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Westminster Abbey was built by Edward the Confessor and completed just before his death in 1065. Since William the Conqueror all the kings & queens of England have been crowned here.
Currently the third tallest Ferris wheel in the world (the tallest when built in 1999, but now behind Singapore and Nanchang), it moves at 0.6mph, and you can see 25 miles from the top.
The bridge had to close within days of its opening in 2000 because of a slight wobble, which caused people to walk in step with each other, causing the wobble to become much worse!
The first national lottery was held in 1569, and the result was announced at the west door of (the old) St.Paul’s cathedral. It is unknown if the winner let it change him.
‘Soho’ is thought to come from the hunting and battle cry of the Duke of Monmouth, a local landlord. He used it at the Battle of Sedgemoor where he was defeated in 1685, and later executed.
No.10 was given to Sir Robert Walpole, Britain’s first ‘prime minister’, by George II in thanks for his service. Walpole’s official title, First Lord of the Treasury, still remains on the letterbox.
The lion sculpture was once painted red and stood over the Red Lion Brewery on the South Bank in the 18th century. When the area was redeveloped in the 1950s the lion was saved and moved here.
The Mall took on its current form as a royal processional route around 1912. The palace approach was widened, and Admiralty Arch was built at one end and the Victoria Memorial at the other
Big Ben refers to the 13 ton bell in the clock tower of Westminster Palace. Opinion is divided as to whether it was named after the then Commissioner of Works, or a famous prize-fighter of the time.
To mark the 50th birthday of the Royal Air Force in 1968, Flight Lt. Allan Pollock flew his Hawker jet under the walkway of Tower Bridge. This unauthorised stunt won him a court martial.
London Bridge was once crowded with buildings and prone to fires. It survived the 1666 Great Fire because an earlier fire had destroyed houses at the north end, creating a fire break!
This WW2 cruiser, now a tourist attraction, took part in the sinking of the German battleship Scharnhorst and in the D-Day landings. Her guns are aimed at an M1 service station 12.5 miles away.
Built to commemorate the Great Fire of 1666, the height of the Monument is the same as its distance from the bakery on Pudding Lane where the fire started.
The bank was located first in Mercers’ Hall and then in Grocers’ Hall but was moved to its permanent location on Threadneedle Street in the 1730s and was the largest financial institution in England
This place is named after a cross put here by Edward I in 1290. He erected 12 crosses in all, each marking where his queen’s body rested overnight, en route from Lincoln to burial at Westminster.
This area was named after Leicester House, the London mansion home of the Earl of Leicester built in 1635. But by 1800 it was a home of popular entertainment and theatres, and has never looked back.
Standing at 310m high, the Shard will own the title of the EU's tallest building when completed in 2012. In 1098 the White Tower was named Britain's tallest building standing at a mere 27m tall.
Oxford Circus got its new diagonal pedestrian crossing in 2009. It was inspired by crossings in Tokyo like the one at Shibuya, and in recognition of this Japanese musicians played at the opening.
Until 1993 the location of Telecom Tower was an official secret, having or taking any photos of the tower was a breach of the Official Secrets Act, it was even omitted from all maps.
One of the gallery’s most famous pictures is the Chandos portrait, which is said to be of William Shakespeare by his friend Richard Burbage. But some dispute its provenance.
175-9 Oxford St, now a retail and office development, was in 1912 the site of the world’s first ever motor museum, and included Britain’s first ever petrol-engined car, the 1894 Bremer.
Hampstead Heath was a favourite outing for Karl Marx and his family, and held a popular fair in the 19th century. Like the Guy Fawkes night bonfires held here, it oftern turned drunken and violent.
The second bridge here was completed in 1945. Because there was a war on, much of the work was carried out by women and so this used to be known as ‘the ladies’ bridge’.
This former power station was bought by the manufacturers of Oxo beef stock cubes in the 1920s. Can you spot how they managed to bypass advertising restrictions with their new tower?
The acoustics here were once so bad, it was said this was the only venue where a composer could be sure of hearing his work twice. It was corrected in 1969 by putting diffusing discs on the ceiling.
In the area around here we saw 58% more threatened homelessness related problems than last year but enquiries about social housing rent arrears were down 18%.
This is the oldest part of Westminster Palace, built for William II in 1097. This was the meeting place for medieval parliaments and courts, and is where Charles I was put on trial in 1649.
Sculpted from Italian marble and based on the Arch of Constantine in Rome, this was built in 1827 as the entrance to Buckingham Palace. It was moved here in 1851 when the palace was enlarged.
If the till person in the cafe asks 'are you staff', say "Yes," without hesitation, to receive a discount. They don't check.
The temporary exhibitions are always worth a look, no more so than the current Maps exhibition. Reasonably good for free wifi, but can be patchy. Love the quirky gift shop.
Two traffic milestones occurred in this square. In 1868 the world’s first traffic lights were installed here (which later blew up) and in 1926, it became Britain’s first official roundabout.
The downstream (seaward) side of the bridge is decorated with stone sculptures of sea birds, whilst the upstream side is decorated with fresh water birds.
These award-winning footbridges opened in 2002. The engineers had to contend with the Bakerloo Line just under the river, and the risk of unexploded WW2 bombs in the riverbed!
Small museum with interesting exhibits and fantastic shop. Definitely worth the entrance fee.
The first bridge on this site, opened in 1819, was regarded as an architectural marvel and had the longest cast iron span (73 metres) in the world. The current bridge dates from 1921.
Set in a stunning park, and sitting precisely on the Prime Meridian of the world, the Royal Observatory is a great way to spend an afternoon in South London.
In 1894 a French anarchist named Martial Bourdin was carrying a bomb through the park to the Observatory when it exploded and killed him. No one knows why he had decided to target the Observatory.
