LONDON

The Tower Bridge was built from 1884 till 1894. By the moment of completion of its construction, it was the biggest and most complicated drawbridge ever. It is built in the Gothic style. At night medieval grimness of the Tower Bridge disappears because of modern illumination, and it appears to be a fairy-tale construction.
The Westminster Abbey emerged on the place of Benedictine abbey and since William the Conqueror continues to be the coronation church for English kings. All the way until the middle of XVIII century, the Abbey was many times rebuilt and remodeled; it successfully combines patterns of various architectural styles. In the Abbey there is the shrine of English kings, statesmen and church prominent figures, celebrated men and women (Dickens, Newton, Darwin and others).

The building of parliament (the Westminster Palace) is located near the Westminster Abbey. It is built in Neo-Gothic style and consists of two parts – the House of Commons and the House of Lords. When in the Houses sessions are held, tourists’ entry inside is restricted. It is better to come here around 6 p.m. when the crowd is less. On Saint Stephan Tower of the Westminster Abbey there are clocks called Big Ben. It shows exact time since 1859. In fact, Big Ben is the name of a bell, which is the voice of London. According to a commonly spread version, the bell received the name in honor of Benjamin Hall, who ordered it and for its size. Construction of the 320 feet clock tower began in 1837, when Queen Victoria ascended the throne. At that time reconstruction of the Parliament buildings damaged after a fire in 1834 was underway. The clocks’ constructor Sir Edmund Grimthorp, the architect and the clock master passed away before a 13.5 ton bell was installed behind four clock faces, the square of which is 23 sq ft.

The Cathedral of Saint Paul, London’s patron, was built in 1675-1710. It stands on a site, where there used to be two temples, the earliest of which dates back to 1604. The Cathedral is the biggest one in the world after Saint Peter’s Cathedral in Rome and was once the highest building in London. One of its peculiar features is “The Whisper Gallery,” in which if you put your ear against the wall you can hear the words spoken in whisper in the opposite end of the gallery. On the western façade there is a tower, in which there is the main bell in England – Big Paul. It weighs 16 tons and its sound is heard within 30 kilometers distance.
Trafalgar square is the tourist center of London. It was designed in 1829-1841. In the center of the square there is a 60-meter Nelson Column in honor of the victory over the French-Spanish fleet in the Battle at Trafalgar. In the square there are always many not only people but pigeons as well.

Piccadilly square was created in 1819. It is the favorite place of London dwellers to meet. Royal Café is located here; in the beginning of the previous century, writers and artists used to meet there.
In London there are more than 250 museums, some of which became known worldwide.

The British museum is one of the biggest and richest museums of the world. It was founded in 1753. Monuments of primitive art (mainly of the British Isles) are kept here as well as those of ancient Egypt’s and Mesopotamia’s, Ancient Greece’s and Rome’s culture, medieval art of Europe, Asia and Africa. Vast ethnographic collections of the museum include monuments of the culture of the nations of Africa, America and Oceania. In the British Museum’s library there are around seven million books, around 105 thousand manuscripts and 100 thousand charters and letters and more than three thousand papyruses.

The Tate Gallery is the richest collection of monuments of English art of XVI-XX centuries. One can see works of West European art of the end of XIX–beginning of XX centuries here. The collection is based on the pictures collected by manufacturer Tate. On his means in 1897 the first halls of the Gallery were erected.
In the National Art Gallery one can see pieces of art of XIII-XX centuries including works by Leonardo da Vinci, Van Dyck, Velasquez and Picasso.

The Museum of decorative art of Victoria and Albert was opened in 1909. In its 150 halls there are collections of works of art of all directions.

Madame Tussaud’s Museum is the most famous wax figures museum in the world founded in 1835. In the museum there are wax figures of historical persons, show business heroes and Terror Chamber characters with scenes of the most notorious crimes.

If you are in London, it is a must to visit the museum of Sherlock Holmes, which is, of course, located on Bakers Street 221b. The apartment of the great sleuth is reconstructed based on its description in the works of Conan Doyle.

The London underground prison is the worldwide famous museum of terror opened in 1975. Here torments of Middle Ages are reconstructed in all their details. Scottish Queen Mary Stewart, Jean of Arc, Dr Jekyll, Jack the Ripper, all these characters and many other victims of that epoch speak and move. Many convicts just madly scream and plaintively whine. Torments, screams, blood flows in streams, skeletons, torture instruments and music bring in terror and fear. All this creates a sense of reality of the things you see, so those who have weak nerves and who are too impressive had better not go there.

The capital is not only historical buildings but also splendid parks. The most famous is Hyde Park. It once was the king’s hunting ground and an ideal place for duals and contests. The Park is located near Serpentine Lake favored by yacht-men. One of the most elegant parks is Regent Park near the Madame Tussaud’s museum.

London is good for lovers of evening strolls. There are many places here, where you can stroll at your leisure and at the same time enjoy watching the effectively illuminated buildings of the city.
To get acquainted with London, you can choose one of the many variants: a tour around the city, a tour along the Thames, a tour on the famous Double Deckers, pedestrian thematic excursions – Shakespeare’s London, London of Sherlock Holmes, the Beatles excursion, London of Charles Dickens, tracing Jack the Ripper.

Not far away from the Tower Bridge, a theatric evening Beefeater Show takes place. The show takes place as the spectators eat a traditional dinner. In London one should by all means visit one of the many pubs that became part of British culture.

London is one of the biggest theater capitals of the world. Here there are Opera Theater Covent Garden, drama theater Old Vic, modern play theater Royal Court, experimental Mermaid Theater and many others totally reaching the number of fifty. In the capital one can also see renowned musicals “Chicago,” “Lion King,” “Les Miserables,” “Phantom of the Opera,” “We Will Rock You” and others.

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