Little Known Facts about London - London, United Kingdom
London, United Kingdom
There is ************e in the world who might never have heard of the majestic city of London and its various attractions - a reputation that has been built up over the years particularly because of the fact that England had at a time ruled over many countries of the world. Of late, the preponderance of the media in its various forms has enabled people to see its various attractions such as the London Eye, Big Ben or Buckingham Palace in the comfort of their homes without having to go to London. Moreover, millions of people from all across the globe have travelled to this citadel of attractions to physically see these places of interest.
However, London holds many secrets that are little-known even to people who have visited it a number of times or are even living there. The following are a few interesting little-known facts. In order to explore some of these interesting facts, it would be best to stay at Best Western Shaftesbury Paddington Court London because of its strategic location in central London, close to all these attractions.
Big Ben
Big Ben is the name of the bell that is inside a tower which is called the 'Elizabeth Tower', although in common parlance it refers to the tower itself.
The City of London
London is basically the entire Greater London which is massive and is home to more than 8.5 million people but the City of London is its tiny part with only about 8,500 residents. Greater London is so huge that its area can contain four New York cities or 50 cities of the size of Paris.
London Has Only Streets and No Roads
Except Goswell Road, London has no other roads and even that has become part of the Square Mile. Streets, Ways and Lanes are more common in this city.
Unused Tube Stations
Abandoned tube stations such as Strand that was shut down in 1994, Down Street that was closed in 1932 and Brompton Road, that closed in 1934 are now used for filming movie scenes or for private parties. Mark Lane, previously a part of Tower Hill Tube Station, has also been closed down.
The Very Difficult Knowledge Test
All Black Cab drivers necessarily have to pass The Knowledge which is an extremely difficult test that involves knowing about 320 basic routes, the 25,000 streets involved with those routes and the 20,000 landmarks and places of interest within a 6-mile radius of Charing Cross. It takes between two and four years to master this level of knowledge.
Houses of Parliament
Officially the Houses of Parliament are known as the Palace of Westminster. It could well be the largest palace in the UK as it has eight bars, six restaurants, 1,000 rooms, 100 staircases, 11 courtyards, a hair salon and a rifle shooting range.
An interesting fact is that it is illegal to die in the Palace of Westminster.
Three Generations of London Bridge The original London Bridge between Cannon Street Railway Bridge and Tower Bridge was constructed by the Romans in 1176. It used to be a busy thoroughfare with a row of shops throughout its length. However, these shops and buildings were demolished in 1757 and the bridge was replaced with a new one in 1831. The present London Bridge replaced this bridge in 1973. So it can be called the third generation of the London Bridge.
Festivals Galore in London London is home to around 250 festivals every year, including London’s largest free festival, The Mayor’s Thames Festival, and Europe’s biggest street festival, The Notting Hill Carnival which attracts nearly one million people. The festivals are of different types from food and drink festivals, to flower shows and music events.
Marble Arch - The Original Entrance to Buckingham Palace Marble Arch was originally constructed to serve as the main entrance to the grounds of Buckingham Palace, although it is now an important attraction on its own and is no longer meant for its original purpose as it was moved to its present location at Hyde Park. There are many theories regarding the reason for this shift which include the feeling that it was too small to allow coaches through and that the Queen wanted more personal space for her fast expanding family.
Shortest Tube Journey London Underground’s shortest distance between two adjacent stations is only about 270 metres (300 yards). These stations are Leicester Square and Covent Garden on the Piccadilly Line. It takes only about 40 seconds for a tube to cover this distance from platform to platform but the cost of this journey is £4.30! Although this is the shortest journey, it is also the most expensive and also the most popular among tourists.
The Iconic St. Paul’s Cathedral London’s skyline is amazing and the silhouette of St Paul’s Cathedral is its important part. The government has enacted strict laws to ensure that no other building should obstruct certain views of the Cathedral. As a result, many of the latest London buildings such as the Gherkin and the Shard had to adopt weird shapes.
There is a lot that London has to offer including many things that many people have no idea about. In order to discover these and other interesting aspects about this city you have to spend a few days here and stay at Best Western Shaftesbury Paddington Court London for a comfortable and affordable stay and benefit from its convenient location.