London Eye

135 metres high

opening: March 2000
25 persons per capsule
one revolution in 35 minutes

The Shard London Bridge

310 metres high
inauguration: 5th July 2012
tallest completed building in the Europe

Buckingham Palace
residence of Queen Elisabeth II
built for the Duke of Buckingham in 1703
bought from Georg III in 1761
has always been expanded
main residence of the British Monarch since 1837
775 rooms
When the Queen is in residence the Royal Standard flies from
the flagpole, when the Queen is not in residence the Union
Flag can be seen.
Houses of Parliament (Palace of Westminster)
residence of the English kings up to the 16th century
destroyed by a fire in 1834
meeting place of the House of Lords and House of Commons
about 1,100 rooms
Gunpowder Plot in 1605:
A Catholic group wanted to blow up Parliament and kill the
Protestant King James to re-establish Catholicism in England.
Guy Fawkes was one of the conspirators. He was found,
arrested and should have been hanged, but shortly before
the execution he jumped from the scaffold and broke his
neck.

Big Ben / Elisabeth Tower

part of the Houses of Parliament
official name: Great Bell of Westminster
four bells (quarter bells) strike every 15 minutes
the Geat Bell strikes every hour
Big Ben refers to the name of the Great Bell
the complete tower is called Clock Tower
Why is the Great Bell called Big Ben?
There are two possible origins. Either it is named after Sir
Benjamin Hall who oversaw the installation of the bell or it's
named after Benjamin Caunt, a boxer.
The Clock Tower was renamed in 2012 in honour of Queen
Elisabeth II.

Westminster Abbey
built in 1065 by Edward the Confessor
British Monarchs are traditionally crowned here
Monarchs and famous people are buried here (Charles
Darwin, Charles Dickens, George Friedrich Hndel, Isaac
Newton)

The Tower of London

official name: Her Majesty's Royal Palace and Fortress
was a fortess, a zoo, a place for executions, a cemetry, a
residence, a prison, a mint and archives
oldest part is the White Tower
William the Conqueror built it in 1078
consists of three wards

Yeomen Warders (Beefeaters)

guardians of the Tower
responsible for safeguarding the Crown Jewels
The letters E II R on their uniform stand for:
Elisabeth II Regina

Tower Bridge
opened in 1894
bascule and suspension bridge
244 metres long
the horizontal walkways are open for visitors

St. Paul's Cathedral

the first church was here in the year 604
after the Great Fire of London in 1666 Sir Christopher Wren
started with the building of the cathedral
111 metres = 365 feet high (1 foot per day of the year)
place for ceremonies (Lord Nelson's funeral, wedding of
Prince Charles and Lady Di, Golden Jubilee of Queen
Elisabeth II)
There is a Whispering Gallery in the dome. You are able to
understand whispers and murmurs at any point of the dome.

Millenium Footbridge
a bridge for pedestrians only (opened in 2000)
325 metres long
links St Paul's Cathedral and the Tate Modern Museum
has a special system to avoid wobbles
The bridge is shown in the film "Harry Potter and the HalfBlood Prince".

Globe Theatre
first theater was built in 1599
reconstruction is 230 metres away from the original theatre
plays by Shakespeare are shown here
open theatre (Do not forget your umbrella in case it rains.)

Trafalgar Square
largest place in the centre of London
main roads cross here (The Mall, Whitehall, Pall Mall)
place for festivals - but also for demonstrations

Nelson's Column
in the centre of Trafalgar Square
column with Admiral Nelson on top who won great victories
for England (Battle of Trafalgar in 1805)

The Mall
very broad road
runs from Buckingham Palace to Trafalgar Square
flags are shown on both sides of the road in case of state
visits

Victoria Memorial
near Buckingham Palace
dedicated in 1911

The Gherkin
office tower (180 metres high)
situated in the financial district

National Gallery

art museum (about 2,300 paintings)

at Trafalgar Square

Royal Courts of Justice

houses the Court of Appeal and the High Court of Justice
opened by Queen Victoria in 1882

Harrods
famous department store in London
known for luxury goods
enormous foods department
destroyed by fire in 1883
purveyor to Her Majesty the Queen until 2001

London Dungeon
chamber of horrors under the Tube station London Bridge
opened in 1974
historical events (the Plague, the Great Fire of London, Jack
the Ripper) are shown

Fleet Street
a lot of newspaper agencies were situated here until the
1980ies
the agencies have moved to more comfortable rooms in
Canary Wharf

Covent Garden Market

former fruit- and vegetable market
lots of small shops
street entertainers in front of the market hall
students of music often perform in the market hall

Dominion Theatre
built as a theatre for live shown in 1928/29
later used as a cinema
more than 2,000 seats
the musical "We Will Rock You" has been on stage since 2002
The name of the theatre is based on a melody in a song by
Tangerine Dream which was recorded in the 80ies.

Lyceum Theatre
built in 1765
the first waxworks of Madame Tussauds were shown here
the Musical "Lion King" has been staged here since 1999

Madame Tussauds
Marie Tussaud showed first wax figures in 1802
exhibition was moved to the today's building in 1884
more than 10 locations worldwide

City Hall
opened in 2002
headquarters of the Greater London Authority and the Mayor
of London
situated between Tower Bridge and The Shard

HMS - Belfast
Royal Navy Ship (built in 1936)
commissioned from 1939 - 1963
187 m long
has been a museum since 1971

Camden Market
first market in 1974
in Camden Town
about 500,000 people visit the market every week
destroyed through a fire in 2008
reopening in 2009 - Camden Lock Village

Borough Market
one of the oldest food markets in London (13th century)
situated in Southwark
not only visited by tourists, but also used as a wholesale
market where famous chefs like Jamie Oliver buy food for
their restaurants
London Lifestyle Awards in 2010

Chelsea Football Stadium

opened on 28/4/1877
situated in Fulham at Stamford Bridge
seats for about 42,000 spectators
last renovation: 1990

China Town
was in the Docklands up to the 1070s
today in Gerrad Street (West End)

Brick Lane
street in the East End, where people from Bangladesh live
lots of excellent curry houses which often do not sell alcohol
as they are run by Muslims
street names in English and Bengali
famous for its graffiti (Bansky, D*Face)

Canary Wharf
complex of office buildings in the Docklands which formerly
belonged to the Port of London

O2 Arena
indoor arena in Greenwich near Canary Wharf
often used for concerts
was opened in 1999
diameter: 365 metres
height: 52 metres

Royal Obervatory, Greenwich

prime meridian in Greenwich (since 1884)
tourist attraction - You can stand with one foot in the Eastern
Hemisphere and with the other one in the Western
Hemisphere.

The London Underground - The Tube

oldest underground railway in the world
opening in 1863 (Underground steam locomotives)
11 lines (402 kilometres)
The nickname "The Tube" comes from the tube-like tunnels.

Mind The Gap

This sentence is a warning used at platforms on the London
Underground.
Some platforms are curved and so there is a gap between
the platform and the car of the train. Passengers might step
into the gap and injure themselves. This warning was
introduced in 1969.

The oldest part of London is "the City". Only 5,000 people live there, but about 300,000
work there. Greater London has got more than 12 million people. Lots of people live in
suburbs, so they have to go to work to London every day. That's why there are many cars
in the morning and in the evening (rush hour). The people use the Underground (Tube),
the bus and the train to come to work. London has two main airports, Heathrow and
Gatwick where many tourists arrive. The people visit London's many famous sights. The
Tower of London was first a castle, later a prison and is now a museum where you can
see the Crown Jewels. Tower Bridge is the most famous bridge across the River Thames.
It can also open when big ship has to go up- or downstream. The Queen (Elisabeth II)
lives in Buckingham Palace. St. Paul's Cathedral was designed by Sir Christopher Wren.
Westminster Abbey is the place where the kings and queens are crowned. The first was
William the Conqueror. Lots of people like to go shopping in Harrods (rather expensive)
or in the department stores in Oxford Street. The best is to visit the street markets in
Petticoat Lane, Portobello Road or in Camden. There you can get cheap and curious
things as well. London Dungeon, an old underground station shows London's violent
history. Street artists can be watched in Covent Garden. The Houses of Parliament are on
the River Thames next to the Clock Tower with Big Ben. The London Eye, a Ferris
wheel, is about 135m high. The highest building in Western Europe, the Shard, was
erected from 2009 to 2012. The Prime Minister lives in 10 Downing Street. Hyde Park is
a marvellous place for relaxing. The West End is an excellent place for going to cinemas,
theatres or discos.