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Text and photos
detailing London's many tourist and sightseeing attractions.
LINKS:
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Attractions Details
(hours, costs, etc)
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Seeing the Sightseeing Sights
of London
One can get an Eye-full
of London from the city's newest attraction.
Tower Bridge, here
from a side view, is one of London's top tourist sights.
We could devote an entire web site to
things to do in London without ever going near a pub – well, okay
WE couldn't – but the point here is that there is a lot to see
and do in this town. And if history had not provided visitors with enough,
the modern London has it's "Eye" out for you.
The London Eye is a gigantic Ferris wheel (officially, an observation
wheel) on the River Thames that provides unparalleled views of the city.
It takes 26 minutes and costs about £8. Another look of modern
London is the Millennium Bridge, a footbridge built for the millennium
but not actually opened until some time later (see travelogue at left).
Despite these modern marvels, the true London can only be explored
through its history. Tops on tourists' lists is the magestic Tower
Bridge, which spans the Thames and is an ever-popular tourist attraction.
Many enjoy walking across it to riding in a tour bus or taxi.
But the best place to start seeing London – indeed, the best
attraction in the city– is with the tour buses. These red
double-decker jobs may have "Tourist" written all over them,
but they are the best way to see the city and visit its attractions.
They stop at various places around town (Hyde Park, Tower of London,
etc.) and allow unlimited on/off privileges for 24 hours. Simply get
off at one spot to visit an attraction, have lunch, do some shopping
or take a walk, and catch another bus to continue your day. They come
every 15 minutes.
Big Ben is one of the stops for the double-decker tour bus.
Of course, it's possible to stay on the bus for the entire loop, listen
to either the recorded tour or enjoy the real tour guide (depending
on the bus) and take in the sights. Astute riders use the buses instead
of taxis to get around town.
There are three companies – The Big Bus Company, London Pride
and the Original London Sightseeing Tour. It's the best £12 one
can spend in London.
 Among
the stops are the Tower of London, which gives one a glimpse
of how long this city has been in existence. It has been the site of
executions, served as the seat of British government and currently houses
the Crown Jewels. Big Ben, which is actually the name of the
bell, not the tower, is Parliament's famous clock tower. Westminster
Abbey has crowned virtually every British queen and king since
1066; many are now buried there. The existing Royal Family lives at
Buckingham Palace. Visitors can take in the Commons or Lords
in session at the Houses of Parliament.
One of the most visited landmarks is St. Paul's Cathedral. It
is most famous to tourists because one can climb to the top, whisper
and have the sound travel to the other side. But during World War II
it was a symbol of British will and endurance. All through the London
Blitz it stood defiantly in the face of Nazi bombs, becoming a beacon
of inspiration to Londoners each morning amid the rubble around it.
Speaking of World War II, the Imperial War Museum is one of
London's finest attractions.
No city in the world rivals London as a theater capitol. There
are long-running plays and musicals, immensely talented companies such
as the Royal National Theater and the Royal Shakespeare Company. Tickets
can be purchased in advance or, with a bit of luck, for half price on
the day of the show. The Clocktower Building in Leicester Square sells
these discounted tickets from 9-10 a.m.; arrive earlier to beat the
tour buses.
The Imperial War
Museum provides a close-up look at Britain's war history.
One of London's most fun theater experiences is provided by the Reduced
Shakespeare Company. Located in the Criterion Theater next in Piccadilly
Circus, clownish actors put on a pair of fast-moving comedies: "The
Complete Works of William Shakespeare in 90 Minutes" and the "Complete
History of America (also 90 minutes)." Both are hilarious.
 All
this activity can be a bit daunting for those who spend late nights
at the clubs. But just cruising about town is a fine way to spend a
London day. Take a river cruise along the Thames. Relax in Hyde
Park and see who's doing what at Speaker's Corner. Watch
the street performers in Covent Gardens.
There's ample shopping in Camden Market and, of course,
at Harrods.
Heck, just riding the tubes and finding an out-of-the-way
pub down an obscure side street can be entertaining.
With all this activity, it's no small wonder there are so many pubs
in London. People need a place to go relax after a day wandering through
this vast and fantastic city.
Historic St.Paul's Cathedral hosted Princess Diana's wedding.
The London theater scene (here, The Lion King) is the world's best.
Official events
still take place in Windsor Castle.
Salisbury and Stonehenge
Fascinating Stonehenge is off the side of a countryside road.
Salisbury is a cute little city 10 minutes away from Stonehenge. When
we went one February, it had snowed the previous evening, which made
for an interesting scene.
The main thing Salisbury is known for is the Salisbury Cathedral
which is home to an original copy of the Magna Carta. Some consider
the cathedral to be the finest and most beautiful in all of Europe.
The Salisbury Museum is also worth a look.
Stonehenge is remarkable in many ways. First, it took 500 men
to drag each piece to this remote location and another 100 to position
them properly. It is also on the side of an open road. It is like you
are driving through pastures seeing grazing sheep and then all of a
sudden there is Stonehenge! Bam!
 Next
stop on the Party Bus: Dining in London & Restaurants
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LONDON SIGHTSEEING
TRAVELOGUE
By Amy Jones,
An American College Student in Euorpe
Well, I'm wrapping up my three months of living in London and am
now getting out to see the sites of the city.
We started with a walk around Piccadilly Circus and Leicester
Square. This is the main restaurant/theater district. Itıs a really
cool place because it is always bustling, no matter what time of day
or night it is.
Next, we went all around the Thames River. We started off
at Big Ben and the House of Parliament and then went
over to Westminster Abbey where we did a whole tour and saw
the chapel. It is still a real place of worship but is more famously
known for all of the royalty that is buried there. On the tour we
learned a lot of history of England and learned all about the different
decorations that they used for the tombs.
After Westminster Abbey we walked across the river and passed the
London Eye and headed to the Tate Modern. I had been
there before but my parents havenıt so it was cool to show them all
of the crazy modern art. Then we crossed the Millennium Bridge,
which is a footbridge. Funny thing is that it was not finished
in time for the millennium celebrations. Then when they finally did
open it to the public it wobbled too much so they had to close it.
But now, itıs all good and totally safe to cross.
Right after you cross the river you come up on St. Paulıs which
is the national church. All of the high profile royal weddings take
place there, like Charles and Diana. Right now they are in the process
of cleaning the entire thing so most of it is covered up by sheets
but you can still see some of it.
One of the days was devoted to Windsor. Although I had been
to Windsor before, when I was there the castle was closed.
This time it was open so we went and saw all of the cool stuff there.
It was awesome! There was a big fire in 1992 that destroyed 100 or
so rooms but now they have everything restored and you can walk through
all of the state apartments. This is where official events still take
place. Also, the castle is where the Queen lives on the weekends and
she was in residence when we went. Pretty cool stuff!
The Tower of London
So, I always thought that the Tower of London referred to the Tower
Bridge. It is actually an old fortress that kings and queens occupied
for 500 years. Now it is where the crown jewels are. Those things
are so gorgeous it is amazing! They are huge and the crowns are so
pretty! Also, they had a diamond exhibit that showed all about different
diamonds and the cuts. And, the Tower of London is a site where a
grip of executions took place at one time. The Tower was way fun but
it took all day to go through so if you want to see it all leave a
day for it.
Buckingham Palace
We tried to see the changing of the guards at Buckingham Palace but
it was so crowded that we just saw the fuzzy bear hats. Oh well! At
least we tried. Then my dad went to the Clink Prison Museum while
my mom and I went shopping. At night we went to see the musical, LES
MISERALES which was amazing.
Even though we were in the upper balcony, it was bunches of fun
because you could see everything well with the little binoculars.
And what a great show! If you ever have the chance go and see it!
At night I went to a hookah bar with one of the girls, Brenda.
It was coolI miss my hookah, but we were the only girls there and
that was a bit weird but what can you do? Also, From Hell, the Johnny
Depp movie was on so I watched that. It is about the Jack the Ripper
story, which is here in London so it was very interesting. I canıt
wait to go on a Jack the Ripper walk later this month.
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