The first thing that strikes you about London, especially to a country boy like me, is just how big London is.  Other good words to describe London would be busy, bustling and cosmopolitan.  I don't think I can recall seeing so many overseas folk in one place at one time!  It all adds to the unique atmosphere of a big city, of course, along with all the other sights, smells and sounds.

History

Click here for a look at some of the key events in the history of London.

Parks

London has a wide range of parks, to provide some relief from the smell and pollution of the city.  Some are large parks, some are not so big.  Whichever park you chose to visit, you will always find a wide range of activities going on, or just some open space to chill out if that's what you need.

	Green Park		Regent's Park
	Queen Mary's Gardens		Boating Lake
	Hyde Park		The Serpentine
	Kensington Gardens		St James' Park
	Hyde Park Fair		Snow in Hyde Park

Royalty and Government

London of course is the home of the British royal family, with Buckingham Palace being the main centre of attraction.  Westminster Abbey and St Paul's Cathedral are important religious symbols of London, where many royal births, weddings and deaths have been celebrated and commemorated.

The government of the United Kingdom is centred on London, with the Houses of Parliament and Whitehall being the chief points of interest.  Big Ben is one of the best-known sights of London.

	Big Ben		Whitehall
	Houses of Parliament		Trafalgar Square
	Buckingham Palace		St Paul's Cathedral
	Kensington Palace		Westminster Abbey

Roads

London is one of the great places to go shopping.  Many of the major shopping chains in the UK have their major stores or base in London.  You can travel from the popular stores in Oxford Street right through to the very exclusive stores in Savile Row and Bond Street.

	Bond Street		Piccadilly
	Carnaby Street		Regent Street
	Oxford Street		Savile Row
	King's Road		Shaftesbury Avenue
	Baker Street		Portobello Road
	Fleet Street		Strand
	Jermyn Street		Threadneedle Street
	Pall Mall		Tottenham Court Road
	St James Street

Squares

London likes its squares.  These are often communal areas where people like to gather and just chill out or pass the time of day.  Often the formation of the local buildings serves to create such a square (e.g. Belgrave Square).

	Leicester Square		Sloan Square
	Grosvenor Square		Belgrave Square
	Soho Square		Trafalgar Square

Districts

Like any other big city, London is split up into a number of districts, and of course some are more fashionable than others.  Here are just a selection of the various districts that make up central London.  I've included Covent Garden here since it has a unique atmosphere that differs from its surroundings.

	Chinatown		Kensington
	Covent Garden		Knightsbridge
	Holborn		Notting Hill
	Lancaster Gate		Lambeth

Down by the River

The River Thames is the major river that runs through the heart of London.  It is also the location for many of the major attractions of London.  The London Eye gives spectacular views across the capital, whereas the Tower of London gives a view of what life in London was like in days gone by.

	London Eye		Tower of London
	River Thames		Tower Bridge
	South Bank		Victoria Embankment
	Famous Ships

Sundries and other places of Interest

There are a vast number of sights in London, far too many to include in detail here.  The following sections show some sights that are also of interest to visitors, but which don't really fit into any of the categories above.  Pride of place here must go to two of the great shops of London, Selfridges and Harrods, and also the magnificent British Museum.

	Harrods		British Museum - Outside
	Selfridges		British Museum - Inside
	Marble Arch		Diana Fountain
	Museums		Sundries
	Aerial Photos		Views of London