London sights 4 [1] [2] [3] [4]
- In
the City of London you will come upon St Paul`s Cathedral. 
The
present structure is the fifth cathedral to be built on the site. The weddings
of the Prince and Princess of Wales, the funeral of Sir Winston Churchill and
many other occasions have graced this spiritual centre. Built of Portland stone
with a Dome that rises to 365 feet and with Great Paul, the largest bell in England,
this has to be one of THE MUST SEE sights in London. After four years obscured
by scaffolding the interior of St Paul’s Cathedral will be fully revealed
on Thursday, 9 June at 9.30am after a £10.8 million programme of cleaning
and repair. Work began in May 2001 and has seen the dome, stonework, gilding,
mosaics and sculptures painstakingly restored. During the monumental project over
1,000 containers of dust (each containing around a cubic foot of dust) were removed
and over 11,000 square metres of plain stone and 4,500 square metres of carved
stone cleaned. Amazingly, the Cathedral has remained fully functional throughout.
Open from: Mon-Sat 8:30am-4pm. Tel: 0207 236 4128.
more
- Selfridge`s - Another London shop worth your visit if not to buy then just to glaze upon its window arrangements is Selfridge`s. The store was opened in 1909 by Chicago millionaire Gordon Selfridge, who flaunted its 130 departments under the slogan, "Why not spend a day at Selfridge`s?", but was later pensioned off after running into trouble with the Inland Revenue. Located - Junction Orchard Street and Oxford Street. more
- Shakespeare`s Globe Theatre - The biggest crowds currently to be found along Bankside are milling around this place, a spectacular reconstruction of the polygonal playhouse where most of the Bard`s later works were first performed. (The original site of the Globe, marked by a blackened plaque on a brewery wall on Park Street, lies beneath a listed Georgian terrace.)
The
theatre, which boasts the first thatched roof in London since the Great Fire,
uses only natural light and the minimum of scenery, and currently puts on shows
from mid-May to mid-September. Also on site are a restaurant, cafe, cinema and,
inevitably, a shop selling lots of Bard merchandise. Form more information please
call: 0207 902 1500.
more
- Sicillian Avenue - Created in 1910 this Continental promenade is sliced diagonally across the former slums on the corner of Bloomsbury Way and Southampton Row, Holborn. It houses a couple of cafes and one of the city`s largest secondhand bookshops. Go there for a nice and pleasant Mediterranean feeling.
- Sir John Soane`s Museum - Soane a bricklayer`s son who rose
to be architect of the Bank of England, gradually bought up three adjoining Georgian
properties, altering them to serve not only as a home and office, but also as
a place to store his collection of art and antiquities. His home remains the best
example of what he dubbed his `poetry of architecture`, using mirrors, domes and
skylights to create wonderful spatial ambiguities. Located - North side of the
Lincoln`s Inn Fields, Holborn. Telephone No. 0207 405 2107.
more
- The
South Bank - In 1951, the South Bank Exhibition, held on derelict land south of the Thames,
formed the centrepiece of the nationwide `Festival of Britain`, an attempt to
revive postwar morale by celebrating the centenary of the Great Exhibition (when
Britain really did rule over half the world). 
The most striking features of the
site were the ferris wheel, the saucer-shaped Dome of Discovery and the cigar-shaped
Skylon tower.
The great success of the festival provided the impetus for the eventual creation of the South Bank Centre, though this has singularly failed to capture the imagination of the public in the same way. Instead, the South Bank has become London`s much unloved culture bunker. On the plus side, the South Bank is currently under inspired artistic direction and stands very much at the heart of the capital`s arts scene. The nearest tube is Waterloo.
- Thames Barrier - The brief boat trip from Greenwich or Westminster passes drab industrial landscapes before gliding towards the gleaming fins of the Thames Barrier. London has been subject to flooding from surge tides since before 1236, when it was reported that in "the great Palace of Westminster men did row with wherries in the midst of the Hall".
One of the worst recorded floods took place as recently as 1953, when more than three hundred people were drowned in the Thames Estuary alone. Finally it was agreed to build a barrier, and it was done between 1972 to 1984. It is a mind-blowing feat of engineering, with its ten moveable steel gates weighing from 400 to 3700 tones each.
- Wimbledon - If you have missed the tournament itself (held every year in the last week of
June and the first week of July), the next best thing for tennis fans is a quick
spin around the Wimbledon Lawn Tennis Museum, situated by Gate 4, on the east
side of the All England grounds, on Church Road. The museum traces the history
of the game, which is descended from the `jeu de paume` played by the French clergy
from the twelfth century onwards.
www.wimbledon.org
- Vinopolis
- City of Wine - 1 Bank End, Bankside, SE1. Take tube to London Bridge. Dedicated to the pleasures
of good food and drink, visitors can spend an afternoon sampling and learning
about wine and spirits from around the world. Vinopolis Classic package includes
a tour, 5 wine tasting tokens and the chance to sample a perfectly prepared Bombay
Sapphire cocktail. Upgraded packages offer guests the chance to sample a variety
of other unusual wines and spirits from around the world or have an introduction
into the secrets of wine tasing. Tickets from £11 per person. Open from
1200 until 2100 - Monday, Friday and Saturday, 1200 until 1800 all other days
(last entry 2 hours before closing time). Call 0870 241 4040 for further information
and up to date opening hours.
Book
your tickets.
- And
now we have come upon one of the most famous sights in London, Westminster
Abbey (picture and more information)
- it has been so closely connected with the Crown and the nations history. The
coronation of every king and queen (apart from two) spanning 900 years has been
held here. The magnificent Gothic building seen today dates from the 11th century.
www.westminster-abbey.org
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