London Basic Facts & Information - Currency, Climate, Language, Time zone, Population, Tallest building etc

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London Basic

BASIC FACTS AND INFORMATION

London is an international centre of culture in terms of arts, music, festivals, museums and much more. The diversity of cultures within city is so great that easy definition is impossible. The city is home to more than 300 nationalities that have over time, molded and shaped the city's culture into what it is today. London is more than one of the great cities of the world – it’s almost a country in its own right. The sheer size and scope of the city can make travel pretty intimidating for visitors. Even the act of traveling around Greater London or into city's historic centre can be daunting for the first time visitor.

CLIMATE

City has a temperate marine climate, like much of the British Isles, so the city rarely sees extremely high or low temperatures. Summers are warm with average high temperatures; however, temperatures could exceed 25 °C (77 °F) on many days. Winters here are chilly, but rarely below freezing with daytime temperatures around 2 - 8 °C (36 - 46 °F), while spring has mild days and cool evenings. City has regular but generally light precipitation throughout the year, with average precipitation of 583.6 millimeters (22.98 in) every year. Snow is relatively uncommon, particularly because heat from the urban area can make city up to 5 °C (9 °F) hotter than the surrounding areas in winter. Some snowfall, however, is usually seen up to a few times a year.

CITY IN FIGURES

Country: United Kingdom

Region: England City: London

Coordinates: 51:30:00N 0:07:00W

Altitude: 14m / 49ft

Currency: British Pound (GBP)

Language: English

Time Zone: Greenwich Meridian Time (GMT)

It is the biggest city in Britain and in Europe

It occupies over 620 square miles

It has a population of 7,560,000 appx (2009)

About 12 per cent of Britain’s overall population live in here.

City has the highest population density in Britain, with 4,699 people per square kilometre.

The tallest building in city is the Canary Wharf Tower.

It was the first city in the world to have an underground railway, known as the 'Tube'.

Some of the most important people from countries all over the world visit the Queen at Buckingham Palace.

There are over 100 theatres in city, including 50 in the West End.

CURRENCY

100 pence is equal to one pound, making working with the UK currency easy. The symbol used for pounds is: £ or is sometimes shown as GBP (Great Britain Pounds) and the symbol used for pence is: p. So two pound forty pence would be written: £2.40 or GBP 2.40. Twenty pence would be written 20p. Currently the currency in use is as follows:

Coins: 1 pence, 2 pence, 5 pence, 10 pence, 50 pence, one pound, 2 pounds. The 1 and 2 pence piece are bronze, the 5, 10, 20 and 50 pence pieces are silver and the 1 and 2 pound coins are gold. All coins carry the Queens head on the front.