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Your Humble Guide to London! |
London Landmarks
London has many world-famous landmarks. If you are only in London for a short stay be sure to check out this HumbleGuide (SM) top list of London Landmarks.
Picadilly Circus, the statue of Eros
Picadilly Circus was built in 1819 to connect Regent Street with the major shopping street of Piccadilly. Picadilly Circus is in the London Borough of Westminster. Close by underground stations (Tube Stations) are: Picadilly Circus and Leicester Square. The statue in Picadilly Corcus which Londeners refer to as "Eros" was one of the first statues carved from aluminium and is said to bring luck in love to those who visit.
Trafalgar Square, Nelson's Column, the lions and the water fountains
Trafalgar Square was built to commemorate a famous battle, namely "The Battle of Trafalgar" in 1815. Towered over by Nelson's Column, a statue atop a 46 m (151 ft) granite column, Trafalgar Square also has fountains, huge statues of lions and open space with seats. Trafalgar Square, lately, with the instigation of the Mayor of London's office, has also been home to many outdoor art and cultural exhibitions. Nearest Underground Stations are: Trafalgar Square, Charing Cross, Leicester Square and Embankment.
Big Ben and Houses of Parliament, Parliament Square, Westminster Cathedral
Home to the British Parliament and the spiritual centre of the United Kingdom (Westminster Cathedral) there is lots to see all around this area of London. Big Ben is the huge timepiece that towers over the Houses of Parliament - it was built in the mid 1800's and Big Ben (which actually is the name of the huge bell that is struck) has kept time for Londoners ever since. Westminster Cathedral is architecturally interesting, of course... you might also like to seek out and visit
Poets Corner, a section of the cathedral grounds where some of the UKs most famous
poets have been buried; Geoffrey Chaucer, Charles Dickens,
Rudyard Kipling are amongst the illustrious buried. There are also memorials to others; Lord Byron,
William Shakespeare, William Wordsworth, Percy Bysshe Shelley, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, John Keats, Robert Burns to name just a few. What a place of contemplation and peace!
St. Pauls Cathedral designed by Sir Christopher Wren
An architectural masterpiece and one of the most visited sites in
London.
Tower Bridge, The Tower of London, the ravens and The Beefeaters
A good day out for visitors, The Tower of London sits on the River Thames and offers medieval towers and torture chambers, souvenirs and post-cards and a jolly good time for visitors. Seriously, it has become very commercial and you might just enjoy seeing it from the other side of the Thames (the South Bank). Nearest Underground Station is Tower Hill.
Leicester Square
Leicester Square, a park left to the people of
London by a benefactor in the past has now been closed to the public by Westminster City Council in the evenings thus preventing free access to the people of
London. Leicester Square is, however, still open during the day and is central to London's
film land - surrounded by cinemas which see many London premieres. Just north of Leicester Square within walking distance is Chinatown and
Soho. Nearest Tube? Leicester Square.
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