London has numerous attractions and famous landmarks, from all eras of its history. No matter where you are located within London, there seems a never ending list of things to do and places to see.

 BIG BEN

 The clock has become a symbol of the United Kingdom and London, particularly in the visual media.

The name "Big Ben" is generally known to describe the clock tower as a whole. However, "Big Ben" is actually the principal bell within the tower.

There are two theories of how the bell got its name. The first suggests that it was taken from the nickname of a champion heavyweight boxer of the time called Ben Caunt. The second and more probable explanation is that it was named after the bulky Welshman Sir Benjamin Hall, who was First Commissioner of Works from 1855 to 1858 and whose name was inscribed on the bell

The present Clock Tower was raised as a part of Charles Barry's design for a new palace, after the old Palace of Westminster was largely destroyed by fire on the night of 16 October 1834. The new Parliament was built in a Neo-gothic style. Although Barry was the chief architect of the Palace, he turned to Augustus Pugin for the design of the Clock Tower, which resembles earlier Pugin designs, including one for Scarisbrick Hall.

Despite being one of the world's most famous tourist attractions, the interior of the tower is not open to overseas visitors, though United Kingdom residents are able to arrange tours (well in advance) through their Member of Parliament.^[11] However, the tower has no lift, so those escorted must climb the 334 limestone stairs to the top.^[10]

The clock dials are big enough that the Clock Tower was once the largest four-faced clock in the world.

The clock and dials were designed by Augustus Pugin. The clock dials are set in an iron frame 7 metres (23 ft) in diameter, supporting 312 pieces of opal glass, rather like a stained-glass window. Some of the glass pieces may be removed for inspection of the hands. The surround of the dials is gilded. At the base of each clock dial in gilt letters is the Latin inscription:

DOMINE SALVAM FAC REGINAM NOSTRAM VICTORIAM PRIMAM

Which means O Lord, keep safe our Queen Victoria the First.

The leaning tower of Big Ben. Don't panic, it's Photoshopped. I hate to be the one to break this appalling news,  but it seems that one of Britain’s most recognizable landmarks, right up there with Stonehenge and Nelson’s column, might not be with us for very much longer.

If you’ve visited London recently, and taken a trip to the Palace of Westminster to have a look at the clock tower, more commonly known as Big Ben , you may have spotted that it has developed something of a tilt: 0.26 degrees to the north west.

However, it is happening very slowly and, if it continues at the current rate, it would take 4,000 years before it was as slanted as the Leaning Tower of Pisa (which is tilted by more than three and a half metres).

 THE HOUSES OF PARLIAMENT

The Palace of Westminster, also known as the Houses of Parliament or Westminster Palace, is the meeting place of the two houses of the Parliament of the United Kingdom—the House of Lords and the House of Commons. It lies on the north bank of the River Thames^{[note 1]} in the heart of the London borough of the City of Westminster, close to the historic Westminster Abbey and the government buildings of Whitehall and Downing Street.

The first royal palace was built on the site in the eleventh century, and Westminster was the primary London residence of the Kings of England until a fire destroyed much of the complex in 1512. After that, it served as the home of Parliament, which had been meeting there since the thirteenth century, and the seat of the Royal Courts of Justice, based in and around Westminster Hall. In 1834, an even greater fire ravaged the heavily rebuilt Houses of Parliament, and the only structures of significance to survive were Westminster Hall, the Cloisters of St Stephen's, the Chapel of St Mary Undercroft and the Jewel Tower.

On 16 October 1834, a fire broke out in the Palace after an overheated stove used to destroy the Exchequer's stockpile of tally sticks set fire to the House of Lords Chamber. In the resulting conflagration, both Houses of Parliament were destroyed, along with most of the other buildings in the palace complex. Westminster Hall was saved thanks to heroic fire-fighting efforts and a change in the direction of the wind. The Jewel Tower, the Undercroft Chapel and the Cloisters and Chapter House of St. Stephen's were the only other parts of the Palace to survive

LONDON EYE  

The London Eye is a 135-metre (443 ft) tall giant Ferris wheel situated on the banks of the River Thames.

It is the tallest Ferris wheel in Europe, and the most popular paid tourist attraction in the United Kingdom.

The rim of the Eye is supported by tie rods and resembles a huge spoked bicycle wheel. The ride lasts about 25 minutes

 BUCKINGHAMPALACE

BuckinghamPalace, in London, is the principal residence and office of the British monarch.^[1] Located in the City of Westminster, the palace is a setting for state occasions and royal hospitality.

Originally known as Buckingham House, the building which forms the core of today's palace was a large townhouse built for the Duke of Buckingham (John Sheffield) in 1705 on a site which had been in private ownership for at least 150 years. It was subsequently acquired by George III in 1761.

George III (George William Frederick; 4 June 1738^[1] – 29 January 1820) was King of Great Britain and King of Ireland from 25 October 1760 until the union of these two countries on 1 January 1801, after which he was King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland until his death.

Queen Victoria, the first monarch to reside at Buckingham Palace, moved into the newly completed palace upon her accession in 1837.

Buckingham palace has 775 rooms. These include 19 State rooms, 52 Royal and guest bedrooms, 188 staff bedrooms, 92 offices and 78 bathrooms. In measurements, the building is 108 metres long across the front, 120 metres deep (including the central quadrangle), and 24 metres high.

The Palace is very much a working building and the centerpiece of Britain's constitutional monarchy. It houses the offices of those who support the day-to-day activities and duties of The Queen and The Duke of Edinburgh and their immediate family.

Although BuckinghamPalace is furnished and decorated with priceless works of art that form part of the Royal Collection, one of the major art collections in the world today. It is not an art gallery and nor is it a museum.

The State Rooms at BuckinghamPalace are open to visit for 2 months during the summer.

State Rooms Opening Times 31 July - 29 September 2008

A popular tourist attraction that is full of British pageantry is the ceremony known as Changing of the Guard - properly called Guard Mounting - which takes place most days at BuckinghamPalace.

 WESTMINSTER ABBEY

Westminster Abbey, located near the Houses of Parliament, is more a historical site than a religious site. Since 1066 every royal coronation, with the exception of Edward V and Edward VIII has taken place in Westminster Abbey.

The history of the abbey starts in 1050, when King Edward The Confessor decided to build an abbey.

The abbey is stuffed with tombs, statues and monuments. Many coffins even stand upright due to the lack of space. In total approximately 3300 people are buried in the Church and cloisters. Some of the most famous are Charles Darwin, Sir Isaac Newton and David Livingstone.

It is still used today for regular worship and for the celebration of great events in the country.

TOWERBRIDGE

In 1884, Horace Jones and John Wolfe Barry started building TowerBridge. 432 men were employed to build the bridge and over the 8 years only 10 men died which is quite exceptional as there were no health and safety rules back then.

The Prince of Wales opened TowerBridge on 30 June 1894.

 TOWER OF LONDON

Tower of London, is a historic castle on the north bank of the River Thames in central London

 The Tower of London was originally built by William the Conqueror, following his successful invasion of England in 1066.

Tower of London, is a historic castle on the north bank of the River Thames in central London

As well as being a palace and a fortress, the Tower of London has also served as:

·   the first Royal Armoury

·   Royal Mint (where money is made)

·   Royal Observatory

·   Royal Zoo

Today the Tower of London houses the Crown Jewels and is open to the public as a museum.

The Tower of London is perhaps better known as a prison. The prisoners would be brought, via the river, from Westminster where they would have been tried and crowds would wait on the river bank to find out the verdict to see if they would be treated to the spectacle of a public execution. The executioner, with his long sharp axe would stand behind the accused on the boat. If the accused was guilty he would point his axe towards the victim and if not guilty he would point it away. People knew that if found guilty there would be a public execution 48 hours later.

The responsibility for looking after the prisoners was given to the Yeomen Warders or Beefeaters (These guards, although looking very similar, are different from the Yeomen of the Guard).

Many people have been locked in the Tower, for religious beliefs or suspected treason. Famous prisoners have included Anne Boleyn, Guy Fawkes,Jane Grey.

 The Ravens are one of The Tower's most famous sights. These magnificent birds have lived within its walls for hundreds of years and legend has it that, if they leave, the kingdom will fall. Look out for these unique guardians around The Tower and make sure you visit their lodgings.

The tradition of housing the Crown Jewels in the Tower of London probably dates from the reign of Henry III. The Jewel House was built specifically to house the royal regalia, including jewels, plate, and symbols of royalty such as the crown, sceptre, and sword. When money needed to be raised, the treasure could be pawned by the monarch.

 ST PAUL'S CATHEDRAL

The cathedral is one of the most famous and most recognisable sights of London,

St Paul's Cathedral, London, is a Church of Englandcathedral and seat of the Bishop of London.

For the fit or ambitious, you can climb 530 steps to the Golden Gallery, an observation platform atop the dome of the cathedral. From there you can look out over the modern skyline of the city of London.

The dome of St Paul's Cathedral is the second biggest dome in the world, after St Peter's in Rome.

St Paul's Cathedral occupies a significant place in the national identity of the English population.^[5] It is the central subject of much promotional material, as well as postcard images of the dome standing tall, surrounded by the smoke and fire of the Blitz.^[5] Important services held at St Paul's include the funerals of Lord Nelson, the Duke of Wellington and Sir Winston Churchill; Jubilee celebrations for Queen Victoria; peace services marking the end of the First and Second World Wars; the marriage of Charles, Prince of Wales, and Lady Diana Spencer, the launch of the Festival of Britain and the thanksgiving services for both the Golden Jubilee and 80th Birthday of Queen Elizabeth II. St Paul's Cathedral is a busy working church, with hourly prayer and daily services.

 THE BRITISHMUSEUM

The BritishMuseum, in London, is widely considered to be one of the world's greatest museums of human history and culture. Its permanent collection, numbering some eight million works,^[4] is amongst the finest, most comprehensive, and largest in existance^[5] and originate from all continents, illustrating and documenting the story of human culture from its beginnings to the present.^[a]

The BritishMuseum was established in 1753, largely based on the collections of the physician and scientist Sir Hans Sloane. At that time, Sloane's collection consisted of around 71,000 objects of all kinds^[9] including some 40,000 printed books, 7,000 manuscripts, extensive natural history specimens including 337 volumes of dried plants, prints and drawings including those by Albrecht Dürer and antiquities from Egypt, Greece, Rome, the Ancient Near and Far East and the Americas. The BritishMuseum was the first of a new kind of museum – national, belonging to neither church nor king, freely open to the public and aiming to collect everything.

SHERLOCK HOLMES MUSEUM

The SherlockHolmesMuseum is a popular privately-run museum in London, England, dedicated to the famous fictional detective Sherlock Holmes. It opened in 1990 and is situated in Baker Street, bearing the number 221B by permission of the City of Westminster,^[1] although it lies between numbers 237 and 241, near the north end of Baker Street in central London close to Regent's Park.^[2][3]

The Georgian town house which the museum occupies as "221B Baker Street" was formerly used as a boarding house from 1860 to 1936, and covers the period of 1881 to 1904 when Sherlock Holmes and Doctor Watson were reported to have resided there as tenants of Mrs Hudson. The museum is run by the Sherlock Holmes International Society, a non-profit making organisation.