History of London and best sightseeings

For a long time, London was a small city. All its people lived inside the walls that were built by the Romans. This area is still called the City of London. There were many villages around the city. Gradually, more and more people came to live there. Then, step by step, the villages joined together into one huge city.

The city has a huge network of transport systems. The Victorians built a number of railway systems in the mid-19th century. Their main stations are in London,and the lines go to every corner of Great Britain.

There were originally five major companies, which were merged into a national rail network in modern times.

There is also the world's first underground railway system, London Underground, which is the main way commuters get into London. There are five airports, though only one is actually in London (London City Airport). There is the London end of the London–Birmingham canal, which was important to the industrial 19th century.

Most people in London are British. However, London also has many immigrants. These people come from many different countries. They speak many different languages and have different religions and cultures. There are also many people from different countries who stay in London on business. Many people visit London as tourists. They may see the famous "Sights of London". These sights include palaces, churches and museums.

London is one of the world's most important cities for business, finance, and politics. It is also important for culture: media, entertainment, fashion, and art

London is formed by two ancient cities – City of London and City of Westminster, both cities forming the region of Greater London. 

The world's first public zoo first opened in 1829 in London (London Zoo)

The exact centre of London is marked by a plaque in the Church of St Martin's-in-the-Fields overlooking Trafalgar Square.

The tallest building in London is The Shard London Bridge - 310 meters (1,017ft) tall.
It is also the 45th tallest in the world,

London is the first city to host the Olympics three times (1908, 1948 and 2012)

It is twinned with New York, Moscow and Berlin.

Tower Bridge has stood over the River Thames in London since 1894.

The total cost of construction was £1, 184,000 (£100 million as of 2011).

The bridge was officially opened on 30 June 1894 by The Prince of Wales (the future King Edward Vll) and his wife, The Princess of Wales.

It takes 61 seconds to open Tower Bridge, which opens about 1,000 times a year.

Tower Bridge is the only bridge over the Thames that can be raised as it is a combined bascule (drawbridge) and suspension bridge. This means that the middle section of the bridge can be raised to allow river traffic to pass through.

The bridge was originally painted a chocolate brown colour. Then in 1977, it was painted red, white and blue for the Queen’s Silver Jubilee.

Grace Rapisarda