London

(history of the city, well-known sights, museums and galleries, parks, theatres, industries)

1) London
•    capital of both England and the United Kingdom
•    lies on the river Thames
•    7 million people
•    2 thousand years old, 1665 plague, 1666 great fire (80% of city destroyed), Millennium Circle
•    the seat of the Monarch, the Parliament, the Government, the Supreme Court
•    the Prime Meridian of the World runs across Greenwich in the east London
•    5 airports (largest Heathrow), underground (called tube, oldest in the world), red double decker buses, black old taxis, ships and boats
•    parts of London: the City of London (oldest), the East End (many new immigrants, home of working people), the West End (shops, theatres, banks, residential areas, parks)

2) Important places
•    the Tower of London, William the Conqueror began to build the White Tower (royal home, prison, execution site, observatory), now museum (arsenal weapons, the Crown Jewels)
•    Tower Bridge, most famous bridge in London, can be raised in middle
•    St. Paul’s Cathedral, built by Christopher Wren, Whispering Gallery with interesting acoustic
•    the Houses of Parliament, political centre of the UK, home of British Parliament, divided into House of Commons and House of Lords
•    Big Ben, bells in the tower clock of the Houses of Parliament, its strike used by BBC as a time signal
•    Westminster Abbey, church, where monarchs are crowned and heroes buried, the Poet’s Corner (Shakespeare, Milton, Chaucer)
•    Whitehall, lined with Government along both sides, Headquarters of the Royal Horse Guard, changing of the Guard
•    Downing Street, no. 10 home of Prime Minister
•    Buckingham Palace, home of the kings and queens, in front the Queen Victoria Monument
•    Trafalgar Square with Nelson’s Column, largest square in London
•    National Gallery, on side of Trafalgar Square, exhibition of paintings
•    Piccadilly Circus, centre of entertainment (night clubs, theatres, cinemas, restaurants)
•    Hyde Park with Speaker’s Corner, everybody can speak here publicly without fear of being arrested
•    Regent’s Park with a ZOO, rich collection of animals
•    Baker Street, home of Sherlock Holmes
•    London Dungeon, medieval horror museum
•    Madame Tussaud’s, museum of wax portraits of famous world figures
•    Oxford street, shopping facilities, Harrods, Marks & Spencer