London Sightseeing Tour
Project done by
Bogolubova S.
Zaslonkina M.
School № 9
Tolstovo-Vasukovskoe
London is a very old city. It began
life two thousand years ago as a
Roman fortification at a place
where it was possible to cross the
River Thames. Today London is the
capital of the country, a huge port,
and one of the most beautiful and
interesting cities in the world with a
population of over 8 million people.
Not far from the Tower of
London there is Westminster
Palace, or the Houses of
Parliament, with the famous
Clock Tower Big Ben. The
present Houses of Parliament
were built after the old palace
was burnt down in 1834. The
building contains the House of
Commons and the House of
Lords, on the corner next to
Westminster Bridge stands St.
Stephen`s Tower, which
houses the famous bell, Big
Ben. “Big Ben” is the biggest
bell in Britain, which weighs
over 13 tons. A light at the top
of the Tower at night indicates
that parliament is sitting.
Today the Tower is
Britain’s most famous
museum, whose working
day finished every night at
10 o’clock with the ancient
Ceremony of the Keys.
Now the only inhabitants of
the Tower are ravens.
Over the years people
thought that if the ravens
ever left the Tower, the
monarchy would fall. So
King Charles the Second
decreed that six ravens
should be always kept in
the Tower. The wings of
the birds are clipped, so
they cannot fly away.
The Tower on the north
bank of the Thames is
one of the most ancient
buildings in London. It
was founded in the 11th
century by William the
Conqueror to guard
eastern approaches to
the city. In the Central
White Tower the Kings
of England held their
Court. During its long
history the Tower has
served as a fortress, a
palace, a mint, an
observatory, and a
state prison.
A tall stone monument
stands by the river
Thames in London. It is
made of red granite, is
about 21 metres high,
weighs about 180 tons. It
was presented to Britain
by the King of Egypt to
commemorate the victory
of Lord Nelson at the
Battle of the Nile.
Cleopatra’s Needle dates
from 1475 BC, which
makes it London’s old
monument.
The British Airways
London Eye is the largest
observation wheel in the
world. It was created as a
millennium landmark. It
towers 135 m. over the
Thames River and carries
800 passengers at a time
on a thirty minute ride.
The London Eye offers
visitors views up to 40
km.
The Natural History museum
was first opened to the public
on Easter Monday in April
1881. The Museum was
originally just a department of
the British Museum. The great
private collection of Sir Hans
Sloane formed the basis of the
British Museum on his death in
1753. The Museum houses the
finest natural history collection
in the world-68 million
specimens of animals, plants,
minerals, rocks and fossils.
The Museum is open every
day of the year-apart from 3
days at Christmas.
The idea of the Tate Gallery
took shape in 1890. In that
year Henry Tate’s gift of 65
paintings and 2 sculptures was
offered to the nation, but a
gallery had still to be built to
house them. When opened
seven years later, the Tate
Gallery consisted of eight
rooms. It was, moreover, a
mere annex to the National
Gallery. The Tate Gallery has
become the national collection
of British painting of all
periods, the national collection
of modern foreign painting. It
also has become the national
collection of British and foreign
sculpture.
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