It is worst to see them!

Map of London’s sights

Check your knowledge

Big Ben.

Big Ben is one of London's best-known landmarks, and looks most spectacular at night when the clock faces are illuminated. You even know when parliament is in session, because a light shines above the clock face.The four dials of the clock are 23 feet square, the minute hand is 14 feet long and the figures are 2 feet high. Minutely regulated with a stack of coins placed on the huge pendulum, Big Ben is an excellent timekeeper, which has rarely stopped.The name Big Ben actually refers not to the clock-tower itself, but to the thirteen ton bell hung within. The bell was named after the first commissioner of works, Sir Benjamin Hall.

map

Tower Bridge

The Bridge was designed by Sir Horace Jones. It is a draw-bridge. Its length is 244 meters. The bridge has two towers. The height of each tower is 65 meters. Central span is 61 meters. The bridge is divided into two parts which can be lifted under angle 83 degrees to pass ships and boats.

map

British Museum map

The British Museum is a museum of human history and culture. Its collections, which number more than seven million objects are amongst the largest and most comprehensive in the world and originate from all continents, illustrating and documenting the story of human culture from its beginning to the present.

The British Museum was established in 1753, largely based on the collections of the physician and scientist Sir Hans Sloane. The museum first opened to the public on 15 January 1759 in Montague House in Bloomsbury, on the site of the current museum building. Its expansion over the following two and a half centuries has resulted in the creation of several branch institutions, the first being the British Museum of Natural History in South Kensington in 1887. Until 1997, when the current British Library building opened to the public, replacing the old British Museum Reading Room, the British Museum was unique in that it housed both a national museum of antiquities and a national library in the same building.

Buckingham Palace map Being the official London in the world. residence of The Queen, Buckingham Palace is also the busy administrative headquarters of the monarchy and has probably the most famous and easily recognisable facade of any building The Palace is 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. The Palace is also the venue for great Royal ceremonies, State Visits and Investitures, all of which are organised by the Royal Household.

Although Buckingham Palace 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. Its State Rooms form the nucleus of the working Palace and are used regularly by The Queen and members of the Royal family for official and State entertaining. Buckingham Palace is one of the world's most familiar buildings and more than 50,000 people visit the Palace each year as guests to banquets, lunches, dinners, receptions and the Royal Garden Parties.Visitors are allowed access by and organised tour to some areas of the Palace During the summer, the Changing of the Guard takes place at the front of the Palace and is a popular event for visitors to the capital from 1st April to Early July and on alternate days at other times.

St. Paul’s Cathedral mapSt Paul's Cathedral is the Anglican cathedral on Ludgate Hill, in the City of London, and the seat of the Bishop of London. The present building dates from the 17th century and is generally reckoned to be London's fifth "St Paul's Cathedral", although the number is higher if every major medieval reconstruction is counted as a new cathedral. The cathedral sits on the edge of London's oldest region, the City, which originated as a Roman trading post along the edge of the River Thames. The cathedral is one of London's most visited sites.

The task of designing a replacement structure was assigned to Sir Christopher Wren in 1668, along with over 50 other City churches. His first design, for a replacement on the foundations of the old cathedral, was rejected in 1669. The second design, in the shape of a Greek cross (circa 1670-1672), was rejected as too radical, as was a revised design that resulted in the 1:24 scale "Great Model" on display in the crypt of the cathedral.

The 'warrant' design was accepted in 1675, and building work began in June. The first stone of the cathedral was laid in 1677 by Thomas Strong, Wren's master stonemason. The 'warrant' design included a small dome with a spire on top, but King Charles II had given Wren permission to make "ornamental" changes to the approved design, and Wren took the liberty to radically rework the design to the current form, including the large central dome and the towers at the west end. The cathedral was completed on 20 October 1708, Wren's 76 th birthday.

Trafalgar Square mapTrafalgar Square, set in central London, is one of Britain's great tourist attractions. A visit to the capital would be incomplete without going to marvel at Nelsons Column and the four giant lions at its base, or to admire the lovely splashing fountains and to feed the pigeons, who have made their home here. Built to commemorate Admiral Nelson, the square was named after the Spanish Cape Trafalgar where his last battle was won.

It was John Nash, who designed the first layout of the square in the 1820's. Although he didn't live to see its completion, his Neo-classical design was adhered to, achieving the unified effect of the beautiful buildings we admire today. Building of the square began in 1829 and was still being developed into the 1840's.

The chartists assembled in Trafalgar Square in 1848 and since then, it has been a favourite meeting place for demonstrators and marchers, trying to gain attention for their cause.Each year in December, the people of Norway send a gift of an enormous Christmas Tree to Britain, which is erected in Trafalgar Square. This is in thanks for Britain's part in their liberation during the second world war. One of the unforgettable sights of London is to see the giant tree after dark, when it is lit by hundreds of twinkling fairy lights, carol singers grouped around, while floodlights illuminate the sparkling water in the fountains of the square. This picture is depicted on many Christmas cards, sent all over the world each year.

The Tower of London mapHer Majesty's Royal Palace and Fortress, more commonly known as the Tower of London (and historically as The Tower), is a historic monument in central London, England, on the north bank of the River Thames. It is located within the London Borough of Tower Hamlets and is separated from the eastern edge of the City of London by the open space known as Tower Hill.

The Tower of London is often identified with the White Tower, the original stark square fortress built by William the Conqueror in 1078. However, the tower as a whole is a complex of several buildings set within two concentric rings of defensive walls and a moat.

The tower's primary function was a fortress, a royal palace, and a prison (particularly for high status and royal prisoners, such as the Princes in the Tower and the future Queen Elizabeth I). This last use has led to the phrase "sent to the Tower" (meaning "imprisoned"). It has also served as a place of execution and torture, an armoury, a treasury, a zoo, the Royal Mint, a public records office, an observatory, and since 1303, the home of the Crown Jewels of the United Kingdom.

Hyde Park map

In 1536 Henry VIII acquired the manor of Hyde from the canons of Westminster Abbey, who had held it since before the Norman Conquest; it was enclosed as a deer park and used for hunts. It remained a private hunting ground until James I permitted limited access to gentlefolk, appointing a ranger to take charge. Charles I created the Ring (north of the present Serpentine boathouses) and in 1637 he opened the park to the general public.

One of the most important events to take place in the park was the Great Exhibition of 1851. The Crystal Palace was constructed on the south side of the park. The public in general did not want the building to remain in the park after the closure of the exhibition, and the design architect, Joseph Paxton, raised funds and purchased it. He had it moved to Sydenham Hill in South London.

St. James’ Park map

St. James's Park is a 23 hectares (57 acres) park in the City of Westminster, central London. The park lies at the southernmost tip of the St James's area, which was named after a leper hospital dedicated to St. James the Less.The park has a small lake, St. James's Park Lake, with two islands, West Island, and Duck Island, which is named for the lake's collection of waterfowl. This includes a resident colony of pelicans, which has been a feature of the park since the first gift of the birds from a Russian ambassador in 1664.

Westminster Abbey mapThe Collegiate Church of St Peter at Westminster, which is almost always referred to by its original name of Westminster Abbey, is a large, mainly Gothic church, in Westminster, London, just to the west of the Palace of Westminster. It is the traditional place of coronation and burial site for English and later British monarchs. It briefly held the status of a cathedral from 1546–1556, and is currently a Royal Peculiar.

According to tradition the abbey was first founded in 616 on the present site, then known as Thorn Island; its tradition of miraculous consecration after a fisherman on the River Thames saw a vision of Saint Peter justifying the presents of salmon from the Thames fishermen that the Abbey received. In the 960s or early 970s, Saint Dunstan, assisted by King Edgar, planted a community of Benedictine monks here. The stone Abbey was built around 1045–1050 by King Edward the Confessor and was later rebuilt again by Henry III in 1245, who had selected the site for his burial: it was consecrated on December 28 1065 only a week before the Confessor's death and subsequent funeral.

Covent Garden mapIt is a district in London on the eastern fringes of the West End, between Charing Cross Road and Drury Lane.[1] It is associated with the former fruit and vegetable market in the central square, now a popular shopping and tourist site, and the Royal Opera House, which is also known as "Covent Garden". The district is divided by the main thoroughfare of Long Acre, north of which is given over to independent shops centred on Neal’s Yard and Seven Dials, while the south contains the central square with its street performers and most of the elegant buildings, theatres and entertainment facilities, including the Theatre Royal Drury Lane, and the London Transport Museum.

Piccadilly Circus

Piccadilly Circus is a famous road junction and public space of London's West End in the City of Westminster, built in 1819 to connect Regent Street with the major shopping street of Piccadilly. In this context a circus, from the Latin word meaning a circle, is a circular open space at a street junction.

map

The Circus is particularly known for its video display and neon signs mounted on the corner building on the northern side, as well as the Shaftesbury memorial fountain and statue of an archer popularly known as Eros (sometimes called The Angel of Christian Charity, but intended to be Anteros). It is surrounded by several noted buildings, including the London Pavilion and Criterion Theatre. Directly underneath the plaza is Piccadilly Circus London Underground station.

Answer the questions

1. How do you know when parliament is in session?2.Who designed the Tower Bridge?3.When was the British Museum established?4. How many people visit the Buckingham Palace every year as guests?5. How old was Christopher Wren when he finished the building of St. Paul’s Cathedral?6. What country gives a Christmas Tree which is located on Trafalgar Square every December?7.What is the name of the original stark square fortress built by William the Conqueror?8. When did Charles I open the park to the general public?9.What was St. James’s Park named after?10. What style was Westminster Abbey built?11.What is Covent Garden associated with?12. What sculpture can you see in Piccadilly Circus?

If you can’ttravell around the city again