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One of the world’s greateast cities with vibrant and multicultural atmosphere, London, is located in the southeast of England, on the River Thames; it is the capital of the United Kingdom (UK) and has been the heart of its political, cultural and business life for centuries.
It was the Romans who really kick-started the city, by establishing “Londinium” as an important fortress town, guarding the Thames and protecting against any Celtic tribes trying to invade the then untamed island.
Nowadays, the sheer scale of Greater London can be daunting at first, as it sprawls 580 square miles across a voluminous plain. However, it is a city that is surprisingly easy to get around, with the comprehensive and easily navigated London Underground or “Tube”.
The seat of government (not far from the home of the royal family) is connected to the City (the financial engine room of London and the whole of the UK) by the River Thames. In between lie most of the tourist attractions and the busiest, liveliest different entertainment areas, such as Knightsbridge and Soho. But London’s vivacity and charm stretches far beyond the Circle Line – the Underground route that rings the inner city. Residential areas outside the city centre, such as leafy Richmond (southwest) or Hampstead (north), trendy Hoxton (east) or Notting Hill (west), each have their own beating heart.
Tourists come for London’s history or London’s royal pageantry but they return for all the charms of the modern London, not least the extraordinary breadth of London’s cultural life, with world-class art galleries and theatres, buzzing nightlife, film, music, culinary and fashion scenes. Walking the streets of London, or strolling through its parks, one realises that, in a city hailed for its ability to embrace modernity and change, the past is, however, never far away: there are four world heritage sites in London (the Palace of Westminster, the Tower of London, Maritime Greenwhich and Kew Gardens) and some 40,000 listed buildings and structures.
The Tower Bridge, the Buckingham Palace, the Houses of Parliament, the Big Ben, Westminster Abbey and London Eye should not be missed.
Walking on the banks of the River Thames enjoy the frendly city of London!
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