. Vypracovala: Mgr. Silvie Reitharová

General information London is the capital and the largest city of England It´s also the capital of Great Britain, the United Kingdom and the British Commonwealth It is situated on the River Thames, a few miles from the sea The population is about 9 million ( about 12 million in conurbation)

A bit from the history the Celts settled the area of today´s London at about 800 B.C. The Romans occupied the place since 55 B.C. and in 43 A.D. they established Roman Londonium there when the Romans left the country it remained the capital of the Britons the town kept its importance during the Anglo-Saxon invasion and later during the Viking period the Norman kings ( first William the Conqueror) removed the royal court from Winchester and London became the capital city for ever

The Great Fire of London In 1666 one of the worst events happened The Great Fire, that started at a baker’s shop, destroyed four fifth (4/5) of the town However it helped to stop a plague epidemic that killed more than 75,000 people a year before After the fire a great reconstruction of the city started Sir Christopher Wren was appointed the main architect and he constructed about 50 churches and some other public buildings

Industry and Commerce The prime economic importance of modern London is a financial and commercial centre 22% of the world´s financial transactions take place in London The London Stock Exchange is the world´s biggest London is also an important centre of gold, silver and platinum trade London is also the centre of art and culture There are recording, broadcasting, television and film studios and publishing houses Tourism is of great importance too

Transport DOUBLEDECKERS Typical red buses, in present only used by tourists LONDON UNDERGROUND also called the “tube” because of the round shape of its tunnels Is the world’s oldest, was established in 1863 Nowadays there are 273 stations and it is 420 km long 760 million passengers use the “tube” every year AIRPORTS There are five airports in the London area, the largest of them are Heathrow and Gatwick RAIL There is a rail connection to all parts of the island from 15 central stations. The trains are controlled by computers. CABS Very familiar and reliable kind of transport. London taxi drivers belong to the best ones. They are trained and controlled very well

Interesting and Important Places and Sights of London Trafalgar SquareTower Bridge Harrods’ Westminster Abbey Buckingham Palace Do you know the places and sights ? 4 St. Paul’s Cathedral

Trafalgar Square the largest square in London very busy centre of the town, with huge traffic the name commemorates the naval battle at Trafalgar (1805), where Admiral Nelson defeated Spanish and French fleet (led by Napoleon) in the middle of the square is Nelson’s Column (about 50 meters high) with a five-meter tall statue of Horatio Nelson the place is also famous for plenty of pigeons

Piccadilly Circus aaaa well-known place near Trafalgar Square ffffamous for the Statue of Eros-a Greek God of love iiiit is a very busy place

Two famous addresses in London 10 Downing Street the seat of the Prime Minister always watched by a typical English policeman called “bobby”

Buckingham Palace TTTThe seat of the sovereign TTTThe Queen and her husband live there CCCChanging of the Guards takes place in front of the Palace

Queen Victoria Memorial the memorial is situated just in front of Buckingham Palace a favourite place for meeting friends …..

The Houses of Parliament one of the well-known symbols of the town, on the bank of the River Thames the political centre of the country- the seat of the House of Lords and the House of Commons were built in New-Gothic style in 19th century the most famous part is the tower with a clock called Big Ben

Westminster Abbey one of the oldest sights in London goes back to 11th century a beautiful and precious example of pure Gothic style almost all coronations since William I have been made there some English Kings and Queens and some other famous people are buried there or they have their memorial in the Poet’s Corner

St. Paul’s Cathedral the second largest church in the world, after St. Peter’s in Rome was built in Baroque style, at the place of previous cathedral which was destroyed by the Great Fire SSSSir Christopher Wren’s masterpiece, was completed after 35 years in 1711 IIIInside the cupola there is a very interesting place, called Whispering Gallery

The Tower a well-known London castle William I began building the massive fortress-the White Tower on 1066 next kings continued and added other parts till 16th century it served as a royal home, a prison, an executive site and an observatory nowadays there is a museum. You can see the coronation jewels there there are always kept some ravens in the Tower, because a legend says, that the Monarchy will last until ravens live in the Tower

Tower Bridge the most famous bridge in London typical by its blue colour and the ability to open in the middle and enable ships to go through

a famous round concert hall was named after Prince Albert-Queen Victoria’s husband more than 8000 people can listen to music there Royal Albert Hall

British National Museum and National Gallery the most important cultural institutions all state museums and galleries in Britain are free-you don’t have to pay for the tickets in National Gallery (in Trafalgar Square) you can see the world’s masterpieces of the most famous painters National Museum has –among others-the largest collection of ancient Egyptian sights (it’s said there are more Egyptian artifacts than in Egypt)

Tate Gallery and Madam Tussaud’s Museum the most visited private cultural institutions Tate Gallery is dedicated to world’s modern art in Madam Tussaud’s Museum you can see wax figures representing famous personalities from history and from present – criminals, politicians, actors, singers, sportsmen and also the members of the Royal family

London parks All major parks used to be Royal gardens Hyde Park St. James’s Park Kensington Gardens Regent Park-most elegant and attractive with London ZOO Green Park-outside the centre, very large

Shopping in London Oxford Street-London’s most famous shopping street Regent Street- Liberty’s and Hamley’s -two popular toy shops, probably the best known in the world Bond Street- art galleries, antiques, jewelers’ shops and Sotheby’s-one of the most famous auction house Covent Garden-fruit and vegetable markets, the best place for buying souvenirs and postcards Soho-many Chinese, Indian and Italian restaurants, famous theatres, cinemas, cafes and bars Harrod’ s –the prominent, very expensive department store Covent Garden Harrod’s Soho