Londonā€™s Tourist Attractions

Buckingham Palace

Buckingham Palace is recognised around the world as the home of The Queen, the focus of national and royal celebrations as well as the backdrop to the regular Changing the Guard ceremony, at 11 am every morning.

Explore the magnificent State Rooms which are open to visitors for 10 weeks each summer (20 July – 29 September 2019) and on selected dates during winter and spring.

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Houses of Parliament

Commonly known as the Houses of Parliament, the Palace of Westminster serves as the meeting place of the House of Commons and the House of Lords, the two houses of the Parliament of the United Kingdom.

The UKā€™s Parliament buildings are open to visitors all year round, allowing the public to attend debates and committee hearings or to take a tour of one of the worldā€™s most iconic buildings.

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St Paulā€™s Cathedral

With its vast dome, St Paulā€™s is an iconic feature of the London skyline and known across the world.

When you step inside you will marvel at the Cathedral’s awe-inspiring interior and uncover fascinating stories about its history and the rich work and worship that takes place here, all set over five levels, the highest of which will give you unrivalled views over London.

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Tower of London

The Tower is a historically famous (and some would say infamous) site that used to serve as a secure fortress, royal palace and prison. Today, itā€™s one of Londonā€™s leading tourist attractions.

Visitors can explore 1,000 years of history at Londonā€™s iconic castle and, see the Crown Jewels, take a legendary Yeoman Warder tour and meet the ravens.

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Museums and galleries

British Museum

TheĀ British Museum is a place dedicated toĀ human history, art and culture. Its permanent collection of some eight million works is among theĀ largestĀ and most comprehensive in existence, having been widely sourced during the era of theĀ British Empire.

The artworks held at the museum document the story of human culture from its beginnings to the present. In fact, the British Museum claims to be the first public national museum in the world.

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Imperial War Museum

Londonā€™s Imperial War Museum records and showcases experiences of modern conflict.

Founded in 1917 the national war museum was established to record the events still taking place during the First World War. The intention was to collect and display material as a record of everyoneā€™s experiences during that war ā€“ civilian and military ā€“ and to commemorate the sacrifices of all sections of society.

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London Transport Museum

The Transport Museum exemplifies the multifaceted history of Londonā€™s illustrious history of urban transport.

Visitors can explore the heritage of London and its transport system, and the stories of the people who have travelled and worked in the city over the last 200 years, before taking a peek into how future technologies might impact London as we know it.

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Madame Tussauds

Madame Tussauds is home of the famous, both past and present.

Established in 1836, the venue offers immersive experiences and enables visitors to sample the likenesses of some of the worldā€™s most famous personalities including 250 lifelike wax figures.

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National Gallery

The National Gallery is an art museum that houses a collection of over 2,300 paintings dating from the mid-13th century to 1900.

The Gallery belongs to the government on behalf of the British public, and entry to the main collection is free of charge. It is among the most visited art museums in the world, after the Louvre, the British Museum, and the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

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Natural History Museum

This venue offers answers to some of the worldā€™s grandiose nature questions. Visitors are shown large collections from the natural world including the history of life on Earth, from the smallest insects to the largest mammals.

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Tate Britain

Tate Britain is the home of British art from the year 1500 to the present day. First established in 1889 by its namesake, industrialist Henry Tate, who offered his collection of British nineteenth-century art to the nation and provided funding for the first Tate Gallery.

The venue also contains international modern and contemporary art and includes nearly 70,000 artworks.

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Theatreland

Theatreland is Londonā€™s portal to the world of Culture, allowing people to experience highly-acclaimed plays, stand-up comedians, theatre productions, operas, concerts and plays.

The term ā€œTheatrelandā€ refers to London’s main theatre district, contains approximately forty venues and is located in and near the heart of theĀ West End of London.

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Shopping

Harrods

Harrods is a department store located in one of Londonā€™s most chic and luxurious districts: Knightsbridge.

The store occupies a 5-acre site and has 330 departments covering 1.1 million square feet of retail space. It is the largest department store in Europe and lays claim to having its own unique postcode.

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Oxford Street

Oxford Street is one of Londonā€™s major arteries; a major road in the City of Westminster in the West End of London.

It is renowned to be Europe’s busiest shopping street, with around half a million daily visitors, and more than 300 shops aimed at shoppers and consumers of all ages.

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Portobello Market

Aside from modern fineries, Portobello Market is considered to be the worldā€™s largest antique market. Offering several markets rolled into one, Saturdays are typically the busiest for footfall offering an entire mile of hustle, haggle, colour and energy.

Known for its second-hand clothes and antiques, in recent years, Portobello Road has become home to the Portobello Film Festival that welcomes independent international filmmakers and premiering over 700 new films, including features, shorts, documentaries, music films and animation.

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Parks

Hampstead Heath

Hampstead Heath is a wild park of woodland and meadows, that sprawls across 800 acres of North London. Only a few miles away from Londonā€™s city centre, it boasts some of the most spectacular views in the city.

This is the park that inspired C.S. Lewis to write The Chronicles of Narnia and Londoners of all stripes have been coming here to escape the city for over 200 years.

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Hyde Park

Set right in the heart of London, Hyde Park offers both world-class events and concerts together with plenty of quiet places to relax and unwind. It is currently Londonā€™s largest park that includes several lakes and wooded areas that make for fantastic concert venues as well as summer attractions.

Free speech and demonstrations have been a key feature of Hyde Park since the 19th century. Speakers’ Corner has been established as a point of free speech and debate since 1872.

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Regentā€™s Park

The Regentā€™s Park combines large open spaces with tree-lined pathways, formal gardens, sports facilities and four childrenā€™s playgrounds, as well as, containing Londonā€™s largest outdoor sports area.

As well as wide green open spaces, Regentā€™s Park has exquisite floral species with more than 12,000 roses in Queen Maryā€™s Gardens. Visitors can also hire a rowing boat and join the ducks on the boating lake, or visit the London Zoo which is also part of the parkā€™s formal grounds.

The park also provides a warm welcome for wildlife. It has a large wetland area and is home to around 100 species of wild bird and a breeding population of hedgehogs.

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Planning your itinerary

Time Out

Time Out is a window into whatā€™s happening in London. Launched in 2012, the London edition became a free publication and maintains a weekly readership of over 307,000.

If you want to find something to do in London, Time Out is a great place to start.

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Visit London

Visit London is the official city guide to London, that offers plenty of ideas regarding things to do, days out suggestions, attractions and sightseeing, what’s on, London events, theatre, tours, restaurants and hotels.

Whether youā€™re looking for the best weekend breaks in London or planning a longer holiday in London, you can be sure youā€™ll find all the information you need.

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