of St. Peter, a scaffold was erected for the execution of prisoners. The most famous prisoners are William, Lord Hastings (1483), Anne Boleyn (1536) and Catherine Howard (1542).

Then Margaret Pole, Countess of Salisbury (1541), suffered a similar fate for Lady Jane Gray. The last was Robert Devereux, Earl of Essex, young favorite of Elizabeth I.

The walls of the castle remember many executions and tortures in their lifetime. The first prisoner was imprisoned in the Tower in 1190, the last in 1952.

The Tower houses the treasures of England. The Royal Treasury keepers guard the famous jewels of the British Empire.

The treasury has been open to visitors since the XNUMXth century. Among the precious stones that adorn crowns, orbs and scepters. They are still used by members of the royal family during ceremonies. Here you can see the world’s largest high quality faceted diamond, the Cullinan I.

Tower Bridge

The drawbridge near the Tower is one of the symbols of London and Britain. Construction work began in 1886 and continued for 8 years. On June 30, 1894, the bridge was opened.

Globe Theater

What to see in London? The Globe Theater was built in 1599 at the expense of the troupe of actors, to which Shakespeare belonged, was destroyed in a fire on June 29, 1613.

The Globus Theater was rebuilt in June 1614 and existed until 1642.

The modern theater building (restored according to descriptions and found during excavations) was opened in 1997. At a distance of about 200 meters from the original location of the theater. Many of Shakespeare’s works were staged here for the first time.

Piccadilly

The square and street of Piccadilly were named after the location of the house of the seller of fashionable lace collars “piccadillies” (piccadillies).

British museum

London: The main attractions are the famous British Museum. This museum is the main historical and archaeological museum of the British Empire (now – Great Britain). One of the largest museums in the world, the second most visited after the Louvre.

The British Museum was created in 1753 from three collections. Collections of the famous British physician and naturalist Hans Sloan, the collection of the Earl Robert Harley and the library of the antiquary Robert Cotton.

The Rosetta Stone is a granodiorite slab. She was found in 1799 in Egypt near the small town of Rosetta, not far from Alexandria. Thanks to this slab, Egyptian hieroglyphs were deciphered.

This unique exhibit is always crowded. The text of the stone is a gratitude inscription, which in 196 BC. NS. Egyptian priests addressed Ptolemy V to Epiphanes, the next monarch from the Ptolemaic dynasty. The beginning of the text: “To the new king who received the kingdom ..”

We bought several excursions: the city of Bath, Stonehenge, Edinburgh. Separate articles have been written about these excursions. Read on!

London: Top Attractions (video)

So our amazing journey has ended. 8 days flew by quickly. God, how little it is! I would very much like to return here …

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