Vocabulary

London was founded about 2000 years ago by the Romans, who gave their settlement the name Londinium. The location of the city on the river Thames has been very comfortable and in the course of time a small village turned into a big important city. Modern London occupies the territory of 5 thousand square kilometers with the population of more than 8 million people. Traditionally London is divided into three major parts: the City, the West End and the East End.

The West End is the richest and the most beautiful part of London. The best shops, restaurants, clubs and department stores are situated there. In the West End you can find a lot of museums, concert halls, cinemas and theatres, wonderful parks and squares. The East End is a working part of London but it is becoming the leading international financial centre with its modern offices, hotels, sports and exhibition centres.

The City is the commercial and business centre of London. Less than 6000 people live there but about half a million people come to work there every morning. Numerous banks and big companies have their head offices there, among them the Bank of England, Lloyd’s and the Stock Exchange.

the Lloyd’s building the Tower of London

In the centre of the City there is the Tower of London, the most ancient building, which was founded in the 11^th century by William the Conqueror. Over the centuries the Tower of London has been a fortress, a royal palace, an observatory, an arsenal and a state prison. Now it is a museum, a home of the Crown Jewels, used by the royal family. The greatest building in the City is certainly St. Paul’s Cathedral, designed by Sir Christopher Wren to replace the Gothic church destroyed in the Great Fire in 1666. This masterpiece of architecture rises to 111 meters with its huge dome, and from the Golden Gallery you have a magnificent view of London.

St. Paul’s Cathedral the Houses of Parliament

No tourist would like to leave the English capital without visiting the political heart of London – Westminster. The seat of the British government, the Houses of Parliament, is a beautiful building with two towers – the Victoria Tower and the Clock Tower with Big Ben, the symbol of London.

Opposite the Houses of Parliament is Westminster Abbey. It is one of the most remarkable examples of the early English Gothic Style, impressive in appearance and size. Many English kings and queens were crowned and are buried there. The Abbey is also famous for the Poets’ Corner with the tombs and memorials of British poets and writers such as Shakespeare, Burns, Dickens and others.

Located in the City of Westminster, Buckingham Palace is the official residence of the British royal family in London. In front of Buckingham Palace there is Queen Victoria Memorial, whose reign was the longest in British history. Every day at 11.30 you can see the beautiful ceremony of the Changing of the Guard.

The geographical centre of London is Trafalgar Square. The highest point here is the Nelson column, built in memory of Admiral Nelson’s victory at Trafalgar. Behind Trafalgar Square there are the National Portrait Gallery and the National Gallery with their wonderful collections of painting. These pictures belong to the public and the admission is free.

If you love visiting museums, London is the right place to go. The most outstanding one is the British Museum, which contains the works of man from prehistory to the present day. Sherlock Holmes Museum in Baker Street attracts both children and adults. Not far from it is another interesting exhibition, Madam Tussaud’s. It has life-size wax models of famous people, both living and dead.

London is rich in parks and gardens. Maybe the most famous one is Hyde Park, which used to be a royal hunting garden and now is the best place to have a rest, walk or listen to the orators at the Speaker’s Corner. Londoners also enjoy St. James’s Park, Kensington Gardens and of course Regent’s Park with the London Zoo.

So, London is an unusual city. “When a man is tired of London, he is tired of life: for there is in London all that life can afford”, – wrote Samuel Johnson in 1777.