Earlier the space was famous for its open-air fruit and vegetable market. However, slowly both the market and the surrounding area faded into oblivion as taverns, theatres, coffee-houses and brothels opened up; the gentry moved away, and rakes, wits and playwrights moved in. The place is now a major tourist location containing cafes, pubs, small shops, and a craft market called the Apple Market, along with another market held in the Jubilee Hall.

Long Acre is the main thoroughfare of this district, running north-east from St Martin’s Lane to Drury Lane. The area to the south of Long Acre contains the Royal Opera House, the market and central square, and most of the elegant buildings, theatres and entertainment facilities, including the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane, and the London Transport Museum; while the area to the north of Long Acre is largely given over to independent retail units centred on Neal Street, Neal’s Yard and Seven Dials.

The Royal Opera House in the Convent Garden was constructed as the “Theatre Royal” in 1732. It has been the home of The Royal Opera since 1945, and the Royal Ballet since 1946. The central square in Covent Garden is simply called “Covent Garden”, often marketed as “Covent Garden Piazza” to distinguish it from the eponymous surrounding area. The church of St Paul’s was the first building, and was begun in July 1631 on the western side of the square. The London Transport Museum is in a Victorian iron and glass building on the east side of the market square. The Covent Garden area has 13 theatres, and over 60 pubs and bars, with most south of Long Acre, around the main shopping area of the old market.

The London eye, also known as the MilleniumWheel and before that the British Airways London Eye, is the tallest Ferris wheel in the whole of Europe. It is 135 metres (443 ft) tall and has a diameter of 120 metres (394 ft).All its passenger capsules are rotated by electric motors. Each capsule can accommodate about 25 people and weighs 10 tonnes. It has been designed by Leitner-Poma and has a space to walk around in the interior.

The wheel’s speed is not too high, so it isn’t one of those thrilling rides of a fair. It takes around 30 minutes to complete one rotation and in that time you are offered excellent views of London, you are free to click pictures, dine, basically do anything within your capsule. The astonishing fact is that it doesn’t generally stop for passengers to board. Its speed is so slow that one can get on and off it without needing for it to stop! However it may be stopped for an elderly or sick person, if requested.

The wheel’s exact location is as the western end of Jubilee Gardens, on the South Bank of the River Thames in the London Borough of Lambeth, between Westminster Bridge and Hungerford Bridge.

This wheel adds to the aesthetic sense of its surroundings. LED lighting from Color Kinetics is used to light up the entire wheel in the evening. The rim of the Eye is supported by tie rods and resembles a huge spoked bicycle wheel.

Architects Frank Anatole, Nic Bailey, Steven Chilton, Malcolm Cook, Mark Sparrowhawk, and the husband-and-wife team of Julia Barfield and David Marks are responsible for the building of this magnificent Ferris wheel.

The London Eye was formally opened by the then Prime Minister, Tony Blair, on 31 December 1999 and since then it has served to symbolize London internationally just as the Eiffel symbolizes Paris. It has increased the tourist rate tremendously and though certain problems did come up, the government made sure that this landmark was made permanent.

Bushy Park
Home to many free-roaming deer, the park abounds in horse chestnuts and lime trees flanking the famous chestnut avenue on both sides. The park also features an artificial river, children’s activities and various sporting facilities.

The Green Park
Lying between Buckingham Palace and Piccadilly, The Green Park stretches for 47 acres. With its mature trees and grassland, it is a great place for sunbathing and picnics in the summer months.

Greenwich Park
A World Heritage Site and the oldest of the Royal Parks, Greenwich Park contains several historic buildings and also has a fantastic view from the top of the hill.  Summer months are especially inviting when you can enjoy activities like football and frisbee skimming. The park also hold events like jazz, opera, theatre and children’s activities.

Hyde Park
Standing in the heart of London, the Hyde Park takes pride in its Serpentine (a popular boating lake) and Rotten Row, a renowned riding track and the first artificially lit road in England. Also worth visiting are the Serpentine Gallery, the Diana Memorial Fountain, and the Speaker’s Corner where you can hear London’s most vocal orators share their opinions with the world.

Kensington Gardens
Kensington Gardens features the Italian Fountain Gardens and the imposing Albert Memorial. The park is also home to Kensington Palace with its peaceful Italian Gardens, the famous Peter Pan statue, the seven-mile Diana Memorial Walk, Princess of Wales’ Memorial Playground and the huge wooden pirate ship.

Natural History Museum
The Natural History Museum is situated on the Exhibition Road, South Kensington, London. It is famous for its extraordinary display of extremely rare animals. It is an exempt charity and you don’t need to buy a ticket to get a view of this fantastic museum.

Victoria and Albert Museum
Victoria and Albert Museum was founded in the year 1852 and has vividly expanded. It is situated in the Brompton district of the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, London and is famous for its lovely collection of art works from all over the world. It has a vast collection of artworks and is regularly updated; this means that this museum contains art works right from the ancient period. You may not but a ticket to get a look of this extraordinary place, though you may need one for some special exhibitions.

Tate Modern
Tate Modern is situated on the banks of Thames. London and is well known for its breath taking collection of modern art. It contains art works of Damien Hirst and Gauguin. This museum doesn’t require any entry charges and is one of the most visited museums of the world and attracts a lot of tourists.

Madame Tussauds
Madame Tussauds is situated in the Marylebone Road, Central London since 1884. This place has a collection of wax statues of many well know personalities of all fields. Whether it is a cricketer or a singer or an actor, you will definitely get to see their wax statues that are unbelievable.

The London eye
London Eye is a must watch for the tourists. It is situated on the banks of River Thames, London and was built in the year 1999. It was basically the tallest Ferris wheel in the whole world and has thirty-two capsules. It gives an amazing view of around fifty well known places of London. Each capsule can accommodate about twenty five people and takes thirty minutes to take one full round.

National Maritime Museum
National Maritime Museum is situated in the Greenwich, England. This place is world wide famous for its collection of artworks from all the continents. You may not buy a ticket to get a look of this beautiful place though you’ll need one for special exhibitions.

The City of London

The actual city of London is not as big as you may initially imagine and for this reason the prices of London hotels are quite expensive.  However, you will be right in the centre of all the action if you decide to stay here and of course, with many of the London hotels located here being built in absolutely stunning Victorian and Georgian buildings you are staying in a hotel with plenty of history.  The city of London is really easy to navigate too, and wherever you choose to stay you will have tube stations close by and bus lanes, as well as plenty of attractions, restaurants and shops within walking distance.

Outside of the City of London

The London hotels located in Earls Court and similar areas are still very close to the tube stations yet far enough away from the city to be cheaper in price.  The time it takes to get into the city centre will be around 20-30 minutes from locations like these and they can be quieter at night time too which is always a plus!  Again there is a wide variety of hotels and guesthouses available and you are sure to be able to find something that meets your needs and budget.

Luxury and Boutique London Hotels

If money is no object and you want to experience British hospitality at its finest, you might want to look into staying in a luxury or a boutique London hotel.  Luxury and boutique London hotels are full of world class business facilities, fabulous five star dining experiences and also include all the top entertainment and relaxation options that you would expect to see from a high standard hotel.  The boutique London hotels also have an extra quirkiness to them which is great for travellers who still want the ultimate in comfort from their accommodation mixed with something unique.

Cheap London Hotels

If you would rather spend your money on all of the awesome attractions London has to offer, or in the huge variety of shops on Oxford Street, you might want to look into staying in a cheaper hotel for your time in London.  As mentioned above, these are usually located just outside of the actual city but still close enough to commute into the centre every day.  There are a wide variety of London hotels that fall into this category from family run bed and breakfasts to international chains to hostels – if you really don’t want to spend any money.  Most of these are clean and adequate enough to spend a night in, and if you aren’t planning on spending a lot of time in your hotel, they can be the ideal option.

There are absolutely hundreds of London hotels to choose from and you are sure to find one that meets your budget.  With so many attractions and things to see and do in London you are sure to have an absolutely fantastic time!

Overview of the Hotel: The hotel features refurbishment, service, luxurious rooms and refined boutique style. The hotel provides bar and bistro dining. Michelin-starred food is served in the Seven Park Place restaurant. Buckingham Palace, the Royal Academy of Arts and fine bars and restaurants lie in the hotel’s vicinity. Quiet, intimate and stylishly elegant, this hotel is located in central Mayfair, near the thrilling West End and the shops of Jermyn Street, the Burlington Arcade and Bond Street.

Amenities at the Hotel: Restaurant, Bar, 24-Hour Front Desk, Newspapers, Non-Smoking Rooms, Rooms/Facilities for Disabled Guests, Elevator, Express Check-In/Check-Out, Safety Deposit Box, Soundproofed Rooms, Heating, Design Hotel, Luggage Storage, Allergy-Free Room Available, All Public and Private spaces non-smoking, Airconditioning are some of the facilities provided. Other facilities include Room Service, Meeting/Banquet Facilities, Business Centre, Babysitting/Child Services, Laundry, Dry Cleaning, Breakfast in the Room, Ironing Service, Currency Exchange, Shoe Shine, Fax/Photocopying, Ticket Service. Wi-fi is available in the entire hotel and is free of charge.

Hotel Rules: The Check in time for the hotel is from 15:00 hours and the Check out time is until 12:00 hours. Cancellation and prepayment policies vary by room type. All children under 12 years stay free of charge when using existing bedding. All children under 2 years stay free of charge for cots. All older children or adults are charged GBP 50 per night per person for extra beds. Maximum capacity of extra beds/babycots in a room is 1. Any type of extra bed or baby cot is upon request and needs to be confirmed by the hotel. Supplements will not be calculated automatically in the total costs and have to be paid separately in the hotel. American Express, Visa, Euro/Mastercard, Maestro, Switch are all acceptable credit cards. The hotel reserves the right to pre-authorize credit cards prior to arrival. Pets are not allowed.

Hotel Room Types and Rates:

Superior room: £306
Included in room price: 20% VAT
FREE cancellation

Junior Suite: £534
Included in room price: 20% VAT
FREE cancellation

Deluxe room: £342
Included in room price: 20% VAT
FREE cancellation

Executive room: £414
Included in room price: 20% VAT
FREE cancellation

• Comedy: The Comedy Store, Haymarket House, 1A Oxendon Street, SW1 are the venues in the city, that yet offers the best sort of comedy in. Jongleurs comedy and cabaret clubs are located in Battersea and Camden.

• Live Music: Big international music concerts and events are organized at Earl’s Court Exhibition Centre, Warwick Road, Earl’s Court, SW5, O2 Arena, Peninsula Square, SE10, Wembley Arena, Lakeside Way, Wembley and HA9.

• Music: The world renowned Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, WC2 is home to the much famous Royal Opera. However, despite being introducing cuts yet the prices of ballet and opera tickets are still been fairly expensive. More accessible are performances by the English National Opera at the London Coliseum, St Martin’s Lane, and WC2.

• British Museum: This museum showcases the human history and culture exhibits from more than seven million in numbers from all continents. One of the largest museums in the world, it keeps the entire history of human civilization from ancient to modern period preserved in documentations and collections. It was founded in 1753, initially on the collection of the physician and scientist Sir Hans Sloane. It was open for public on 15th January 1759 in Montagu House in Bloomsbury. Though during the century long history it developed into a several branch institutions and its first branch was British Museum (Natural History) in South Kensington in 1887.    It is a non departmental public body sponsored by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport and has no admission fee to visit this museum.  Since 2002 the director of the museum has been Neil MacGregor.

British Museum

• Churchill War Rooms: This Museum in London is one of the five branches of the Imperial War Museum.  This particular museum is consisted of Cabinet War Rooms, a historic underground complex containing British government command center during the Second World War, and the Churchill Museum, a biographical museum exploring the life of British statesman Winston Churchill. The Cabinet war rooms hence were constructed below the Treasury building in the Whitehall area of Westminster in 1938 and became operational from August 1939 just before the start of the war in Europe. And were in operation during entire period of Second World War II, before they were surrendered in August 1945 after the surrender of Japan. As a branch of a national museum, the Churchill War Rooms is supported by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport, by admissions income and the museum’s commercial activity.

Churchil War Rooms

• Imperial War Museum : It is a British national museum that has branches spread about at five different places in England. Among its five branches five are situated in London itself.  This museum was started back during the period of First World War in 1971 with objective to preserve effort and sacrifice put down by Britain and her Empire during the war.  The museum tells people about informed information of modern war and its impact over individuals and society. In start museum started at Crystal Palace at Sydenham Hill, and it opened to the public in 1920. It works as a charity under the Charities Act of 1993 as a non departmental public body under the Department for Culture, Media and Sport.

• London Transport Museum: Situated at Covent Garden, London this museum tell all in entirely about the transport heritage of Britain’s capital city. Initially, museum had collection of London Transport; however, with expansion of creation of Transport for London (TFL) in 2000, the museum has expanded to cover all the import aspects of transportation in the city. Later on museum was renamed as to cover topics beyond London as London’ Transport Museum.

• Museum of London: This museum showcases the history of London from the Prehistoric period to the present time. It is situated close to Barbican Center as is a few minutes’ walk north of St Paul’s Cathedral. The museum is a non-departmental public body.

• National Maritime Museum : It is a  maritime museum of its type in National Maritime Museum (NMM) in Greenwich, England and is the one of the best museum its type in the world. It is a non-departmental public body sponsored by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport. It has  around two million items including maritime art cartography, manuscripts that contains official public records, ship models and plans, scientific and navigational instruments, instruments for time-keeping and astronomy.

National Maritime Museum London

• Natural History Museum: It is situated on Exhibition Road, South Kensington, London, England  houses around exhibits from life and earth science specimens combining nearly 70 million items primarily divided into categories like Botany, Entomology, Mineralogy, Palaeontology and Zoology. It is a world famous center of research, specialising in taxonomy, identification and conservation. Its many collections have intensive historical as well as scientific value like as specimens of Darwin. It contains extensive books, journals, manuscripts and artwork collections as aligning to different scientific departments.

Natural History Museum

• Science Museums : It is too located at Exhibition Road, South Kensington, London in The Royal Borough of Kensington & Chelsea. It is part of the National Museum of Science and Industry. It holds a collection of around 300,000 items, involving famous items like as Stephenson’s Rocket, Puffing Billy, the first jet engine and many other wonderful scientific exhibits.

• Sir John Soane Museum: It is a museum of architecture and formerly was the house and studio of the neo-classical architect Sir John Soane. This museum keeps collection of many a number of drawings and antiquities as collected by him. It is located at Holborn district of central London, England. It is a non non-departmental public body sponsored by the Department for Culture, Media and sport.

• Victoria & Albert Museums: It is situated at The Royal Borough of Kensington & Chelsea, London, England, and is credited being as the  world’s largest museum of decorative arts and design while keeping a collection of over 4.5 million objects. It was opened with the name of Prince Albert and Queen Victoria and was founded in 1852, and since then it has been grown into a museum of around 12.5 acres and 145 galleries. It has collection of nearly 5000 years of art, from the ancient times to the present day from regions like Europe, North America, Asia and North Africa. It is a non departmental body as sponsored by the Department of Culture, Media and Sport.

Victoria and Albert Museum

• Madame Tussaud Museum: It is a wax museum in London with a number of branches in a number of major cities globally. The museum was founded by wax sculptor Marie Tussaud and later named as “Madame Tussaud’s” Museum.

Other museums apart from said and discussed above are Guards’ Museum, Hermitage Rooms,  Jewel Tower, London Canal Museum, London Fire Brigade Museum, Alexadner Fleming Laboratory Museum, Bramah Tea & Coffee Museum, Britain at War Experience, Clink Prison Museum, Bramah Tea & Coffee Museum,  Clink Prison Museum, Design Museum,  Faraday Museum, Florence Nightingale Museum,  Museum of Garden History, National Army Museum, Petrie Museum of Egyptian Archaeology, Pollock’s Toy Museum, Sherlock Holmes Museum, Wellington Museum.

London Olympics

The 2012 Summer Olympic Games that officially has been termed as Games of the XXX Olympiad are set to be held in London, United Kingdom, from 27 July to 12 August 2012. London with the task of organizing the 2012 Olympic Games is honored as a city for organizing this game thrice. London has organized games earlier in years 1908 and 1948. London was elected as a host city for the games on 6 July 2005 in the 117th IOC Session in Singapore after defeating cities like Moscow, New York, Madrid and Paris after four rounds of voting. This winning of the Bid for London Olympics prompted for a number of exciting development activities in many areas in London where games are to be held.

Mascots of Olympic Games

Lodon Olympics Mascot

Wenlock and Mandeville are the official mascots for the 2012 Summer Olympic and Paralympic Games that were revealed out on 19th May 2010.  Wenlock and Mandeville are animations showing up two drops of steel from a steelworks in Bolton. They only have a single that is the Eye of Providence and learning. They were named as Wenlock after the Shropshire town of Much Wenlock that held a forerunner of the current Olympic Games, and Stoke Mandeville, a town in Buckinghamshire where the Paralympic Games were organized for the very first time.

Venues and Infrastructure

The venues for 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games is a mixture of new places as well as sporting facilities which were been used in the previous Olympic games in the well recognized locations of the London like as Hyde Park and Horse Guards Parade. Organizers has decided that some of the facilities will be used in the games in their preexisting forms whereas the 80,000 seater main stadium will be reduced in size and several other stadiums would be relocated to some other places at UK. The entire sporting extravaganza is divided into three sporting zones within Greater London at places Olympic Zone, the River Zone and the Central Zone.  More there is a Weymouth and Portland National Sailing Academy on the Isle of Portland in Dorset for hosting sailing events, Tring in Hertfordshire will host the start of the 50 km walk. Lord’s Cricket Ground will be the venue for archery. The responsibility of carrying away spectators to Olympic venue would be shared by London Tube.

•  Piccadilly Circus: It is a famous road junction and public space of London’s West End in the City of Westminster. The Circus was constructed in 1819 to connect Regent Street with the major shopping street of Piccadilly. Now it is straight connected to theaters on Shaftesbury Avenue as well as the Haymarket, Coventry Street and Glasshouse Street.  It also is a prominent entertainment center at the West End. Being a major traffic intersection Piccadilly Circus has become a busy meeting place and major center of tourist attraction in its own way.

London_piccadilly_circus

•  Royal Albert Hall: The Royal Albert Hall, famous for the Proms, was constructed to commemorate the death of Prince Albert. It is an arts center located in the Knightsbridge area of the City of Westminster, London and reputation as UK’s most preserved and treasured buildings. Since, its inauguration by Queen Victoria in 1871 it has been stage for artist to showcase their talent from around the globe. Yearly it hosts about around 350 performances inclusive classical concerts, rock and pop, ballet and opera, tennis, award ceremonies, school and community events, charity performances and lavish banquets.

• Royal Courts of Justice: The other name for Royal Courts of Justice is Law Courts and is the building in the London that keeps within its premises Court of Appeal of England and Wales and High Court of Justice of England and Wales. The building is constructed in the Victorian Gothic style and was designed by George Edmund Street, a solicitor turned architect. The court was inaugurated by Queen Victoria in December 1882. It is located by the Strand, in the Cit of Westminster, near the border with the City of London and the London Borough of Camden. Around it is the four Inns of Court and London School of Economics. The nearest tube stations to it are Chancery Lane and Temple.

Royal Courts of Justice

•  Royal Observatory: The Old Royal Observatory in Greenwich, London, marks the point where Greenwich Mean Time began. The Royal Observatory, Greenwich come into operation in 1675 when it was commissioned in 1675 by King Charles II, with the foundation stone being laid on 10 August. It is located on a hill in Greenwich Park in Greenwich, London, overlooking the River Thames.

RoyalObservatoryGreenwich

•  St. James’s Palace: It was constructed by Henry VIII, and had been home to some of England’s finest king and monarchs. It is one of the oldest palaces of London and is located at Pall Mall close to St. James’s Park.

•  St. Paul’s Cathedral: Constructed aftermath of Great Fire of 1666, it is considered as the second largest dome in Europe. It is an Anglican cathedral on Ludgate Hill, the highest point in the City of London, England and is the seat of the Bishop of London. The present building is as old as and dates back to 17th century and is being designed by Sir Christopher Wren.

•  Temple Church: This temple was made by the Knights Templar and is based upon the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem. It is a late 12th century church that is situated between Fleet Street and River Thames. Templar made it purposefully as their English headquarters. The church is famous for its effigy tombs and round church.  The entire area around the church is known as Temple including Temple Bar and Temple Church as all have derived their name from the church.

•  Thames Flood Barrier: The Thames Flood Barrier near Woolwich protects the City of London from the rising tide of the Thames. It is the world’s largest movable flood barrier and is constructed downstream of central London. Its northern bank is in Silvertown in the London Borough of Newham and its southern bank is in the New Charlton area of Charlton in the London Borough of Greenwich.

• Tower Bridge: It is a bascule and suspension bridge in London, over the River Thames. Due to its closeness with Tower of London, it has been named as Tower Bridge. It is an iconic symbol of London. The bridge is combined of two towers that are that are tied at the upper level by methods of two horizontal walkways as to survive the horizontal forces exerted by the suspended sections of the bridge on the landward sides of the towers. Tower Bridge sometimes is get confused with the London Bridge that is the next bridge upstream. The nearest tube station connected to it is Tower Hill on the Circle and District Lines.

Tower Bridge London

•  Trafalgar Square: This famous square in central London, England has positions like Nelson’s Column, Admiralty Arch, and the world famous National Gallery. Being in the center of London It is a very attractive place for tourist and other activities. The center of Trafalgar square has decorated Nelson’s column that is protected by four lion statues at its base. It is owned by the Queen in Right of the Crown and is looked after by the Greater London Authority. It is placed to be at fourth spot as popular tourist attraction on Earth having more than fifteen million visitors every year.

• Wellington Arch: Wellington Arch was built to celebrate the Duke of Wellington’s victories in the Napoleonic Wars. It is also known by other names like Constitution Arch or Green Park Arch. It is situated to the south of Hyde Park in central London at the north western corner of Green Park. The Arch was constructed on a design by Decimus Burton between 1826-1830

• Westminster Abbey: It is a huge Gothic church in Westminster, London situated to the west direction of the Palace of Westminster.  It is burial site for English, later British and later still monarchs of the Commonwealth Realms for centuries. It was also been stood as to be the cathedral from 1546–1556, and is    a Royal Peculiar.

Westminster Abbey