Всё о Лондоне

London dominates the life of Britain. And it  is  the  greatest  and  nicest
town in the world. Also, the  nature  of  this  city  is  very  picturesque.
There are a lot of sites  and  places  of  interest  here.  Many  parks  and
theatres, museums and halls, which are always  ready  to  surprise  tourists
and English with it’s beauty  and  charm.   There  are  about  40  theatres,
several concert halls, many museums including the British  Museum,  and  the
best art galleries.
Speaking about parks we can always see many people here listening to  others
or just heaving their rest.  Hide Park with its Speaker's Corner is also  in
London. Among other parks are Kensington Gardens, St.  James  Park.  In  the
West End is Buckingham Palace, which  is  the  Queen's  Residence,  and  the
Palace of Westminster the seat of Parliament. The  best-known  streets  here
are Whitehall with important Government offices, Downing Street, the  London
residence of Prime Minister and the place where cabinet meets, Fleet  Street
where most newspapers have their offices, Harley Street  where  the  highest
paid doctors live, and some others. There are  many  statues  and  monuments
there.  I think that the majority is devoted to the famous  and  outstanding
people.
London Is situated upon both banks of the River Thames and it is one of  the
largest cities in the world.  Speaking about the West end of London we  mean
it’s center where  famous  parks  and  tropical  places  are  situated.   In
Westminster Abbey begins and comes to an end royal  destiny:  in  its  walls
the British monarchs  are  crowned,  here  they  find  their  eternal  rest.
Besides Westminster Abbey is well known for the ' poet’s Conner '. So…  many
others memorial boards are established. But the present tombs are  far  from
being all mentioned to the poets.
Well it is safe to say that it is the most famous building in  England.   It
is a fine Gothic building, which stands opposite the Houses  of  Parliament.
It is the work of many hands and different ages and the oldest part  of  the
building dates from the 8th century.

While speaking about a Tower I want to say that the Tower has been  part  of
the capital's history for the past 600 years. The Tower of London is a  very
old building. It is more than 900 years old. English kings lived in it  many
years ago, but now it is a museum. People, who come to London,  like  to  go
to the Tower. It was a fortress, a royal palace and later a prison.

The White Tower, dating from 1078, contains a spectacular collection of
arms.       Now The Tower protects the Crown Jewels. The Imperial State
Crown and the Crown of Queen Elizabeth both incorporate precious stones
whose history goes back centuries. Ceremony is still part of the daily life
within The Tower. Following a 700-year tradition, each night the Chief
warder locks the gates and hands the keys to the Resident Governor.
And now we can talk about a Tower Bridge of London.



London's best known and most distinctive bridge has straddled the Thames
for a century. The twin draw-bridges, each weighing about 1,000 tons, have
been raised more than half a million times since the bridge was built. It
is a working tribute to Victorian engineering genius. The draw-bridges take
just 90 seconds to rise. All the original machinery is still in place with
just one concession to modern technology: electric motors now replace the
steam engines. Between the massive gothic-style towers that rest on the
river bed are walkways, giving superb views of the river and the Tower of
London.



Now we can talk about BIG BEN!!
Big Ben is the name of the huge clock in one of the tall towers of the
Houses of Parliament. People are allowed to get inside the Tower so that
they can see the works of Big Ben. There is no lift and there are 340 steps
up to Big Ben. The faces of the clock are very large.



The sound of Big Ben is well-known to all British people and the tower of
Big Ben is often used as a symbol of Britain. The great bell got its name
in 19th century after Sir Benjamin Hall.  Big Ben is the voice of London;
it shows an exact time since 1859.



Therefore there are many nice squares in London. Trafalgar Square is one of
them and it is situated in the center of the West End.  There you can see a
statue of Lord Nelson named by Nelson’s Column, which is situated in the
middle of the square.  Trafalgar Square commemorates Nelson's naval victory
of 1805. It was laid out between 1829 and 1841. There is Nelson's column
there, nearly 185 feet high topped by statue of Nelson 17 feet high. The
fountains and friendly pigeons make Trafalgar Square a popular place for
Londoner and tourists. The building of National Gallery - one of the world
famous art museums is situated on the Trafalgar square too.
|Now we can tell few words about Buckingham Palace. It  has served as     |
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|the official London residence of Britain's sovereigns since 1837. It     |
|evolved from a town house that was owned from the beginning of the       |
|eighteenth century by the Dukes of Buckingham. Today it is The Queen's   |
|official residence. Although in use for the many official events and     |
|receptions held by The Queen, areas of Buckingham Palace are opened to   |
|visitors on a regular basis. The State Rooms of the Palace are open to   |
|visitors during the Annual Summer Opening in August and September. They  |
|are lavishly furnished with some of the greatest treasures from the Royal|
|Collection - paintings by Rembrandt, Rubens, Vermeer, Canaletto and      |
|Claude; sculpture by Canova and Chantrey some of the finest English and  |
|French furniture in the world.                                           |
| Visits to Buckingham Palace can be combined with visits to The Queen's  |
|Gallery, which will reopen in the spring of 2002. The nearby Royal Mews  |
|is open throughout the year.                                             |
|Well… it is safe to say that a have finished my story about the nicest   |
|city in the world, exactly London and about all it’s sights, beauties and|
|places of interest of course. As for me I’d like to visit it again, to   |
|feel everything I felt before, spending there my free spring time and    |
|therefore I’d like to know english better and that’s why I advise all of |
|you to visit this irresistible city!                                     |
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