The city you’re visiting today has ruled over the entire world. London was the capital of the British Empire, the largest in history, which began with the first colonies in the 17th century and in 1922 still controlled a fifth of the world’s population and almost a third of the planet. For more than two centuries, it was London that decided the fate of Australia, North America, Oceania, India and almost a third of Africa.
London has maintained the allure of this era intact, as you’ll see in its many magnificent historical buildings, such as Buckingham Palace, the Queen’s residence, or its extraordinary museums, featuring some of the finest collections in the world, often thanks to the objects brought from the colonies.
Londoners have always been adept, however, at combining tradition with progress, and the vibrant city we can see today, with its impressive avant-garde architecture, is just as appealing as it was in the past.
The royal family still lives in Buckingham Palace, and parliament has been meeting in Westminster since 1200, but if you look upwards as you stroll through the City, you’ll find that it’s the futuristic skyscrapers, or the London Eye, the giant Ferris wheel overlooking the Thames, that create the present-day image of London.
London today has nine million inhabitants, or fourteen if we consider the metropolitan area, and it has shown skill and elegance in adapting to the needs of its increasingly large, cosmopolitan population.
As you take a walk through Soho, you’ll have the choice between a pub with hundreds of years of history, or a more modern, trendy one.
You might like to choose a musical at the theatre, or a street show at Piccadilly Circus, or you might be tempted into one of the hundreds of clubs where you can listen to all kinds of concerts. Remember that London is the home of the Beatles, rock, punk and pop, and many top stars of the English music scene live here. Whatever your age, and whatever your tastes, London has the show for you.
An interesting fact: did you know that visitors flock to the house of Sherlock Holmes on Baker Street? Don’t you find that a little strange, since Holmes is a fictional character?
So get ready to visit the wonders of this splendid city.
Enjoy your stay!
Language: English