On
a first trip to London the major sights are a must. The Changing of the Guard
at Buckingham Palace and on Horse Guards Parade are free displays of colourful
Royal pageantry. In August and September Buckingham Palace itself is open to visitors.
Take a look at the Houses of Parliament and the famous clocktower that houses
'Big Ben'. Other unmissable sights include the Tower of London with its colourful
'Beefeaters' (yeoman warders), Tower Bridge and St Paul's Cathedral, Sir Christopher
Wren's elegantly-domed masterpiece. One of the best ways to see London's famous
landmarks is to take a guided bus tour, or one of the many other tours including
boat and horse-drawn omnibuses.
Big
Ben
Big Ben
is not open to the public. Possibly the most famous clock face and chimes in the
world, Big Ben is actually the name of the biggest bell (13.5 tons) inside The
Clock Tower (320ft) which forms part of the Houses of Parliament. Built in 1858/9
the bell was named after one Sir Benjamin Hall and when it was cast it was Britain’s
heaviest bell. The clock’s four dials each have a diameter of 23ft, the minute
hands are 14ft long and the numerals on each face are nearly 2ft high. The placing
of old pennies in the mechanism controls the accuracy of the clock movement, yet
it is incredibly accurate.
The tower which houses Big Ben has been called
by many names, one of the most popular is St Stephen’s Tower. The official
line, from the Head of Public Information at the Palace is that the Clock Tower
is simply called The Clock Tower. However, the name Big Ben has now passed into
every day use and the locals call it Big Ben so we’ll go along with that
too.
Nearest Tube: Westminster
Buckingham
Palace
Buckingham
Palace has been the official London residence of Britain's sovereigns since 1837
and evolved from a town house that was owned, from the beginning of the eighteenth
century, by the Dukes of Buckingham. Buckingham Palace is the London home of The
Queen and Prince Philip. Queen Victoria was the first monarch to take up residence
here after the architect John Nash transformed it from Buckingham House into a
palace. In 1845 Queen Victoria asked for the Palace to be extended to make more
room for her growing family of four children. As part of the alterations, Marble
Arch, which was originally the entrance to the palace, was moved to a new position
at the corner of Hyde Park.
The Palace is also the administrative headquarters
of the monarchy. The Queen receives visiting heads of state at the palace and
it is here that the Queen holds garden parties and bestows knighthoods and other
honours. Foot Guards from the Household Division, in their distinctive red tunics
and black bearskins, can be seen on guard duty outside the palace daily. The Changing
The Guard ceremony now takes place only every other day in the winter but it is
still daily in the summer months.
After a serious fire damaged Windsor Castle
in 1993 the Queen allowed the Palace State rooms to be opened to the public for
the first time, to help pay the Windsor Castle repair bill. When not away, The
Queen and Prince Philip spend most weekends at Windsor Castle, where they enjoy
horse riding.
To book tickets call: +44 (0)20 7321 2233
Phone: +44 (0)20
7930 4832
Nearest Tube: St James's Park /Hyde Park Corner /Victoria
House of Parliament - Palace of Westminster
Now
more commonly known as the Houses of Parliament, the Palace of Westminster began
life as a royal residence in 1042 under Edward the Confessor. The major structure
to survive various fires, Westminster Hall, was built between 1087-1100 and is
one of the largest medieval halls in Europe with an unsupported hammerbeam roof.
During the fourteenth-century the hall housed shops and stalls selling wigs, pens
and other legal equipment and the courts of law met there. Thomas More, Charles
I and those accused of trying to blow up parliament (1605) were all tried in Westminster
Hall.
Following a fire in 1512, Henry VIII decided to abandon the palace and
from this moment onwards it became home to the two seats of parliament - the Commons
and the Lords. However, it was to suffer from another disastrous fire in 1834
and everything was lost except Westminster Hall and the Jewel Tower. A competition
was launched to redevelop the whole site. Sir Charles Barry was responsible for
the mock gothic building that has become such a familiar landmark today; including
the Clock Tower that houses Big Ben, the bell that chimes on the hour, and is
home to the largest clock face in the country.
Members of the public can
watch debates when parliament is in session. Tickets can be obtained from a member
of parliament (British citizen) or from your consulate or High Commission. You
need to plan this in advance. For more information call the Public Information
Office on 020 7219 3000.
Alternatively, guided tours of the House of Lords
and Commons and Westminster Hall are available between 6 Aug-29 Sep 09.15-16.30
Mon-Sat. Closed Bank Holidays. Parliamentary business may interrupt these tours.
Call to check in advance. Tours last 1hour 15min.
Phone: +44 (0)20 7344 9966
Nearest Tube: Westminster
Westminster Abbey
Westminster
Abbey is one of Europe's finest Gothic buildings and the scene of coronations,
marriages and burials of British monarchs. It dates back to the 11th century,
and highlights include the Coronation Chair made in 1300, Poets' Corner and the
Tomb of the Unknown Warrior.
An architectural masterpiece of the thirteenth
to sixteenth centuries, Westminster Abbey also presents a unique pageant of British
history - the Confessor’s Shrine, the tombs of Kings and Queens, and countless
memorials to the famous and the great. It has been the setting for every Coronation
since 1066 and for numerous other Royal occasions. Today it is still a church
dedicated to regular worship and to the celebration of great events in the life
of the nation. Neither a cathedral nor a parish church, Westminster Abbey is a
“royal peculiar” under the jurisdiction of a Dean and Chapter, subject
only to the Sovereign.
The Coronation chair is here. Coronations, marriages
and burials of English Monarchs have taken place at this church which was originally
built by Edward the Confessor in 1065, rebuilt and added to in the 13th to 18th
centuries.Open for sightseeing Monday-Friday and Saturday morning, Sundays for
worship only.
Phone: +44 (0)20 7222 7110
Nearest Tube: Westminster /
St James's Park.
St. Paul's Cathedral
St
Paul's Cathedral is one of the world's most famous cathedrals, designed by Sir
Christopher Wren. This classical cathedral represents inspiration and craftsmanship
on a grand scale. The Light of the World by Holman Hunt is its most famous work
of art, but it also contains fabulous carvings, statues and mosaics. It's open
for sightseeing Monday-Saturday but for services only on Sundays.
Work on
this, the most impressive church in London began in 1675 to a design by Sir Christopher
Wren. It was built to replace old St Paul's which was destroyed by the Great Fire
of London in 1666. The present building has been luckier. It survived the World
War II bombings which flattened a great many of the surrounding buildings. It
took 35 years to complete the building. The imaginative Wren had to fight to get
his plans accepted. Wren actually wanted to build the Cathedral just North of
where it stands and he wanted the dome to be of copper, double gilded with gold.
Unfortunately he was overruled on both counts. At the time not everyone liked
Wren's design.
This is the fourth Cathedral to stand on this site. The first,
a Saxon building, was built in AD 604. The 360ft high dome which dominates the
city's skyline is the second largest in the world. The church itself is the largest
Protestant church in England. From inside too, the dome is stunning and it is
well worth climbing, up to the galleries. The whispering gallery is so named because
of the way a whisper will echo there.
Higher still, there is access to the
stone gallery on the exterior of the cathedral. At the very top is the Golden
Gallery which has arguably the best view in London. The cathedral is packed with
fine statues and interior detail. The beautiful woodcarvings are the work of Grinling
Gibbons and the exquisite ironwork is by Jean Tijou. The mosaic work is mainly
Byzantine and created by Victorian craftsmen to designs by Wren. Many of the rich
or great are buried here.
Although in many ways a piece of history and a tourist
attraction, the cathedral is still very much in use today. It is a national and
international religious focus, a masterpiece of architecture and a centre of musical
excellence. It was centre stage world-wide, through television, in 1981 for the
fairytale marriage of Prince Charles and Lady Diana Spencer.
Phone: +44 (0)20
7246 8348
Nearest Tube: St Paul's
Westminster Cathedral
Following
almost 300 years of persecution, the Roman Catholic Church was again allowed to
practice in England, from about 1829. As the popularity of the church grew over
the next few decades, the need for a cathedral arose and in 1884 the site of the
old Tothill Fields house of correction for paupers was brought and it is here
that the Cathedral now stands.
The campanile, or bell tower, is 273 feet high.
Visitors can go up the tower via a small lift. There is a small charge but the
view from the top is well worth it.
Westminster Cathedral is a unique example
of Christian Byzantine architecture in Great Britain. The foundation stone was
laid in June 1895 and can be seen just north of the Sanctuary steps. The cathedral
is now regarded as the “mother church” for Catholics in this country.
In addition to its stunning architecture, its marbles and mosaics are reminiscent
of St Mark’s, Venice and Santa Sophia, Constantinople.
The Westminster
Cathedral choir is regarded as one of the finest in the country. It specialises
in plain chant and 16th century polyphony, although it also performs many other
major works during the liturgy. The choir sings every day at 5.30pm and on Sunday
at 10.30am and 3.30pm.
Phone: +44 (0)20 7798 9055
Nearest Tube: Victoria
Royal Opera House
The
Royal Opera House re-opened in December 1999 as a theatre at the heart of the
nation's artistic and cultural life. It is open to the public Monday to Saturday
from 10am, allowing visitors to take advantage of a wide range of daily free events,
while in the evenings, there is a programme of world class opera and ballet. During
the day, a programme of backstage tours and open ballet classes offers visitors
the opportunity to experience the behind-the-scenes life of the theatre.
Box
office: 020 7304 4000
Nearest Tube: Covent Garden
Hampton Court Palace
Hampton
Court Palace is the oldest Tudor palace in England and was where King Henry VIII
courted his queens. Visitors can see the State Apartments, Tudor kitchens and
the famous maze. The sumptuous interiors are brought alive by costumed guides.
Outside there's over 60 acres of riverside gardens and surrounding parkland. Hampton
Court Palace opens daily.
Phone: +44 (0)20 8781 9500
Train: Hampton Court
from Waterloo.
River: Services run from Westminster, Richmond and Kingston.
Kensington
Palace State Apartments
The
birthplace of Queen Victoria, Kensington Palace was also home to Princess Diana
between 1981-1997. Originally a private country house, it was adapted substantially
by William III and Mary II (1689) who chose to spend winters there to escape the
damp of Whitehall. Over the next 70 years it was to become the focal point of
the life and government of the country. George I and George II spent vast sums
of money on ornate and lavish furnishings to adorn Kensington House (as it was
then known), including elaborate ceiling decorations by William Kent. The sudden
death of George II in 1760 marked the end of an era. Kensington Palace was never
again to serve a reigning monarch. Early one morning in June 1837 Princess Victoria,
who was occupying apartments in Kensington Palace, awoke to the news that she
was Queen of England. She immediately moved to Buckingham Palace.
Kensington
Palace first opened to the public in 1912 with a display of relics and objects
relating to the City of London. It attracted 13,000 visitors in just one day!
The museum pieces now form part of the collection at the Museum of London. Visitors
today can see the State Apartments, the Royal Ceremonial Dress Collection that
includes outfits from the eighteenth-century to the present day, the Orangery
and sunken gardens. Kensington Palace opens daily.
Phone: +44 (0)20 7937
9561.
Nearest Tube: Queensway / Notting Hill Gate / High Street Kensington.
Tower Bridge
At
the Tower Bridge Experience visitors can see one of the most famous bridges in
the world and spectacular views from the high level walkways 140ft above the Thames.
In the two towers, there's an exhibition which explains the history of Tower Bridge.
Open daily.
Phone: +44 (0)20 7403 3761
Nearest Tube: Tower Hill
Tower of London
At
The Tower of London, guarded by the celebrated Beefeaters, visitors can see Traitors'
Gate, the priceless Crown Jewels and the famous ravens. Over the centuries, this
amazing building has been fortress, prison, palace - and even a zoo. The carefully-restored
medieval part of the Tower is brought alive by costumed guides. There is also
exhibitions of armour and swords and you can see the spot where Henry VIII's Queen,
Anne Boleyn, was beheaded.
The Tower of London opens daily 0900-1700 Mon-Sat
1000-1700 Sun (Mar-Oct). 0900-1600 Tues-Sat 1000-1600 Sun-Mon (Nov-Feb). Closed
24-26 Dec and 1 Jan. Open daily.
Enquiries: 020 7709 0765.
Phone: +44
(0)20 7680 9004
Nearest Tube: Tower Hill
Trafalgar
Square
It would seem all roads lead to Trafalgar Square, and most cars
seem to end up there, in a perpetual traffic jam. So if Nelson's column is on
the agenda, get the tube (Charing Cross) and leave the car behind. The statue
of Admiral Horatio Nelson, buried at St Pauls Cathedral, stands high above the
traffic at Trafalgar square. Below him, tourists gather to feed the frightening
number of pidgeons who sweep in and out of the crowds and accross to St Martin
in the Fields, a church which has been standing since the thirteenth century.
Worth a visit, especially for it's stunning interior.
Nearest tube: Charing
Cross
Piccadilly
Circus
An unholy
coming-together of traffic and commerce, all overseen by some flashy neon advertising
hoardings (first erected in 1910), Piccadilly Circus is one of central London's
pivotal points. The name derives from the speciality of a tailor, Robert Baker,
who made his fortune selling stiff collars known as 'picadils' and lived nearby
in the early 17th century. The connection is apposite, for the posh shops of Mayfair,
Piccadilly and Regent Street have long been a fixture of the area.
But like
many of central London's pivotal points, Piccadilly Circus is a mess. Traffic
pours in from all directions with little apparent rhyme or reason. Its main feature,
a 'statue' of Eros - it's actually a memorial fountain (not a statue) to the philanthropic
Lord Shaftesbury, representing the Angel of Christian Charity (not the god of
love) - loses much of its grandeur and appeal due to its cramped location on a
traffic island. Even the neon signs seem less impressive in the 21st century than
they did two decades ago, while the only other defining feature of the square
is the inedible pizza served by the slice from cafés on every corner.
The best thing you can say about Piccadilly Circus is that it's unapologetically
urban, and that its dirty, slightly seedy hustle and bustle offers up the quintessence
of London urban life. However, short of stopping by the late-opening Tower Records
or passing through it at 3am in order to flag a black cab on Piccadilly itself,
few locals ever feel the need to pass through it, let alone pay it a visit, while
tourists are invariably disappointed by the charmless chaos they find upon making
its acquaintance.
Two big tourist attractions lie just to the east of the
Circus: the bafflingly popular Rock Circus and the Trocadero. Leading south from
here, Haymarket's associations are with older forms of fun. The market, after
which the street is named, traded until 1830; by then, Haymarket was already famed
for its theatres (the Theatre Royal opened in 1720, Her Majesty's Theatre in 1705)
and notorious for its prostitutes. Today, it's short on charm of any variety.
Covent Garden
No visit to
London is complete to London without a visit to Covent Garden, a most atmospheric
London institution.
In addition to an arts and crafts market, outdoor street
performers who would do the Royal Albert Hall proud, perform on the sidewalks
for free (Well there is always a hat passed around at the end!). Covent Garden's
restaurants, bars, shops and street entertainers make it the ideal location for
a great day or night out. Covent Garden is world famous for its jugglers, musicians
and mime artists.
In the Arts and Crafts Market hall, you will find you will
find 120 craftsmen selling their original handmade Arts and Crafts, Ceramics,
Knit-wear, Pottery, Silk Screen Printing, Etching, Chinese Art, Hand Painted House
Plaques & House Signs, Heraldry, Coats of Arms, Hand Painted Crests &
Shields, Board Games, Enameling, Jewellery, Wooden Toys, Goldsmiths, Doll Houses,
Silversmiths, Glassware, Hobo Dolls, Calligraphy, Lace-ware, Mohair Sweaters,
Cardigans and Coats, Soft Toys and Dolls, Luxury Bathrobes, Wood Turning, Karum
game boards and lots more.
Windsor Castle
William
the Conqueror chose to build a castle at Windsor more than 900 years ago to defend
the western approach to the capital. As one of the Queen's official residences
Windsor Castle still plays a formal role in State and official occasions. Visitors
can marvel at St George's Chapel, which was founded by George IV and is one of
the best examples of gothic architecture in the country. Prince Edward and Sophie
Rhys-Jones were married there in June 1999. It is also the burial site for 10
sovereigns. Equally stunning is St George's Hall, which has been completely restored
following a fire in 1992 and is still used by the Queen for state banquets and
receptions.
The State Apartments are also open to the public and are lavishly
furnished with paintings by Rubens, Holbein and Rembrandt, sculpture and tapestries.
In the Drawings Gallery, visitors have an opportunity to see artwork from the
Royal Library and Queen Mary's Dolls' House will delight everyone with its perfect
rooms and furnishings in miniature. Built on a scale of 1:12 the dolls' house
was crafted in the 1920s.
Windsor Castle is open throughout the year.
Train: Windsor from Waterloo or Paddington (Train info. 0345 484950)
Enquires:
01753 869898.
Banqueting House
The Banqueting House is the only surviving section
of Whitehall Palace - which in its heyday was the largest royal palace in Europe.
The palace started life in the fourteenth-century as one of the Archbishop of
York's homes, but was seized by Henry VIII in the 1520s and extended dramatically.
Henry VIII also built tennis courts, a tiltyard and other facilities on land opposite
the palace (St James Park).
When James I came to the throne (1603) he replaced
the dilapidated Banqueting House in the palace with a new construction designed
for entertaining and holding 'masques'. Masques were a cross between a ball, theatrical
play and fancy dress party and were very popular in James I's reign. After a disastrous
fire the Banqueting House was immediately rebuilt by the architect Inigo Jones
(1622). Jones is often credited as being the first Englishman to properly understand
and apply the rules of classical and renaissance architecture. Whitehall Palace
was destroyed by fire in 1698 and the surviving Banqueting House eventually ecame
a royal chapel.
Today, the Banqueting House is open to visitors and also
hosts many royal and social occasions. Visitors can admire the architecture and
the fabulous Ruben's ceiling painting commissioned by Charles I which is the only
Rubens scheme painted by him to remain in its original position. The Banqueting
House was also the setting for Charles I's execution during the English Civil
War (1642-49). The Banqueting House opens daily.
Phone: +44 (0)20 7839 3787
Nearest Tube: Westminster or Embankment
Eltham Palace
Recently
restored by English Heritage, this fantastic house offers visitors the chance
to indulge in the opulence of 1930s Britain and step back in time to medieval
London. Eltham Palace began to evolve during the fifteenth-century when Edward
IV commissioned the Great Hall, which survives today as a testament to the craftsmanship
of the period. It boasts the third largest hammerbeam roof in the country and
hosted many royal occasions including Christmas festivities for Henry VIII who
grew up at Eltham Palace.
Henry VIII was the last monarch to spend significant
time at Eltham Palace and it then fell into disrepair. Many of the buildings were
demolished and the site was used as a farm. In the 1930s a wealthy couple acquired
the site, on the understanding that they would repair and maintain the medieval
Great Hall. They added a stunning 1930s house, equipped to meet their every need,
which boasted unique interior design and furnishings, coupled with the latest
technology. This Art Deco masterpiece evokes the style and glamour of the '30s
and is complimented by lush landscaped gardens, including a moated area, the remains
of Henry VIII's hunting park and a sunken rose garden. Visitors can enjoy the
fascinating blend of medieval and modern design in the 1930s house and the Great
Hall; explore the gardens and moated area and have tea in the 1930s kitchens.
Phone: +44 (0)20 8294 2548
Train: Eltham or Mottingham from Charing Cross
or Victoria (20mins).
