Buckingham Palace is the official residence of the British monarch in London. It was first occupied by Queen Victoria in 1837 and now houses over 600 rooms. Nearby, the Changing of the Guard ceremony occurs daily at 11:30 AM at the palace gates. Westminster is about a mile west of the City of London and remains the center of the British government, containing landmarks like Big Ben, Westminster Abbey, and the Houses of Parliament. The Tower of London served as a royal palace, fortress, and prison, and now houses the Crown Jewels and raven exhibit. London offers many museums, parks, landmarks and shopping areas, making it a top tourist destination.

2. THE UNION JACK
When Parliament is sitting ,a Union Jack
flies on the tower.

3. As well as being the capital of England
and Great Britain, London is the capital
of the U.K.

6. BUCKINGHAM PALACE
It is the official London residence of
the Queen and the Royal Family.
When the Queen is at home the Royal
Flag flies on top.

9. Queen Victoria was the first monarch
who lived at Buckingham Palace.She
moved there in 1837 and this palace is
now the official London residence of
the British Monarch.
Most of the palace was built between
1820 and 1837, and it has six hundred
rooms.

12. Queen Victorian
Memorial stands in
front of Buckingham
Palace.

13. The only places open to the public are the
Queen’s Gallery and the Royal Mews.
You can see the Changing of the Guard at
the gates of Buckingham Palace at 11:30
every day.

16. The Mall is a lovely tree-lined street
which goes from Buckingham Palace to
Trafalgar Square. Along one side of the
Mall you can see beautiful historic
buildings and houses such as St. James's
Palace, once the home of King Henry
VIII, Marlborough House, Clarence
House and Lancaster House.

19. WESTMINSTER
Westminster is about a mile west of the
City. For centuries Westminster was the
political and religious centre and the City
was London's business centre. Today
Westminster is still the centre of
Government.

20. THE HOUSES OF
PARLIAMENT
The building stands on the north bank of the
River Thames and is the place where the
House of Lords and the House of Commons
meet to discuss and pass laws .

21. The Houses of Parliament were
built in the 19th century. In 1834
the Houses of Parliament were
destroyed by fire and were rebuilt
in Gothic style.

24. Oliver Cromwell’s statue
stands
in front of the Houses of
Parliament.

26. BIG BEN
Big Ben is the landmark of London.
It is the nickname of the bell
inside the clock tower next
to the Houses of Parliament. It was
named after the bulky commissioner of
works “Benjamin Hall” and it rings
every quarter of an hour.

28. Westminster Abbey is one of the
oldest buildings in London and one
of the most important religious
centres in the country.
William the Conqueror was crowned
here on the coronation throne.
WESTMINSTER
ABBEY

31. POETS’ CORNER
Poets' Corner is located in in Westminster
Abbey and it is a special place where
Britain's greatest writers are either buried
or remembered with a memorial plaque.
Chaucer, Spencer, Dickens, Kipling and
many other great writers are buried in
Poets' Corner.
Memorial plaques remember great people
who are buried in other places, such as
William Shakespeare, the Brontë Sisters,
Oscar Wilde and others.

34. THE LONDON EYE
The London Eye is the world’s highest
observation wheel, towering 135 metres
above the centre of London.It offers
magnificent panoramic views.

39. If you walk along Whitehall you will see
Britain's most important government
offices and buildings: the Treasury, the
Foreign and Commonwealth Office,
Banqueting House, Horse Guards
Parade and the Prime Minster's famous
residence at 10,Downing Street.

40. 10, Downing Street is the official
London residence of the Prime
Minister.

43. The West End is an exciting part of
London. It is home to London’s
finest museums, theatres, art
galleries, shops, restaurants and
hotels.

50. TRAFALGAR SQUARE
Trafalgar Square was named after
Horatio Nelson’s victory over Napoleon
at Trafalgar in 1805.

53. NELSON’S
COLUMN
Nelson’s column commemorates
the victory.
The statue on top is over 5 metres tall,
and shows Nelson without one arm and
one eye. He lost them in battle.

56. Trafalgar Square is often called the heart
of London because it connects the
political area of Westminster to the rest
of West London.

57. To the east of Trafalgar
Square there is
the Church of St. Martin in
the Fields.

59. PICCADILLY CIRCUS
Piccadilly Circus is the centre of
London’s entertainment world. In this area
there are many theatres, cinemas,
restaurants, discos and nightclubs.
The statue of Eros , the God of love, stands
in the middle of the square.

65. Piccadilly Circus is a big public space
built in 1819.
The word ‘circus’ comes from the
Latin word for circle and it means a
big open space where people meet.

67. SOHO
Soho is an area north of Piccadilly Circus
near Oxford Street. It attracted many
foreigners, artists and writers in the past.
Old Compton Road is the heart of Soho and
here you can find French, Italian and
Middle Eastern food shops, coffee shops
and restaurants.

69. Charing Cross Road divides Soho from
Convent Garden and is famous for its
many bookshops.
Foyle’s in Charing Cross Road is London’s
largest bookshop and a fun place to visit.

73. The City is the business and financial
centre of the UK. It is one of the world’s
most important business and financial
centres, with the Royal Exchange, the
London Stock Exchange, the Bank of
England and over 500 banks.

76. ST. PAUL’S CATHEDRAL
St. Paul’s Cathedral is in the centre of the
City.It was built by Sir Christopher Wren
after the old Cathedral had been
completely destroyed by the Great Fire of
London in 1666.Its dome is 110 metres tall
and it is the second tallest dome in the
world.

80. THE GLOBE
Shakespeare's Globe theatre is a
reconstruction of the original open-
air Elizabethan Globe theatre first
built in 1599, where many of
Shakespeare's greatest works were
performed.

85. THE TOWER OF LONDON
The Tower of London is the old
Norman fortress built by William the
Conqueror. It was a fortress , a royal
palace and a prison.

88. It is guarded by Beefeaters in
traditional Tudor Uniforms. They are the
guards and tour guides of the Tower.

89. ….

90. The Crown Jewels are
on show here. They belong to the
state and are used by the Royal
Family only on state occasions.

92. Many people, such as
Anne Boleyn, mother
of Queen Elizabeth I,
were executed here.

93. Eight ravens are kept at the tower;
a legend says
that the tower will fall
if they leave.

98. TOWER BRIDGE
It is on the River Thames and
is a drawbridge which
can be raised
to let ships pass through.

101. London offers lots of examples of modern
and contemporary architecture such as
the Shard by Renzo Piano, Europe’s tallest
building, the Olympic Stadium,
Millennium Bridge…

107. There are more than 240 museums in
London and most of them are
free.Some are small and others are
very large, and they are all fun to visit.

108. The British Museum is the largest and richest
museum in the world. It was founded in 1753
and contains one of the world’s richest
collections of antiquities.
THE BRITISH MUSEUM

109. It has more than seven million objects
from all over the world:Ancient Egypt,
Ancient Greece and Rome, Europe, Asia
and the Middle East.

111. The Egyptian Galleries contain human and
animal mummies and the Rosetta Stone,
which enabled us to decipher hieroglyphic
texts.

117. Some parts of Athen’s
Parthenon are in Greek
section.

122. THE BRITISH NATIONAL
LIBRARY
In the British National Library there are
the originals of the Magna Charta and of
many famous books and also the
original manuscripts of some Beatles’
songs.

123. The National Gallery stands on the north
side of Trafalgar Square. It contains
paintings from the 13th century to this
century.
THE NATIONAL
GALLERY

124. The collection includes paintings by
Botticelli, Leonardo, Rembrandt, Rubens,
Turner, Constable, Cezanne, Monet, Van
Gogh...

131. TATE BRITAIN
It contains famous British paintings by
Constable, Turner, Blake, Hogarth and
the Pre-Raphaelites. It contains paintings
from the 16th century to this century.

133. THE TATE MODERN
The impressive Tate Modern
is Britain’s modern art
National museum.The gallery
dispays major paintings by
Matisse and Picasso as well
as contemporary exhibitions
.

135. MADAME TUSSAUD’S
Madame Tussaud’s is an exhibition
of hundreds of
life-size wax models of famous
people of yesterday and today.

136. Here you can meet Cassius Clay, Marilyn
Monroe,Humphrey Bogarth, Elton John,
Picasso, the Royal Family, the Beatles,
Adolf Hitler and many other writers, film
stars, singers, politicians, footballers and
so on.

140. THE NATURAL HISTORY
MUSEM
The Natural History Museum contains a
permanent dinosaur exhibition and a
collection of the biggest animals in the
world.

144. The parks have been called the “lungs”
of London. They give Londoners the
opportunity to walk in the green, have
picnics, row boats, go horse- riding, feed
and watch animals, and all this without
leaving the city.

145. ST. JAMES’S PARK
St. James’s Park is the most
ancient of London’s Royal parks.
The area was bought by Henry
VIII in 1530 and in 1660 Charles
II had it landscaped by a French
architect.

149. HYDE PARK
Hyde Park is the people’s park.
It is used for very kind of public
occasion.

150. The Serpentine is the lake which
separates Hyde Park from Kensington
Gardens, a park which used to be the
private garden of Kensington Palace.

154. …The corner of Hyde Park near
Marble Arch is known as Speaker’s
Corner. If you have anything to say
you can go there, stand on a stool
and express your opinions to the
crowd.

156. These gardens have amazing fountains and
statues and lots of colourful plants and
flowers. Peter Pan’s statue is located here
and it is a big attraction for everyone who
loves his wonderful story.

159. REGENTS’ PARK
Regent's Park is the right place to go if you
like animals. Here you can feed the ducks
and watch the pelicans. You can also visit
the Zoological Gardens, the largest zoo in
the country.

160. What to Eat

163. If you like shopping, London is the place to
go! If you walk in Oxford Street, Regent
Street, Bond Street or Piccadilly Circus, you
will find thousands of shops and
department stores.

165. REGENTS’ PARK

172. Regent Street offers a good range of
fashion stores, including some of the city’s
oldest and most famous shops.
New Bond Street is one of London’ s most
exclusive shopping areas and Oxford
Street has about 300 shops and landmark
stores.

174. Piccadilly is an important street that goes
from Hyde Park Corner to the famous
Piccadilly Circus. One of the best and oldest
department stores is Fortnum and Masons
at 181 Piccadilly. It sells fine food, tea,
coffee, sweets and many other products.

180. .Don’t forget to pay a visit to Harrods and
Selfridges, the largest department stores in
Europe.
Selfridges is in Oxford Street. It offers
banking services and the opportunity to eat
in many restaurants.
Harrods is in Knightsbridge and it is the
official London shop of the Royal Family.

189. If you like street markets you will enjoy
Portobello Road Market, one of the oldest
and most famous markets in London,
Petticoat Lane Market, open only on
Sunday mornings from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.,
and Camden Lock Market, open on
Saturdays and Sundays.

192. CARNABY STREET
Carnaby Street was the birthplace 0f
the fashion and cultural revolution of
the Revolution of the 1960s.It
is still home to some of the world’s
most exciting fashion and design
talents and it is filled with trendy
clothes.

194. Camden Lock Market is one of the busiest
markets in London. It offers a wide range
of high- quality goods, arts, clothes, crafts,
food and furnishings. You can find craft
workshops, stalls, shops, cafés, bars, and
restaurants there.
CAMDEN LOCK MARKET

197. Covent Garden is a modern shopping
centre and tourist attraction with shops,
restaurants, cafés, street performers
and musicians. The famous Royal Opera
House and the Royal Ballet are at Covent
Garden.
COVENT GARDEN

198. Covent Garden’s old name was Convent
Garden because the garden of a medieval
convent was located there.
In 1630 the great architect Inigo Jones
created Covent Garden Piazza, the first
Italian-style square in London. For
centuries it was London’s biggest fruit,
vegetable and flower market but in 1974 the
market moved away.

199. CONVENT GARDEN
Convent Garden is a modern shopping
centre and tourist attraction with shops,
restaurants, cafés, street performers
and musicians.

203. London was founded by the Romans in 43
A.D. and was called Londinium. In 61 A.D.
the town was burnt down and when it was
rebuilt by the Romans it was surrounded by
a wall. That area within the wall is now
called the City of London.

207. In 410 the Romans abandoned London at
the mercy of Saxon invaders.
In the 9th and 10th centuries the Danish
Vikings attacked and invaded the city.

210. When William the Conqueror, leader of the
Normans, conquered England in 1066 he
made London his base. He built a fortress
where the Tower of London now stands
and he was crowned in the original
Westminster Abbey.

213. During the Middle Ages many churches and
monasteries were built. Merchants and
craftsmen lived inside the City walls and
worked in particular areas.

215. In 1348 the city was hit by the
Europe-wide Bubonic Plague,
the Black Death.

218. During the Tudor period (16th century)
London became an important economic
and financial centre and the centre of
culture and the arts.

221. During the reign of Elizabeth I (1558-1603)
London witnessed a specifically English
Renaissance, especially in the fields of
literature and drama. The Londoners of
the Elizabethan period built the first
theatres. The main playwrights were
Christopher Marlowe and William
Shakespeare.

226. In 1665 the Great Plague killed about
1,000,000 people.1666 was the year of the
Great Fire of London, which destroyed
most of the city. After the fire many
buildings were rebuilt by Sir Christopher
Wren.

230. During the Victorian period (1837-1901)
London was one of the most important
centres of the British Empire and the
Industrial Revolution.

236. Today London is a cosmopolitan city
and its population is almost
7,000,000.