“HISTORY: London was founded by the Romans around 43 A.D. A Roman general Aulus Plautius bridged the Thames, started the town and in a few years it was a great trading centre. It was a very important town for the next 1 000 years and after the Norman conquest it became the capital city of England. By 1616 London was a busy capital city with its Old St. Paul’s Cathedral and old London Bridge. Shakespeare’s Theatre was opened soon after. London survived the Plague (also called The Black Death) which killed nearly 100 000 people and the Great Fire which followed. Only 4 people were killed but 13 000 houses were destroyed. Little damage occured during World War I. but World War II. brought tremendous destruction. Many historical buildings were in ruins. Today the face of London changes thanks to the work of new architects.
TRAFFIC: there is a part on the Thames which is accessible for the sea ships, since the Medieval times it was the centre of international trade and business. There are 5 airports, the biggest is Heathrow, one of the most important international airports. The other airports are Gatwick, London City Airport – only for smaller planes, Stansted and Luton. In London you can travel by car, bus or red doubledecker, train, taxi or undeground – it has 12 lines, 273 stations and it is 420 km long.
PLACES OF INTEREST: There are many theatres (Royal Shakespeare Company), opera (Royal Opera House), museum (British Museum with the biggest library in GB, National Gallery…). There are many schools and there is London University, City University and other colleges. London is one of the world financial centres and it is the centre of administration, industry (clothes, furniture…) and business.
The Tower of London: it is a fortress which served as a royal residence, ZOO, Royal Mint and as a museum. The national collection of armour and Crown Jewels are placed there. It has been known as a prison.
The Tower Bridge: with its 2 towers is the best known bridge across the Thames and it is the symbol of London. It was built in the 19th century.
St. Paul’s Cathedral: is the second largest church dome in the world.
Big Ben and The House of Parliament (The Palace of Westminster): London’s Big Ben is not the tower but the bell in the tower, that forms a part of the House of Parliament. There was a royal palace and it was destroyed by the fire in the 19th century. In 1547 it became the seat of parliament. The great bell is named after Sir Benjamin Hall who was a politician and who let the bell done. There are 4 clocks on 4 sides of the tower and the sound of Big Ben is used by BBC. On the opposite part of the Houses of Parliament there is Victoria Tower where there is a flag if the parlament is working."