Great Britain: memorable places of London. Central London: description and photo. Tower of London. Big Ben. The main attractions of London Other famous buildings located in Trafalgar Square

The capital of Great Britain is London, it is one of the largest capitals peace. The city's population exceeds 12 million people and the same number of guests and tourists come to London every year to see its attractions.
The sights of London are historical monuments And architectural ensembles, magnificent art galleries and world-famous museums, exquisite shady parks and royal traditions.
In the article "London Guide", there is an incomplete list of London attractions, which will now be discussed.

London Attractions

Her Majesty's Fortress and Royal Palace, historical castle, located in the city center.
The fortress, built in the chivalric centuries to protect the city and the borders of the country, later, for many years, served as a prison where prisoners of high rank and noble birth were kept.
Now the Tower is a treasury where royal regalia and jewels are kept, where tourists can see exquisite jewelry and the royal scepter, crowned with the Cullinan Diamond. One of the attractions of the Tower was the “beefeaters” - the ceremonial guard and honor guard of the Tower.
The literal translation of the word beefeater means beef eater. Local crows are considered beef eaters; they are fed and their wings are clipped so that they cannot fly away. Otherwise, as the legend says, “If the ravens leave the Tower, the fortress and the kingdom will fall.”

One of the most beautiful and majestic bridges in the world. Built in 1894, the bridge was not to the taste of many and was given various unpleasant names; now, a hundred years later, the Gothic silhouette of the bridge has become a symbol of London. The construction of the bridge was a necessity of that time; it was made as a drawbridge for the passage of merchant ships, and at the same time pedestrians could cross it along the upper galleries.
Now in the upper galleries there is a small museum and an exhibition about the history of the bridge from where it opens beautiful view to the city.
The thousand-ton spans of the Tower Bridge rise in 90 seconds, at any time and in no more than 10 minutes. An application for the passage of a vessel with a height of more than 9 meters is submitted one day before the passage and the time of passage does not matter. Tourists like this tradition; it allows you to take some wonderful pictures of the bridge with its spans separated.

Since 1837, the residence of the royal dynasty in London, this palace complex forms a square of four buildings with a courtyard.
The palace has more than 770 rooms, of which: 52 are royal and guest bedrooms; 19 - state rooms; 78 - bathrooms; 280 - office premises and rooms for service personnel.

Every year, Buckingham Palace is visited by more than 50 thousand guests, officially invited to dinners, banquets and garden receptions. The presence of a member of the Royal Family is signaled by the raising of the Royal Standard above the roof of the palace.

One or two months a year, in the absence of a member of the royal family, some rooms of the palace are open to visitors, during which time you can see the Throne Room, where receptions are held on special occasions, and see the Ballroom, for receptions and concerts.
One of the attractions of Buckingham Palace is the daily changing of the guard.

When talking about the symbols of England, the famous landmark of London immediately comes to mind - the Big Ben tower ( Big Ben).

What is Big Ben

Big Ben is the largest of the six bells in the Palace of Westminster. Many people think that this is the name of the clock tower in London, but in fact this is the name of the 13-ton bell that is located inside it, behind the dial.

Big Ben's official name was " Clock tower Palace of Westminster." In 2012, by decision of the British Parliament, this landmark of England was renamed the Elizabeth Tower (in honor of the 60th anniversary of the Queen’s reign).

Despite other names, the name "Big Ben" remains the most popular and is used to generically refer to the tower, clock and bells.

All about Big Ben: history and description

The clock tower was built in Westminster in 1288 and at that time had a completely different appearance.

In 1834, there was a huge fire in the Palace of Westminster and everything burned down. Its restoration was undertaken by Charles Barry, together with the architect Augustus Welby Pugin, who designed the current clock tower in neo gothic style. In 1859, when Big Ben was built, the clock was launched and to this day it accurately keeps time.

There are two popular versions of who the London clock is named after. The first version goes like this: the tower got its name in honor of Benjamin Hall - the one who built Big Ben, or rather supervised the construction, he was quite large in build and was often called Big Ben. Another version of why the clock tower is called this way is in honor of the popular heavyweight boxer Benjamin Count.

Height of Big Ben

The tower and spire measure 320 feet (96.3 meters). To imagine what Big Ben looks like, imagine the height of a 16-story building.

The tower has no elevators or lifts, so it is not open to the public. Sometimes exceptions are made to this rule, and then visitors climb 334 steps to get to the top.

Watch

The clock on Big Ben in London is still the largest in the world. The diameter of the dial is 7 meters. The length of the hands is 2.7 and 4.2 meters.

The clock mechanism is considered the standard of reliability; its total weight is 5 tons. The watchmaker Edward John Dent was responsible for its assembly and completed the work in 1854. A fundamentally new double three-stage movement was created, which allows for better separation of the pendulum and the five-ton clock mechanism.

The clock is so reliable that even during the Second World War, when German bombing damaged two dials and the roof of the tower, it did not disrupt its operation. Thus, this British landmark has become a symbol of the accuracy and reliability of all things English. At the bottom of each dial is the inscription “God Save Our Queen Victoria”, which is also absolutely in the English spirit.

  • 13 tons - that’s how much Big Ben weighs (the largest bell in the Palace of Westminster).
  • The London clock is the international time standard and is also considered to be the largest four-sided striking clock in the world.
  • The accuracy of the clock is adjusted using a 1 penny coin (if necessary, a coin is placed on the pendulum and its movement slows down by 0.4 seconds per day).
  • In the bell tower, in addition to Big Ben (which sounds every hour), there are four more quarter notes that ring every quarter of an hour. A melody consisting of 20 consecutive Cambridge chimes is issued, each quarter of an hour having its own composition of chimes.
  • The British celebrate the New Year to the sounds of Big Ben, and also mark all mournful events and moments of silence.
  • News programs in England begin with a photograph of this tower.
  • Almost all documentaries and feature films about England use an image of Big Ben in their screensavers.
  • Once upon a time, Big Ben housed a prison for parliamentarians who behaved violently at meetings; the last prisoner was Emmeline Pankhurst, she fought for women's rights. In honor of this woman, a monument was erected in Parliament Square, where Big Ben stands.

Information about Big Ben: where it is located, address on the map

Location: London, Parliament Square

Address: Palace of Westminster, Old Palace Yard, London SW1

Nearest metro station: Westminster on the Circle

How to get there by bus: to Parliament Square or to the Whitehall Street (Trafalgar Square) stop.

If you suddenly get tired of the imposing architecture of the Kingdom of Great Britain, you can visit one of the very first Madame Tussauds museums, with a unique collection of wax figures.

Generally. However, the capital of Great Britain is so rich in terms of historical and cultural attractions that it is simply unrealistic to fit everything into one article. In principle, the same as seeing the main “delicacies” of the city in one day.

If you, my dear reader, on the first day of your stay in London, probably ran to see, the second day was simply created for going to the cult fortress -.

Over the 900 years of its history, the Tower of London has been a palace, a prison, a treasure repository, an observatory, and even a zoo. Since then, the appearance of the fortress has remained virtually unchanged. Today the Tower building houses a museum and repository of the British Crown Treasures. There are also private apartments in the building where high-ranking guests are received, and service personnel also live here.


It is better to visit the fortress in the morning if you plan to have time to see a lot in the Tower itself and in the surrounding area. Entrance to the Tower is paid, ticket for adults - 25 pounds sterling at the box office (23 pounds online, on the official website), children (5-15 years old) - 12 pounds (10.75).

Next to the Tower Fortress there is another iconic object of London -. Designers in the 19th century had to work hard on the project so that the new bridge across the river would become not just an overpass for the rapidly increasing flow of traffic, but also a structure that would harmoniously fit into the architectural style of the capital. It’s hard to believe now, but at the end of the 19th century, Tower Bridge turned out to be the only place in the city center where you could move from one bank of the Thames to the other.

Construction of the bridge took 8 years, and in 1894 the 265-meter long bridge was finally completed. Many Londoners initially disliked the bridge for its Victorian Gothic design, but gradually they got used to it, and over time it became one of the main symbols of London.

In the area of ​​Tower Bridge there is an excellent embankment with modern residential buildings and office buildings, on the ground floors of which there are many restaurants and cafes with a summer terrace. Rumor has it that this part of London has the most expensive property in the city per square meter.

On the other side of the Thames I came across this unusual monument. According to unconfirmed information, the idea of ​​this creation was embodied by a local architect, impressed by the masterpiece Igor Nikolaev heard - “Dolphin and the Mermaid”.

If you want to see where the British Queen lives, go to. A significant portion of official royal ceremonies are held here, such as receptions of foreign heads of state or appointed foreign ambassadors. More than 50 thousand people every year are invited to state banquets, lunches, dinners and official receptions, including the royal one. The Queen also holds weekly meetings with the Prime Minister here.

One of my favorite places in London is Trafalgar Square. Local architecture cannot but please the eye. There are always a lot of tourists here. Locals also like to make appointments here. In the middle of the square is the 56-meter Nelson's Column with a statue of Admiral Nelson on top.

There is a rather nice fountain nearby, and in the background on the right you can already see Big Ben, which is about five minutes on foot from here.

Trafalgar Square is also home to the London National Gallery, the third most visited Art Museum in the world. There are more than 2,000 paintings on display here, including works by Rubens, Titian, Van Dyck and other great artists.

Monument to some general. Even if you knew which one, it is unlikely that this information would remain with you for longer than a second after reading these lines.


Walking around London, one gets the impression that this city is endless. Monuments, ancient buildings, parks. You turn right - beauty, left - beauty, back, forward - the same thing. And so on, kilometer after kilometer, until the moon replaces the sun. It even gets kind of boring. No garbage, no dull five-story Khrushchev buildings, no rude salespeople. No, well, I’ll still find the weak points of this city, you won’t get off that easy, London!

The question of which part of London is considered its geographical center worries not only those who like to study their native planet using maps. Many tourists, arriving in the capital of Great Britain, have difficulty finding their way around this metropolis. Luckily, most of the more interesting attractions are fairly easy to find. Guided tours can also be booked.

Buckingham Palace

There is hardly a person who has never heard of Her Majesty Elizabeth the Second. So, her official residence - Buckingham Royal Palace - is located in the area of ​​Pall Mall and Green Park streets. If a standard flutters over the building, this means that the monarch is in her beloved capital.

The Royal Palace acquired its status with the accession of Elizabeth II's great-grandmother Victoria to the throne in 1837. Today, the statue of this monarch is the first to greet everyone who approaches the fence of the residence to inspect the ceremonial home of the Windsor dynasty.

Buckingham Palace consists of 775 rooms. 52 of them are the royal family's chambers and guest rooms. There are also about 20 government premises there. 92 of them house offices, and 188 are used for technical needs and recreation for service personnel. In addition, the royal residence has 72 bathrooms. The total area of ​​the palace is 20 hectares, and on 17 hectares there is the largest private garden in London with an artificial lake.

Changing of the guard ceremony

The guards, dressed in bright red uniforms and tall fur hats, are as much a landmark as the palaces and temples that adorn central London.

The Changing of the Guard ceremony is held at Buckingham Palace every day at 11:30 in the summer, and every other day in other seasons. The duration of the ceremony is 45 minutes. Sometimes the military parade for the ceremonial changing of the guard is canceled due to bad weather.

The tradition dates back to 1660. It began to be held at Buckingham Palace in 1837, when Queen Victoria moved there.

The colorful action is accompanied by the sounds of orchestral music. Part of the parade takes place outside the fence of Buckingham Palace, and the rest of the ceremony is usually watched by tourists and Londoners through its fence.

Tower of London

This fortress is one of the main attractions of the British capital. It is believed that it was around him that modern London was formed. It is impossible to imagine the city center without it today. The castle covers an area of ​​1170 square meters. m and is a square. WITH outside The Tower of London is surrounded by two rings of walls with big amount towers There are 13 towers on the inner defensive line. As for the outer ring, it is significantly longer than the first one. To protect it from the water, 6 towers were erected along the banks of the Thames, offering a beautiful view of the magnificent city center of London.

In the south-west corner of the space, which is located between two belts of walls, there is a meadow with a scaffold on which many prominent members of the English nobility were executed over the centuries, including the three queens - wives of Henry the Eighth. The last beheading on Tower Meadow took place in 1747.

Today this fortress in central London is open to tourists. They are invited to get acquainted with the exhibits on display in the Tower Museum and in the Armory. Among them, the British Crown Treasures are of particular interest.

On the territory of the castle there is also the oldest christian temple capital of Great Britain - St. Peter's Chapel, which is almost 1000 years old.

Tower Bridge in central London

Although this structure is considered by many to be medieval, it was only built in 1894. Tower Bridge, which adorns the center of London, is a drawbridge with two towers placed on intermediate supports. The total length of the structure is 244 m, and its height is 65 m. The pedestrian galleries of the bridge have been used as a museum since 1982.

Tower Bridge is still managed in the old fashioned way: it has a captain and a crew of military sailors. They beat the bells and stand watch.

Initially, the bridge was raised daily, but this moment this ritual occurs only a few times a week and crowds of tourists flock to watch it.

Palace of Westminster

When talking about the main attractions of London, one cannot ignore this majestic building in the neo-Gothic style, built in the mid-19th century, where the English Parliament sits today. The palace has 3 towers. The tallest of them reaches a height of 98.5 m. It is named after Queen Victoria of Great Britain. At the time of construction, the tower was considered the tallest secular structure in the world.

At the base of the building is the Sovereign's Entrance, which is a 15 m high arch surrounded by statues. The cast-iron pyramidal roof of the building is crowned with a 22-meter flagpole. The parliamentary archives for more than 500 recent years. They occupy 12 floors and contain almost 3 million documents of national importance.

In the northern part of the palace is located It is better known as Big Ben ( detailed information see below).

Another interesting building of the palace is the Central Tower. It is octagonal and has a height of 91 m. The tower is located in the middle of the palace building and rises above the Central Hall. The structure was originally designed as a chimney for 400 fireplaces located in different rooms palace However, it turned out that the architects made a mistake in their calculations and today the structure serves a decorative function.

In the middle of the western façade of the Palace of Westminster is St Stephen's Tower. Two more similar structures are located at the ends of the facade, which is located on the Thames side. These are the Speaker's and Chancellor's towers.

Big Ben

When London's top and most recognizable landmarks are described, the list often opens with the most famous tower Great Britain.

It was built as part of a new Royal Palace, erected after a fire in 1834, and is a majestic structure in the neo-Gothic style. The author of the construction project was Augustus Pugin. The height of the Big Ben tower with its spire is 96.3 meters. At its base there is a 15-meter concrete foundation with a thickness of 3 meters.

At the top of the tower, at a height of 55 meters, there is a clock with four dials with a diameter of 7 m made of smoked glass. At night they are illuminated from the inside. Above the clock there is a bell tower with 5 bells. The largest of them was called Big Ben. According to one legend, it was so named in honor of the construction manager of the structure, Sir Benjamin Hall.

Although Big Ben is one of the most recognizable landmarks on our planet, access to it is closed to tourists. This was done for security reasons. In addition, there are no lifts in the tower, so those few who are allowed to climb to the clock mechanism have to overcome 334 not the most comfortable steps.

Trafalgar Square

In response to the question of what square is located in the center of London, any person who has visited the British capital at least once will no doubt name Trafalgar Square.

This famous landmark is located at the intersection of Whitehall, Strand and Mall streets. Until the 19th century, the square bore the name of William the Fourth and received its modern name in 1805 after the famous naval battle that cost the life of Britain's best admiral.

In the center of Trafalgar Square rises. It is built of dark gray granite, has a height of 44 m and is a kind of pedestal for the statue of the famous admiral. The column is decorated with three-dimensional images made from Napoleonic cannons.

Other famous structures located in Trafalgar Square

If the Tower is the historical center of London, then Trafalgar Square is the geographical one. Along its perimeter are London National Gallery, the Church of St. Martin in the Fields, Admiralty Arch, as well as the buildings of several embassies.

Since the 1840s, the square has been decorated with 3 monuments installed at its corners. They represent statues of George the Fourth, as well as generals Charles James Napier and Henry Havelock. At the same time, a fourth pedestal was built on Trafalgar Square. It sat empty until 2005, when a sculpture of disabled artist Alison Lapper was installed. Four years later, the glass installation “Hotel Model” appeared in its place. Today, on the fourth pedestal of Trafalgar Square you can see a huge bottle, inside of which there is a model of the Victoria ship. It was on board that the admiral was mortally wounded, from which he died at the age of 47.

"London Eye"

This is one of the largest ferris spikes in Europe and was built from 1998 to 2004. It is located on south coast Thames. The authors of the project are David Marks and Julia Barfield. The total weight of the huge wheel with all mechanisms is 1,700 tons.

The London Eye has 32 booths shaped like huge eggs. Each of them comfortably accommodates up to 25 passengers, who can view the historical center of London, its outskirts and some suburbs from above for half an hour.

The rotation speed of the wheel is approximately 0.9 kilometers per hour. It does not stop to disembark passengers and “take on board” the next ones, and these operations must be carried out on the move. In good weather, visibility from the cabin is up to 40 kilometers.

Tourists and Londoners can ride the Ferris wheel every day. From September to March, passenger boarding is carried out from 10:00 to 20:30, and from April to August another half hour is added to the operating hours of the attraction.

Hyde Park

Royal or Hyde Park in central London (Rangers Lodge, W2 2UH, open from 5:00 to 24:00) is one of the most famous in Britain and covers an area of ​​1.4 square meters. km. It was founded before the conquest british isles Normans. However, it was only opened for Londoners to walk in the 17th century by order of King Charles II.

In addition, within the park there is the Serpentine Lake, where you can swim, and the gallery of the same name. By the way, open water swims took place on this reservoir during the London Olympics.

Serpentine Gallery

As already mentioned, this attraction is located on the territory of Hyde Park. It was opened in 1970 in a classic tea pavilion built in the mid-30s of the last century. At one time, Princess Diana was the patroness of the gallery. Today, at the entrance to the building that houses the permanent exhibition, you can see the work dedicated to it by Peter Coates and Ian Hamilton Finlay.

The Serpentine Gallery annually commissions the creation of new temporary pavilions from world-famous architects. They are happy to design unique structures within which art conferences, special film screenings, and cafes are held.

IN different years The Serpentine Gallery exhibited such world-famous artists and sculptors as Man Ray, Andy Warhol, Henry Moore, Alan McCollum, Paula Rego, Bridget Riley, etc.

Westminster Abbey

This majestic temple has been the traditional place of coronation, marriage and burial of British kings for many centuries. Westminster Abbey(address: 20 Deans Yard London SW1P 3 PA), or rather the Collegiate Church of St. Peter, began to be built in 1245, and acquired its final appearance only almost 5 centuries later after numerous reconstructions.

The main building of the temple has the shape of a cross. The greatest length, from the western door to the outer wall of the Chapel of Our Lady, is 161.5 m, and highest height Western towers - 68 m. total area premises - approximately 3000 sq. m. At the same time, the abbey can accommodate up to 2 thousand people.

At the very beginning of the central gallery of the abbey you can see images of all Christian saints by icon painter Sergei Fedorov. In addition, the abbey is a place of pilgrimage for lovers of English literature - Poets' Corner, which contains the graves of such famous writers of past centuries as Chaucer, Samuel Johnson, Tennyson and Browning.

Few people know that in 1998, statues of 20th century martyrs were installed above the portico of the western entrance to the temple. Among them are the fighter against racial discrimination Martin Luther King, the priest Dietrich Bonhoeffer, executed by the Nazis in the Flossenbürg concentration camp, Grand Duchess Elizabeth Feodorovna, thrown by the Bolsheviks into a mine near Alapaevsk in 1918, and others.

Globus theatre"

Many of those who buy tours to London definitely want to visit the Globe Theater, located on the south bank of the Thames. The building, where many of Shakespeare's plays premiered, was built in 1599. Unfortunately, it burned down 14 years later.

The modern Globe building (address: New Globe Walk, SE1), erected in 1997, is an exact copy of the historical theater. Some of the seats in his auditorium are located directly under open air, so you can attend performances by the Shakespeare troupe from mid-May to September 20.

To visit the Globe, it is best to take the metro and get to Cannon St or Mansion House stations.

Covent Garden

The Royal Theater in the London district of the same name was founded in 1732 and was extremely popular among residents of the British capital.

The current building (address: Bow Street WC2E 9DD) is already the third. It was erected in 1858. The auditorium of the Covent Garden theater seats 2,268 people.

Covent Garden is also called the Royal Opera House and stars of the first magnitude shine on its stage.

Compared to other London attractions, the building does not seem so impressive from the outside, but the design of its interiors makes an indelible impression on viewers.

Piccadilly Circus

Piccadilly Circus is located in Westminster. The square was built in 1819. For its construction, it was necessary to demolish a house with a garden that belonged to Lady Hutton and interfered with the connection of Regent Street with the important shopping street Piccadilly.

The main attraction of the square is the Shaftesbary Memorial Fountain. The building is located in the southwestern part. It is dedicated to the famous philanthropist Lord Shaftesbury. At the top of the sculptural composition is a winged figure of a naked archer, symbolizing Anteros, who is the “god of selfless love.”

The square is also home to the underground Criterion Theatre, founded in 1874, and the London Pavilion music hall, built in 1859.

At the beginning of the century, the building was connected to the Trocadero Center.

Tate Gallery

Located at Millbank SW1B 3DG, close to the Palace of Westminster, tourists can explore the famous National Collection of British Art. It represents the world's largest collection of works of painting, sculpture and graphics by English authors of the 16th-20th centuries. The collection was founded by manufacturer Sir Henry Tait. The gallery was opened to the public in 1897.

30 years later, a wing was added to the building, which housed works by foreign painters. In 1987, the Clore Gallery began operating, which displays one of the most extensive collections of Turner's paintings.

Now you know what interesting architectural landmarks adorn the center of London. In addition, every year the capital of Great Britain becomes the venue for various cultural, sports and other entertainment events of a global and European scale. They, like historical and architectural monuments, are one of the reasons for the popularity of tours to London.

We all know from school that the most famous bridge London is Tower Bridge. Its unusual appearance makes it easily recognizable: on imposing river piers stand two Gothic-style towers, which are connected by drawbridges and pedestrian galleries.

Its main difference from other bridges is that it is a drawbridge and the lowest located above the Thames. It got its name due to its proximity to the Tower, which is located on the north side.

Short story

For a long time, the Thames was crossed by one bridge, the London Bridge. However, the sharp economic recovery and population growth that began in the 19th century showed the need for the construction of additional bridges, which were supposed to help solve the capital’s transport problem.

Over the course of several years, more than one bridge was built, but problems with traffic flow did not decrease. Soon a committee was created that studied dozens of projects, and only in 1884 the project of John Wolf Bury and Horace Johnsan was approved.

More than 400 workers worked on the construction of the bridge for 8 years. The opening took place on June 30, 1894, and was attended by Prince Edward of Wales and his wife Princess Alexandra.

The bridge was made in the Gothic style, but using a number of innovative developments. Thanks to the presence of a hydraulic system, just a couple of minutes are enough to ensure free passage for a sailing vessel. Until 1974, the bridge was raised by the operation of steam engines, in the furnaces of which coal was burned, which drove the pumps. They pumped water into reservoirs, storing energy. But progress did not stand still, and the entire mechanism was replaced with an electro-hydraulic system, which significantly saved time and costs. Now the bridge was raised not according to schedule, but out of necessity.

Over the years, Tower Bridge along with Big Ben have become real symbols and one of the main attractions of London.

Today, Tower Bridge is one of the most visited attractions in England. Many tourists coming here consider it an honor to take a walk along legendary building, especially since many London hotels offer very informative and comprehensive city tours.

Information for visitors

Address: Tower Bridge Road, London SE1 2UP, United Kingdom

You can take a walk along Tower Bridge:

  • during the summer season (from April 1 to September 30) - from 10:00 to 18:30 (last entry at 17:30);
  • during the winter season (from October 1 to March 31) - from 09:30 to 18:00 (last entry at 17:00).

Ticket prices:

You can buy tickets at

 

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