London

London is a noisy, vibrant and multicultural world city. This capital city is the largest of both the United Kingdom and of England. And it is also the largest city in Western Europe and the European Union. London remains a global capital of culture, fashion, finance, politics and trade. London is one of the most identifiable cities with such famous monuments and attractions as Big Ben, double-decker buses, the Queen and the Tube. London contains four World Heritage Sites: the Tower of London; the historic settlement of Greenwich; the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew; and the site comprising the Palace of Westminster, Westminster Abbey and St. Margaret’s Church. London restaurants feature something for every taste and budget, contrary to popular belief. It is a shopping haven for those who can afford it, although real bargain hunters can sniff out great deals if you know where to go. And the cultural scene is unbeatable with musicals, theater, music performances and an amazing nightclub scene. Climate London has a temperate marine climate so the city rarely sees extremely high or low temperatures. Summers are warm with average high temperatures of 23° C. Winters in London are chilly, but rarely below freezing with daytime highs around 10° C. London enjoys a dry and mild climate on average. Only one in three days on average will bring rain and often only for a short period. Attractions & Sights Visitors to London can count on hundreds of London activities and sights, spanning a variety of categories, to satisfy even the most adventurous of spirits. Since the 18th century, England has been one of the main cultural centers of Europe. Consider getting the London Pass which gives you entrance into over 50 of London’s top attractions. Some famous sights and attractions include:

• Buckingham Palace is the official London residence of the Queen. Facing the Palace is St. James Park where you can watch the Changing of the Guard.
• Trafalgar Square is home to the Nelson Column and is considered the closest thing to town center. Other famous squares or road junctions worth visiting are Piccadilly Circus and Leicester Square. Piccadilly Circus is close to major shopping and entertainment areas. Leicester Square is a pedestrian square famous for many cinemas and the TKTS counter where one can get half off theater shows of the day.
•  The London Eye is the world’s third largest observation wheel, situated on the South Bank of the Thames.
• Tower Bridge is an iconic point of interest located by the Tower of London. The engine rooms can be visited, as well as the Tower Bridge exhibition.
• St Paul’s Cathedral was built after the 1666 Great Fire of London. A section of the dome has such good acoustics that whispers can be heard clearly in other parts of the building.
• The ZLS London Zoo is the world’s oldest scientific zoo. Today it houses a collection of 755 species of animals. The zoo is well laid out with many attractions for children, an aquarium, a reptile house, an insect house and much more.
• The Globe Theater was originally built in 1599 by Shakespeare’s playing company, the Lord Chamberlain’s Men. A modern reconstruction of the Globe opened in 1997. It’s a unique opportunity to see an Elizabethan theater building reconstructed using material, techniques and craftsmanship of 400 years ago.

Museums London hosts an outstanding collection of world-class museums, many of which are free for permanent exhibitions. It is said there are about 240 museums. You may want to limit your list to specific interests. The top visited museums are:

• British Museum, a museum of human history and culture
•  Science Museum, holds a collection of over 300,000 items
•  Tate Gallery, houses the UK’s national collection of British Art, and International Modern and Contemporary Art
•  Victoria & Albert Museum, world’s largest museum of decorative arts and design
•  National Gallery, over 2,300 paintings dating from the mid-13th century to 1900
•  Imperial War Museum, documents British and Commonwealth history since 1914
•  Natural History Museum, five main collections: Botany, Entomology, Mineralogy, Palaeontology and Zoology
•  National Maritime Museum, the leading maritime museum of the United Kingdom
•  London Transport Museum, conserves and explains the transport heritage of London
•  Museum of London, documents the history of London from the Prehistoric to the present day

There are so many tour companies to choose from that offer visits of the city. Try Urban Gentry Tours for a chic and hip tour; Context London for scholar-lead in-depth walking tours; London Ducktours do there tours in actual D-Day landing water/land vehicles; London Walks are very popular and cover a slew of topics or interests, like the Jack the Ripper murder walks; and open top bus tours providing hop-on/hop-off services with live commentary. London is know for its many parks, great and small, scattered throughout the city including St James Park and Hyde Park. Most of the larger parks have their origins in royal estates and hunting grounds and are still owned by the Crown, despite their public access.