London England

Buckingham Palace



Buckingham Palace serves as both the office and residence of Her Majesty, the Queen. It is one of the few working royal palaces remaining in the world today. During the summer, visitors can tour the nineteen State Rooms, which form the heart of the Palace. These magnificent rooms are decorated with some of the greatest treasures from the Royal Collection, including paintings by Rembrandt, Rubens and Canaletto and sculpture by Canova.

Big Ben and Houses of Parliament



Big Ben is one of city's best-known tourist landmarks, and looks truly spectacular at night when the clock faces are illuminated. You even know when parliament is in session, because a light shines above the clock face. The name Big Ben actually refers not to the clock-tower itself, but to the thirteen ton bell hung within. The bell was named after the first commissioner of works, Sir Benjamin Hall. The clock in the tower was once the biggest in the world, able to strike the first blow for each hour with an accuracy of one second.

London Eye



It provides a 30-minute, slow-moving 'flight' over city. Designed to reflect the elements of air, water, earth and time - the central theme is a circle of white light from within the rim which sweeps the skyline at 135 metres. The passenger capsules signifying 'time', is lit internally at the point of embarkation. Each high-tech capsule accommodates up to 25 people. The attraction has the capacity to handle 1,500 visitors every hour.

Madame Tussaud's
Most large towns have waxworks museums, and this is just another one, albeit much bigger. It's a big crowd puller - the queues can be horrendous - but you can pre-book a ticket online and walk jauntily by the unfortunates if you wish. Has worked hard over the years to achieve a semi-official status, like the Guinness book of records. Have your photo taken next to Charles , the artist formally known as Prince (if the crowd will part for long enough), or the artist formerly known as Prince (or whatever he calls himself today). Also on the site is the planetarium, which is much like all other planetaria, only more so. We think there are much better things to do in city, especially considering the steep admission price - thousands disagree.

St. Paul’s Cathedral
Every day St. Paul’s Cathedral welcomes visitors from all parts of the world. There has been a Cathedral on this site for 1,400 years and the present Cathedral - Sir Christopher Wren's great masterpiece - is now fast approaching the 300th anniversary of its completion. It holds services every day in the Cathedral and all are welcome to attend. This grand cathedral with its world famous dome is well worth a visit. It is a landmark on the city skyline. £10.00

Tower of London
Founded nearly a millennium ago and expanded upon over the centuries since, the it has protected, housed, imprisoned and been for many the last sight they saw on Earth. It has been the seat of British government and the living quarters of monarchs the site of renowned political intrigue, and the repository of the Crown Jewels. It has housed lions, bears, and (to this day) flightless ravens. Not to mention notorious traitors and framed members of court, lords and ministers, clergymen and knights.

Harrod’s
You might just want to schedule a trip to city even if it’s just for a visit to Harrod’s! It is extravagant shopping mall, boasting of unending levels of designer clothing, accessories, make-up, jewelry, furniture, home goods, and so much more. The entire store literally sparkles and everything is so inviting. If you are going to Harrod's, plan to spend a good amount of time here—this is not your average store. The customer service here is excellent and there are people around every corner to help you in any way. The chocolate croissants and pastries at the bakery are to die for!  

Westminster Abbey
The site of royal coronations and royal entombments, Westminster Abbey holds more history than almost any building in city. Westminster Abbey displays the oak Coronation Chair made by order of King Edward I that has been used in every investiture since 1308.The site for many royal marriages through centuries, the church has also been the destination of funeral corteges for British notables, including Lord Louis Mountbatten and Diana, Princess of Wales. The honored also include British politicians, scientists, soldiers, writers, poets, musicians, and actors. Entry £12
   
Piccadily Market, Leicester Square and Covent Garden
Starting at Oxford Circus, wander down the magnificent Regent Street & onto Piccadilly Circus, one of city's most photographed areas. Keep wandering on to Leicester Sq, home of countless world film premieres & the heart of discounted theatre tickets. Top it off with a walk on to Covent Garden, home of buskers & street performers.   

British Museum
The British Museum's collection of seven million objects representing the rich history of human cultures mirrors the city of city's global variety. In no other museum can the visitor see so clearly the history of what it is to be human. More than five million people pass through the doors of the British Museum every year. They come to view the galleries, take in temporary exhibitions, participate in events or just to spend a few moments in one of city’s most spectacular public buildings.

National Gallery
An exquisite celebration of the exceptional collection of paintings is found in the National Gallery. The works in The National Gallery include masterpieces of Renaissance art, the largest collection of Velazquez outside of Spain, early Flemish paintings, Italian Renaissance masterpieces, the Italian Seicento at its height, and works by the greatest French painters. A great rainy day spot!

FUN PLACES FOR KIDS

If you are traveling to city for any length of time, whether it is a week or a day, you need to find some fun, child-friendly activities to keep your little people happy. It would also be helpful to know that many places in city that are open to the general public now have  child-changing facilities so there won’t be any unexpected problems. The first thing you should do is to take your kids on the different modes of public transport available in city. There is the underground ride, which can be exciting if it is any child's first time. You could also consider taking them on top of the one city's infamous red buses. Get a map of the city and get your children to try and make a route that you can travel along. This way it means that your children can get involved in the planning also and it will seem less boring for them.
 
As for the main sightseeing attractions in city, take them to fascinating and large attractions, Tower of city and Tower Bridge for example. They will not really care about the history of the famous landmarks, but the sheer size of them will amaze even the most grown up of kids!

If you have kids that are slighter older, why not consider taking them to the gruesome Dungeon. This can scare small children, but older kids, especially boys seem to love it. There is the world famous waxworks - Madame Tussauds; your son or daughter can have their picture taken standing next to their idol. The Museums in the capital are free, so if your kids have a short attention span, as most kids do, then you make short and more frequent trips to them. There is always plenty to do as well, so you won't find yourself traipsing around and in and out of museums all day. To really make your kids happy, you could take them to Zoo. Amaze them with the sheer size of an elephant or make them chuckle with the cheeky antics of the chimpanzees, whichever you do, all kids love a zoo!

There are no actual theme parks in the centre of city. There are some pretty good ones on the outskirts of city, if you want to travel a little bit further. Legoland and Chessington World of Adventures are all particular favorites of children, but it will mean paying a little bit more and traveling further out of the city. Whatever you decide to do with your children in city, there are plenty of things to keep them occupied and very few of them are expensive. The only problem you may face, is keeping up with them!

PARKS

The lungs of city, you can walk from Westminster to Holland Park solely in the parks. The view from the bridge in St James Park towards Whitehall is stunning. Regent's park has excellent cultivated gardens and the famous zoo, Hyde Park has Speakers' Corner where fanatics rail and preach and a nice place for recreation, St James has the lake and pelicans; Green is Stately and Royal and Kensington Gardens houses the Royal Costume collection. Holland Park has the Orangery and an Opera House, as well as the most beautiful youth hostel in the country. Go fly a kite on Blackheath or visit the deer in Greenwich Park.
 

OTHER MUSEUMS
As well as the permanent dinosaur exhibition, the Natural History Museum boasts a collection of the biggest, tallest and rarest animals in the world. Don't miss the life-sized model of the Blue Whale, the 40 million year old spider, the earthquake simulator and an elephant bird egg. See, touch and experience the major scientific advances of the last 300 years at the largest museum of its kind in the world at The Science Museum. It has over 40 galleries and 2000 hands-on exhibits, step into the future in the Wellcome Wing, visit the IMAX cinema and virtual reality simulator. The Victoria &Albert Museum celebrates all things art and design, and is home to 3,000 years worth of amazing artefacts from many of the world's richest cultures. See their amazing collection of ceramics, furniture, fashion, glass, jewellery, photographs, sculpture, textiles and paintings. One of the greatest maritime museums of the world containing models, displays, paintings and trophies from every continent of the world is the National Maritime Museum. Children find plenty to engage them in the All Hands gallery and have a go on the professional ship simulator.


OTHER PLACES OF ATTRACTION

The Tate Modern, Tate Britain and National Galleries. The impressive Tate Modern is Britain's national museum of modern art. Housed on the banks of the River Thames, the gallery displays major works by Matisse and Picasso as well as contemporary work, exhibitions and installations. All free so don't bolt your art, digest it slowly with frequent visits as city's public collections are the best in the world.

Trafalgar Square
How could you miss one of the capital's most iconic areas? Come and marvel at Nelson's Column and the four huge lion statues. Feeding the pigeons is now discouraged (due to the spread of diseases) so please don't bring them any treats. On the north side of the square you can visit the National Gallery and just around the corner on St. Martin's Lane is the National Portrait Gallery. Both have both permanent displays and special exhibitions so check what's on before you go.

Hampton Court
A whole succession of monarchs have added to Henry VIII's original palace with a fantastic park and gardens, Tudor kitchens and one of the last remaining Real Tennis courts. Lots of free (once you've paid the admission) guided tours, some in costume, by people who know and love the place. It's also surrounded by a series of parks and makes a great destination for a bike trip

The River
Walk along the South Bank from Tower Bridge to Lambeth. The best of city is spread out for you: The Houses of Parliament, Lambeth Palace (residence of the Archbishop of Canterbury), Shakespeare's Globe theatre, Both Tate Galleries, St Paul's Cathedral, The South Bank Centre, The Temple, The Eye. Or you can take a boat out to Greenwich, the Thames Barrier or the Dome.

The Theatre: - It'd be a crime to visit city and not take in a show. Londoners have been passionate about the theatre for centuries not only is the quality high, but the price is low - one third the price of Broadway. Classical Music and Opera is of a similarly high standard and low price.

Princess Diana Memorial
Set in Kensington Gardens, the palace has been an official Royal residency since the early 17th Century and is now the home of the Duke and Duchess of Gloucester as well as the Duke and Duchess of Kent. At present, it is also the home of the “Diana, Princess of Wales by Mario Testino” memorial, which consists of never seen before images of the Princess.