This is London

PLACES to VISIT
You can visit many interesting places in London. This chapter tells you about some of them. You can find these places on any map. In London you are never far from the River Thames. It is a very beautiful river. Tourists go on boat trips on the river.
One of the best trips is from Tower Bridge to Westminster. Tower Bridge is near the Tower of London.
Most of the famous old buildings are north of the river. On the South Bank, there are some fine, modem buildings. The Royal Festival Hall, the National Theatre, the Museum of the Moving Image and many art galleries and restaurants are on the South Bank. 

The Houses of Parliament
The Houses of Parliament are in Westminster. They are the centre of the British government. Members of Parliament (MPs) come from all over Britain. They meet in the Houses of Parliament.
You can see the large clock of the Big Ben. To the right of Big Ben is Whitehall. Many government buildings are in this street. Downing Street is off Whitehall. The Prime Minister lives in number ten Downing Street. 

Churches
Westminster Abbey is one of the most famous churches in London. lt is very near to the Houses of Parliament.
The Abbey is more than nine hundred years old. William the Conqueror visited the Abbey in 1066. In 1953, Queen Elizabeth II was crowned there. Nearly all English Kings and Queens are crowned in Westminster Abbey.
Another great London church is St Paul's Cathedral. The cathedral was built by Sir Christopher Wren after the Great Fire of 1666.
Visitors can climb to the top of the cathedral. From the top, there is a good view of the City of London.
There are many beautiful Wren churches in and around the City.  

Art Galleries
You can find many art galleries in London. The most famous of all is the National Gallery in Trafalgar Square. It has many of the best paintings in the world. You can see paintings by Constable, Goya, Van Dyck, Leonardo da Vinci, Michelangelo, Rembrandt, Renoir, Rubens and Titian.
Another of the great London galleries is the Tate.
The Tate Gallery was built in 1897 - sixty years after the National Gallery. It is on the north bank of the Thames near Lambeth Bridge. In the Tate, you will find paintings by British artists. In the Tate, you will find paintings by British artists. The best known are Turner and William Blake. The Tate also has collections of modem paintings by foreign artists - for example, Picasso.   

NATIONAL GALLERY and ST. MARTIN
(Photo: Héctor Muñoz)

Museums
The British Museum is one of the largest and greatest museums in the world. You can see collections from many different countries. For example, there have been exhibitions about the Vikings from Scandinavia, Tutankhamun from Egypt and the Treasury of San Marco from Venice in Italy.
Another very interesting museum is the Victoria and Albert Museum (the V and A). The V and A has many different collectíons - clothes, furniture, carpets, ceramics, paintings, sculpture, jewellery.
Two other important museums are near the V and A: the Science Museum and the Natural History Museum.   

GREEK TEMPLE - British Museum
(Photo: Héctor Muñoz)

Palaces
Buckingham Palace is the London home of the Queen. You can walk from Westminster Abbey to the Palace. The walk goes through St Jarnes's Park.
Soldiers aIways guard the Palace. At half past eleven every morning, the soldiers change guard. You can stand outside the front of the Palace. You can watch the changíng of the guard.
The Queen's Gallery is in Buckingham Palace. Tourists can visit the gallery and see the Queen's collection of paintings. The gallery is open all day Tuesday to Saturday and on Sunday afternoon. lt is closed on Monday.
Another of the Queen's homes is Windsor Castle. Windsor is on the River Thames, about forty kilometres from London. The Queen often stays at Windsor at Christmas and at Easter. The castle is eight hundred years old. Inside the castle, there is a lovely old church. It is called St George's Chapel.
Hampton Court is another old palace near London. In the sixteenth century, King Henry VIII of England lived in Hampton Court. Now it is a museum. The Queen does not live there. The gardens around the palace are among the most beautiful in England. 

Parks
Every visitor knows some of the parks of London. There are more than eighty of them. The best known parks, near the centre of London, are Hyde Park, Regent's Park, St James's Park and St James’s Park.
Hyde Park is a large park of three hundred and forty acres. In the sixteenth century, King Henry VIII hunted wild animals in Hyde Park. Today, people walk in the park or sit on the grass.
The Serpentine is a lake in the middle of Hyde Park. In summer, you can swim in the Serpentine at the Lido or go out in a boat.
Speakers' Corner is also in Hyde Park, near Marble Arch. Anyone can make a speech at Speakers' Corner.
Regent's Park is larger than Hyde Park. The London Zoo is in Regent's Park. There are more than six thousand animals and birds in the Zoo. You can visit the Zoo by boat. The boat goes along the Regent's Canal. There is also an open-air theatre in Regent's Park. You can see Shakespeare's plays there in the summer.
St James's Park is the oldest and the smallest of these three parks. lt is very near Buckingham Palace. The lake and gardens in St Jarnes's Park are very beautiful.

Source: Philip Prowse (Heinemann)