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Main Sights in London, United Kingdom
You won't be short of options for something to see or do in London. Your main problem will be trying to fit everything in, regardless of how long you are staying there. London has a dazzling array of sights, attractions and events to suit all ages, inclinations and tastes. Marvel at the Royal splendour of Buckingham Palace, explore the magnificent Victoria and Albert Museum, or steep yourself in the history of Westminster Abbey. These are just three of the numerous world-class treasures that London has to offer.
Buckingham Palace
No trip to London would be complete without a visit to Buckingham Palace, the London official residence of Her Majesty the Queen. Today, the Palace also serves as the Monarch's administrative headquarters. Although it is very much a place of work for the Queen and her Royal Household, the State Rooms at Buckingham Palace are open to the public on certain days between January and April and in August and September. A guided tour costs £65 per adult. In total, Buckingham Palace has 775 rooms, including 19 State rooms, 52 Royal and guest bedrooms, as well as staff bedrooms and offices. The building is an impressive 330 feet (108 metres) across the front and 380 feet (120 metres) deep including he courtyard. Of course, if you do not want to pay to go in, or the State Rooms are closed, you can always watch the Changing of the Guards, which takes place outside Buckingham Palace on alternate days at 11.30 in the morning. Please note it is usually best to arrive by 11.15 am.
Westminster Abbey
Step inside the nave of Westminster Abbey and marvel at the majestic stature of its Gothic arches, the rich colours and splendour of its stained glass windows and the sense of hallowed tradition its medieval architecture instils. Originally started in the year 960, the Collegiate Church of St Peter Westminster, to give Westminster Abbey its correct name, is the place where the Kings and Queens of England, and latterly Britain, are crowned. Not only that, it is the final resting place for over 3.000 people buried in its cloisters and crypt, including many of England's Kings, Queens and its most famous poets. Westminster Abbey is open to visitors on every day, except Sunday, from 9.30am until 4.30pm. The exceptions to this are Wednesday, when it closes at 7.00pm and Saturday, when it closes at 2.30pm. Admission costs £15 per adult. Please note that the last visitors are admitted up to an hour before closing time.
The Tower of London
Transport yourself back in time to the era of William the Conqueror and visit London's world famous Tower. The Tower of London was originally a fortress and Royal Palace for the Norman and Medieval Kings. In the late Middle Ages and in Tudor times it served as a prison, housing amongst other famous figures the two princes, allegedly murdered by Richard of York in his bid to become Richard III and Sir Walter Raleigh. The Tower of London also became a place of execution for many an aristocrat who fell out of favour with the Monarch. Apart from human occupants, the Tower is home to a flock of ravens (large crows), and legend has it that England will never fall to foreign conquest so long as ravens remain in the Tower. During World War II, Prime Minister Winston Churchill judiciously had ravens imported from Wales and Scotland and had their wings clipped to ensure that Britain remained free from foreign conquest. The Tower of London is open from 9 am until 5.30 pm every day of the week in summer, except Sundays and Mondays when it opens at 10 am. In winter (from the beginning of November until the end of February), it closes each day at 4.30. Single adult tickets cost £17 and tickets for children under 16 cost £9.50. Tickets are a little cheaper if you buy them on-line.
Kew Gardens
Explore rainforests, woodland, landscapes and glasshouses in this the most famous botanical garden in the world. There are few, if any, other places in the world where so many plant species and habitats are gathered together in one place, making Kew Gardens one of the world's foremost centres for plant conservation and study. If you thought that Kew Gardens were just for those with green fingers, think again! Kew is host to a plethora of attractions that cater for all age ranges and interests including: a tree-top walkway, a bee garden, an aquatic garden, the famous palm house and a stag beetle loggery. What is more, Kew holds family activity days throughout the year. These include such things as face painting days and wood carving workshops. Kew Gardens are open throughout the year from 9.30 am, except Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. The Gardens close in the Summer (April - October) at 6 pm, in the Winter (November - February) at 4.15 pm and in the Spring (February - March) at 5.30 pm. Adult tickets are £13 and all children under 17 are allowed in free.
Madame Tussaud's
Would you like to indulge in a little celebrity spotting without having to stand in the open air for hours on end? Well, a visit to London's famous Madame Tussaud's could have been made for you. Here you can get up close and personal with just about all of the icons of modern celebrity culture, from the worlds of sport, Royalty, television, fashion, Bollywood, Hollywood, politics and pop music. Madame Tussaud's history goes back a long way, to Paris in the 1770s. Madame Tussaud herself first came to London in the early 1800s, along with various artefacts from the French Revolution. She soon established a reputation for bringing history and contemporary politics to life with her waxwork figures. The lowest adult ticket price is £12.50, if you book in advance and arrive later on the same day as your booking. When you buy a ticket on arrival, it will cost you £25 for an adult and £21 for a child. There are also family ticket options, which cost £87 on the door and £78 on-line (in advance). Madame Tussaud's is open from 9.30 am to 5.30 pm on weekdays and from 9 am to 6 pm at weekends every day of the year, except Christmas Day.
Cabinet War Rooms
Have you ever wondered what it was like to live in London during World War II? Well, a visit to the Cabinet War Rooms will take you to the very heart of wartime London. More than that, you will step into the exact place where the wartime Prime Minister planned and co-ordinated the campaign against the Nazis. The War Rooms were the offices of the Prime Minister and his Cabinet from 1940 onwards. They were built underneath the offices that house Britain's government in Whitehall, as a protection against bombing raids. A visit there involves going underground to see the rooms where major campaigns were born and you can even see the bed in which Mr Churchill slept. You can also see Map Room, the Transatlantic Telephone Room and a room which illustrates the daily routine at the heart of Government in war-torn London. The Churchill Museum is also something that is not to be missed for anyone who wants to understand more about this great leader's life. The Cabinet War Rooms are open every day from 9.30 am until 6 pm except for the 24th, 25th and 26th of December). Entrance to the Cabinet War Rooms costs £12.50 and children under 16 are allowed in free.
St Paul's Cathedral
St Paul's world famous dome figures prominently in many paintings and photographs of London and a visit to St Paul's is one of the highlights of any trip to the City. You will marvel in the sumptuousness of its baroque architecture and be amazed at the acoustics of the Whispering Gallery and you will love the breathtaking views that can be seen from the heights of the Golden Gallery. The current St Paul's building is the fourth to occupy the site, where there has been a church since 604 AD. It was designed by the architect Sir Christopher Wren after the previous medieval building had burned down in London's Great Fire in 1666. In 2010, St Paul's Cathedral celebrates the 300th anniversary of the current building and there has been a major renovation programme to mark the date. Now is the very best time to see it in all of its magnificent splendour! The Cathedral is open to sightseers from 8.30 am until 4 pm form Monday until Saturday. Adult tickets cost £11 and children's tickets £3.50.
The Victoria and Albert Museum
Come and marvel at the stupendous array of art and design on view at London's world famous Victoria and Albert Museum. You can see collections of everything from architecture, fashion and jewellery, ceramics, furniture, glass, metalwork, paintings, sculpture and much, much more. The V &A. as it is known, has collections of over 100,000 different objects from all over the world, from every epoch of history and even pre-history. Not only that, it holds a wide range of activities and events throughout the year, including a number of activities for families that are free. The V&A is open from 10 am until 5.45 every day and until 10 pm on Fridays, when some galleries remain open. Entrance to the V&A is free, although some exhibitions require an entrance fee.
The Houses of Parliament and Big Ben (Palace of Westminster)
Why not come and visit the Mother of Parliaments in action? Britain's Houses of Parliament are open to visitors, who can watch debates, watch committee meetings,
and explore the building. If the cut and thrust of British political life gets to be a little too much for you, you can also climb the world-famous clock tower to see the inner workings of Big Ben. If you are on overseas visitor, you can only tour the Houses of Parliament building during the summer opening, from August until October, although you can watch debates and attend committee meetings throughout the year. It costs £12 for an adult to go on a tour of Parliament and £5 for a child.
The London Eye
Would you like to see the whole of London on your visit, but perhaps you do not have the time? Well, there is one way in which you can at least come close to seeing the whole of this vast metropolis and that is to visit the London Eye. The London Eye is also known as the Millennium Wheel and is Europe's largest Ferris wheel at 443 feet (135 metres) high. The London Eye is open from 10 am until 9 pm in May and June, 10 am until 9.30 pm in July and August, 10 am until 9 pm in September and from 10 am until 8 pm between October and April. Adult tickets cost £17 and a child's ticket costs £8.50.
The Natural History Museum
The Natural History Museum is yet another of London's world class collection of museums. The Natural History Museum contains zoological exhibits from all around the world and from the very dawn of the planet's history. Not only that, there are special exhibitions and galleries that cover all aspects of natural history. Not to be missed are the Museum's Darwin Centre, with its Cocoon exhibition, the dinosaur displays, the mammals exhibition and the famous Great Hall. Entrance to most of the Natural History Museum is free, including the Darwin Centre, although there is a charge for some exhibitions, and you are advised to book in advance for some events. The Natural History Museum is open every day from 10 am until 5.50 pm.
The National Portrait Gallery
London's National Portrait Gallery contains over 120,000 paintings, dating from the 16th century to the present day. Amongst this vast array of pictures you can see works by Gainsborough, Constable, Turner, Goya, Leonardo da Vinci and William Blake as well as countless other renowned artists. The work of more modern artists is not ignored either, with artists such as Lucian Freud and David Bailey featuring amongst its collection. The National Portrait Gallery is open from 10 am until 6 pm every day, except Thursday and Friday, when it closes at 9 pm. The Gallery closes from 24th to the 26th December and admission is free, except for certain exhibitions.
Shakespeare's Globe
BE transported back to Elizabethan London to experience the sights and sounds of Shakespeare's Globe Theatre. The reconstruction of the Globe uses similar construction techniques and materials as the original and lies on London's South Bank, very close to its predecessor. If you thought thought that theatre going in the time of Queen Elizabeth was similar to today, think again! The Elizabethan theatre catered for every class in society and was often quite a rowdy experience, which was more akin to a modern football match in terms of its ambience. Tickets to see plays at the Globe often sell out well in advance, although you might be lucky enough to get in as a "groundling" (standing). Having said that, the standard of production at the Globe in recent years has been mixed, so you might be better off taking a guided tour of the Theatre and seeing the exhibition, which covers the costumes, music and special effects used in the Elizabethan and Jacobean theatre. Tours are held every day at a frequency of 15 or 30 minutes, except during matinee performances, and an adult ticket costs £10.50.
