LONDON

Alexis Sancho GarridoAntonio Jiménez Rodríguez

Mario Expósito López

LONDON

London is the capital city of England and the United Kingdom, and the largest city, urban zone

and metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the European Union by most measures. Located on

the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back

to its founding by the Romans, who named it Londinium.

Big BenBig Ben is the nickname for the great bell of the clock at the north end of the Palace

of Westminster in London, and often extended to refer to the clock and the clock tower. The tower is now officially called the Elizabeth Tower, after being

renamed to celebrate the Diamond Jubilee of Queen Elizabeth II. The Elizabeth Tower holds the largest four-faced chiming clock in the world and is the third-tallest free-

standing clock tower. The tower was completed in 1858 and had its 150th

anniversary on 31 May 2009, during which celebratory events took place. The

Elizabeth Tower has become one of the most prominent symbols of both London

and England and is often in the establishing shot of films set in the city.

London EyeThe London Eye is a giant Ferris wheel

situated on the banks of the River Thames in London, England.It is the

tallest Ferris wheel in Europe, and the most popular paid tourist attraction in

the United Kingdom, visited by over 3.5 million people annually. The London Eye adjoins the western end of Jubilee

Gardens, on the South Bank of the River Thames between Westminster Bridge and Hungerford Bridge, in the

London Borough of Lambeth. The site is adjacent to that of the former Dome of

Discovery, which was built for the Festival of Britain in 1951

Buckingham PalaceBuckingham Palace is the official London residence and principal

workplace of the British monarch. Located in the City of Westminster, the palace is a setting for state occasions

and royal hospitality. It has been a focus for the British people at times of

national rejoicing and crisis.Originally known as Buckingham

House, the building which forms the core of today's palace was a large townhouse built for the Duke of

Buckingham in 1705 on a site which had been in private ownership for at least 150 years. It was subsequently acquired by George III in 1761 as a

private residence for Queen Charlotte, and known as "The Queen's House".

Saint Paul´s CathedralSt Paul's Cathedral, London, is a

Church of England cathedral St Paul's sits at the top of Ludgate Hill, the

highest point in the City of London, and is the mother church of the Diocese of London. The present church dating from the late 17th century was built to an English

Baroque design of Sir Christopher Wren, as part of a major rebuilding

program which took place in the city after the Great Fire of London, and was completed within his lifetime.

Tower BridgeTower Bridge (built 1886–1894) is a

combined bascule and suspension bridge in London, over the River Thames. It is

close to the Tower of London, from which it takes its name.

The bridge consists of two towers tied together at the upper level by means of two horizontal walkways, designed to

withstand the horizontal forces exerted by the suspended sections of the bridge

on the landward sides of the towers.Originally it was painted a mid greenish-

blue colour. The nearest London Underground station is Tower Hill on the Circle and District lines, and the nearest Docklands Light Railway station is Tower

Gateway.

Westminster AbbeyWestminster Abbey, is a large, mainly Gothic church,

in the City of Westminster, London, located just to the west of the Palace of Westminster. It is the

traditional place of coronation and burial site for English, later British and later still (and currently)

monarchs of the Commonwealth realms. The abbey is a Royal Peculiar and briefly held the status of a

cathedral from 1540 to 1550.Westminster Abbey is a collegiate church governed by the Dean and Chapter

of Westminster, as established by Royal charter of Queen Elizabeth I in 1560Henry III was unable to be

crowned in London when he first came to the throne because the French prince Louis had taken control of the city, and so the king was crowned in Gloucester

Cathedral.

Trafalgar SquareTrafalgar Square is a public space and tourist attraction in central London, United Kingdom,

built around the area formerly known as Charing Cross. It is in the borough of the City

of Westminster. At its centre is Nelson's Column, which is guarded by four lion statues at its base. There are a number of statues and

sculptures in the square, with one plinth displaying changing pieces of contemporary

art. The square is also used for political demonstrations and community gatherings, such as the celebration of New Year's Eve.

The name commemorates the Battle of Trafalgar (1805), a British naval victory of the

Napoleonic Wars over France. The original name was to have been "King William the

Fourth's Square", but George Ledwell Taylor suggested the name "Trafalgar Square".

River Thameshe River Thames flows through southern England. It is the longest river entirely in England and the second longest in the

United Kingdom, behind the River Severn. While it is best known because its lower

reaches flow through central London, the river flows alongside several other towns

and cities, including Oxford, Reading, Henley-on-Thames, Windsor, Kingston upon

Thames and Richmond.The river gives its name to several

geographical and political entities, including the Thames Valley, a region of England

around the river between Oxford and west London, the Thames Gateway, the area centred on the tidal Thames, and the

Thames Estuary to the east of London. The tidal section of the river is covered in more

detail under Tideway.

National GalleryThe National Gallery is an art museum on Trafalgar Square,

London. Founded in 1824, it houses a collection of over 2,300 paintings dating from the mid-13th century to 1900. The Gallery is an exempt charity, and a non-departmental

public body of the Department for Culture, Media and Sport. Its

collection belongs to the public of the United Kingdom and entry to

the main collection is free of charge. It is the fourth most visited art museum in the world, after the Musée du Louvre, the Metropolitan

Museum of Art and the British Museum.

Picadilly CircusPiccadilly Circus is a road junction and

public space of London's West End in the City of Westminster, built in 1819 to

connect Regent Street with the major shopping street of Piccadilly. In this

context, a circus, from the Latin word meaning "circle", is a round open space at

a street junctionPiccadilly now links directly to the

theatres on Shaftesbury Avenue, as well as the Haymarket, Coventry Street (onwards to Leicester Square), and

Glasshouse Street. The Circus is close to major shopping and entertainment areas

in the West End. Its status as a major traffic intersection has made Piccadilly

Circus a busy meeting place and a tourist attraction in its own right.

UndergroundThe London Underground is a

metro system in the United Kingdom, serving a large part of Greater London and some parts

of Buckinghamshire, Hertfordshire and Essex .It

incorporates the first underground railway in the

world, which opened in 1863 The first tunnels were built just below the surface; later circular

tunnels (tubes) were dug through the London Clay.

Greenwich ObservatoryRoyal Observatory, Greenwich in London played a

major role in the history of astronomy and navigation, and is best known as the location of

the prime meridian. It is situated on a hill in Greenwich Park, overlooking the River Thames. The observatory was commissioned in 1675 by King Charles II, with the foundation stone being laid on 10 August.[1] At that time the king also

created the position of Astronomer Royal, to serve as the director of the observatory and to "apply

himself with the most exact care and diligence to the rectifying of the tables of the motions of the

heavens, and the places of the fixed stars, so as to find out the so much desired longitude of places

for the perfecting of the art of navigation." He appointed John Flamsteed as the first AR. The

building was completed in the summer of 1676.

The building was often given the title "Flamsteed House", in reference to its first occupant.