Page 45 - (DK Eyewitness) Travel Guide - England's South Coast

L ONDON  43

LONDON

One of the most vibrant and exciting cities in the
world, London is astonishingly rich in history, with
many of its most famous buildings, such as
Buckingham Palace, the Tower of London,
Westminster Abbey and St Paul’s Cathedral, reflecting its royal past. With
world-class theatres, some of the world’s best museums and art galleries, elegant
parks and beautiful gardens, and endless opportunities for shopping and dining,
there’s a huge amount on offer all year round for visitors to the UK’s capital.

Around AD 43, the Romans founded a London’s most popular sights, including
settlement by the River Thames, which the renowned theatres of Shaftesbury
grew into a major administrative and Avenue and Charing Cross Road, the
communications centre and port during busy shopping thoroughfares of Oxford
the 1st and 2nd centuries. They called it Street and Regent Street, and the cultural
Londinium. Nine hundred years later, treasures of the British Museum and
a separate city of Westminster emerged the National Gallery.
when Edward the Confessor decided to The southern shore of the river is no less
build himself a palace close to the new rich in attractions: the Southbank Centre is
abbey church of St Peter. This became home to the National Theatre, the Hayward
the political and ceremonial heart of the Gallery and a cluster of concert venues.
kingdom and has remained so to this Further east is the converted power station
day, with Westminster Abbey and the that is now Tate Modern, while nearby
Houses of Parliament standing just a few Shakespeare’s Globe, opened in 1997, is
yards away from each other. Gradually, a faithful reconstruction of an Elizabethan
as houses were built on the land in theatre. For such a bustling metropolis,
between, the two cities merged. London also boasts plenty of green oases,
Today the City of London functions as whether it is the open spaces of Regent’s
the capital’s business and financial hub, Park – the home of the famous ZSL London
while the West End, the city’s social and Zoo – or the more intimate tranquillity of
cultural centre, is home to many of St James’s Park in the heart of Westminster.

Panoramic view of the skyline of Canary Wharf and the City of London, seen from One Tree Hill in Greenwich Park
London’s iconic Big Ben clock tower, one of the world’s most recognizable landmarks

042-043_EW_ESC.indd 43 10/03/17 6:51 pm