Most rail lines terminate around the centre of London, running into eighteen terminal stations, with the exception of the Thameslink trains connecting Bedford in the north and Brighton in the south via Luton and Gatwick airports. London is a major international air transport hub with the busiest city airspace in the world. The gas and electricity distribution networks that manage and operate the towers, cables and pressure systems that deliver energy to consumers across the city are managed by National Grid plc, SGN and UK Power Networks. Many national newspapers, including The Times, founded in 1785, are edited in London; the term Fleet Street (where most national newspapers operated) remains a metonym for the British national press.
London’s Royal Parks
- The city has the most museums, art galleries, libraries and cultural venues in the UK, including the British Museum, the National Gallery, the Natural History Museum, Tate Modern, the British Library and numerous West End theatres.
- Since the start of the 21st century the extreme form of the Cockney dialect is less common in parts of the East End itself, with modern strongholds including other parts of London and suburbs in the home counties.
- For an old-school pint or four, drop into the French House, Bar Termini, Yard or the White Horse.
- The record label EMI was formed in the city in 1931, and an early employee for the company, Alan Blumlein, created stereo sound that year.
In 1881, the West End’s Savoy Theatre, which was built to showcase the plays of Gilbert and Sullivan, was fitted with the incandescent light bulb developed by Sir Joseph Swan to become the first public building in the world to be lit entirely by electricity. Important scientific learned societies based in London include the Royal Society – the UK’s national academy of sciences and the oldest national scientific institution in the world – founded in 1660, and the Royal Institution, founded in 1799. Founded by Florence Nightingale at St Thomas’ Hospital in 1860, the first nursing school is now part of King’s College London. Additionally, many biomedical and biotechnology spin out companies from these research institutions are based around the city, most prominently in White City. There are also three international universities – Regent’s University London, Richmond American University London and Schiller International University.
Somerset House
In 2010 foundations of a large timber structure, dated to 4800–4500 BC, were found on the Thames’ south foreshore downstream from Vauxhall Bridge. In 1993 remains of a Bronze Age bridge were found on the south River Thames foreshore, upstream from Vauxhall Bridge. It became the first city to host three Summer Olympic Games upon hosting the 2012 Summer Olympics. The London metropolitan area is the third-most-populous in Europe, with about 15 million inhabitants as of 2025, making London a megacity.g It is the most-visited city in Europe and has the world’s busiest city airport system. London hosts Europe’s largest concentration of higher education institutions, comprising over 50 universities and colleges and enrolling more than 500,000 students as at 2023.
Google Password Manager
Rainfall records have been kept in the city since at least 1697, when records began at Kew. In terms of international connectedness, as of 2024, London was one of two cities worldwide classified as an “Alpha++” city by the Globalization and World Cities Research Network. However, Britain’s exit from the EU in January 2020 only marginally weakened London’s position as an international financial centre.
Houses of Parliament
The place to be for rap and R&B music in the UK with previous headliners including Kanye West and Jay-Z. Dive into Europe’s largest celebration for African, Asian, Middle Eastern, Latin American and Caribbean LGBTQIA+ people in London. Revealing the human side of Britain’s conflicts, the world’s largest war museum is both poignant and fascinating. Step back in time to the Victorian world of one of the greatest literary detectives, Sherlock Holmes, at his ‘real life’ address.
What was formerly the Millennium Dome, by the Thames to the east of Canary Wharf, is now an entertainment venue called the O2 Arena. Nevertheless, there are a number of tall skyscrapers in Central London, including the 95-storey Shard London Bridge, the tallest building in the UK and Western Europe. Nelson’s Column (built to commemorate Admiral Horatio Nelson who is depicted in a 17 feet (5.2 m) statue at the top) is a nationally recognised monument in Trafalgar Square, one of the focal points of Central London.
Whether you’re a first-time visitor or coming back for more, London serves up so many options that it can be hard to know where to start. Join our community to get discounts, travel inspiration and trip ideas – just in time for summer! For travelers on a short trip that want to make the most of their time exploring. Epic Guides provide inspiration and first-person stories for a lifetime of unforgettable travel experiences. These destinations are both renowned and historic, continuing to play an active role in city life centuries after their creation.
All of Google,working for you
London’s original city centre, the City of London is England’s smallest city. It is also the city with the highest population in the UK. London is the capital and largest city of both England and the United Kingdom. St Pancras International is the city’s Eurostar hub, with multiple direct connections to Europe. Escape the city for Petersham Nurseries, a garden centre with a Michelin-Green-Starred difference. Enjoy a 360-degree view of London from Britain’s tallest building, which towers over the city’s skyline.
London is a major retail centre, and in 2010 had the highest non-food retail sales of any city in the world, with a total spend of around £64.2 billion. London is the most visited city in the world by international tourists with 18.8 million international visitors per year. The London Stock Exchange is the most international stock exchange and the largest in Europe. Cromwell’s victory was followed by his death in 1658, and the country for a time moved back to royal rule under Charles II. The term “London” is used for the urban region which developed around this city centre.
Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew
To learn more about the Tower’s back story, join a Yeoman Warder’s tour for a fascinating and personal introduction to the life and grisly times of this fortress-palace. You probably already have a checklist of London sights to visit, but don’t forget to pause and soak up the vibe of a city that has been at the forefront of world culture for at least two millennia. On the park’s western edge stands Kensington Palace, the official London residence of the Prince and Princess of Wales. Hyde Park is one of London’s largest and most historic green spaces, covering 350 acres in the heart of the city. Step through the doors and you’ll find some of history’s most significant and impressive treasures, including the Rosetta Stone, Egyptian mummies, Assyrian palace sculptures, and the Parthenon marble sculptures. The crypt beneath the cathedral holds the tombs of national figures including Admiral Lord Horatio Nelson and the Duke of Wellington.
The abbey has also witnessed 16 royal weddings, including that of Prince William and Catherine Middleton in 2011. With its grand façade, gilded gates, and timeless pageantry, the palace is one of London’s most enduring symbols. Completed as part of architect Charles Barry’s reconstruction of the Palace of Westminster after a devastating fire in 1834, the tower’s Great Clock began keeping time on May 31, 1859. Yeoman Warders, commonly known as Beefeaters, were put in place by King Henry VII and still live within the walls of the tower, leading tours filled with stories of Tudor executions, medieval torture, and royal scandal.
One of London’s best-known annual sports competitions is the Wimbledon Tennis Championships, held at the All England Club in the south-western suburb chicken road app of Wimbledon since 1877. Crystal Palace Park in south-east London was laid out as a pleasure ground, and, reflecting the public enthusiasm for dinosaurs that first developed in Victorian England, it contains the first-ever life-sized models of dinosaurs. The city is home to nearly half of its area covered in green and blue spaces, featuring around 3,000 parks, over 8 million trees, and 150 nature reserves. A 2013 report by the City of London Corporation said that London is the “greenest city” in Europe with 35,000 acres (14,164 hectares) of public parks, woodlands and gardens. The British Library is the second largest library in the world, and the national library of the United Kingdom. A post-production community is centred in Soho, and London houses six of the world’s largest visual effects companies, such as Framestore.
Using the Gmail App on iPhone or iPad
The number of hotel rooms in London in 2023 stood at 155,700 and is expected to grow to 183,600 rooms, the most of any city outside China. Tourism is one of London’s prime industries, employing 700,000 full-time workers in 2016, and contributes £36 billion a year to the economy. It is also the top city in the world by visitor cross-border spending, estimated at US$20.23 billion in 2015. Over half the UK’s top 100 listed companies (the FTSE 100) and over 100 of Europe’s 500 largest companies have their headquarters in central London. However, by 2010, the city had recovered, put in place new regulatory powers, proceeded to regain lost ground and re-established London’s economic dominance.
From about 500 an Anglo-Saxon settlement known as Lundenwic developed slightly west of the old Roman city. The city has the most museums, art galleries, libraries and cultural venues in the UK, including the British Museum, the National Gallery, the Natural History Museum, Tate Modern, the British Library and numerous West End theatres. London stands on the River Thames in southeast England, at the head of a 50-mile (80 km) tidal estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a major settlement for nearly 2,000 years. Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Western Europe, with a population of 15.1 million. If you have a Google account, you can access Gmail from login easily. Do you need to sign into your Gmail account?
At its height in the 2nd century, Roman London had a population of about 60,000. The next planned incarnation of Londinium prospered, superseding Colchester as the principal city of the Roman province of Britannia in 100. Both structures are on the south bank of the Thames, where the now-underground River Effra flows into the Thames.
The spread might not look much in the pictures, but all those plates of delicate treats really do add up to a mini feast. It’s called afternoon tea, but you can have your tea at almost any time of the day. Don’t leave before you’ve seen the Rosetta Stone, the key to deciphering hieroglyphics, and the fascinatingly macabre Egyptian mummies (including mummified calves, birds and cats).
- London’s wetland areas support nationally important populations of many water birds.
- London is situated in southeastern England, lying astride the River Thames some 50 miles (80 km) upstream from its estuary on the North Sea.
- Despite being the brainchild of American actor, Sam Wanamaker, the facsimile theater is a triumph of authenticity, right down to the nail-less construction, English-oak beams, original joinery and thatched roof (the sprinklers are a modern touch).
Some international railway services to Continental Europe were operated during the 20th century as boat trains. London is the centre of the National Rail network, with 70% of rail journeys starting or ending in London. With the need for more rail capacity, the Elizabeth Line (also known as Crossrail) opened in May 2022. An investment programme is attempting to reduce congestion and improve reliability, including £6.5 billion (€7.7 billion) spent before the 2012 Summer Olympics. The system serves 272 stations, and was formed from several private companies, including the world’s first underground electric line, the City and South London Railway, which opened in 1890.
A number of large parks lie outside the city centre, including Hampstead Heath and the remaining Royal Parks of Greenwich Park to the southeast, and Bushy Park and Richmond Park (the largest) to the southwest. The city is the largest in western Europe by population and area. Modern London stands on the Thames, its primary geographical feature, a navigable river which crosses the city from the south-west to the east. London has plenty of incredible viewpoints, including rooftop bars, city parks and Britain’s tallest building.
Ealing Trailfinders and London Scottish play in the RFU Championship; other rugby union clubs in the city include Richmond, Rosslyn Park, Westcombe Park, and Blackheath. Other long-distance paths, linking green spaces, have also been created, including the Capital Ring, the Green Chain Walk, London Outer Orbital Path (“Loop”), Jubilee Walkway, Lea Valley Walk and the Diana, Princess of Wales Memorial Walk. Access to canals and rivers has improved recently, including the creation of the Thames Path, some 28 miles (45 km) of which is within Greater London, and the Wandle Trail along the River Wandle. Three of the UK’s most-visited theme parks, Thorpe Park near Staines-upon-Thames, Chessington World of Adventures in Chessington and Legoland Windsor, are located within 20 miles (32 km) of London.