It is worst
to see them!
Map of London’s sights
Check your
knowledge
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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.
Tower Bridge
The Bridge was designed by Sir Horace Jones. It is a drawbridge. 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.
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British Museum
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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
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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
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St 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
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Trafalgar 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 Neoclassical 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
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Her 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
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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
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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
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The 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
It 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.
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Piccadilly Circus
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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.
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?
If you can’t
11.What is Covent Garden associated with?
travell around
the city again
12. What sculpture can you see in Piccadilly Circus?