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London is Europe's largest city, with a population of seven and a half
million people who come from every part of the planet. Despite
its low-rise, humble appearance, it's also an economic powerhouse, worth
$US162 billion in 1999 - more than the entire economy of Switzerland, Poland
or Singapore. This is a place with world-famous character
- even Harvey and Mabel from Ohio know many of the highlights
and icons of London - black taxi cabs, red double-decker buses, and
unsmiling guardsmen in bearskin hats.
I'm not an especially great fan of architecture, but there are buildings
here to interest anyone, from the truly ancient like the Tower
of London and Westminster Abbey, to more recent concoctions like St
Paul's Cathedral and the
Houses of Parliament with the clock, commonly and incorrectly known
as Big Ben. There's also the Queen's home, Buckingham
Palace. With so much history it's inevitable that monuments
also abound, with dozens of statues of the Good and Great, Trafalgar Square
with Nelson's Column, a huge structure called the Albert Memorial which
commemorates Queen Victoria's golden boy husband, and a lesser known pillar
called simply The Monument, which commemorates the Great London Fire.
Perhaps the most famous structure in London isn't a building or a monument,
it's Tower Bridge, which might also
qualify as the most misidentified symbol of the city. While
you're traipsing between all of these things, don't forget to look around
to see the ornaments on the buildings, ranging from genuine medieval gargoyles
to modern day flights of fancy, put there just for the pleasure of it.
There are interesting religious buildings, starting from a recently discovered
Roman Temple of Mithras, dedicated to a bull god, through to the unique
circular Temple Church built after the Crusades, and then on to St
Paul's Cathedral and the other Christopher Wren churches built after
the fire.
Culturally, there are plenty of museums to serve as a repository for the
treasures of the British Empire, and whatever other treasures British adventurers
could lay their hands on. Chief among these museums is the
British Museum with a huge collection from cultures all over the world,
including the Egyptian Rosetta Stone and the Elgin Marbles plundered from
Greece. The Victoria and Albert museum is also worth a visit,
even if only to see the World War Two shrapnel damage on the outside walls,
which was left as a reminder. The scientifically minded can
visit the Natural History Museum, and see interesting aircraft at the London
Science Museum and the Imperial War Museum. Real aviation enthusiasts
can take the Tube up to the
Royal Air Force Museum in the suburb of Hendon. Those interested
in military history can also tour the HMS Belfast, one of the few remaining
World War Two battleships on this side of the Atlantic.
London's parks are a pleasant break from the noise of the city.
St James' Park was a particular favourite of mine because of all of the
exotic birds which are allowed to wander freely inside its boundaries.
If you've grown tired of the history, architecture and culture on offer,
then the park is also a good place to see the human inhabitants of the
city enjoying themselves. These inhabitants have also expressed
themselves around the city in some often funny signs and other writings.
And just when you thought that there wasn't anything else to do, you can
take a night tour of the city, either by bus, on the Underground, or walking,
to see all of the tourist sights floodlit for your pleasure. |