Our trip o London
PICCADILLY CIRCUS
Piccadilly Circus is a big road junction in the City of Westminster, built in 1819 to connect Regent Street with the major shopping street of Piccadilly.
The Circus is a busy meeting place and a famous tourist attraction. It is particularly known for its video display on the corner building on the northern side, which we really liked. It is surrounded by several noted buildings, including the London Pavilion and Criterion Theatre. Directly underneath the plaza is Piccadilly Circus tube station, part of the London Underground system. When you get to this road junction, you can really see the frenzy and the impatience of the big metropolis of London.
TRAFALGAR SQUARE CIRCUS
Trafalgar Square is a public square and the central meeting place of London, where we can find the national gallery, a fountain, the tall Nelson's Column ( that are stone lions) and especially now a countdown clock of the Olympic Games. In this place, you can have a good view of the whole city because it’s the heart of it. We were very interested in visiting Trafalgar Square, because we have heard |
of a lot of important events that were and are hold in this place, for example a very famous Christmas celebration and St. Patrick’s Day, the première of lots of very known movies and other events. On Christmas, you can find the biggest tree of London in this square.
WESTMINSTER ABBEY
The Abbey church is one of the most important Gothic buildings in the country, where some of the most significant people in the nation's history are buried or commemorated.
It has been the coronation church since 1066 and is the final resting place of seventeen monarchs. It’s even a beloved wedding place of the royal family (just think about the wedding of Prince William and Kate Middleton – 29 April 2011- or of the actual Queen Elisabeth II and HRH the Duke of Edinburgh). The church has also a museum in it.
BUCKINGHAM PALACE
Buckingham Palace is the Queen's official London residence and it is used to receive and entertain guests on state, ceremonial and official occasions for the Royal Family. The palace was originally built in 1705 for the Duke of Buckingham.
Buckingham Palace's 19 state rooms, ballroom and gardens are open to visitors during August and September while the Queen makes her annual visit to Balmoral.
Changing of the Guard and Victoria Memorial
The Changing of the Guard ceremony takes place in the forecourt of Buckingham Palace at 11.30 every day.
The New Guard marches to the Palace from Wellington Barracks with a Guards band, the Old Guard hands over in a ceremony during which the sentries are changed and then returns to barracks.
The ceremony lasts about 45 minutes and is free to watch.
The Victoria Memorial is the golden statue of Queen Victoria which sits in front of the Palace facing down The Mall.
THE BIG BEN
We start our visit throughout the streets of London from the London Eye arriving straight to the Clock Tower of the Palace of Westminster - officially named Saint Stephen's Tower – but commonly known as the Big Ben. At midday, when the clock was striking exactly twelve o’clock we arrived in front of one of London's most famous landmarks and we listened to the incredible story of this building: on the night of October 16th 1834 the old Palace of Westminster was destroyed by a fire, a year later they set up a committee to re-build it, a competition for designs was hold. The Big Ben is technically just the massive bell inside the clock tower, which weighs more than 13 tons.
