City Tourism: London
London is the capital of both England and the United Kingdom, and the largest urban area in the European Union. An important settlement for two millennia, London's history goes back to its founding by the Romans. Since its foundation, London has been part of many movements and phenomena throughout history, including the English Renaissance, the Industrial Revolution, and the Gothic Revival. The city's core, the ancient City of London, still retains its limited medieval boundaries; but since at least the 19th century, the name "London" has also referred to the whole metropolis that has developed around it. Today the bulk of this conurbation forms the London region of England and the Greater London administrative area, with its own elected mayor and assembly.London is one of the the world's most important business, financial and cultural centers and its influence in politics, education, entertainment, tourism, media, fashion and the arts contribute to its status as a major global city. Central London is the headquarters of more than half of the UK's top 100 listed companies (the FTSE 100) and over 100 of Europe's 500 largest companies. The city is a major tourist destination both for domestic and overseas visitors, with annual expenditure by tourists of around £15 billion. London hosted the 1908 and 1948 Summer Olympic Games and will host the 2012 Summer Olympic Games.
Greater London contains four World Heritage Sites: the Tower of London; the historic settlement of Greenwich; the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew; and the site comprising the Palace of Westminster, Westminster Abbey and St. Margaret's Church.
London's population draws from a wide range of peoples, cultures, and religions, and over 300 languages are spoken within the city. As of 2006, it had an official population of 7,512,400 within the boundaries of Greater London and is the most populous municipality in the European Union. As of 2001, the Greater London Urban Area had a population of 8,278,251 and the metropolitan area is estimated to have a total population of between 12 and 14 million, the largest metropolitan area in the EU. The public transport network, administered by Transport for London, is one of the most extensive in the world, and Heathrow Airport is the busiest airport in the world by international passenger traffic and the air space is the busiest of any city in the world.London Architecture Tourism
London is too diverse to be characterized by any particular architectural style, having accumulated its buildings over a long period of time and drawn on a wide range of influences. It is, however, mainly brick built, most commonly the yellow London stock brick or a warm orange-red variety, often decorated with carvings and white plaster moldings. Many grand houses and public buildings (such as the National Gallery) are constructed from Portland stone. Some areas of the city, particularly those just west of the center, are characterized by white stucco or whitewashed buildings. Few structures pre-date the Great Fire of 1666, except for a few trace Roman remains, the Tower of London and a few scattered Tudor survivors in the City. The disused (but soon to be rejuvenated) 1939 Battersea Power Station by the river in the south-west is a local landmark, while some railway termini are excellent examples of Victorian architecture, most notably St Pancras and Paddington (at least internally).
The density of London varies, with high employment density in the central area, high residential densities in inner London and lower densities in the suburbs. In the dense areas, most of the concentration is achieved with medium- and high-rise buildings. London's skyscrapers such as the notable "Gherkin", Tower 42, the Broadgate Tower and One Canada Square are usually found in the two financial districts, the City of London and Canary Wharf. Other notable modern buildings include City Hall in Southwark with its distinctive oval shape, the British Library in Somers Town/Kings Cross, What was formerly the Millennium Dome, located by the Thames to the east of Canary Wharf, is now used as an entertainment venue known as The O2.
The development of tall buildings has been encouraged in the London Plan, which will lead to the erection of many new skyscrapers over the next decade, particularly in the City of London and Canary Wharf. The 72-storey, 1,017 feet (310 m) "Shard London Bridge" by London Bridge station, the 945 feet (288 m) Bishopsgate Tower and many other skyscrapers over 500 feet (150 m) are either proposed or approved and could transform the city's skyline. As of July 2008, there are 426 high-rise buildings (between 23 m to 150 m/75 ft to 491 ft) under construction, approved for construction, and proposed for construction in London.
A great many monuments pay homage to people and events in the city. The Monument in the City of London provides views of the surrounding area while commemorating the Great Fire of London, which originated nearby. Marble Arch and Wellington Arch, at the north and south ends of Park Lane respectively, have royal connections, as do the Albert Memorial and Royal Albert Hall in Kensington. Nelson's Column is a nationally recognized monument in Trafalgar Square, one of the focal points of the center.
Holiday in London will be the best choice for your holiday travel and vacation.
Parks and gardens for Tourist
The largest parks in the central area of London are the Royal Parks of Hyde Park and its neighbour Kensington Gardens at the western edge of central London and Regent's Park on the northern edge. This park contains London Zoo, the world's oldest scientific zoo, and is located near the tourist attraction of Madame Tussauds Wax Museum. Closer to central London are the smaller Royal Parks of Green Park and St. James's Park. Hyde Park in particular is popular for sports and sometimes hosts open-air concerts. This is the most favorite place for tourist.
A number of large parks lie outside the city center, including the remaining Royal Parks of Greenwich Park to the south-east and Bushy Park and Richmond Park to the south-west, as well as Victoria Park, East London to the east. Primrose Hill to the north of Regent's Park is a popular spot to view the city skyline. Some more informal, semi-natural open spaces also exist, including the 791-acre (3.2 km2) Hampstead Heath of North London. This incorporates Kenwood House, the former stately home and a popular location in the summer months where classical musical concerts are held by the lake, attracting thousands of people every weekend to enjoy the music, scenery and fireworks.
Leisure and entertainment in London
Within the City of Westminster, the entertainment district of the West End has its focus around Leicester Square, where London and world film premieres are held, and Piccadilly Circus, with its giant electronic advertisements. London's theatre district is here, as are many cinemas, bars, clubs and restaurants, including the city's Chinatown district, and just to the east is Covent Garden, an area housing speciality shops. The United Kingdom's Royal Ballet,English National Ballet, Royal Opera and English National Opera are based in London and perform at the Royal Opera House, The London Coliseum, Sadler's Wells Theatre and the Royal Albert Hall as well as touring the country. Islington's 1 mile (1.6 km) long Upper Street, extending Northwards from The Angel, has more bars and restaurants than any other street in the UK. Europe's busiest shopping area is Oxford Street, a shopping street nearly 1 mile (1.6 km) long — which makes it the longest shopping street in the world — and home to many shops and department stores including Selfridges. Knightsbridge — home to the Harrods department store — lies just to the southwest. London is home to designers Vivienne Westwood, Galliano, Stella McCartney, Manolo Blahnik, and Jimmy Choo among others; its renowned art and fashion schools make it an international centre of fashion alongside Paris, Milan and New York. London offers a great variety of cuisine as a result of its ethnically diverse population. Gastronomic centres include the Bangladeshi restaurants of Brick Lane and the Chinese food restaurants of Chinatown.
There are a variety of regular annual events in the city. The beginning of the year is celebrated with the relatively new New Year's Day Parade, while traditional parades include November's Lord Mayor's Show, a centuries-old event celebrating the annual appointment of a new Lord Mayor of the City of London with a procession along the streets of the City, and June's Trooping the Colour, a formal military pageant performed by regiments of the Commonwealth and British armies to celebrate the Queen's Official Birthday.
Literature and film Tour
London has been the setting for many works of literature. Two writers closely associated with the city are the diarist Samuel Pepys, noted for his eyewitness account of the Great Fire, and Charles Dickens, whose representation of a foggy, snowy, grimy London of street sweepers and pickpockets has been a major influence on people's vision of early Victorian London. The earlier (1722) A Journal of the Plague Year by Daniel Defoe is a fictionalization of the events of the 1665 Great Plague. William Shakespeare spent a large part of his life living and working in London; his contemporary Ben Jonson was also based in London, and some of his work — most notably his play The Alchemist — was set in the city. Later important depictions of London from the 19th and early 20th centuries are the afore-mentioned Dickens novels, and Arthur Conan Doyle's illustrious Sherlock Holmes stories. A modern writer pervasively influenced by the city is Peter Ackroyd, in works such as London: The Biography, The Lambs of London and Hawksmoor.
London has played a significant role in the film industry, and has major studios at Pinewood, Ealing, Shepperton, Elstree and Leavesden, as well as an important special effects and post-production community centred in Soho in central London. Working Title Films has its headquarters in London. The city also hosts a number of performing arts schools, including The Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA), the Central School of Speech and Drama (alumni: Judi Dench and Laurence Olivier) and the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art (alumni: Jim Broadbent). The London Film Festival is held each year in October.
Recreation in London Museums and Art Galleries
London is home to many museums, galleries, and other institutions which are major tourist attractions as well as playing a research role. The Natural History Museum (biology and geology), Science Museum and Victoria and Albert Museum (fashion and design) are clustered in South Kensington's "museum quarter", while the British Museum houses historic artefacts from around the world. The British Library at St Pancras is the UK's national library, housing 150 million items. The city also houses extensive art collections, primarily in the National Gallery, Tate Britain and Tate Modern.
Music tourism in London
London is one of the major classical and popular music capitals of the world and is home to major music corporations, such as EMI and Decca Records, as well as countless bands, musicians and industry professionals. London is home to many orchestras and concert halls such as the Barbican Arts Centre (principal base of the London Symphony Orchestra), Cadogan Hall (Royal Philharmonic Orchestra) and the Royal Albert Hall (BBC Promenade Concerts). London's two main opera houses are the Royal Opera House and the Coliseum Theatre.
Several conservatoires are located within the city: Royal Academy of Music, Royal College of Music, Guildhall School of Music and Drama, and Trinity College of Music.
London has numerous renowned venues for rock and pop concerts, including large arenas such as Earls Court, Wembley Arena and the O2 Arena, as well as numerous mid-size venues, such as Brixton Academy, Hammersmith Apollo and The London Astoria. London also hosts many music festivals, including the 02 Wireless Festival and Latitude Festival.
London is home to the first and original Hard Rock Cafe and the illustrious Abbey Road Studios where The Beatles created many of their hits. Musicians such as Bob Marley, Jimi Hendrix and Freddie Mercury have lived in London. A large number of musical artists originate from or are most strongly associated with London, including David Bowie, Ian Dury, The Kinks, Adam Faith, The Rolling Stones, The Who, Madness, The Jam, Blur, Iron Maiden, Phil Collins, Rod Stewart, Elvis Costello, Dusty Springfield, The Yardbirds and The Small Faces. London was instrumental in the development of punk music, with figures such as the Sex Pistols, The Clash, and Vivienne Westwood all based in the city.
More recent artists to emerge from the London music scene include The Libertines, one of the most influential British rock acts of the 2000s, Bloc Party, Amy Winehouse, Lily Allen, The Kooks, Razorlight, Laura Marling, Dizzee Rascal, Natasha Bedingfield and Leona Lewis.
London is also a centre for Urban music. In particular the genres UK Garage, Drum and Bass and Grime evolved in the city from the foreign genres of hiphop and reggae, alongside local rave music. Black music station BBC 1Xtra was set up to support the rise of homegrown urban music both in London and the rest of the UK.
Sport tourism
London has hosted the Summer Olympics twice, in 1908 and 1948.[155][156] In July 2005 London was chosen to host the Games in 2012, which will make it the first city in the world to host the Summer Olympics three times. London was also the host of the British Empire Games in 1934. London's most popular sport (for both participants and spectators) is football. London has thirteen League football clubs, including five in the Premier League: Arsenal, Chelsea, Fulham, Tottenham Hotspur and West Ham United. London also has four rugby union teams in the Guinness Premiership (London Irish, Saracens, Wasps and Harlequins), although only the Harlequins play in London (all the other three now play outside Greater London, although Saracens still play within the M25). There are two professional rugby league clubs in London - Harlequins Rugby League who play in the Super League at the Stoop and the National League 2 side the London Skolars (based in Haringey).
Since 1924, the original Wembley Stadium was the home of the English national football team, and served as the venue for the FA Cup final as well as rugby league's Challenge Cup final. The new Wembley Stadium serves exactly the same purposes and has a capacity of 90,000. Twickenham Stadium in west London is the national rugby union stadium, and has a capacity of 84,000 now that the new south stand has been completed.
Cricket in London centres on its two Test cricket grounds at Lord's (home of Middlesex C.C.C) in St John's Wood, and The Oval (home of Surrey C.C.C) in Kennington. One of London's best-known annual sports competitions is the Wimbledon Tennis Championships, held at the All England Club in the south-western suburb of Wimbledon.[166] Other key events are the annual mass-participation London Marathon which sees some 35,000 runners attempt a 26.2 miles (42.2 km) course around the city, and the Oxford vs. Cambridge Boat Race on the River Thames between Putney and Mortlake.
List of Five-Star Hotels in London
There are no official bodies that rate hotels. Most widely accepted bodies are the AA (in the past the RAC too) and the English Tourist Board. The ETB have recently changed their criteria to match that of the AA to provide consistency. Many hotels remain self rated.
| Hotel | Location | Rooms | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 22 Jermyn Street | St. James's | 22 | townhouse hotel; owned by Togna family since 1915 |
| 41 Hotel | Westminster | 20 | boutique hotel |
| The Athenaeum Hotel and Apartments | Mayfair | 123 | modern |
| Baglioni Hotel | South Kensington | 66 | occupies a group of Victorian houses |
| The Bentley London | South Kensington | 64 | occupies Victorian buildings |
| The Berkeley | Belgravia | 214 | modern building; opened 1972, Includes the uber trendy Blue bar. Roof top pool. |
| Blakes Hotel | South Kensington | 51 | occupies a group of Victorian houses |
| Brown's Hotel | Mayfair | 117 | occupies eleven townhouses |
| Capital Hotel | Knightsbridge | 49 | modern |
| Carlton Tower Hotel | Knightsbridge | 220 | modern |
| Charlotte Street Hotel | Fitzrovia | 52 | |
| Churchill Hotel | Marylebone | 445 | modern |
| Claridge's | Mayfair | 203 | London's most aristocratic hotel; founded 1812 and rebuilt 1898 Art Deco. |
| The Connaught | Mayfair | 92 | traditional grand hotel |
| Courthouse Hotel | Bloomsbury | 116 | occupies a classical former magistrates court; modern rooms |
| Covent Garden Hotel | Covent Garden | 58 | English country house style |
| Dorchester Hotel | Mayfair | 238 | opened 1931; art deco exterior and "Georgian country house" rooms |
| Draycott Hotel | Chelsea | 35 | occupies three 1890s houses |
| Four Seasons Canary Wharf | Canary Wharf | 142 | modern chain hotel; opened c. 2001 |
| Four Seasons London | Mayfair | 220 | modern chain hotel |
| Franklin Hotel | Knightsbridge | 50 | opened 1992 in four Victorian houses; English country house style |
| Goring Hotel | Victoria | 74 | built 1910; traditional English style |
| Grange City Hotel | City of London | 307 | opened this century, near to Tower of London |
| Grange Holborn Hotel | Holborn | 200 | opened in a new building in the late 1990s |
| Great Eastern Hotel | City of London | 267 | Victorian railway hotel; reopened 2000 |
| Grosvenor House Hotel | Mayfair | 446 | built 1928 |
| Halkin Hotel | Belgravia | 41 | modern |
| Hempel Hotel | Bayswater | 40 | |
| Intercontinental | Mayfair | 458 | modern; most rooms of any central London 5 star hotel, multi-million pound refurbishment 2006 |
| The Landmark London | Marylebone Road | 299 | Victorian grand hotel; opened in 1899 as a railway hotel |
| Lanesborough Hotel | Knightsbridge | 95 | traditional grand hotel, first UK hotel to offer free phone calls |
| Langham Hotel | Marylebone | 429 | London's largest hotel when it opened in 1865 |
| Le Meridien Hotel Piccadilly | Mayfair | 266 | traditional grand hotel |
| The London Hilton on Park Lane | Mayfair | 450 | modern; London's tallest hotel |
| The Mandarin Oriental, Hyde Park | Knightsbridge | 200 | |
| Marriott County Hall Hotel | South Bank | 200 | occupies part of the neo-baroque London County Hall. |
| Marriott Grand Residence | Mayfair | 49 | built 1926 |
| Marriott London Grosvenor Square | Mayfair | 221 | early 20th century neo-Georgian |
| Marriott London Park Lane | Mayfair | 157 | built 1919 |
| Marriott West India Quay | Canary Wharf | 348 | built 2004; 301 rooms and 47 apartments |
| The May Fair | Mayfair | 406 | electic-luxury design |
| Millennium Hotel Mayfair | Mayfair | 348 | early 20th century neo-Georgian |
| One Aldwych | The Strand | 105 | early 21st century interiors in an early 20th century neo-baroque office building |
| Park Lane Hotel (Sheraton) | Mayfair | 307 | traditional grand hotel |
| Plaza On The River Club And Residence | Lambeth | 66 | |
| Radisson Edwardian Hampshire Hotel | Leicester Square | 124 | English country house style |
| Radisson Edwardian Heathrow Hotel | Heathrow | 459 | modern; most rooms of any Greater London 5 star hotel |
| Renaissance Chancery Court Hotel | Holborn | 356 | opened in the 1990s in a grand 1914 office building |
| Ritz Hotel | St. James's | 133 | opened 1906; French chateau style building; possibly the most famous hotel in the world and synonymous with Afternoon Tea. |
| Royal Garden Hotel | Kensington | 398 | modern |
| Sanderson Hotel | Fitzrovia | 150 | Ian Schrager minimalist hotel |
| Savoy Hotel | The Strand | 207 | traditional grand hotel; opened 1889 - first in London with en suite bathroom to all rooms. Closed in December 2007 and opening spring 2009. |
| Sloane Hotel | Chelsea | 22 | occupies some Victorian houses |
| Sheraton Park Tower Hotel | Knightsbridge | 181 | modern |
| Sheraton Skyline Hotel at London Heathrow | Heathrow | 350 | Modern Style |
| Sofitel St. James | St. James's | 186 | opened c.2000 in a grand classical former bank headquarters |
| Soho Hotel | Soho | 91 | |
| Stafford Hotel | St. James's | 80 | English country house style |
| St Martins Lane Hotel | Covent Garden | 204 | 1990s Philippe Starck minimalism in a 1960s office block |
| Swissotel London, The Howard | near The Strand | 189 | modern |
| Threadneedles City Boutique Hotel | City of London | 69 | occupies a banking hall built in 1865 |
| Trafalgar Hilton | Trafalgar Square | 129 | opened 2001; contemporary building behind a retained facade |
| Waldorf Hilton | near The Strand | 303 | grand hotel built in 1908; contemporary interiors from a refit completed in 2005 |
| Wyndham Grand Chelsea Harbour | Chelsea | 160 | modern; overlooks the marina at Chelsea Harbour |
