|
|
Home 
About us 
Tell
a Friend 
Faq 
Search hotels 
Map 
Spanish |
|
LONDON TRAVEL INFORMATIONAbout London Travel Guide
London is the capital city of England and the United Kingdom. An
important settlement for around two millennia, London is today one of the
world's leading business, financial and cultural centres, and its influence
in politics, education, entertainment, media, fashion and the arts all contribute
to its status as one of the major global cities London is the most populous
city within city limits in the European Unionwith an official population
of 7.5 million. It has a metropolitan area population of between 12 and
14 million people. Its population is very cosmopolitan, drawing from a wide
range of peoples, cultures and religions, speaking over 300 different languages.
London is an international transport hub, with five international airports
and a large port. It serves as the largest aviation hub in the world, and
its main airport, the multi terminal Heathrow, carries more international
passengers than any other airport in the world. London is a major tourist
destination, with four world heritage sites and numerous iconic landmarks
such as Houses of Parliament, Tower Bridge, the Tower of London, Westminster
Abbey, Buckingham Palace and the London Eye amongst its many attractions,
along with famous institutions such as the British Museum and the National
Gallery.
Geography and climateGreater London covers an area of 609 square miles (1,579 km²), making it one of the world's largest cities by area.[citation needed] Its primary geographical feature is the Thames, a navigable river which crosses the city from the southwest to the east. The Thames Valley is a floodplain surrounded by gently rolling hills such as Parliament Hill, Addington Hills, and Primrose Hill. These hills presented no significant obstacle to the growth of London from its origins as a port on the north side of the river, and therefore London is roughly circular.The River Thames before sunriseThe Thames was once a much broader, shallower river with extensive marshlands; at high tide, its shores reached five times their current width.[22] It has been extensively embanked, and many of its London tributaries now flow underground. The Thames is a tidal river, and London is vulnerable to flooding.[23] The threat has increased over time due to a slow but continuous rise in high water level by the slow 'tilting' of Britain (up in the north and down in the south) caused by post-glacial rebound.[citation needed] In 1974, a decade of work began on the construction of the Thames Barrier across the Thames at Woolwich to deal with this threat. While the barrier is expected to function as designed until roughly 2030, concepts for its future enlargement or redesign are already being discussed.[24] London has a temperate climate with regular but generally light precipitation
throughout the year - unlike the rest of the UK and even the nearby coast.
London is in fact amongst the driest of Europe's capitals, with water
resources per head of population equivalent to Israel.[25] The warmest
month is July, with an average temperature range at Greenwich of 13.6
°C to 22.8 °C (56.5 to 73.0 °F). Record high temperatures
of up to 38.1 °C were recorded in different parts of London on 10
August 2003.[26] The coolest month is January, averaging 2.4 °C to
7.9 °C (35.6 to 46.2 °F). Average annual precipitation is 583.6
mm(22.98 in), with February on average the driest month.[27] Snow is uncommon,
particularly because heat from the urban area can make London up to 5
°C (9 °F) hotter than the surrounding areas in winter. London
is in USDA Hardiness zone 9, and AHS Heat Zone 2 DemographicsWith increasing industrialisation, London's population grew rapidly throughout the 19th and early 20th centuries, and was the most populated city in the world until overtaken by New York in 1925. Its population peaked at 8,615,245 in 1939.There were an estimated 7,517,700 official residents in Greater London in mid-2005.[47] However, London's continuous urban area extends beyond the borders of Greater London and was home to 8,278,251 people at the 2001 UK census,[48] whilst its wider metropolitan area has a population of between 12 and 15 million depending on the definition of that area.[49][50] As per Eurostat, London is the most populous city and metropolitan area of the European Union.[51] The region covers an area of 1,579 square kilometres. The population density is 4,761 people per square kilometres, more than ten times that of any other British region. By population of city (proper), London ranks 15th in the world. SportLondon has hosted the Summer Olympics twice, in 1908 and 1948. In July 2005 London was chosen to host the Games in 2012, which will make it the first city in the world to host the Summer Olympics three times.[74] London was also the host of the British Empire Games in 1934.London's most popular sport (for both participants and spectators) is football.[75] London has 12 League football clubs, including six in the Premiership (Arsenal, Charlton Athletic, Fulham, Tottenham Hotspur, West Ham United and current champions Chelsea), plus a further six in the remaining three divisions (Barnet, Brentford, Crystal Palace, Leyton Orient, Millwall and Queens Park Rangers), plus countless non-league and amateur football teams. Non-league Dagenham and Redbridge F.C. have been promoted to the Football League for the 2007-08 season, and will bring London's total of League teams to 13. London has a special place in the history of Association Football. The playing of football in London has been well documented since it was first outlawed in 1314. In the sixteenth century the headmaster of St Paul's School Richard Mulcaster is credited with taking mob football and transforming it into organised and refereed team football. The modern game of football was first codified in 1863 in London and subsequently spread worldwide. Key to the establishment of the modern game was Londoner Ebenezer Cobb Morley who was a founding member of the English Football Association, the oldest football organisation in the world. Morley wrote to Bell's Life newspaper proposing a governing body for football which led directly to the first meeting at the Freemason's Tavern in central London of the FA. He wrote the first set of rules of true modern football at his house in Barnes. London also has four rugby union teams in the Guinness Premiership (London Irish, Saracens, Wasps and NEC Harlequins), although only the Harlequins play in London (all the other three now play outside Greater London), as well as a rugby league Super League club in Harlequins RL. London also has many famous other rugby union clubs in lower leagues, including Richmond F.C., Blackheath R.C., Rosslyn Park F.C. and Barnes R.F.C. Wembley Stadium has been the home of the English national football team, and serves as the venue for the FA Cup final as well as rugby league's Challenge Cup final. Twickenham Stadium in west London is the national rugby union stadium, and has a capacity of 82,000 now that the new south stand has been completed. Cricket in London centres on its two Test cricket grounds at Lord's (home of Middlesex CC) in St John's Wood, and The Oval (home of Surrey CC) in Kennington. One of London's best-known annual sports competitions is the Wimbledon Tennis Championships, held at the All England Club in the south-western suburb of Wimbledon. Other key events are the annual mass-participation London Marathon which sees some 35,000 runners attempt a 42 km course around the city, and the Oxford vs. Cambridge Boat Race on the River Thames between Putney and Mortlake. Wikipedia.orgDistrictsChiswick, City of London, Clapham, Clerkenwell, Covent Garden, Docklands, Ealing, Earls Court, East End, Fitzrovia, Fulham, Golders Green, Greenwich, Hackney, Hammersmith, Hampstead, Holborn, Hyde Park, Kennington, Kensington, Kilburn, Kings Cross , Knightsbridge, Lambeth, Maida Vale, Marylebone, Mayfair, Mill Hill, Notting Hill, Paddington, Piccadilly, Pimlico, Putney, Regent's Park, Shepherds Bush, South Kensington, Southwark, St Johns Wood, Stoke Newington, Streatham, Thamesmead, The Strand, Tower Bridge, Victoria, Walworth, Wandsworth, Waterloo, Wembley y West End. Airports nearbyCity (LCY) 11.8 km, Heathrow (LHR) 24.0 km, Gatwick (LGW) 39.5 km, Luton (LTN) 45.2 km, Stansted (STN) 49.3 km and Southend (SEN) 56.7 km.Lodging in LondonHotels in LondonLinksImages of London |