Established by William the Conqueror to assert Norman control over the city, and standing on the north bank of the Thames since the 1070s, the Tower of London has been a royal palace, prison, armoury, and a zoo (yes, really). Twickenham Stadium in south-west London hosts home matches for the England national rugby union team. There are also parks administered by London’s borough Councils, including Victoria Park in the East End and Battersea Park in the centre. Hampton Court Park is also a royal park, but, because it contains a palace, it is administered by the Historic Royal Palaces, unlike the eight Royal Parks. The largest parks in the central area of London are three of the eight Royal Parks, namely Hyde Park and its neighbour Kensington Gardens in the west, and Regent’s Park to the north. London is home to the designers John Galliano, Stella McCartney, Manolo Blahnik and Jimmy Choo, among others; its renowned art and fashion schools make it one of the four international centres of fashion.

  • Yet English maritime enterprise hardly reached beyond the seas of northwestern Europe.
  • On the park’s western edge stands Kensington Palace, the official London residence of the Prince and Princess of Wales.
  • London was the capital of the British Empire and so for almost three centuries the centre of power for large parts of the world.
  • Nelson’s Column (built to commemorate Admiral Horatio Nelson who is depicted in a 17 feet (5.2 m) statue at the top) is a nationally recognised monument in Trafalgar Square, one of the focal points of Central London.
  • With the Black Death in the mid-14th century, London lost nearly a third of its population.
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Modern era

Ealing Trailfinders and London Scottish play in the RFU Championship; other rugby union clubs in the city include Richmond, Rosslyn Park, Westcombe Park, and Blackheath. Other long-distance paths, linking green spaces, have also been created, including the Capital Ring, the Green Chain Walk, London Outer Orbital Path (“Loop”), Jubilee Walkway, Lea Valley Walk and the Diana, Princess of Wales Memorial Walk. Access to canals and rivers has improved recently, including the creation of the Thames Path, some 28 miles (45 km) of which is within Greater London, and the Wandle Trail along the River Wandle. Three of the UK’s most-visited theme parks, Thorpe Park near Staines-upon-Thames, Chessington World of Adventures in Chessington and Legoland Windsor, are located within 20 miles (32 km) of London.

  • East London is located to the east of the City of London, with the East End being the part of East London closest to the City of London.
  • William built the Tower of London, the first of many such in England rebuilt in stone in the south-eastern corner of the city, to intimidate the inhabitants.
  • The rules of modern boxing, the Queensberry Rules, were formulated in London in 1867, and since then fights have taken place at York Hall (the spiritual home of British boxing), and larger arenas and stadiums across the city.
  • The place to be for rap and R&B music in the UK with previous headliners including Kanye West and Jay-Z.
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Forage London

In particular the genres UK garage, drum and bass, dubstep, and grime evolved in the city from the foreign genres of house, hip hop and reggae, alongside local drum and bass. London was instrumental in the development of punk music, with groups such as the Sex Pistols, the Clash, and the fashion designer Vivienne Westwood based in the city. The city is home to the original Hard Rock Cafe and the Abbey Road Studios, where the Beatles recorded many of their hits. Several music festivals, including the Wireless Festival, Lovebox, and Hyde Park’s British Summer Time, are held in London. London has numerous venues for rock and pop concerts, including the world’s busiest indoor venue, the O2 Arena, and Wembley Arena, as well as many mid-sized venues, such as Brixton Academy, the Hammersmith Apollo and the Shepherd’s Bush Empire. The record label EMI was formed in the city in 1931, and an early employee for the company, Alan Blumlein, created stereo sound that year.

When was London founded?

Rainfall records have been kept in the city since at least 1697, when records began at Kew. In terms of international connectedness, as of 2024, London was one of two cities worldwide classified as an “Alpha++” city by the Globalization and World Cities Research Network. However, Britain’s exit from the EU in January 2020 only marginally weakened London’s position as an international financial centre.

Go on a vintage shopping spree in East London

You can also control what data is saved in your account with easy on/off controls, and even delete your data by date, product, and topic. For example, flight confirmations in your Gmail inbox will automatically sync with your Google Calendar and Google Maps to help you get to the airport on time. Your account helps you do more by personalizing your Google experience and offering easy access to your most important information from anywhere. Here you can still experience remnants of the earlier city alongside the most modern architecture. Snow is uncommon but usually falls at least once each winter and heavy snow is rarer and does not happen every winter.

The invasion of Amsterdam by armies of Napoleon led many financiers to relocate to London and the first London international issue was arranged in 1817. Coffeehouses became a popular place to debate ideas, as growing literacy and development of the printing press made news widely available, with Fleet Street becoming the centre of the British press. Epidemics during the 1720s and 30s saw most children born in the city die before reaching their fifth birthday. During the Georgian era new districts such as Mayfair were formed in the west; new bridges over the Thames encouraged development in South London. The Great Fire of London broke out in 1666 in Pudding Lane in the city and quickly swept through the wooden buildings. London was plagued by disease in the early-17th century, culminating in the Great Plague of 1665–1666, which killed up to 100,000 people, or a fifth of the population.

Old Royal Naval College

What was formerly the Millennium Dome, by the Thames to the east of Canary Wharf, is now an entertainment venue called the O2 Arena. Nevertheless, there are a number of tall skyscrapers in Central London, including the 95-storey Shard London Bridge, the tallest building in the UK and Western Europe. Nelson’s Column (built to commemorate Admiral Horatio Nelson who is depicted in a 17 feet (5.2 m) statue at the top) is a nationally recognised monument in Trafalgar Square, one of the focal points of Central London.

It’s little wonder, then, that it’s been named the world’s “best city of 2025.” For a first-time visitor, however, the sheer number of famous landmarks can feel overwhelming. London is situated in southeastern England, lying astride the River Thames some 50 miles (80 km) upstream from its estuary on the North Sea. London is situated in southeastern England, lying on both sides of the River Thames some 50 miles (80 km) upstream from its estuary on the North Sea. In golf, the Wentworth Club is located in Virginia Water, Surrey on the south-west fringes of London, while the closest venue to London that is used as one of the courses for the Open Championship, the oldest major and tournament in golf, is Royal St George’s in Sandwich, Kent.

Things to do in London

Epping Forest is a popular venue for various outdoor activities, including mountain biking, walking, horse riding, golf, angling, and orienteering. Some more informal, semi-natural open spaces also exist, including Hampstead Heath and Epping Forest, both controlled by the City of London Corporation. Close to Richmond Park is Kew Gardens, which has the world’s largest collection of living plants. Hyde Park in particular is popular for sports and sometimes hosts open-air concerts.

London’s original city centre, the City of London is England’s smallest city. It is also the city with the highest population in the UK. London is the capital and largest city of both England and the United Kingdom. St Pancras International is the city’s Eurostar hub, with multiple direct connections to Europe. Escape the city for Petersham Nurseries, a garden centre with a Michelin-Green-Starred difference. Enjoy a 360-degree view of London from Britain’s tallest building, which towers over the city’s skyline.

London has five 3-Michelin star restaurants, including Restaurant Gordon Ramsay in Chelsea. Gastronomic centres include the Bangladeshi restaurants of Brick Lane and the Chinese restaurants of Chinatown. London offers a great variety of cuisine as a result of its ethnically diverse population. It is home to vast numbers of retailers and department stores, including Selfridges flagship store. London was the centre of music hall, with the Hackney Empire, host to many music hall stars, among the best-surviving Edwardian era variety theatres. The city is the home of Andrew Lloyd Webber, whose musicals have dominated West End theatre since the late 20th century.

London was once the capital of an empire that ruled over more than half the world’s Muslims, so it should come as no surprise that the city is home to a wide range of Muslim communities and rich in Islamic heritage. Among the highlights, you will find the oldest door in the UK, the collection of memorials to great poets and writers known as Poets’ Corner, the Coronation Chair, 14th-century cloisters, a 900-year-old garden, royal tombs and much, much more. London’s great abbey has served as the venue for many showstopper funerals and weddings – 30 monarchs are buried here, and 16 royal weddings have been hosted here, the most recent being that of Prince William and Catherine Middleton in 2011.

Few structures in central London pre-date the Great Fire of 1666, these being a few trace Roman remains, the Tower of London and a few scattered Tudor survivors in the city. North London is situated north of the City of London, with South London (whose development started with the ancient borough of Southwark at the southern end of London Bridge) occupies all of London south of the River Thames. Throughout the area many large brownfield areas now being redeveloped including chicken road app London Riverside and the Lower Lea Valley, which was developed into the Olympic Park for the 2012 Olympics and Paralympics. It has long been known for its high immigrant population and for being one of the poorest areas of the capital. East London is located to the east of the City of London, with the East End being the part of East London closest to the City of London. The West End includes London’s main shopping and entertainment areas, including West End theatre, and as such attracts many tourists.

They are responsible for most local services, such as local planning, schools, libraries, leisure and recreation, social services, local roads and refuse collection. The GLA has responsibility for the majority of London’s transport system through its functional arm Transport for London (TfL), it is responsible for overseeing the city’s police and fire services, and also for setting a strategic vision for London on a range of issues. In January 2015 Greater London’s population was estimated to be 8.63 million, its highest since 1939. Located about 2 miles (3 km) east of central London, the Thames Barrier was completed in the 1980s to protect London against tidal surges from the North Sea. The principal ports for London moved downstream to Felixstowe and Tilbury, with the London Docklands area becoming a focus for regeneration, including the Canary Wharf development.

Over 85% (3.2 million) of the employed population of greater London works in the services industries. Notwithstanding a post-Brexit exodus of stock listings from the London Stock Exchange, London is one of Europe’s most economically powerful cities, and it remains one of the major financial centres of the world. London’s largest industry is finance, and its financial exports make it a large contributor to the UK’s balance of payments. By the mid-19th century London was the leading global financial centre, and at the end of the century over half the world’s trade was financed in British currency.