London is the capital of the United Kingdom and England. Majestically
located on the banks of the Thames, it is one of the most important
cities in the world and the center of culture, science and business.
London offers something for every traveler and guarantees an
unforgettable visit, provided you take enough time. You should already
plan a few days if you don't just want to take a quick look at the main
attractions from the outside and at least a week if you also want to
visit one or the other museum. The administrative structure "Greater
London" consists of 32 districts (the so-called "boroughs"), which
extend over 1,584 km2. The number of inhabitants is officially 9.0
million (2020), with a large number of illegal immigrants being
included.
Where the City of London is located today, there was a
settlement even before the time of the Romans, as evidenced by finds
from the Bronze Age and in connection with the Celtic culture. The Roman
city of Londinium, founded in 43 AD, shortly after the Romans conquered
Britain, was the core of modern settlement. Some isolated remains can
still be found in the city today. After a short decline, which dates
back to the end of Roman rule around 410 AD, the Roman empire began to
decline. after that, London experienced an upswing as a trading city
among the Anglians and Saxons and later the Vikings. The dominant
position of London was consolidated by the Normans, who also built the
Tower of London after the conquest of 1066.
London was getting
stronger and more powerful. With the rise of England to the dominant
maritime power in the 18th and 19th centuries, to the European and
finally to the world power, the city became the center of the
government, administration, industry and culture of the British Empire
and — for a long time — the largest city in the world. Despite the
inevitable decline and serious damage caused by the German Air Force
during the Second World War, London is still a city of world fame and a
global financial, economic and cultural center. London is by far the
largest city in the country, eight times larger than England's "second
city" Birmingham, and as a result, of course, dominates economic,
political and social life in the United Kingdom.
London's long
theatrical tradition can be traced back to the English Renaissance. Of
particular interest to visitors is Shakespeare's Globe Theatre, which
was rebuilt according to a historical model in the immediate vicinity of
Tate Modern, now serves as a museum and in the summer also for
theatrical performances. The remains of the Rose Theatre were also
discovered nearby.
The Museum of London in the north of the city
is the ideal starting point for all travelers interested in the history
of the city. Admission is free.
The city is full of excellent
bars, theaters, museums, art galleries and parks. It is also the most
culturally and ethnically mixed part of the country and therefore also
offers culinary delights from all parts of the world. Whether you are
interested in ancient history or modern art, opera or underground raves,
London has it all.
England's royal family has contributed a lot
to the tourist attractions over the centuries: the Tower of London,
Buckingham Palace, Kensington Palace, the Albert Memorial, the Royal
Albert Hall and, of course, the famous Westminster Abbey.
The
Londoners are a pretty mixed bunch. Mostly they prefer to be on their
own and quite calm, but with a rather black and twisted humor. Anyone
who tries to get on a crowded bus will often hear harsh curses.
The Oxford English that is always propagated at school, professionals talk about the received pronunciation (RP), you will rarely hear on the street. London is a multicultural city with a very high proportion of immigrants, guest workers and foreigners. Accordingly, there are a lot of dialects and accents on the streets and in the shops. So even travelers with experience in this language will have to concentrate while listening. However, a friendly "pardon me" or "say again, please" usually leads to the other person repeating everything again slowly.
London is a world metropolis. And, like all modern megacities, prices here are at an exorbitant level. The English capital is not only the most expensive city in the kingdom, but also one of the most expensive in Europe. And even in a world comparison, London's prices achieve top values. You can easily add 30% to everything compared to the rest of the country, even though the prices in the UK are already higher than in Central Europe. The current weakness of the euro even reinforces this effect for visitors from the "euro zone" - for a normal restaurant visit, you have to expect about twice the price compared to Germany, but soft drinks are only insignificantly more expensive. However, the price differences do not apply to everything and so you can definitely make one or the other bargain, especially for clothing or over-the-counter medicines. As a rule, there are offers in every supermarket or drugstore according to the pattern "Buy one - get one free" (buy one – get a second one for free) or "Buy one – get one half price" (buy one – get a second one for half the price) for identical or similar products in each case. You can save money here, provided you just need three shampoo bottles or 20 batteries.
There are six airports in the greater London area, all of which, with the exception of Southend, can be reached from German-speaking countries. They are each located in different cardinal directions and thus serve the entire greater London area. The most famous and largest airport in London is Heathrow in the west of the city, followed by Gatwick in the south. The small City Airport is located in the Docklands and is very close to the city. Low-cost airlines usually use the airports Stansted (in the northeast), Luton (in the north), and Southend (in the east), but they are all located far outside the city. In general, all airports are very well connected to the road network and are also very well connected by train or bus. Heathrow and Gatwick in particular have a large number of bus connections to all parts of England, and Heathrow also has an underground connection.
London Heathrow Airport (IATA: LHR) - London's (and Europe's) largest
airport in the west of the city consists of four terminals, with
Terminal 2 (Lufthansa Group) and Terminal 5 (British Airways) being
important for travelers from the German-speaking countries. Both are
modern and spacious, but the walking paths should not be underestimated
either. A little tip: if you are sitting on the right side of the plane,
in the vast majority of cases you have an excellent view of central
London with the Tower and the parliament, as the approach leads directly
over the city.
As of 2022, there are connections to Heathrow from
the following German-speaking airports:
British Airways. Basel,
Berlin, Düsseldorf, Frankfurt am Main, Geneva, Hamburg, Hanover,
Innsbruck (winter season), Munich, Nuremberg, Stuttgart, Vienna and
Zurich.
Lufthansa. Frankfurt am Main and Munich.
Austrian
Airlines. Vienna.
Eurowings. Cologne/Bonn, Düsseldorf, Hamburg and
Stuttgart.
SWISS. Geneva and Zurich.
Arrival/ departure: The
new Elizabeth Line regional train connection has been fully operational
since mid-2022, which runs slower than the Heathrow Express but faster
and more comfortable than the Underground at the normal local fare to
Paddington Station and across London, including stops in the city center
(Tottenham Court Road, Bond Street) and Canary Wharf. Heathrow is also
directly connected to the London underground network as before, but the
airport is located in the outermost zone, so a corresponding ticket is
required (you can also pay directly contactlessly with a credit card at
the entrances on both the subway and the Elizabeth Line) - furthermore,
the long travel time should be calculated especially on the return
flight (for example, directly with the Picadilly line from Green Park in
about 50 minutes.), however, the trip with three to five pounds is
unrivaled cheap, depending on the main or side time. Very comfortable
and fast (but also very expensive) is the Heathrow Express, an express
train that runs to Paddington without stopping. Travel time 15 minutes
for 25 pounds per trip (round trip 37 pounds, tickets are valid for a
month). The tickets can be purchased directly after leaving the customs
control from mobile sellers in blue uniforms or later at the vending
machine.
London Gatwick Airport (IATA: LGW) is located south of London and is
therefore especially worthwhile if you live or stay in this corner of
the city. It serves as the second intercontinental hub for the British
capital, but despite numerous modernization efforts in recent years, it
cannot be compared with the impression of Heathrow. In addition to a
smaller British Airways base, there are numerous European holiday and
city connections here.
The following airlines are flying to
Gatwick from the German-speaking countries as of 2022:
easyJet.
Basel, Berlin, Friedrichshafen (winter season), Hamburg, Innsbruck,
Munich, Salzburg (winter season) and Zurich.
TUI Airways. Innsbruck
and Salzburg (both winter seasons).
Getting to/ from Gatwick is
relatively easy, as there are several train connections, e.g. with the
Gatwick Express (travel time about 30 minutes, from 14.50 ₤ easy to
London Victoria) or Thameslink (travel time approx. 50 min to London
Bridge, from about 11 ₤). For an overview of rail services, see National
Rail. In addition, buses run to many cities in England, the highway runs
at the airport and, of course, there is a lot of taxi traffic.
London Stansted Airport (IATA: STN) is London's best-known airport
for low-cost airlines, and is home to Ryanair's largest base. One should
be aware of the fact that the airport is located quite far outside, but
also has a regular regional train and various coach connections. The
airport itself is surprisingly large and modern for a low-cost airline
destination, but it can get very crowded.
As of 2022, there are
the following connections from the German-speaking countries (easyJet
has discontinued its previous routes while Eurowings has moved to
Heathrow):
Ryanair. Berlin, Bremen, Dortmund, Dresden, Hahn, Hamburg,
Karlsruhe/Baden-Baden, Klagenfurt, Cologne/Bonn, Leipzig/Halle,
Maastricht/Aachen, Memmingen, Nuremberg, Salzburg and Vienna.
TUI
Airways. Innsbruck and Salzburg (both winter seasons).
The
journey to and from Stansted is relatively long, but not much slower
than, for example, from Gatwick or by subway from Heathrow. By the
Stansted Express, the journey time to Liverpool Street Station is about
45 minutes. In addition, there are coaches operated in regular traffic,
for example by National Express, some of which can be booked from 2-3
pounds.
The arrival / departure is quite easy and is possible,
for example, by train directly to the city center. The airport is
located on the north-south regional route through London called
Thameslink, the nearest train station is Luton Airport Parkway. From
there, the new Luton DART railway has been running directly to the
terminal in about 5 minutes since March 2023 - the walk is not possible,
the shuttle bus still mentioned in many guidebooks has been replaced by
DART. The train costs an expensive 4.90 for the one-way trip, ticket
machines can be found at both stations - but the airport can also be
booked directly via National Rail as the destination of a train ticket,
the trip is then included in the total price. As with the other London
airports, there are also coach connections to and from Luton to the
city, for example with National Express and easyBus (the sister of
easyJet).
London City Airport (IATA: LCY) - Centrally located in the middle of
the Docklands directly east of the city center a real alternative,
especially since the airport is pleasantly manageable and the distances
are short - however, it can also get very crowded during rush hour and
offers comparatively few amenities. However, this airport is served
exclusively by "traditional" airlines, not used by low-cost airlines.
Also due to the limited capacities, many business travelers and the
central location, flight connections to LCY are comparatively expensive.
For this, there is often a spectacular landing approach close to the
high-rise buildings of Canary Wharf, only to then brake sharply on the
short runway built in the middle of an old ship dock - an experience for
aviation enthusiasts.
As of 2022, there are the following
connections from the German-speaking countries to London-City:
Lufthansa. Frankfurt am Main.
British Airways. Berlin, Düsseldorf,
Frankfurt am Main, Geneva, Salzburg (winter season) and Zurich.
Swiss. Geneva and Zurich.
Getting to the airport is very easy, as
it is connected to the Docklands Light Railway (DLR) and thus offers
connections every 5 to 10 minutes to Tower Gateway DLR and Bank DLR,
from where you have access to the extensive local transport network, but
you are already practically in the city center anyway - the journey
takes only about 15 minutes.
London-Southend Airport (IATA: SEN) - Near Southend in Essex, about 60 km east of London. London's most important airport until the 1960s, then largely lying fallow until the expansion in the 2010s. A few years ago, there was strong growth with low-cost airlines, but as of 2022, they have all said goodbye to all but a handful of seasonal holiday flights. Therefore, the airport is not relevant for tourists from the German-speaking countries. Train connections within a few minutes' walk with numerous train connections to Liverpool Street Station.
London is connected to the European railway network via St. Pancras
Station, renovated in 2007, and can be reached from the continent by
Eurostar via the Channel Tunnel from Paris (2 h 15 min), Brussels (1 h
53 min) and Amsterdam (4 h 10 min). It is advisable to book well in
advance. The station is located in the heart of the city and is a
central hub of the bus and metro lines.
London is also easily
accessible by train from other parts of the UK. There are twelve major
railway stations, arranged in a ring around Central London, each serving
a different part of the country. Apart from Fenchurch Street Station,
which can only be reached by bus or taxi (Tower Hill Underground Station
is about a 5-minute walk away), all are directly connected to the
underground network.
A detailed profile of each station can be
found here: Network Rail Stations website.
The main railway
stations are (clockwise):
Paddington , serves the area west of
London, including Reading, Oxford, Bath, Bristol, Cardiff, Swansea,
Exeter and Plymouth. There are also express trains to and from
Paddington to Heathrow Airport.
Marylebone, serves the area northwest
of London, particularly Birmingham.
Euston , serves central and
North-west England and western Scotland, including Birmingham,
Manchester, Liverpool, Carlisle and Glasgow, as well as the starting and
finishing station of the Caledonian Sleeper.
St. Pancras, serves the
East Midlands, including Leicester, Nottingham, Derby and Sheffield.
King's Cross , serves the north East of England and eastern Scotland,
including Cambridge, Peterborough, Doncaster, Leeds, Hull, York,
Newcastle upon Tyne, Edinburgh and Aberdeen.
Liverpool Street ,
serving East of England, including Cambridge, Ipswich and Norwich. The
Stanstead Express, which connects Stanstead Airport with London, stops
here. Connections to the ferry port in Harwich.
Fenchurch Street,
serves the outer boroughs north of the Thames and the Southend.
London Bridge, Cannon Street and Charing Cross, all serve the area south
and southeast of London including Brighton, Eastbourne, Hastings, Dover
and Ramsgate.
Waterloo , serves the area southwest of London
including Portsmouth, Winchester, Southampton, Bournemouth, Weymouth,
Salisbury and Exeter.
Victoria , serves the area south and southeast
of London including Brighton, Eastbourne, Hastings, Dover and Ramsgate.
From Victoria you can get to Gatwick Airport with the Gatwick Airport
Express service.
You can find departure times here: National Rail
Planner or by calling +44 845-748-4950.
The stops of most international and national long-distance bus lines
(English: coach services) are located near the Victoria Station. All
lines of National Express or Eurolines stop at the Victoria Coach
Station, which even has various arrival and departure terminals. The
lines of other providers use either these stops or the Green Line Coach
Station opposite Buckingham Palace Road. The main bus companies:
National Express. By far the biggest line. However, booking in advance
is absolutely necessary.
Eurolines. A sister company of National
Express. It operates connections to various cities in Northern Ireland
and the Republic of Ireland, as well as on the continent.
Flixbus.
Flixbus and FlixMobility GmbH also operate long-distance buses to
London.infobedit
Organized package tours to London are offered by
many bus companies in Germany.
Visiting London by car is only partially a good idea. Apart from the
left—hand traffic, the lack of parking spaces in the city center and the
horrendous fees for incorrect parking, there has been a fee for the city
center of TEN pounds for several years (congestion charge - recognizable
by a large white "C" in a red circle). However, some modern cars with
hybrid or electric drive are still allowed to drive on the inner-city
area free of charge. There are additional fees for trucks. Although
London traffic seems chaotic, it is not a problem for experienced
drivers after a short familiarization. Although the streets are
overcrowded with cars and buses, there are a lot of traffic lights and
the flow speed of traffic is correspondingly low. However, public
transport is probably the better choice, at least in the inner city
area.
If the inclined visitor nevertheless wants to plunge into
London traffic, he can reach the city via a very well-developed network
of highways, the so-called motorways. From all parts of the UK, they
converge near London and form a dense network between the surrounding
area and the city. But especially at peak times they are extremely
crowded. There are speed meters on many access roads in and around
London. You are flashed from behind and so you have to drive past the
yellow "star box" first. Many horizontal lines on the road also indicate
a speed camera, so that you can usually recognize them well in advance.
Thanks to the cycling routes of the National Cycle Network, it is
also possible for cyclists to cycle on signposted paths to central
London. Two long-distance routes and some shorter national routes
connect London for cyclists with the surrounding area and the whole of
the United Kingdom:
The National Route (NCN) 1 (North Sea Coast
Cycle Route) leads from Dover via Canterbury through Greenwich into the
London metropolitan area and continues as the longest National cycle
route along the entire English coast to Berwick upon Tweed and along the
Scottish coast to Thurso.
National Route 4 is one of the most
important east-west connections for touring eagles in the British Isles
and runs from London to Fishguard via Reading, Bath, Bristol, Newport
and Swansea. In the London area between Greenwich and Putney Bridge, the
signage is not yet complete, here you can refer to the corresponding GPS
track in the bike travel wiki.
National Route 20 runs directly from
the seaside resort of Brighton on the south coast to London, where the
route ends in the district of Wandsworth on the banks of the Thames.
London has one of the densest public transport networks. The red
double-decker buses and the underground metro are world-famous. In
addition, there are the typical black taxis, which sometimes come across
quite colorful. And although Londoners are constantly nagging about
constant delays and cancellations, this network is by far the best way
for tourists and locals to get around the city, and at the same time
much more reliable than you sometimes think.
The most important
means of transportation in the city center is the Tube London
Underground, the London Underground. With its twelve lines, it runs
through the city from west to east and north to south. The trains run
every few minutes and are still packed during peak hours. However, a
subway ride is usually worthwhile to commute from one attraction to the
next, as these are sometimes relatively far apart on foot. Another mode
of transport is buses London Buses. The red double-decker and low-floor
buses connect all points of the city on an infinite number of lines.
Visitors and locals usually use the so-called travelcards instead of
normal individual trips. These are day tickets that allow the use of the
metro, buses and other means of local transport in the city. London is
divided into several zones. Zones 1 and 2 are located in the city center
and are usually sufficient for tourists, the higher numbers are located
further outside. For tourists, the so-called off-peak travelcards are
recommended, which are only valid after 09.30, but are also cheaper.
When entering and leaving subway stations and train stations, the card
is inserted into a barrier in order to be able to pass through it. With
travelcards you get a discount on boat trips. Oyster cards are also
popular. They work similarly, but they are chip cards loaded with money,
which automatically determine the cheapest fare of all trips one day.
Meanwhile, it is also possible to pay with a contactless credit card
similar to the Oyster Card - for this you scan the card when getting in
and out, at the end of the day the cheapest tariff is automatically
determined. For tourists, certainly the most convenient option, since no
preparation is required, however, bank charges may apply.
London is almost bursting with sights and attractions for the
traveler. However, the prices are often very high. Therefore, the London
Pass can be worth it quite quickly. This card allows you to visit
numerous sights for free (1× per attraction). There is a passport with a
validity of 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 or 10 days. The 5-day pass normally
costs £169.00, but is often offered at a reduced price (as of 2023). It
is an exclusively digital passport that can be used on the smartphone.
In addition to the London Pass, there are other sightseeing passes
such as the London Explorer Pass, the London City Pass and the Big City
Saver Pass. A multilingual overview of all London passes is available
here: londoncitypass.com . This English-language London Pass comparison
is also very clear.
City of Westminster
The sights listed here are
just a small selection of the many attractions in the City of
Westminster. This area is located in the heart of the city and is
described in more detail in the sub-article City of Westminster.
Palace of Westminster . The seat of the Parliament, including Big Ben. A
viewing costs £15. Tickets can be purchased across the street from the
Jewel Tower. The visit is possible during the session period only on
weekends, otherwise also during the week. There are also German tours,
but they are rare and can be requested. English guided tours take place
every 15 minutes.
Westminster Abbey . Magnificent abbey opposite the
Palace of Westminster (Parliament), where the coronation ceremonies are
held. Inside there are numerous magnificent tombs of past rulers to be
seen. A complete tour takes at least an hour. Feature: Photographing
prohibited. Open: usually Mon-Sat 9:30-15:45. Price: Admission: £27.
Buckingham Palace, London SW1A 1AA . The official residence of the
British king. In good weather, the changing of the guard is at 11:30 am.
But you should be there at least half an hour before, as it gets very
crowded on the forecourt. Features: Disabled toilet, photography is
prohibited.
Marble Arch.
Somerset House, Strand, London WC2R 1LA .
Trafalgar Square . There are also many famous squares and streets in
Westminster. Trafalgar Square is one of the central squares. It is
located near the Palace of Westminster and is reminiscent of the Battle
of Trafalgar, when the English naval force crushed the superior Spanish
armada. Therefore, in honor of the Naval commander Sir Nelson, the
Nelson's Column, a large memorial column, stands on the square. The
Imperial Measures Of Trafalgar Square. While Trafalgar Square is one of
the most popular tourist attractions in Central London, most people who
look up at the statues and Nelson's column will not see an important
piece of the city's history literally at their feet: the Imperial units,
the standard units of the "Imperial System" or Trafalgar standards for
short. They are incorporated in the steps to the National Gallery. To
the right of it is the café in the crypt. This welcoming café is located
in the crypt of St. Martin-in-the-Field.
Leicester Square . A little
further to the west and very close to Chinatown is Leicester Square. It
not only offers the opportunity for a break or refreshment in one of the
surrounding restaurants, but is also the scene of premiere celebrations
of international box office hits, because there are several cinemas
around it. The smallest Police Box in the UK, called the Police
mini-station, can be found on the south-eastern edge of the square,
right next to the Charing Cross underground station. in 1926, only a
storage room for the cleaning service was built today.
Piccadilly
Circus . He always fascinates people with his large colorful billboards.
The small Eros statue on the edge of the square is always a popular
photo motif. From Piccadilly Circus, Regent Street, one of the major
shopping streets through London, winds its way until it joins the famous
Oxford Street. Here the lively shopping pleasure can continue for as
long as you like.
London Eye, Riverside Building, County Hall, Westminster Bridge Road,
London Underground Waterloo or Westminster . The gigantic Ferris wheel
with a height of 135 m stands on the banks of the Thames opposite the
Westminster boat dock, right next to the former County Hall. A trip
takes 30 to 40 minutes and offers a magnificent overview of London, with
a good view even to Windsor. The Ferris wheel rotates very slowly, so
you can get on and off during the ride. Originally, the London Eye was
only supposed to stand for a limited time, but this idea was abandoned
for the time being. It is also possible to book individual capsules,
tourist guides that tell something about the history of London or
additional boat trips on the Thames. A reservation of the tickets in
advance is recommended, because otherwise you may have to queue for a
very long time, especially during peak hours. Bookings are possible via
the Internet or by phone at +44 (0)870 5000 600, or for bookings for
individual capsules at +44 (0)870 220 2223. Price: The standard fare for
adults starts at £30.50 (online price).
Shakespeare's Globe Theatre,
21 New Globe Walk, London Underground London Bridge or Monument. E-Mail:
info@shakespearesglobe.com . It may not be spectacular from the outside,
but inside you can marvel at the detailed and original reconstruction of
the theater that Shakespeare was already working on, even if his was
about 100 meters further east. Performances are held regularly, and
while standing places(!) if there may still be available at short
notice, you should reserve seats well in advance. Price: £13.50.
There are so many attractions in the city that you can't list them
all here. That is why there is a sub-article City of London, which is
more detailed and complete.
Tower of London, Tower Hill, London EC3N
4AB . The Tower of London is not a tower, but London's former royal
fortress, over 900 years old and home to the crown jewels (including the
parts of the Cullinan diamond, the largest ever found). The entrance fee
is about £29.90 for adults and is considered by many to be too high.
With the entrance you have the opportunity to see various exhibitions
inside the tower, and there is also a very good (unfortunately only in
English) guided tour of the tower with the beefeaters, which you should
definitely not miss, but overall you should be prepared for having paid
too much. If you really want to take a look at the tower, you would have
to plan a few hours already. Feature: Disabled toilet.
Tower Bridge
(The nearest underground stop for Tower and Tower Bridge is London
Underground Tower Hill.) . In the immediate vicinity of the tower, the
famous Tower Bridge crosses the Thames. Crossing the bridge on foot is
free of charge. Optionally, you can visit an exhibition on the history
and mode of operation of the bridge, which also leads to the upper part
of the construction.
St. Paul's Cathedral (St Paul's Cathedral; The
nearby London Underground St. Paul's tube station on the Central Line
offers good transport connections.) . The cathedral, built by Sir
Christopher Wren between 1675 and 1710, is today one of the many
highlights of London and is almost only an episcopal seat and an active
church. Located not far from the River Thames, thousands of people
marvel at this beautiful building every year or come to the devotions
and church services that take place several times a day. Price:
Admission £16.00.
A trip to Greenwich is popular and beautiful. It is here that the famous observatory is located, through which the zero meridian passes. The former Naval Academy and the old ship Cutty Sark are located at the port. Further information on how to get there, attractions and meals can be found in the Greenwich sub-article.
Shri Swaminarayan Mandir, 105-119 Brentfield Road (Neasden London Underground, then London Buses 112 or 232). Tel.: +44 (0)20 89652651, Fax: +44 (0)20 89656313, E-Mail: info@londonmandir.baps.org . Shri Swaminarayan Mandir is the largest Hindu temple outside India. The temple was built of sandstone and Carrara marble. The building material was brought to India, processed there and then assembled in London like a gigantic puzzle. The temple was built between 1992 and 1995. Non-Hindus are also allowed to participate in the honors of the gods. There is a small museum in the temple that explains the history of Hinduism. Backpacks, photo bags, etc. must be handed in; because of the fear of attacks, one has to go through a security check. Open: daily 9:00-18:00. Price: Free admission.
London has a number of world-famous museums and exhibitions to offer.
By the way, the most visited and most popular among the British is the
Natural History Museum. In principle, admission to all state museums is
free of charge (with the exception of special exhibitions) — these
include, for example, the British Museum, Tate, Natural History Museum
and Science Museum. On the other hand, entrance fees to the private
museums are sometimes very high — for example Madame Tussaud and Tower.
British Museum, Great Russell Street (London Underground Holborn or
Tottenham Court Road). Tel.: +44 (0)20 73238299, Fax: (0)20 (0)7323 86
16, E-Mail: information@britishmuseum.org . Cultural History Museum with
exhibits from all over the world. The museum, opened in 1753, is
considered one of the best in the world. Features: wheelchair
accessible, disabled toilet, photography allowed. Open: daily
10:00-17:00; closed: 24. Dec., 25 Dec., 26 Dec., 1 Jan. Price: Free
admission.
British Library, 96 Euston Road (London Underground King's
Cross / St Pancras). Tel.: +44 (0)330 333 11 44 . The British Library is
the largest library in the world. In the freely accessible exhibition
Treasures of the British Library you can visit art treasures of
unimaginable value, including the Magna Carta, the Gutenberg Bible,
Shakespeare's First Folio, original sheet music by the Beatles,
notebooks by Leonardo da Vinci, Handel, Mozart, Dickens... Open: Mon-Thu
9:30-20:00, Fri 9:30-18:00, Sat 9:30-17:00, Sun 11: 00-17:00. Price:
Free admission.
National Gallery, Trafalgar Square (London
Underground Charing Cross or Leicester Square). Tel.: +44 (0)20 77472885
. Features: Disabled toilet, selfie sticks prohibited. Open: daily
10:00-18:00, Fri until 21:00. Price: Free admission.
National
Portrait Gallery, St Martin's Place (London Underground Charing Cross or
Leicester Square). Tel.: +44 (0)20 73060055 . The Portrait Gallery is
just a short distance from the National Gallery. Open: daily
10:00-18:00, Thu–Fri until 21:00. Price: Free admission.
Museum of
London, 150 London Wall (London Underground St Paul's or Barbican).
Tel.: +44 (0)20 70019844 . Feature: Disabled toilet. Open: daily
10:00-18:00. Price: Free admission.
Tate Britain, Millbank (London
Underground Pimlico or Vauxhall). Tel.: +44 (0)20 7887 8888, E-Mail:
visiting.britain&modern@tate.org.uk . The Clore Gallery contains only
works by William Turner, the other galleries include John Constable,
William Hogarth, Thomas Gainsborough and George Stubbs. Feature:
Disabled toilet. Open: daily 10:00-18:00. Price: Free admission.
Tate
Modern, Bankside (London Underground Blackfriars). Tel.: +44 (0)20
78878888, E-Mail: visiting.britain&modern@tate.org.uk . World-famous
exhibition of modern art. Features: Parking, wheelchair accessible,
Disabled toilet. Open: Sun-Thu 10:00-18:00, Fri–Sat until 22:00. Price:
Free admission.
Victoria and Albert Museum, Cromwell Road (London
Underground South Kensington). Tel.: +44 (0)20 79422000 . Feature:
Disabled toilet. Open: daily 10:00-17:45, Fri until 22:00. Price: Free
admission.
Natural History Museum, Cromwell Road (London Underground
South Kensington). Tel.: +44 (0)20 79425000 . Children (and adults too)
will love the exhibition of dinosaurs. Feature: Disabled toilet. Open:
daily 10:00-17:50. Price: free admission.
Science Museum, Exhibition
Road (London Underground South Kensington). E-Mail:
info@sciencemuseum.ac.uk . Feature: Disabled toilet. Open: daily
10:00-18:00. Price: Free admission.
Madame Tussauds, Marylebone Road
(London Underground Baker Street) . World-famous wax museum, the tour
lasts almost an hour. Unfortunately, the number of figures is also less
than expected. There are two entrances: one for buying a ticket with a
long queue and one for tickets booked in advance on the Internet without
waiting. Open: usually between 9:30 and 17:30, see website. Price: from
16 years £30.00, online £ 22.50.
Sir John Soane's Museum, 13
Lincoln's Inn Field (Holborn London Underground). Tel.: +44 (0)20
74052107 . Open: Tue-Sat 10:00-17:00. Price: Free admission.
Saatchi
Gallery, Duke of York's HQ, King's Road (Sloane Square London
Underground). Tel.: +44 (0)20 78113070 . Open: daily 10:00-18:00. Price:
Free admission.
Wallace Collection, Hertford House, Manchester Square
(Bond Street London Underground). Tel.: +44 (0)20 75639500, Fax: +44
(0)20 72242155 . This is a truly amazing collection that is definitely
worth checking out. In addition to jewelry and weapons, the collection
also includes a number of excellent paintings, as well as examples of
handicrafts from different eras and nations. Feature: Disabled toilet.
Open: daily 10:00-17:00. Price: Free admission.
Imperial War Museum,
Lambeth Road (London Underground Lambeth North or Elephant & Castle).
Tel.: +44 (0)20 74165000, E-Mail: mail@iwm.org.uk . An excellent museum
about the wars of the 20th century, especially the First and Second
World Wars. You can see tanks, cannons and a V2. A full third of the
museum deals informatively with the Third Reich, which perhaps even
tells you more about the thinking of the British than about this epoch:
for the Falklands and Vietnam Wars there is only one showcase with a
uniform and a text board, nothing at all about the massacres of the
English colonial power. The Holocaust is also discussed in detail.
Feature: Disabled toilet. Open: daily 10:00-18:00. Price: Free
admission.
Sherlock Holmes Museum, 221 b Baker Street (Baker Street
London Underground). Tel.: +44 (0)20 7224 3688, E-Mail:
curator@sherlock-holmes.co.uk . Thanks to the TV series "Sherlock", this
museum has become a must-see attraction. Open: daily 9:30-18:00. Price:
£8.00.
National Maritime Museum, Romney Road (Cutty Sark DLR ). Tel.:
+44 (0)20 8858 4422 . Feature: Disabled toilet. Open: daily 10:00-17:00.
Price: The museum includes: Maritime Museum, Queen's House & Royal
Observatory Astronomy Centre: Free admission, Cutty Sark £12.00, Royal
Observatory Flamsteed House & Meridian Courtyard £7.00, Turner & the Sea
Exhibition £10.00, Peter Harrison Planetarium £6.50.
HMS Belfast, in
the Thames at The Queen's Walk (London Bridge London Underground). Tel.:
+44 (0)20 79406300 . There is a warship from the Second World War, now a
museum ship, and can be visited as part of the Imperial War Museum. You
should take a look at the everyday life of British sailors on the ship.
Not only the history and missions of the "light cruiser" are explained
interactively, the history of the Second World War also plays a role. It
takes about an hour and is very interesting for tourists who are
interested in military history, but it is also suitable as a short
excursion. Features: Disabled toilet, building. Open: Nov-Feb:
10:00-17:00; Mar–Oct: 10:00-18:00. Price: £15.50.
London Dungeon,
Riverside Building, County Hall, Westminster Bridge Road (Westminster
London Underground) . The horror cabinet is designed to guide visitors
through the bloody history of England over the past 2000 years. Open:
Mon-Wed & Fri 10:00-17:00, Thu 11:00-17:00, Sat–Sun 10:00-18:00. Price:
from 16 years £ 24.60, online from £ 17.95.
Ripley's Believe It or
Not!-Museum, The London Pavilion, 1 Piccadilly Circus (Piccadilly London
Underground). Tel.: +44 (0)020 3238 0022, Fax: +44 (0)20 77348768,
E-Mail: info@ripleyslondon.com . Since 2008, the museum with exhibits
and curiosities from all over the world has been located directly at
Picadilly Circus. Open: daily 10:00-24:00. Price: £26.95, online £22.91.
Museum of Childhood (branch of the V&A), Cambridge Heath Road (Bethnal
Green London Underground). Tel.: +44 (0)20 89835200, Fax: +44 (0)20
89835225, E-Mail: moc@vam.ac.uk . Open: daily 10:00-17:45. Price: free
admission.
Museum of London Docklands, 1 Warehouse, West India Quay,
West India Quay DLR . Tel.: +44 (0)20 70019844 . Feature: Disabled
toilet. Open: daily 10:00-18:00. Price: Free admission.
London has some very nice parks that are very worth seeing. They are
also a favorite excursion destination of the residents of London. There
are thousands of people there on Sundays.
Regent's Park (Regent's
Park). E-Mail: regents@royalparks.gsi.gov.uk . It's not quite in the
center. Especially worth seeing are the roses!
Hyde Park . The
largest park in London.
Green Park . Located just opposite Buckingham
Palace.
Battersea Park . Located south of the Thames, formerly an
amusement park, today a large recreational area with numerous park
elements such as ponds, fountains, pagoda, old trees, but also sports
facilities.
Royal Botanic Garden of Kew, Brentford Gate, Kew (Richmond), London
Underground Kew Gardens . The origins of the 121-hectare garden date
back to 1759. Kew has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 2003. From
the very beginning, efforts were made to breed rare and endangered
plants. Worth seeing are the Palm House and the Temperature House, which
were built in the 1840s. At the Princess of Wales Tropical Conservatory,
tropical plants can be seen in a natural environment. Another attraction
is the 200 m long and 18 m high Xstrata Treetop Walkway. Within the
garden are Kew Palace and Queen Charlotte's Cottage. Feature: Disabled
toilet. Open: Mon-Fri 10-19 o'clock, Sat/Sun 10-20 o'clock. Price:
£21.45; early booking discounts and discounts possible.
Chelsea
Physic Garden, 66 Royal Hospital Road, London Underground Sloane Square
. The garden is located in Chelsea between Kings Road and Thames.
Medicinal Plant Garden founded in 1673 by the Society of London
Pharmacists, which is the second oldest botanical garden in England and
contains the oldest artificial rock garden in Europe. The almost 1.6
hectare garden is an ideal resting place in the middle of the lively
atmosphere of Kensington and Chelsea. Open: Sun-Fri 11-17 o'clock; Sat.
day off.
In recent years, Londoners have discovered their channels for
themselves. For long distances you can ride along by bike or take a
walk, in addition, there are many houseboats, but also event boats or
even a floating bookstore. One of the biggest projects is the Paddington
Waterside project, here an entire district is being redesigned on the
canals, much has already been completed, numerous restaurants on the
waterfront have also been created, interesting small drawbridges, modern
architecture, small retreats to linger. A practical way to get in is at
London Underground Paddington station, where a side exit leads directly
to the water of the Great Union Canal, which meets the Regent's Canal
not far away, this branch is then also called Little Venice, a walk
further to the Camden Lock lock (about 4.2 km) also leads through the
London Zoo, at Camden Lock there is conveniently a street food market.
The next section (approx. 2.5 km) continues to the Angel district, on
the way a new residential area around the University of the Arts is
currently (2016) being built, especially in the area of the former coal
and gas storage facilities near Kings Cross station, in which the former
gasholders (gasometers) are spectacularly embedded. In sections, the
canal ships have to pass through longer tunnels, these tunnels are
usually not passable for pedestrians, but the upper ways to the next
section are well signposted.
Boat tours: If you prefer to travel
by boat, you can take the Londonwaterbus from Camden Lock to Little
Venice (or vice versa). During the season (April to September) the boats
run every day about every hour, in winter individual trips are only
offered on weekends.
Harry Potter Studios
The Harry Potter
film studios are a very popular excursion destination. Fans of the book
series can book tickets in advance and marvel at and discover the
original filming locations on a tour of the studios. The studios are
located about 90 km from London and can be reached either by public
transport or by a bus shuttle. The tickets and further explanations are
shown on the homepage of the studios: http://www.wbstudiotour.co.uk/
Musicals, concerts and theatre - London is world-famous for its
musicals, but also theatre. Most of them are located in the Westend,
often only a stone's throw away from each other. Some have been running
with great success for many years, some are coming out new. The Agatha
Christie play The Mousetrap has even been running since 1952. A good
overview of all the plays is provided by the fortnightly, free The
Official London Theatre Guide, an overview of the current day can be
found in the numerous free newspapers. For the majority of musicals and
theaters you don't have to have booked weeks in advance. The numerous
"half-price" box offices between Leicester Square and Piccadilly Circus
are worthwhile to get discounted tickets. A look at
https://officiallondontheatre.com/tkts / is worthwhile here.
Open top
bus tours offer a good, if somewhat expensive, introduction to the
sights of London. There are four major companies that dominate the
market here: including The Original Tour and The Big Bus Company. Both
operate according to the hop-on / hop-off system, i.e. the bus departs
from the attractions and you can get on and off as often as you want, as
you wish. Both include audio commentary, live from the driver in English
and from the tape via headphones in other languages (including German),
as part of the service. It is recommended to bring your own headphones,
as the free headphones on the buses can become quite uncomfortable after
some time. Buses run daily from 8:30 to 18:00 (except on December
25th!). Adults pay 20 to 22 pounds, children 10 to 12 pounds. The
tickets are valid for 24 hours. Every now and then there are discounts
for online bookings. The price also includes boat trips on the Thames
with City Cruises from Westminster Pier to Tower Pier or Greenwich Pier.
If you are not after such a commercial bus tour, you can of course also
take a very individual city tour by buying a travelcard and letting
yourself be driven around on the upper deck of the double-decker buses
for a while. Of course, there are no audio comments, but the prospects
are quite comparable. Line 24 from Hampstead Heath to Pimlico passes
almost all the major tourist attractions. Similar are line 73 from
Victoria to Stoke Newington Common and line 159 from Marble Arch to
Streatham.
The offers of the London Walking Tour are also highly
recommended — probably the best way to get to know individual parts of
the city in a more intimate way. The walks are quite inexpensive (£15
per adult (August 2023)). In addition to normal city tours, themed
explorations are also offered: history of London, famous sights, ghost
walks, Jack-the-Ripper walks. All tours last two to three hours; they
start and end near a subway or bus station.
A very nice alternative
for individualists could be an audiowalk in German with your own iPod or
mp3 player.
The green lungs of London, the Royal Parks, are
definitely worth a visit. In the center are Hyde Park (the largest) and
Kensington Gardens, Green Park, St. James's Park (right next to
Buckingham Palace), Regent's Park; further outside Richmond Park, Bushy
Park, Greenwich Park and Brompton Cemetery. Hampstead Heath, a mountain
park in the north of London with a great view over the city and two
swimming ponds, is also a great place to relax.
You can visit many of
London's most interesting buildings during the London Open House Weekend
(usually in autumn, in 2008 on 20 and 21 September). During this
weekend, many buildings will open that are otherwise not accessible to
the public — comparable to the Open Museum Day in Germany.
London
offers many colorful flea markets where shopping can be an experience.
Thorpe Park. Amusement park in the south-west of the city.
Great British Beer Festival. The festival takes place in August. You
can drink a variety of beers and participate in pub games. On the
homepage you can find out which beers are gluten-free or vegan.
Notting Hill Carnival. A multicultural street carnival on the last
weekend of August with around 1.5 million visitors in the Notting Hill
district. It starts with a steelband competition on Saturday, followed
by the big street parade through Notting Hill on the following Bank
Holiday Monday.
Frieze Art Fair. The event, which was launched by the
art magazine Frieze in 2003, is both a sales fair and a festival and has
developed into a top event of the contemporary art scene after just a
few years. The venue is a tent city in Regents Park, every mid-October.
Of course, in a world metropolis like London, you can have pretty
much everything that money can buy — if you know where to look and if
you can afford it. London is not exactly known as a bargain paradise.
Central London and especially the West End have some world-famous
shopping temples to offer:
1 Oxford Street . Here you can find all
the British clothing chains on one street.
2 Bond Street . and
neighboring streets: THE address for (especially expensive) fashion.
3 Soho . for alternative music, clothing and gay lifestyle. Feature:
LGBT.
4 Covent Garden. E-Mail: helpdesk@coventgardenmarket.co.uk .
old-fashioned shops and comparatively expensive designer shops.
5
Knightsbridge . Here you will find Harrods, probably the most famous
department store in the city (a porter rejects tourists dressed too
casually and asks to pick up backpacks).
6 Chelsea . King's Road is
known for fashion, household goods and children's toys.
7 Regent
Street . between Oxford and Piccadilly Circus - including such gems as
Hamleys' - London's flagship in terms of toys (seven floors!), toys are
celebrated here, toys are demonstrated at all nooks and crannies and
children and adults are involved in the action.
8 Tottenham Court
Road . specializing in home furnishings and electronics.
9 Charing
Cross Road . for books and antiquarian books.
10 Camden . alternative
clothing, especially popular among teenagers and young adults.
The shops in Central London usually open only in the morning and close
between 19:00 and 20:00.
Paying by credit card is more common in
London than in Germany. But you should know the PIN for your card,
because paying by signature is rarely possible anymore.
If you like to visit traditional markets, you may want to visit one of the numerous farmers' markets in London, an overview of the about 20 markets in the different districts offers London Farmers' Markets. In addition, there are the numerous mixed mesh markets, some of which attract real crowds of visitors, they usually have little to do with the flea markets that are common in Germany. The focal points are different, in addition to junk and kitsch, there are often artists and small fashion designers who sell their goods there, but of course also second-hand clothes and also "junk" - in addition, there is often a street food market on one part. A number of these markets take place on Sundays, but there are also some permanent markets with different topics from day to day. You can easily spend the whole day on some of them. Tip for Rainy Sundays: A walk through the various covered Spitalfields markets (Spitalfields and Oldspitalfieldsmarket) (Liverpool Street London Underground) and then to the immediately adjacent markets on Brick Lane in the area of the Old Truman Brewery, the latter only on Sundays.
It is a big task for the London traveler to find the right place to eat. Not so much because there is nothing decent, but rather because you can (or have to) choose from an almost immeasurable offer. London probably has the highest density of fast food outlets in all of Europe (24 x McDonalds, at least 53 x Burger King). Sandwich shops are the most popular places to buy something for lunch. There you have the choice between ready-made or specially prepared sandwiches according to your wishes. Some Italian shops have a particularly good reputation and are easily recognizable by the long queues that form there at lunchtime. Street food markets have become very popular in recent years, especially at lunchtime. They are always available as a small collection of 4-5 stalls where there are many offices, but also integrated into many Sunday markets - the look is often fantastic and the taste is hardly inferior, usually cost around 5 pounds.
London has an incredible mass of the most diverse restaurants, and
the reputation was miserable until a few years ago. However, this is
history, today the city is covered with countless high-quality system
gastronomic chains with a stylish ambience and good service, and always
in a casual style - anyone who knows Vapiano in Germany can guess in
which direction it is going. If you haven't been to London for two
years, you'll be amazed at the new concepts that are already back and
have quickly spread to 10-30 restaurants in London in a very short time.
There are many concepts with Italian cuisine (e.g. Rossopomodoro,
Jamie'S Italy, Zizzi), but also Asian (e.g. wagamama) or Mexican cuisine
(e.g. wahaca) as well as high-quality burger chains (e.g. Byron, Five
Guys) and much more - mostly these are service restaurants.
In
some districts, however, there are also good to very good individual
restaurants. Chinatown (subway station: Charing Cross) has an excellent
reputation even among the Chinese living in London and, of course,
offers the appropriate food. The quality of meals can vary greatly and
also depends on personal preferences. If you like to eat fast food
often, there is pretty much everything you are used to from home.
However, if you are used to good food, possibly still in combination
with a good wine, you can expect to pay about three times the price for
half the quality.
It is common to wait at the entrance to be
placed, also in the system catering. It is advisable to make a
reservation on Friday /Saturday - or you can come outside of the main
meal times (and not exactly in the Westend).
Not all restaurants
include the service in the meal price; so there may be an additional 10%
for the service, some restaurants also add a flat rate to the price in
the menu.
London is an expensive city in an expensive country! You should
expect the following prices: 2.00 to 3.49 pounds per person for a
sandwich, snack and drink in supermarkets and drugstores (e.g. Boots
Meal Deal), five pounds per person in the sandwich shop, Subway,
McDonald's or Burger King (if you are not very hungry), 10 to 20 pounds
per person in the pub, 15 to 30 pounds per person in the lower to middle
class restaurant, 50 to 100 pounds per person in the very nice
restaurant with at least white tablecloths, 100 pounds or more at the
Savoy or Ritz
Prices are rising in direct proportion to the
proximity of tourist attractions; especially in the vicinity of the
British Museum and the Westminster Palace, one should pay attention. For
better occupancy, however, many restaurants have special offers at
lunchtime, in the evening it will then be much more expensive.
There is a good restaurant guide at London-Eating. Please note that
Londoners write here, who are used to this price level.
Many
outdoor food stalls often try to get rid of leftover food shortly before
closing — for example, in Camden Town's markets you can often get
drastically reduced food (one to two pounds) in the evening.
Some
colorful neighborhoods with a similar kitchen:
Brick Lane: mainly
Indian cuisine, but also many Italians and Eastern Europeans
Soho:
The kitchen from all over the world is at home here.
Chinatown: well,
what do you think?
There are countless pubs, bars and nightclubs in London. And please
keep in mind that London is an expensive city. Accordingly, in an
average pub you will pay about two and a half pounds for a pint (about
half a liter) of beer. Real bars and nightclubs are even more expensive.
But there are also chains specializing in students, such as
Wetherspoons, which have more bearable prices.
If you are into
scary and magic, you should definitely make a detour to the marlborough
head pub (24 North Audley Street Mayfair, London, Greater London W1K
6WD). There are cocktails from test tubes, you flush the toilet, you
hear a woman screaming loudly and if you are looking for these places,
you won't find it right away.
If you book hotels from Germany, you should consider a few things. On
the one hand, London is an enormously large city and even hotels in a
city location can be located very far outside. You can protect yourself
against such surprises with an electronic city map. As an orientation,
the hotel should be located within the area that includes the Circle
Line. Furthermore, it should be noted that the general level of hotels
and accommodation does not correspond to the German standard. You can
(and should) always deduct a star when booking. However, this does not
apply to business hotels. Here the British stars are comparable to the
German stars. In principle, there are several hundred accommodation
options in London, from four-star hotels to apartments to historic 'bed
& breakfast' hostels. It is quite possible that you pay anything between
20 pounds and 200 pounds per night. The price depends not least on which
district you are staying in. However, it is absolutely recommended to
make sure that there is a metro station nearby.
Some nice,
recommendable areas are:
Bloomsbury: comparatively quiet location
with a wide range of accommodation options. You can find cheaper ones on
Argyle St.; the area around the King's Cross subway station is
unfortunately a bit run down. Cartwright Gardens has some small 'bed &
breakfast' hotels in small historic houses.
Kensington: there are a
number of cheap places to stay in the Earl's Court area.
Cheap
Piccadilly Backpackers Hotel, 12 Sherwood Street Piccadilly, London W1F
7BR. Tel.: +44 (0) 20 7434 9009, Fax: +44 (0) 20 7434 9010. infobedit
Palmers Lodge, 40 College Crescent, Swiss Cottage, London NW3 5LB. Tel.:
+44 (0) 207 483 8470, Fax: +44 (0) 207 483 8471.
Club Quarters St.
Paul's, 24 Ludgate Hill, London EC4 M 7DR. Tel.: +44 (0)20 7651 2200,
Fax: +44 (0) 20 7651 7300.
Club Quarters Gracechurch, 7 Gracechurch
Street, London EC3V 0DR. Tel.: +44 (0)20 7666 1616, Fax: +44 (0) 20 7666
1717. Please note: The Club Quarters is a club hotel, so it is not open
to the public all year round. However, on weekends and during holiday
periods (e.g. at the end of the year), the rooms are rented very cheaply
in order to avoid vacancies. The rooms are simple, but warm and clean,
breakfast is included. The location is excellent directly at St. Paul's
Cathedral (St.Paul's) or near the Tower (Gracechurch).
YHA London
Central Youth Hostel, 104 Bolsover Street, London W1W 5NU. Tel.: +44 (0)
845 371 9154, E-Mail: londoncentral@yha.org.uk .
Youth Hostel YHA
London Earls Court, 38 Bolton Gardens, Earl's Court, London SW5 0AQ.
Tel.: +44 845 371 9114 , E-mail: earlscourt@yha.org.uk . Beautiful,
relatively recently renovated youth hostel in the middle of Kensington,
in one of the typical houses of the neighborhood. From a single bed to a
family room, but all without their own shower / WC. However, the clean
sanitary facilities are always located next to the individual bedrooms
in a really sufficient number. Unfortunately, the bedrooms are not
soundproofed. Ohropax therefore increases the quality of sleep. You can
save yourself the extra breakfast in the hostel, either prepare your own
breakfast in the beautiful self-catering kitchen in the basement or go
for breakfast in the cafe at the front on Earl's Court Road. Two lounges
and a beautiful courtyard. Charging stations (plugs and two USB charging
points each) on each bed, in addition, charging facilities in the
lounges. Easy for luggage, but no safe in the reception. There are
hardly any possibilities to store luggage in the rooms (don't forget the
padlock for the little locker in the room!). Features: free WiFi,
laundry. Open: Open all year round and around the clock. Check-in: from
14h. Check-out: 10 am.
Ibis Budget London Whitechapel, 100
Whitechapel Road, London E1 1JG. Tel.: +44 (0) 207 655 4620. This new
hotel (opened in July 2012) is located in the Whitechapel district
(Borough Tower Hamlets).
Middle
The Henry VIII Hotel, 19
Leinster Gardens. Located in Bayswater in a nice area, with swimming
pool, nice crew, small rooms and a miserable breakfast.
Holiday Inn
Express London Royal Docks-Docklands, Silvertown Way. Cheap hotel in the
Docklands, renovated in 2004, with good public transport connections and
close to London City Airport.
Expensive
Hilton London
Paddington, 146 Praed Street. Upscale traditional hotel, located
directly at Paddington station with direct access from the station
concourse, very good and courteous service by British standards.
Feature: ★★★★.
Thistle Bloomsbury, Bloomsbury Way. Don't judge a book
by its cover applies to this hotel in a special way. For those who want
to do a lot of things in London, this hotel is ingeniously centrally
located, right between the big musicals and the most famous shopping
streets. It is absolutely necessary to check whether you can not get to
your destination much faster with the direct bus lines that often run
over long distances in front of the hotel door than with the tube.
Feature: ★★★★.
England has a low unemployment rate, and qualified employees are
constantly being sought. The working world is very relaxed compared to
Germany, the fear for the job is rather low; if you lose it, the chances
of a new job are quite good. In London you will find Germans in many
industries and in some industries they can be represented quite a lot,
e.g. among doctors, biologists and bankers. The area between London,
Cambridge and Oxford is also called the "Golden Triangle" for good
reason.
A two-page application should be enough; anything longer
is rather reluctantly seen here. Application folders are unusual in many
industries and an application by e-mail is OK. An application photo is
more likely to cause a fit of laughter in England and is not common here
(unless you want to apply as a model).
Salary When earning, you
should be careful to take into account the high cost of living in
London. Especially the rent in London and the subway ticket are booked
here (about 3000 to 4400 pounds per year). Salary negotiations are
rather flexible in state institutions or universities compared to
Germany, and with the appropriate qualifications you can still benefit
well from this. However, here too, the enlargement of the EU to the East
and the influx of cheap labour have followed, and salaries are gradually
beginning to decline.
Like many other large cities, London also has some social problems,
which are expressed in beggars, drug addicts and thefts (especially from
cell phones). However, the London police have handled this so well that
they are not (yet) equipping their police officers with firearms. In
general, London is a fairly safe place for tourists.
Nevertheless: the emergency number is "999".
Do not use the
illegal minicabs at all.
Usually England is quite safe, but in
pubs and pubs it can sometimes be quite rough, and there can already be
fights (What do you want from my girl?) come. At 23:00 o'clock (although
the curfew has been lifted in the meantime) most of the restaurants are
still closing, and then suddenly all the drunks are on the street. At
this time, you should perhaps no longer be on the road.
The existence of a pre-Roman settlement of the Celts in the area of
the City of London could not be proven. Probably in the year 47 AD, the
Romans founded the city of Londinium. In the year 60 or 61 AD, the
Iceni, led by Queen Boudicca, destroyed the settlement. Londinium was
rebuilt and replaced Camulodunum (Colchester) as the capital of Britain
at the beginning of the 2nd century. From 197 AD Londinium was the
capital of the province Britannia superior, from about 300 AD of the
province Maxima Caesariensis. Ramparts were built around the city.
In the year 410 AD, the Romans withdrew their legions and the
population was increasingly defenseless at the mercy of the raids of
Germanic tribes. After the conquest of England by the Angles and Saxons,
Londinium fell into an uninhabited accumulation of ruins by the end of
the 5th century.
The Anglo-Saxons initially avoided the immediate surroundings of the
destroyed city. In the later 7th century, they founded the settlement of
Lundenwic to the west of it, which first belonged to the Kingdom of
Mercia, later to the Kingdom of Essex. Under the leadership of Alfred
the Great, the king of Wessex, the Anglo-Saxons recaptured the area at
the mouth of the Thames from the Danes in 878. In the following years,
the area was repopulated within the Roman city walls. The newly formed
town was called Lundenburgh.
In 1066, the Normans conquered
England, and London replaced Winchester as the capital. The new ruler
William I confirmed the special rights of London. Richard the Lionheart
appointed the first Lord Mayor in 1189, who was then elected by the
increasingly powerful merchant guilds themselves from 1215 onwards. in
1209, the first stone-built bridge, the London Bridge, was completed,
which until 1750 was the only bridge in the current city center. London
had to endure looting by rebellious peasant armies several times, for
example in 1381 during the peasant uprising of 1381 and in 1450 during
the Jack Cade Rebellion.
In the War of the Roses, which came to
an end in 1485 with the coronation of Henry Tudor as Henry VII, the city
held the party of the Yorks. The Reformation broke the power of the
Church, which until then owned about half of the land; the
redistribution of church property from 1535 onwards ushered in an era of
economic growth, and London rose to become a leading trading city.
London had to endure some setbacks in its eventful history: after the
founding of the first major trading companies and the Royal Exchange in
the 16th century had driven the economic rise, the city was hit by the
"Great Plague" in 1664 and 1665, which claimed over 70,000 lives. In
September 1666, the "Great Fire of London" devastated large parts of the
city. About 13,000 houses and 89 churches fell victim to the flames.
The city was rebuilt after the devastating fire. However, plans for
a fundamental redesign failed due to the excessive costs, which is why
the new houses were built essentially along the old winding streets. The
architect Christopher Wren was responsible for the reconstruction. As a
result, almost all the noble residents finally moved out of the old city
center and had new prestigious residential buildings built in the
up-and-coming West End. The poorest sections of the population, who had
to find their livelihood in the expanding port, were pushed into the
East End. At the end of the 17th century, London became the most
important financial center in the world.
During the 18th century,
London expanded beyond its historical boundaries. New bridges over the
Thames made it possible to spread the city to the south. In June 1780,
London was the scene of the Gordon Riots, when fanatical Protestants
fought back against the equal rights of Catholics.
In the course of the 19th century, the population multiplied, the
construction of numerous suburban railways and subways made it possible
for the built-up area to spread rapidly. During the Victorian era,
London gained great importance as the capital of the British Empire. In
1851, according to the census, London was the largest city in Europe and
the center of the industrialized world with a population of 2,651,939
people. The first world Exhibition took place here in the same year with
the "Great Exhibition".
The sprawling conurbation was fragmented
into numerous parishes and judicial districts. The Metropolitan Police
was founded in 1829 as the first special-purpose association, which
subsequently took over the fight against crime, which had previously
been carried out on a private basis throughout the metropolis. in 1855,
a unification in the field of construction followed with the
Metropolitan Board of Works. The London sewage system, built under the
direction of Joseph Bazalgette, is considered the largest construction
project of the entire 19th century. In 1889, the County of London was
created for the first time as a single administrative region for the
entire conurbation.
The first half of the 20th century was marked
by the expansion of the built-up area to an unprecedented extent. The
new suburbs were located almost entirely outside the County of London:
in the whole of Middlesex, in the west of Essex, in the north of Surrey,
in the north-west of Kent and in the south of Hertfordshire.
During the Second World War, especially in 1940/41, London suffered
severe destruction, especially in the eastern industrial areas, due to
attacks by the German Luftwaffe. These bombings went down in the history
of the city with the name "The Blitz". A second wave of attacks followed
in 1944/45 as part of the Steinbock company and with the V1 and V2
missiles. Almost 30,000 inhabitants died, hundreds of thousands became
homeless.
After the end of the war, the number of inhabitants
decreased considerably, as many Londoners settled in new satellite
cities. In 1965, the Greater London administrative Region was created,
which also includes the suburbs created in the 20th century. Meanwhile,
London lost its role as a major port, the facilities in the Docklands
fell apart.
In 1981, an extensive urban development program
began, tens of thousands of jobs in the service industries were
relocated or created from the City of London to the Isle of Dogs. An
extensive high-rise complex was built in Canary Wharf. The number of
inhabitants has increased again since the low point in the 1980s. In the
following years, London consolidated its position as one of the most
important cities in the world for the global financial industry.
Several dozen people were killed in Islamist terrorist attacks on July
7, 2005. As a result, urban security measures have been expanded. In
2011, the population increased to over 8 million, so a new high was
reached. In 2012, the Olympic Games were held in London.
In 2020,
London was the city with the third most surveillance cameras per capita
in the world.
London offers a wide range of cultural events. London's West End is
home to more than a dozen theatres. Everything is played from the
classical to the modern. Among other things, Andrew Lloyd Webber's
musicals Cats and The Phantom of the Opera were premiered there.
The National Theatre Company's Royal National Theatre in South Bank and
the Royal Shakespeare Company's Barbican Centre are among the many
centres of professional theatre acting. The Royal Court Theatre, one of
the most traditional theatres in London, reopened in February 2000 after
four years of renovation.
The Royal Opera House in Covent Garden
is the most important British opera house. It is the home of the Royal
Opera and the Royal Ballet. The first theatre building on this site, the
then Theatre Royal (see Patent Theatre) was designed by Edward Shepherd.
It opened on December 7, 1732 with a performance of William Congreve's
The way of the world. Although operas, for example by Händel, were
performed as early as 1735, the house remained mainly a playhouse.
The Theatre Royal Drury Lane is a theatre in London's West End.
Since the mid-1980s, it has been the home of major musical productions
such as 42nd Street, Miss Saigon and My Fair Lady. The London Palladium
is probably the most famous London theatre. In the 1950s, the variety
show Sunday Night at the London Palladium, which was popular in Great
Britain, was broadcast live on television.
The Theatre Royal
Haymarket (Haymarket Theatre) is a theatre on London's Haymarket. It was
founded in 1720 by John Potter as the Little Theatre – in allusion to
the larger King's Theatre (now Her Majesty's Theatre), which was also
located at the Haymarket. Her Majesty's Theatre is mainly used for
musical performances. Since October 9, 1986, The Phantom of the Opera
has been performed daily.
The St. Martin's Theatre in the West
End has been the venue for the play The Mousetrap by Agatha Christie
since 1974. Previously, the play was played at the Ambassador Theatre
for over twenty-one years, before it seamlessly moved to its current
venue. Due to the continuous running time since 1952, The Mousetrap is
the longest continuously performed play in the world.
The Globe
Theatre on the south bank of the Thames is a reconstruction of the
open-air playhouse designed in 1599. It was for this theater that
William Shakespeare wrote many of his greatest plays. The season runs
from May to September with productions by Shakespeare, his
contemporaries and by modern authors. Another well-known theater is the
London Coliseum, which houses the English National Opera Company.
The London Dungeon is not a theatre in the traditional sense. The
Horror Cabinet has been located on Westminster Bridge Road since March
2013 and presents its visitors with well-known events of the city's
history from the past 2000 years. Actors lead through the underground
vaults and bring back to life the Great Plague of London, the Great Fire
of London, Jack the Ripper and Sweeney Todd, among others.
London is home to five professional symphony orchestras. These are
the London Symphony Orchestra, the London Philharmonic Orchestra, the
Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, the Philharmonia Orchestra and the BBC
Symphony Orchestra. The highlight of each year is the "Last Night of the
Proms" broadcast worldwide by the BBC from the Royal Albert Hall.
Concert halls are the Barbican Hall, the Royal Festival Hall and the
Saint John's Church in Westminster. One of the most popular concert
halls is the Wigmore Hall behind Oxford Street. In June 2002, after
extensive renovations, parts of the Roman amphitheater, discovered in
1988 in today's financial district, were opened to the public.
On
Trafalgar Square stands the church of St Martin-in-the-Fields. It was
built in the years 1721 to 1726 according to the plans of the architect
James Gibbs. Concerts are often held in the church; orchestras
performing there include the Academy of St Martin in the Fields and the
ensemble New Trinity Baroque from the USA. A café has been set up in the
crypt, where jazz groups sometimes perform. The parish is also home to
one of the most famous church choirs in the world.
The Abbey Road
Studios are located in the City of Westminster. The building on the
street of the same name was bought by EMI in 1929, the studios opened on
November 12, 1931. In the opening ceremony, Sir Edward Elgar conducted
the London Symphony Orchestra in Studio 1 and the historical recording
of Land of Hope and Glory was created. The Beatles dedicated the album
"Abbey Road" (1969) to the music recording studio.
Pink Floyd,
who recorded their albums in the studios in the 1970s, was soon
considered the "house band" of the studio. Among other things, "The Dark
Side of the Moon" was created here. Since the 1980s, Studio 1 has also
been used as a recording studio for orchestral film scores. The first
film that received its musical accompaniment here was Hunters of the
Lost Treasure with the music of John Williams. The music for The Lord of
the Rings and the Harry Potter films were also recorded here.
The
O₂ is an entertainment complex formerly known as the Millennium Dome.
Numerous well-known international artists have performed at the O2
Arena, the actual concert hall, such as Britney Spears, Justin
Timberlake and the Spice Girls.
One of the largest and most famous museums in the world is the
British Museum in Bloomsbury. There are over six million exhibits in it.
Also famous is the Reading Room, a circular reading room in which Karl
Marx and Mahatma Gandhi studied. The Queen Elizabeth II Great Court
(architect: Norman Foster) was completed in time for the Millennium. It
is the largest covered courtyard in Europe.
The Victoria and
Albert Museum in the South Kensington district has a collection of art
treasures from all over the world, including sculptures, clothes and
costumes, precious porcelain and glass vessels, pieces of furniture and
musical instruments. Not far from it are the Science Museum (Science
Museum) and the Natural History Museum (Natural History Museum).
In the Science Museum, exhibitions from the fields of astronomy,
meteorology, biochemistry, electronics, navigation, aviation and
photography are shown in the galleries arranged on five levels. Among
the classics among the exhibits are telescopes by Galileo Galilei and a
microscope by George Adams, the first steam locomotive Puffing Billy,
the first telephone by Alexander Graham Bell, a Rolls-Royce from 1909, a
flying machine by Otto Lilienthal and the command capsule of the Apollo
10 spacecraft.
The Natural History Museum contains about 40
million different objects from the flora and fauna, including numerous
dinosaur skeletons, fossils (among them an archaeopteryx), a
30-meter-long skeleton of a blue whale or the model of the Dodo bird,
which became extinct around 1690.
The National Gallery in
Trafalgar Square has a rich collection of paintings, ranging from the
early beginnings in Italy to works by Cézanne and Seurat. Next door is
the National Portrait Gallery, which has over 9,000 portraits on
display. In 1897, the Tate Gallery was opened on the waterfront road
between Chelsea and Westminster. It contains the largest collection of
British paintings from the 16th century to the present. Opposite St
Paul's Cathedral, the Tate Modern, an offshoot of the Tate Gallery, was
opened in June 2000, built by the two Basel architects Herzog & de
Meuron. Modern art is on display at the Saatchi Gallery near Sloane
Square. It was opened in 1985 by Charles Saatchi.
The Imperial
War Museum is one of the most important war museums in the world. It
primarily shows exhibits from the two world wars, such as cannons and
vehicles. One of four floors is devoted in detail to the Third Reich.
Smaller divisions apply to some other wars of the 20th century, such as
the Vietnam War and the Falklands War. In addition, there are temporary
exhibitions.
Madame Tussaud's Wax Museum is one of the capital's
biggest attractions. On display are real-life wax figures of historical
figures and persons of current contemporary history, such as athletes,
film stars, fashion designers and models. To receive a place in the
exhibition of Madame Tussauds is today one of the greatest honors that
can be given to a person. The founder of the museum, which opened in
1835, was Marie Tussaud (1761-1850).
Directly in the city is the
Museum of London, whose exhibitions show the development of London from
its beginnings to the present day. Other well-known museums and
exhibitions are the Cabinet War Rooms, the London Transport Museum,
Somerset House and the Sherlock Holmes Museum at 221B Baker Street.
Since 2001, admission to all state museums and galleries has been
free of charge. Madame Tussauds is an exception to this, as it is a
private exhibition. Admission is also required to the Cabinet War Rooms.
The CWR is affiliated with the Churchill Museum, which does not require
a separate entrance fee to visit.
Trafalgar Square is a large square in the center of the British
capital, as the real center of which it is considered by many. It is the
largest square in London and has been a central meeting place since the
Middle Ages. It was reopened in 2003 after a major renovation. In the
center of the square there is a monument that the Londoners placed as a
thank you for Admiral Nelson's victory of the British over the French at
the Battle of Trafalgar. Built in 1842, the Nelson Column (English:
Nelson's Column) with the admiral on the top is 55 meters as high as
Nelson's flagship HMS Victory from the keel to the top of the mast.
About two thirds of the route from Trafalgar Square to Parliament
Square is called Whitehall, the remaining third is called Parliament
Street. The cenotaph, the most important war memorial in the UK, is
located in the middle of the street and is the location of the annual
commemorations on Remembrance Day. The central part of the street is
dominated by military buildings, including the British Ministry of
Defense (English: Ministry of Defense) and the former headquarters of
the British Army (now Horse Guards) and the Royal Navy (Admiralty).
Downing Street is the famous street in the city center, where for
more than two hundred years the official offices and residences of two
of the most important members of the British government have been
located - the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and the Chancellor of
the Exchequer. The most famous house number in Downing Street is No. 10.
It is here that the official residence of the first Lord of the
Treasury, and therefore the Prime Minister, is located, since both
offices are held by one and the same person. Downing Street is a side
street of Whitehall in central London, just a few steps from the
Parliament Building and running towards Buckingham Palace.
Piccadilly Street is located in the city center and is one of the most
famous streets in the city. It stretches from Piccadilly Circus in the
northeast to Hyde Park Corner in the southwest. Worth seeing is the
Fortnum & Mason store, which specialises mainly in food, from 1707, the
Hotel Ritz with its neoclassical architecture from 1906 and the Royal
Academy of Arts from 1868 in Burlington House. Piccadilly Circus is best
known for its Eros fountain and the huge neon advertising wall on a
winding corner house. The square was built in 1819 to connect Regent
Street with the Piccadilly shopping street. Due to its central location
in the heart of the West End, its proximity to major shopping and
entertainment facilities as well as to the major traffic arteries that
intersect here, it is a very busy meeting place.
The geographical coordinates of the city center near Trafalgar Square
are 51° 30' north latitude and 0° 8' west longitude. The location near
the prime meridian is no coincidence, because this was laid by the Royal
Observatory, the Royal Greenwich Observatory in Greenwich; it is the
starting point of the longitude and thus of the time zones.
London stretches for about 44.3 kilometers along the navigable Thames
and is on average 15 meters above sea level. London originated from a
settlement on the north bank, today's City of London. The London Bridge
was the only bridge over the river until 1739.
For this reason,
the greater part of the city is located north of the river. With the
construction of more bridges in the 18th century and the construction of
railways in the 19th century, the city began to expand in all
directions. The landscape is flat to slightly undulating, which favored
the unhindered growth.
The Thames was much wider and shallower in
earlier times than it is today. Today it is almost entirely bounded by
dams and most of the approximately 15 tributaries flow underground. The
tides of the North Sea are still clearly noticeable in London, so the
city is at risk of flooding and storm surges. Near Woolwich – located
east of Greenwich – the Thames Barrier was built in the 1970s to contain
this danger.
South-east England with the capital London, the most climatically favored part of Great Britain, differs from the other parts of the island in many ways. The geological structure is determined by the Mesozoic sediments, which gave rise to a generously structured layered landscape. Their heights do not rise high anywhere, so the whole room enjoys the climatic advantages of the southeast. Historically, London benefited from its location in the middle of a farming region. The near-continental southeast has always been considered the heavyweight of the island kingdom. It was here that the conquerors coming from the mainland – Romans, Saxons, Normans – first gained a foothold. Even when, with the discovery of America and the development of overseas shipping, the outsides of the island became more lively due to its more favorable location, the old cultural center was able to hold its own. London remained the gateway to the island.
London is located in the temperate climatic zone. The summers are
warm, but rarely hot; the winters are cool, but the temperature rarely
drops below freezing. The warmest month is July with an average of 18.6
degrees Celsius, the coldest January with an average of 5.6 degrees
Celsius. However, the highest temperature ever recorded in London was
40.3 degrees Celsius, measured in 2022. The large built-up area retains
heat, thereby creating a microclimate. Sometimes it is up to five
degrees warmer in the city than in the surrounding countryside.
The average annual temperature is 11 degrees Celsius, and the average
annual amount of precipitation is 557.5 millimeters. In the months of
October, November and December, there is the most precipitation with an
average of 56 millimeters and the least in February and July with an
average of 36.3 and 34.6 millimeters, respectively. Snow falls quite
rarely, at most a few centimeters per year. Events such as the snow
disaster of 1978 are a rarity. At the beginning of February 2009, there
was the worst snow chaos in 18 years, when more than 15 centimeters of
fresh snow fell. By contrast, inversion weather conditions are not
uncommon. One of them led to a major smog disaster in 1952.
Model
calculations from the year 2019 on the consequences of man-made climate
change show that London would already be relocated to another climate
zone when the RCP4.5 scenario, which is assessed as optimistic, occurs;
according to this, the climate in London would already be more similar
to the previous climate in Barcelona, which is located much more to the
south, in 2050 than the previous one in London.
The 2011 census revealed the following distribution of religions:
48.4 Percent Christians
12.4 Percent Muslims
5 Percent Hindus
1.8 Percent Jews
1.5 Percent Sikhs
1 Percent Buddhists
0.6
Percent others
20.7 Percent of Londoners do not belong to any
religion. 8.6% of the population did not provide any data.
The
majority of Christians belong to the Anglican Church of England. The
main church and seat of the Bishop of the Diocese of London is St Paul's
Cathedral. The church of the Royal House is Westminster Abbey. The main
Catholic church of Wales and England and the seat of the Archbishop of
Westminster is Westminster Cathedral. Another Metropolitan Catholic
church is the Cathedral of the Archdiocese of Southwark, St George's
Cathedral on the south side of the Thames. Since the English royal
family had adopted the Protestant faith (Anglican Church), there have
been no Catholic places of worship in London for several centuries. It
was not until the 19th century that Catholic communities re-established
themselves. Other Christian religious communities include the United
Reformed Church, the Salvation Army, the Quakers, and the Orthodox
Church. The headquarters of the missionary medical Sisters is located in
London.
The city is the center of Islam in the UK. About 38
percent of Britain's 2.7 million Muslims lived in London, according to
the 2011 census. The main urban centres are the boroughs of Tower
Hamlets, Newham and Redbridge. The Bait ul-Futuh is the largest mosque
in the capital. The East London Mosque was built in 1985. The alleged
long-standing political toleration of fundamentalist currents and
Islamist terrorist planning has temporarily earned the city the
reputation of a "Londonistan".
Of the 817,000 British Hindus,
about half lived in London in 2011. The main centres of settlement are
the districts of Brent and Harrow. The Neasden Temple was the largest
Hindu temple outside India until the opening of the Shri Venkateswara
(Balaji) Temple in Tividale (West Midlands) in August 2006.
A
larger number of Sikhs live in the Southall district, located in the
western district of Ealing, as well as in the Hounslow district.
About 56 percent of the 267,000 British Jews lived in the capital in
2001. Settlement centres are Stamford Hill in the Hackney district and
Golders Green in the Barnet district.
Already in 140 AD there were 30,000 people living in London, by 1300
there were already 100,000, and in 1801 the number of inhabitants of the
city exceeded the limit of one million. London was the most populous
city in the world from 1825 to 1925, until it was overtaken by New York.
The population was 7,172,091 at the 2001 census, followed by 8,173,900
in 2011. Due to the continuing growth, the city is forecast to have
9,134,000 inhabitants by 2020 and 10,487,000 by 2040.
London has
traditionally been a centre of attraction for different nationalities,
cultures and religions. While at the beginning of the 20th century
mainly Irish, Poles, Italians and Eastern European Jews came to London,
since the middle of the 20th century mainly people from the former
British colonies, such as India, Pakistan, Bangladesh or Nigeria, have
immigrated.
At the 2011 census, 6.6 percent of the population was
native from the Indian subcontinent, 4.9 percent from other parts of
Asia. 7 Percent came from Africa and 4.2 percent from the Caribbean.
Overall, 37 per cent were born outside the UK. The number of people in
London who described themselves as "white British" decreased from 58% in
2001 to 45% in 2011. The number of the generally white population in
London in 2011 was 60%. About 20% had Asian roots, and 13% were black.
5% had a mixed ethnic background, the remaining 2% had a different one.
The agglomeration of London extends beyond the actual urban area of
Greater London and has 8,278,251 inhabitants (2001), in 2010 the
population of the Greater London Urban Area was estimated at 8,979,158.
This is more than in Scotland and Wales combined. London is thus one of
the largest agglomerations in Europe.
The following overview
shows the population figures according to the respective territorial
status. These are estimates up to 1750, census results from 1801 to 2001
and a calculation in 2006 and 2019.
The residential and commercial areas from the 19th century have a
relatively high housing density and a disproportionate share of
immigrants and low-income people. Low-density forms of living,
especially single and semi-detached houses inhabited by owners, are the
dominant pattern of settlement here.
The former contrast in the
housing and living conditions of the population of high-income British
nationalities in the West End and low-income immigrants in the East End
is superimposed by opposite trends in development. House prices in the
UK have roughly doubled from 2000 to 2011, but London has decoupled
upwards. The average price of London houses is twice the UK average. In
centrally located but quiet residential streets, especially in the west,
in Kensington and Chelsea, prices averaged almost 6 million euros in
2011, thirty times the British average. In the premium sector, 55
percent of the houses are acquired by foreigners. A further increase of
20 percent was predicted by 2016.
A new development is hidden
behind the term "poor doors" (for example: "doors for the poor"): since
luxury new buildings always have to create social housing at the same
time, architects are planning a separate entrance and a separate
staircase for the socially weaker tenants.
At the end of 2015,
for the first time in the modern history of the city, the number of
rented apartments exceeded that of owner-occupied property. The
development continues to accelerate, more than 60% of tenants are
expected for 2025. The reasons for this are seen in the constantly
growing real estate market as well as in the enormously increasing
number of inhabitants in recent years and decades.
In 1965, the administrative region of Greater London, a merger of the
old County of London with Middlesex and parts of the counties of Essex,
Hertfordshire, Kent and Surrey, was established. Greater London is
divided into 32 London Boroughs and the City of London. The Boroughs are
responsible for local self-government and the operation of most public
facilities on their territory. The City of London is historically
managed by the City of London Corporation.
The Greater London
Authority (GLA) coordinates the cooperation between the individual
boroughs, is responsible for strategic planning and operates public
institutions that operate throughout the city; these include the London
Fire Brigade, the police and public transport. The GLA consists of the
Mayor of London (Lord Mayor) and the London Assembly (City Parliament
with 25 seats), both of which are based in Crystal Bulding. The current
Mayor of London is Sadiq Khan (Labour Party). His predecessor was Boris
Johnson, his predecessor was Ken Livingstone. The latter ran against the
official Labour candidate in 2000, was expelled from the party after a
nomination debacle, was reinstated under criticism in 2004 and was
confirmed for a second term at home, before ultimately losing to Johnson
in the 2008 election. The Lord Mayor of London, the Mayor of the City of
London, performs only ceremonial functions. On 5 May 2016, Sadiq Khan
(Labour) was elected the new Mayor of London. This is the first time
that a Muslim is the supreme representative of the British capital.
Previous administrative bodies were the Metropolitan Board of Works
(MBW) from 1855 to 1889, the London County Council (LCC) from 1889 to
1965 and the Greater London Council (GLC) from 1965 to 1986. The GLC was
dissolved by Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher after political disputes
between the government and the GLC chairman Ken Livingstone. For 14
years, London had no overarching administration; most of the tasks were
transferred to the Boroughs, some directly to the central government.
This measure led to major coordination problems. Even after the
establishment of the GLA in 2000, the Boroughs have a greater autonomy
than in the days of the GLC.
The police department of the 32
London Boroughs is the Metropolitan Police Service, better known as the
Metropolitan Police or "the Met" for short. The City of London has its
own police department, the City of London Police.
London football clubs have won the national championship 21 times and
the FA Cup, the nationwide cup competition, a total of 41 times; both
times Arsenal FC is the most successful London club with 13 national
championship titles and 14 Cup victories respectively. There are
currently (as of 2022/23) at least 17 professional football clubs in
London; most are named after the district in which they play their home
games. In the Premier League, in addition to Arsenal, Brentford FC,
Chelsea FC, Crystal Palace, Fulham, Tottenham Hotspur and West Ham
United are represented in the 2022/23 season. In the Football League
Championship, the second highest division, Millwall and Queens Park
Rangers play. There are also the football league clubs Charlton
Athletic, AFC Wimbledon, Leyton Orient and Sutton United, as well as
Barnet FC, Bromley FC, Dagenham & Redbridge FC and Wealdstone FC in the
fifth-tier National League.
There are six professional rugby
union clubs in London, five of which play in the top division, the
English Premiership: Wasps, Saracens, Harlequins, London Irish and the
London Welsh, who were promoted in 2014. The Twickenham Stadium in
London is the largest pure rugby stadium in the world. The English
national rugby union team traditionally plays its home games here, for
example at the annual Six Nations. The stadium also hosted the final of
the World Cup between Australia and New Zealand, which the "All Blacks"
won with a score of 34:17. The London Scottish play in the 2nd division,
the RFU Championship. The rugby league club London Broncos plays in the
Super League.
The legendary Wembley Stadium was located in
Wembley, part of the Brent urban district. The finals of the 1966 FIFA
World Cup, the 1996 European Football Championship and the 2021 European
Football Championship were held there. It was replaced by a new building
with the official opening in 2007. The stadium annually hosts the final
of the FA Cup, the largest turn-based cup competition in English
football. Rugby League has hosted its Challenge Cup final at the stadium
since 1929. In addition to special events, Wembley was also a venue for
regular events, such as greyhound racing or motorcycle racing. The WWF
wrestling league (now WWE) also held the Summerslam event at Wembley
Stadium in 1992.
One attraction is the Boat Race between the two
most prestigious English universities, Oxford and Cambridge. The famous
rowing race of their two eights takes place annually in March or April
on the Thames.
Cricket is very popular in London. The Middlesex
County Cricket Club plays at Lord's, the most famous cricket stadium in
the world, which is owned by the Marylebone Cricket Club. The Surrey
County Cricket Club at The Oval stadium. Lord's has hosted five Cricket
World Cup finals (1975, 1979, 1983, 1999 and 2019), more than any other
cricket stadium. On July 14, 2019, England won the Cricket World Cup for
the first time by number of boundaries, after the actual match and the
necessary Super Over ended in a draw against New Zealand.
The
most important of the Grand Slam tennis tournaments takes place at
Wimbledon every June. In April, the London Marathon is held, one of the
most popular marathons in the world at all.
The start of the 2007
Tour de France took place in London in July.
With the award of
the Olympic Games to the British capital in 2012, London was the first
city to host the Games for the third time – after 1908 and 1948.
On January 1, the New Year's Parade will take place from Parliament
Square to Berkeley Square. The Chinese New Year festival in Chinatown in
the Soho district takes place on the second new moon after the winter
solstice, i.e. between January 21 and February 21. Since the Chinese
calendar is astronomically defined, unlike the Gregorian calendar, the
Chinese New Year falls on a different day every year.
At the end
of January, a wreath-laying ceremony in front of the Banqueting House
and a procession from St James's Palace commemorate the execution of
King Charles I on 30 January 1649 (Commemoration of King Charles I).
The Changing of the Guard of the Queen's Guard at Buckingham Palace
is one of the oldest and most famous ceremonies and takes place on
almost all days of the year. The detachment is accompanied by military
bands playing traditional marches, plays of popular theater shows of the
West End and well-known pop songs.
At the supposedly 700-year-old
Ceremony of the Keys, the main gates of the Tower of London are locked
every evening by the main warden of the Tower (Chief Yeoman Warder),
escorted by guardsmen.
Salute shots are fired on February 6 (Day
of accession to the throne), April 21 (Queen's birthday), June 2
(Coronation Day) and June 10 (birthday of the Duke of Edinburgh). If the
appointments fall on a Sunday, the salute shots will be fired the
following day. At 12 o'clock, 41 shots are fired by the King's Troop of
the Royal Horse Artillery in Hyde Park, and at 13 o'clock the Honorable
Artillery Company fires 62 shots at the Tower of London. Salute shots
are also fired at the flag parade and the opening of the parliament.
The Shakespeare's Birthday Celebrations take place on the occasion
of Shakespeare's birthday on April 23rd every year on the Saturday
closest to this day at the Shakespeare's Globe Theatre. A classical
music festival is the Hampton Court Palace Music Festival held in early
to mid-June at Hampton Court Palace. The City of London Festival is held
with music, theater and dance from the end of June to mid-July at
various venues. Promenade concerts (The BBC Proms) are held at the Royal
Albert Hall from July to September.
The Notting Hill Carnival,
Europe's largest street carnival with Caribbean flair, takes place in
Notting Hill at the end of August. In September, the Thames Festival
hosts arts, sports and numerous events on the river between the Waterloo
and Blackfriars Bridges. Every year on the first Sunday in October, the
Pearly Harvest Festival Service of the London market traders (Cockney
Pearly Kings and Queens) takes place in the church of St
Martin-in-the-Fields.
The Trafalgar Day Parade on the occasion of
Admiral Horatio Nelson's victory in the Naval Battle of Trafalgar can be
seen on October 21st in Trafalgar Square. Bonfire Night is a fireworks
display to commemorate the discovery of the Gunpowder plot against the
English Parliament and the arrest of its leader Guy Fawkes on November
5, 1605. It takes place on Saturday night around November 5 in almost
all parts of London.
According to a study from 2014, the Greater London area generates a
gross domestic product of 836 billion US dollars (PPP). In the ranking
of the most powerful metropolitan regions worldwide, he thus took 5th
place behind Tokyo, New York City, Los Angeles and Seoul.
In
London, the manufacturing industries have lost their importance for many
years. At present, only ten percent of the employees are still employed
in this sector. The printing and publishing industry is still recording
the best sales figures. It provides a quarter of the jobs mentioned and
has a share of one third of the total production in London.
The
high-tech industry, which specializes in electronic and pharmaceutical
products, successfully works with high sales. Many of the industrial
enterprises, which are mainly located in the outer districts of the
city, tend to completely withdraw from London. Garment factories and
breweries are represented in the light industry sector.
Today,
only ten percent of the UK's domestic and foreign trade is handled via
the Port of London. Since 1971, the city's economic growth rate of 1.4
percent has been lower than that of the entire country at a rate of 1.9
percent. Nevertheless, London has a positive trade balance, which is
mainly due to the services sector – especially the financial services
and tourism sectors. About 16 million tourists visit the city every
year.
The capital had a share of 19 percent of the national gross
domestic product (GDP) in 2004. The metropolitan area's share of UK GDP
was 30 per cent in 1999. More than half of the 100 largest corporations
in the country and over 100 of the 500 largest companies in Europe are
headquartered in London. The city is also still the largest of the three
global financial centers.
The International Stock Exchange of the
United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland is located in the City of
London. The abolition of regulations, known as the Big Bang, made it
possible to enter the modern world of electronic finance in 1986. The
London Metal Exchange is the most important commodity exchange in the
world, the London Stock Exchange ranks third in the world behind the New
York Stock Exchange and the Tokyo Stock Exchange. ICE Futures (formerly
the "International Petroleum Exchange", IPE) is a trading platform for
Brent, the leading oil grade in Europe. It is the largest futures
exchange for options and futures on oil, natural gas and electricity in
Europe.
The London Bullion Market is the most important
over-the-counter trading venue for gold and silver. The world market
price for gold has been established here since 1919 and the world market
price for silver since 1897. The pricing of the precious metals platinum
and palladium takes place at the London Platinum and Palladium Market
(LPPM). Like the London Bullion Market, the LPPM is the exception among
the commodity markets: it is not a stock exchange, but an OTC market.
Some of the most important banks in the country, such as the Bank of
England, Barclays, Barings Bank and HSBC, are based in the capital.
Several hundred international banks have branches in London. Another
area of services is insurance, to which the city owes its prosperity for
over 300 years. Lloyd's of London is the most famous institution, not as
an insurance company in the proper sense, but as a stock exchange for
insurance contracts. It is a community of insurers that covers almost
every type of insurance on the international market.
A special
feature of the London power supply was the use of the HVDC Kingsnorth,
the only inner-city system for high-voltage direct current transmission
to date. This plant, which was put into operation in 1975, apparently
does not have to have proven itself very well and has since been
decommissioned. The privatized Thames Water company is responsible for
the city's water supply. London has an approximately 150-year-old water
supply network, in which there has always been scant investment. Around
30 percent of tap water seeps underground in London every day.
London is the headquarters of major radio and television stations
such as (BBC, ITV, Channel 4, Five and Sky). The Bush House between
Aldwych and Strand was the home of the BBC World Service and the New
Media department of the BBCi until 2012.
The BBC was founded on
18 October 1922 in London as an independent radio station. The first
broadcast of a program took place on November 14, 1922 from a London
studio. The BBC operates several radio and television channels.
All major daily and weekly newspapers in the country are based in
London. Fleet Street has traditionally been the home of the British
press since the 18th century.
The tabloid newspapers The Sun,
Daily Express, Daily Mail (conservative) and Daily Mirror (close to
Labour) and their sister newspapers, which are published on Sundays, are
predominantly the largest newspapers in the city and sometimes reach
print runs in the millions.
The Daily Telegraph is a conservative
daily newspaper founded in 1855. The circulation is 905,000 copies (as
of 2005). The newspaper is often noticed by extremely critical EU
coverage. Its sister newspaper is the weekly The Sunday Telegraph.
Another title of the group is The Spectator magazine.
The Times
is a conservative daily newspaper with a circulation of 693,000 copies.
Outside the UK, it is sometimes referred to as The London Times or The
Times of London to distinguish it from many other newspapers with the
name Times. The Times was founded in 1785 as The Daily Universal
Register.
The Guardian is a daily newspaper founded in 1821 with
a circulation of 380,000 copies. Together with the Daily Telegraph and
The Times, it is counted among the reputable and respected newspapers in
Great Britain – the "quality papers" – in contrast to the tabloids, the
"tabloids". Their overall political orientation can be described as
left-liberal. With the Observer, an important Sunday newspaper is also
published in the same publishing house, which shares the orientation of
its sister newspaper.
The Independent is one of the four major
reputable daily newspapers in the UK. The Sunday edition is published
under the name The Independent on Sunday. Like The Guardian, he is more
of a leftist. The Independent was founded in 1986 and has a circulation
of 260,000 copies.
The Financial Times is one of the most
important business newspapers in the world, of which a German edition
was also published until December 7, 2012.
With Reuters, one of the world's largest news agencies has its headquarters in the capital. The company was first founded by Paul Julius Reuter in 1850 in Aachen, where he transmitted stock data between Aachen and Brussels via carrier pigeons. When a telegraph connection was established between the two cities, Reuters stopped the "flight service". After emigrating to London, he again founded a company to transmit stock exchange prices to Paris via the submarine cable between Dover and Calais. Today, the company generates 90 percent of its revenue from stock exchange and business information.
The universities and colleges in London can look back on a long
history. London is also the city with the most students. The
universities of London can be divided into two groups.
The
federally organized University of London is one of the largest
universities in Europe with over 100,000 students. It consists of over
50 colleges and institutes that have a high degree of autonomy. The
largest and most prestigious colleges are University College London,
King's College, Queen Mary, the London School of Economics and Political
Science and the London Business School. Smaller schools and institutes
specialize in certain areas of knowledge, such as the School of Oriental
and African Studies, the Institute of Education and Birkbeck College.
In addition, there are other universities that are not affiliated to
the University of London, such as Imperial College and City University
in the historic city center. Some universities used to be technical
colleges until a change in the law gave them university status in 1992
(such as the University of East London), while others were established
long before the University of London was founded. These include
Middlesex University in north London, Brunel University in the west and
London South Bank University.
London is the British centre of artistic education. The four
conservatories are the Royal College of Music, the Royal Academy of
Music, the Trinity College of Music and the Guildhall School of Music
and Drama. The Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA) and the Central
School of Speech and Drama specialize in acting.
The Central
Saint Martins College of Art and Design, the Chelsea College of Art and
Design and the Camberwell School of Art (all part of the University of
the Arts London) deal with art, as do Goldsmiths College and the Slade
School of Fine Art (both part of the University of London) as well as
the Royal College of Art and the Wimbledon School of Art. The former
Hornsey School of Art is now part of Middlesex University.
There are many medical schools in London. Some have been around for centuries, including Queen Mary's School of Medicine and Dentistry, Guy's Hospital and St Thomas’ Hospital. Imperial College is a leading center of scientific research and can be compared with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in terms of its reputation. Also of importance is the Royal Institution.