More London highlights?

At the bank of the River Thames is the Biggest Ferris wheel in the world, The London Eye.
This attraction is 135m high and is also symbolized as the British Airways London Eye and is one of the unmissable highlights in London.

The Eye offers the opportunity to take a journey into the skies of London to enjoy the most marvellous view ever. When the weather is good visitors can see right across the borders of London, peering into the old traditional London, and giving you a view of the modern built up areas.

The Ferris wheel possesses 32, mainly glass capsules and can each hold up to 25 people.
The Glass gondolas are fixed by two rotating wheels which assure that the capsule always stays horizontal. A ride in the London Eye takes about 30min. and never stops, as it travels at such a slow place it is possible for every passenger to get on and off comfortably.

Hyde Park provides a nice balance for visitors, something away from the Big city.
A green spot of land in the middle of London’s city centre. It is also one of the London Royal parks.

Offering visitors a chance to exercise during the activity packed holiday, Hyde park is a joggers favourite destination. Also for those swimmers and boat fanatics, the Serpentine Lake in Hyde Park is the place to do it. Hyde Park also has a bowling area, Horse-riding treks, and of course the blissful patch of green inviting you to go for a picnic or two.

Hyde Park is not just somewhere to spend the day, in the evening, you see this place really alive, especially if there is a Rock- or Pop concert on.
From 1969 the rolling stones have used this attractive location to hold some of their legendary concerts. And in 2012 Hyde Park will be used as a venue for the Olympic sporting events.

In 2004 a fountain was built in the park as a memorial to Diana Princess of Whales. The water flows in various tempos and in different directions, which is supposed to symbolise Diana Princess of Whales personality.
More known visitors to Hyde Park are all those public speakers, as Hyde Park is its very own Speaker’s Corner, where people are allowed to speak publicly, as long as the police consider their speeches lawful.

The Houses of Parliament include the House of Lords and the House of Commons.


Originally the Houses of Parliament was known and used as the royal Westminster Palace. Today the houses of Parliament still hold the palace status although haven’t been used as such since 1512, when a fire destroyed much of the Palace. In 1550 Henry the VIII acquired York Palace from a powerful minister; Henry used this as his principal residence, and leaving the Westminster Palace to be used by the Parliament. The Palace lies on the north bank of the River Thames.


The Houses of Parliament are divided into three areas, the Royal Apartments, the House of Lords and the House of Commons. The oldest part of the Westminster Palace is the Westminster Hall, where many court proceedings have taken place.
The emblem of the building is the clock tower with its 13 tonne bell known as Big Ben.
In 1987 the Houses of Parliament, along with the Westminster Abbey and Saint Margaret’s Church were placed in the list of UNESCO’s World Cultural Memorials.

Harrods must be the most famous store in London, as well as being well known throughout the country.
The store gained its recognition due to its exclusiveness, being the biggest of its kind.
The company of Harrods was founded in 1834 by Charles Henry Harrod, and placed in a small shop in Knightsbridge in 1849.
In 1883 Harrods was burned to the ground, yet Charles Harrod still managed to fulfil his Christmas orders. Between 1894 and 1903 Harrods had to be completely newly built.
In 1985 Harrods was then taken over ownership by Business man Mohammed Al Fayed, which he has now sold in May 2010 so as to retire and spend more time with his family.
A big attraction to Harrods is its food department, which is on the ground floor in the extraordinarily decorated Food Halls.


One thing you definitely couldn’t miss whilst visiting Harrods is it’s lit up façade, which is made up of around 12,000 light bulbs. This wall of lights is controlled by specially employed electricians, only for that job, 300 light bulbs need to be changed on average every day.

This department store is one of very high quality, therefore being also one of the most expensive. Because of this, there are quite a lot of access regulations. Which comes down mostly to appearance, most people wearing subculture clothing, people such as punks or Heavy Metal fans, won’t be allowed in. Customers with backpacks will be asked to take this off and to hold them in their hands. Young people aren’t allowed in the store in big groups.

In 2001 Harrods received its status of Royal Warrant Holder, which of course added to it’s fame, Some of Harrods customers included Oscar Wilde, legendary actors Lillie Langtry and Ellen Terry, Noël Coward, Sigmund Freud, A. A. Milne, as well as members of the Royal Family, such as Queen Elizabeth II, Prince Philip and Charles.

But of course the best feature of Harrods, especially for the kids, is its “Toy Kingdom” any child’s paradise, having some of the noblest toys. Perhaps your child would like one of Harrods “real-life” motorised Cherokee Jeeps that are on offer!

The Buckingham Palace is the home of the Royal family. And is where the Queens ceremonial receptions take place.

Acquired by King George III as a private residence for Queen Charlotte, it was actually Queen Victoria who was the first to move in making it an official royal palace in 1837.
Due to her extraordinary popularity, the Victoria Memorial was placed in front of the Buckingham Palace in her honour. Made with 2,300 tons of white marble and standing at 26m tall makes it really worth a visit.


At the back of the Palace are the huge London Gardens, where a lot of artwork and sculptures can be found, such as the big Waterloo Vase.
Also located at the Palace is the Queen’s Gallery, where you will find all sorts of artwork from the Royal collection, as well as the Royal Mews; Stables where the Gold State Coach and other carriages are kept, along with about 30 horses.
On occasions the luxurious State Rooms are also open to public. Served as a place to receive guests.

Another great spectacle is the “Changing of the Guards” which takes place every day at the Palace gates, definitely a must see during your stay.

The London zoo was the first zoo to receive the „zoological garden” status, which is orientated scientifically. Today it holds around 15,104 animals of around 755 different types.
It was first opened in 1828 and was originally intended to be used as a collection for scientific study. It was finally made open to the public in 1847.



The zoo is situated at the end of Regent’s Park in London. The Clock Tower is also a part of the zoo and was built for the llamas, giraffes and the penguin pool. In addition there is the Round House which serves as accommodation for the gorillas. But don’t forget to pay a visit to the aviary, and the Elephant and Rhino quarters.

The Westminster Abbey is a cathedral in London and belongs to the British Monarchy. It is the place of coronation and burial for British monarchs high ranking members of the commonwealth. The coronation ceremony is performed traditionally by the archbishop of Canterbury.


The Abbey is in the centre of London, near the Houses of Parliament. The build was started in 1245 at the time of Henry the 3rd in an early Anglo-French gothic style, yet the west façade stems from the 15th century. Both the main towers were built between 1722 and 1745. These 3 periods of English Gothic can be seen also from the inside, the periods being “Early English” “Decorated” and “perpendicular”. The superb chapel of Henry VII, being one of the finest pieces of late gothic architecture in Europe, was built between 1503 and 1519.

The Tower Bridge must be the most noted road bridge in London, which is situated over the River Thames. The Bridge joins the City of London from the north side of Southwark in the county of London Borough with the south side of Southwark.
The building is 244m long and has two 65m tall bridge towers, the length between the two towers is 61 metres and the bridge is held 9 metres high over the River Thames. The pedestrian walk way over the bridge is 43 m high and is a much loved destination especially due to its phenomenal view point.



The High street that travels over the bridge is the A 100, on the north bank of the bridge you can find the Tower of London, the name giver of the bridge, and on the south side is the City Hall.

The Bridge is supported by two huge columns imbedded into the river and weighing around 70.000 tonnes. For the complete build of the bridge and walkways, 11.000 tonnes of steel was used. This was then covered in Cornish granite and Portland stone, to protect the underlying steelwork and to give the bridge a pleasing appearance.

A great attraction for tourists is the raising and lowering of the bridge, the bascules are raised around 1000 times a year. River traffic has now been reduced, but it still takes priority over the road traffic. Today, 24 hours notice is required before opening the bridge. The Bridge has a maximum opening of an 83° angle.

The Tower of London is a complex of several buildings set within two concentric rings of defensive walls and a moat, which combined a diverse amount of functions. It used to be an armoury, royal palace, prison, arsenal and observatory, although is best known as a place of imprisonment.



Today it protects the British crown jewels, and is one of the most worth seeing places in London. Throughout the years The Tower of London received many expansions, thus turning into a big building complex, the moat was the last addition to the Tower. Due to the Tower of London holding the Crown Jewels as well as a big armour and weapon collection, it is now a huge tourist magnet.

The Tower of London is also said to be the most haunted building in Britain.

The Picadilly Circus is a triangular shaped junction which joins five important streets. It connects Regent Street and the shopping street of Picadilly. In this context, a circus,
from the Latin word meaning “circle“, is a round open space at a street junction.



This junction is particularly known for its video display and neon signs mounted on the corner building on the northern side, as well as the Shaftsbury memorial fountain and statue of an archer popularly known as Eros (sometimes called The Angel of Christian Charity, but intended to be Anteros). Many tourists and shopping lovers add a trip to Picadilly Circus to their list of places to visit in London.

The Picadilly Circus is one of the most important areas of London, and makes a very lively and bubbly meeting place.

Madame Tussauds, famous for its display of wax figures, is in every case worth a visit during your stay in London.


Originally started by Marie Tussaud in Baker Street, it was then upon her death, moved to its today’s address in Marylebone Road. At Tussauds you can marvel at many famous people including Boris Becker, David Beckham, and even the Formula 1 star Lewis Hamilton.
Let yourself get blown away by amount of unique and life like figures, made to look like sportstars, politicians, filmstars, fashion designers, as well as many models, and historical figures. Some are also set into scenes of events, like the Lord Nelson battle at sea, with cannon and smoke effects.

Here, the world’s history can be seen in a completely new and magical way.
If you are a bit of a celeb. fan, Madame Tussauds holds different events, like “Premiere Night” where you will see stars from the Oscars or take part in Madame Tussauds’ “A-List Parts, where you have the opportunity to party with stars like Brad Pitt, JLo, Amy Winehouse, or Robbie Williams.

For those with a darker side, dare to go into the “scream” zone. Live the excitement of devilish serial killers breaking out of their prison cells to take you as their next victim. The “scream” zone is not open to children under 12 and is not recommended to pregnant women or visitors with weak hearts.

One of the most recent exhibitions is a travel back in time with the “Spirit of London” Which displays some of British history starting from the Elizabeth I period until present.
The exhibit is always becoming new figures; some of the recently added include Daniel Radcliffe, Justin Timberlake, Kate Moss, Prince Charles and the Chancellor Angela Merkel.