This is London

Philip Prowse

1

History of London

The Romans

The Romans came to Britain in AD 43. They built a town on the River Thames. They called the town Londinium.

Soon, they built a bridge over the river. Londinium grew bigger. Ships came to the town from all over Europe.

The Romans built roads from Londinium to other parts of Britain. By the year 400, there were fifty thousand people living in the city.

William the Conqueror

In 1066, William the Conqueror came to England. William was the Duke of Normandy in France. He won the Battle of Hastings and he became King of England.

William lived in London but he was afraid of the people of London. He built the White Tower to feel safe. Now it is the tallest part of the Tower of London.

Many tourists visit the Tower of London every year. The Crown Jewels – the Queen's gold and jewels – are kept there.

All the Kings and Queens of England lived in London. It was the biggest town in England. By 1600, there were more than two hundred thousand people living in London.

Shakespeare's London

Shakespeare was born in Stratford-on-Avon in 1564. Later, he lived in London. Dhakespeare wrote thirty-six plays. They are still read and performed all over the world.

The plays were performed in the Globe Theatre. The theatre was destroyed by a fire in 1613. In 1997, a new Globe Theatre was built in the same place.

The Great Fire

The houses in Shakespeare's London were built very close to each other. They were made of wood. Sometimes there were small fires. One Saturday 2nd September 1666 there was a big fire.

It started in the house of the King's baker, in Pudding Lane, near London Bridge. Most of London burnt down. A quarter of a million people lost their homes. But only a few people died.

Dickens' London

People built houses again after the Great Fire. But this time built them of stone and brick. The city grew larger and larger. By 1830, there were more than one and half million people in London.

The railways came and there were factories all over the city. The air was filled with smoke.

Many people were very poor and lived in terrible conditions. Most children did not go to school. Some of them worked all day in factories. Other children lived and died on the street.

Charles Dickens lived from 1812 to 1870. He wrote about the lives of the rich and poor people of London at that time. He spent much of his life in London.

You can visit one of the Dickens' homes in Doughty Street. There you can see his papers and writing desk.

The River Thames

The River Thames is part of London's history. It has always been at the centre of the city.

Until 1749, there was only one bridge across the river: London Bridge. There were houses and shopson the bridge. Often, the river froze in the winter and people walked on the ice.

In the nineteenth centuary, many new bridges over the River Thames. The Millennium Bridge and the Hungerford footbridges are new. Many of the Thames' bridges are lit up at night. They look very beautiful.

2

Place to Visit

In London you are never far from the River Thames. Many tourists go on boat trips from Tower Bridge to Westminster.

Another good boat trip is to Greenwich. In Greenwich you can visit The Old Royal Observatory. The boat passes a lot of famous buildings.

There are some fine, modern buildings on the South Bank. You can see The Royal Festival Hall and The Tate Modern. There are also many art galleries, restaurants and bars on the South Bank.

On the South Bank, you can visit the Imax Cinema  with its huge screen or you can go on the London Eye. The London Eye is a big wheel that takes you 135 metres above London. It is  the slowest big wheel in the world and the best way to see the whole city. You can see for forty kilometres in all directions. You can see old buildings like St Paul's Cathedral and Windsor Castle, and new buildings like the Millennum Dome and the Gherkin.

The Gherkin is a glass building. It looks like a vegetable! From the London Eye you can also see the tall buildings in Canary Wharf. Canary Wharf is a new centre of business in London.

Most of the famouse old buildings are north of the river. The House of Parliament are in Westminister. They are the centre of the British government. People call the tall clock tower by the House of Parliament Big Ben. In fact, Big Ben is the name of one of the bells. There are many government buildings in this area. Downing Street is nearby. The Prime Minister lives in number 10, Downing Street.

Churches

Westminister Abbey is one of the most famouse churches in London. It is very near to the Houses of Parliament. The Abbey is more than nine hundred years old. In 1953, Queen Elizabeth II was crowned there.

Another great London church is St Paul's Cathedral. It was built by Sir Christopher Wren after the Great Fire of 1666. From the top there is a good view of the City of London. You can visit the cathedral by walking across The Millennium Bridge, from the South Bank.

Art Galleries

You can find many art galleries in London. The most famous is the National Gallery in Trafalgar Square. It has many famous paintings. You can see paintings by Turner, Constable, Goya, Van Dyck, Leonardo da Vinci, Michelangelo, Rembrandt, Renoir, Rubens and Titian.
Another well-known London gallery id The Tate Gallery, on the north bank of the river Thames. It was built in 1897.
The Tate Modern is a new gallery: it opened in 2000. It has a lot of modern art collections by artists like Picasso and Andy Warhol.

Museums

London has many interesting museums. The British Museum is one of the largest museums in the world. There are thousands of exhibits and over five kilometres of galleries. The museum has regular special exhibitions, for example, ancient Roman and Greek art, the Egyptians and the Anglo-Saxons.
Another interesting museum is the Victoria and Albert. It has got the world's largest dress collections. It has exhibits objects as well as paintings. These objects include: furniture, carpets, ceramics, sculpture and jewellery.

Palaces

Buckingham Palace is the London home of the Queen. You can walk from Westminster Abbey to the Palace. It is a pleasant walk through St James's Park. 
Soldiers always guard the palace. At half past eleven every morning, you can watch the soldiers change duard. The Queen's Gallery is in Buckingham Palace. You can visit the gallery and see the Queen's collection of paintings.
Another of the Queen's homes is Windsor Castle. Windsor is near the River Thames, about forty kilometres from London. The castle is eight hundred years old.

Parks

London is well known for its parks. There are more than eighty of them! The most famous parks, near central London, are Hyde Park, Regent's Park and St James's Park. They are all royal parks.
Hyde Park is a large park of three hundred and forty acres. In the sixteenth century, King Henry VIII hunted wild animals there! Today people relax on the paths.
The Serpentine is a lake in the middle of Hyde Park. In the summer, you can go on a boat or swim there. Speakers' Corner is also in Hyde Park, near Marble Arch. Anyone can make a speech there.
Regent's Park is very beautiful. It is home to the London Zoo. There are more than six thousand animals and birds in the zoo. There is an open-air theatre in Regent's Park. You can watch Shakespeare's plays there in summer.
A lot of big, outdoor concerts are held in London's parks. Other parks to visit are Hampstead Heath in North London and Clapham Commo in South London.

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Travelling in London  

The tube is London's underground railway. Its train lines are very old. The Metropolitan Line opened in 1863. It is the oldest is the world. The Piccadilly Line runs from Heathrow-London's largest airport-to the centre of London.

You can see much more of London from a bus. There are special open-top bus tours for tourists. They show you the sights of the city. The bus tours include river cruises and walking tours.
The tourists buses leave from Green Park, Victoria station and Marble Arch.
The Docklands Light Railway (DLR) is a modern railway line. Its trains don't have drivers! The DLR is a good way to see the Docklands and East London.

There are a lot of taxis in London. The drivers are usually friendly and helpful. You should only use black cabs or licensed taxis. The roads are very busy in Central London. There is a Congestion Charge for every car in central London on weekdays. You can pay your Congestion Charge online or in shops.
The buses and tube get very busy in the morning between eight o'clock and ten o'clock. They are also busy in the evening between five o'clock and half past six.

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Shopping

London is world famous for its shopping. Oxford Street is London's main shopping centre. Selfridges is a well-known department store on Oxford Street. The most famous shop in London is Harrods. It is in Knightsbridge. You can buy anything you want in Harrods!

There are a lot of shops in Covent Garden. In the 1600's, Covent Gardeen was a fruit and flowers market. Now you can buy clothes and antiques there. You can visit the cafes and bars. Covent Garden is famous for its street performers. You can see circus performances, singing and theatre on the street!
Soho is in centeral London. It is a good place to buy music. People go to Bond Street and Marylebone High Street to buy clothes and furniture.

There are also hundreds of markets in London. They sell all kinds of things: food, clothes, jewellery, music and furniture. The two best known markets are Portobello Road and Camden. Portobello Road is in West London, in Notting Hill. You can go there by tube. The nearest stations are Notting Hill Gate and Ladbroke Grove. The market cell axciting things. You can buy old clothes and antiques there. It is very popular on a Saturday.
Camden Market is in North London. It is famous for art and music. Many young people go to Camden Market. Other popular markets in London are Spitalfields, Greenwich and Petticoat Lane.

5

London at Night 

Pubs, Bars and Clubs

There are more than seven thousand public houses in London! Public houses-or pubs-are usually open all day all evening. You can eat and drink in pubs. In some pubs you can hear live music.

There are a lot of famous, old pubs in London. The Prospect of Whitby, in East London, is a very old pub. It was built in 1520. The Lamb and Flag in Covent Garden is more than three hundred years old. Covent Garden also has a lot of bars. They stay open much later than pubs. Bars often have dancing.
Notting Hill is a good place to visit at night. It has the largest carnival in Europe. More than a million people go there every August. They look at the colorful costumes and dance.

There are many nightclubs in London. Some nightclubs stay open all night. You will find many bars and clubs in Soho. They play all kindz of different music.
You can hear live music and bands in London too. You can buy a newspaper or entertainment guide to find out what live events are happening.

Theatres and Cinemas

Most theatres and cinemas in London are in the West End. The nearest tube stations are Piccadilly Circus and Leicester Square. You can see all kinds of plays and shows in London's theatres. There are musicals, comedies and plays by modern writers.

The National Theatre and the Barbican Centre and good places to see plays.
You can also go to the Globe Theatre, by the River Thames. It is a modern theatre but it looks like Shakespeare's Globe. You can also see Shakespear's plays at the open-air theatre in Regent's Park.
You can see first showings of new films in West End cinemas. There are also a lot of small cinemas all over London. They show interesting, low-budget films.

Restaurants

In Soho there are many foreign reataurants and cafe՛s. You can go for an expensive meal there, or you can eat very cheaply. There are a lot of good Chinese reataurants on Gerrard Street in Soho. The area is known as Chinatown.

You can eat food from all over the world in London. You can go to French, Italian, Spenish, Caribbean, Thai, Greek, Turkish, Indian, Japanese, African or Chinese restaurants. Some of the most famous restaurants in the world are in London.