LONDON

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TO
LONDON
London Sight Seeing Tour
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(No Transcript)
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TRAVEL ADVICE
Anyone with the jitters should check out the US
State Dept Travel Warnings Consular Information
Sheets. Written by a generally over-protective
Uncle Sam, these sheets' provide useful
information on the risks US citizens take when
they undertake to leave the home of the brave.
The British Foreign Commonwealth Office
provides more succinct and restrained Travel
Advice targeted at British citizens, but most of
it is relevant to all travelers. The Nolo.com
Self-Help Law Center's Trouble Free Travel Advice
has advice on keeping you out of trouble with the
law and shank operators while on the road.
Australia's Department of Foreign Affairs
Trade has useful snippets in its Consular Travel
Advice. Have a look at Tick-it Tees Travel Site
for their links, toolbox and their Travel Fact
Grab Bag.
TRAVEL INSURANCE
All the facts and Fans about travel insurance
are provided in this brief but succinct page on
the Money World site. If you're bamboozled by
the sheer number of travel insurance policies on
offer and whether or not you ought to go for the
'protection against terrorist attack' policy,
Travel Assist may help you sort it out. Redbook
asks the largely rhetorical question 'Is Travel
Insurance worth It'. Cannon asks the same
question and surprisingly says, well, kind of,
not really, it all depends. Tricky things,
those travel insurance policies. Saving Money on
Travel Insurance will tell you how to, um, save
money on travel insurance.
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EMBASSIES AND VISAS
1) Whatever your nationality, wherever you're
headed, travel.com.au's Check Visa Requirements
will put you straight on the paperwork you need.
2)The Embassy Page has a fairly good hotlink
listing of embassies and consulates around the
world 3) The Electronic Embassy has hotlink
listings of embassies with a presence mainly in
the USA.
TOURIST OFFICES
1)Where to get online tourist information points
to online and real-world tourist offices for 150
countries. 2)This Tourism Offices Worldwide
Directory concentrates on government tourist
office addresses.
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Accommodation Guide
We think London's hotels overcharge by an
insulting margin (Mark Twain was of the same
opinion one hundred years ago on his visit) - but
this reflects London's high property prices -
there is no shortage of luxury hotels charging
upwards of 200 per person per night, though if
you shop around a hotel in the centre can be had
for 50-70 per night - it's often worth
bargaining. Service varies from the snidely
obsequious to the genuinely friendly, but this is
not calculable from the price. You can book
accommodation at this HOTEL RESERVATION SERVICE
which is a centralized service taking a small cut
from the hotels featured - which works out
cheaper to the hotels than offering a web-based
shopping cart secure service. Another service is
CNG Hotels which allows you to book hotels across
the UK. Our editor always books his hotels
worldwide on the web and hasn't been let down
yet. But he always cross-references with another
site or with a guidebook
The 'Official' London Tourist board, (0207 924
7226/7229) can also book a room for you. If you
don't mind waiting until you arrive, there are
hotel booking booths at all the major airports
and stations - you can often get a very good deal
there - a kind of clearing house with often good
discounts on the standard 'tourist' rates. There
are also many hotel booking sites on the web. Few
of these will present a truly objective picture
of a hotel, as they're trying to make a living,
but it's not in their interests to send you
somewhere terrible.Our Hotel Booking link has
been chosen because they offer booking for many
of the hotels we personally recommend - but we
feel we can only honestly recommend the hotels
that feature on this page - though there are
undoubtedly many others which offer a good
service - we just haven't either visited them
ourselves or received enough reports to give
their details here. (Reports on hotels always
welcome - by email, please).Most of the
commercial hotel guidebooks (even those published
by the AA and RAC) actually charge hotels for
entries and (Johansen's guides charge hotels up
to 2,500 for entries) - they are never objective
and we wouldn't trust them as far as we could
throw them. The only guidebook we can
wholeheartedly recommend is 'The Good Hotel
Guide' (but beware of imitations) which like
ourselves and Hardin's Food Guide, as well as the
'Good Food Guide' remains fiercely objective. The
Good Hotel Guide can pay for it's cover price in
discounts in a small number of London Hotels.
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You should also be aware that the English idea of
comfort can be quite Spartan, as befits our stoic
nature. Character is often more important than
comfort, and if you're likely to get upset over
little things (separate hot and cold, not mixer
taps) then you should pay more for your hotel
than is necessary to enjoy your stay.All the
hotels on this page come from personal
recommendation - if you'd like us to add (or
delete) something from the list please contact
simon_at_londontourism.org.uk. Our top tips for
Hotels are Stay in University Halls if you're
coming in vacation time (summer, Easter or
Christmas) - not hotel standard, but usually
better than B B, very good value accommodation
right in the centre. Contact University College
London (0707 387 7050), King's College London
(0207 836 5454), The London School of Economics
(0207 405 7686) to find out which halls are
renting rooms. The LSE runs a good operation from
its Backside Halls, tell 0207 633 9877 - open
May-Oct, right behind the Tate Modern and
convenient for the City and St Pails. Also
recommended are their halls on Roseburg Avenue
and in Fitzrovia (near the Post Office Tower).
London Zoo. London Zoo is in Regents Park. ...
The Zoo in 1837. Sculpture.London Zoo contains a
variety of sculptural works featuring animals
London Zoo Flugreise lastminute Flugreisen bei
L'TUR Urlaub London-Zoo PauschalreiseZoo-London
Lastminutereisen Reisebüro Wetter online buchen
bei L'TUR. ...
london zoo imperation
Features London Zoo, In the heart of London, on
the north side ofRegents Park, is London Zoo.
When the Zoo opened in 1828 it ...
The Zoo is supported by a very strong Friends of
the East London Zoo (FELZOO)organisation. They
play a very important role in supplying ...
ROYAL PLACES IN LONDON
London has its fair share of Royal Palaces - with
a large Royal Family, and intense rivalry between
dynasties, the number of separate buildings, and
additions to older Palaces has meant that the
variety of architecture is staggering. We mourn
the loss of Henry VIII's bedrooms at Hampton
Court, but the Georgian additions more than make
up. The main tourist destination of Buckingham
Palace, regularly comes up as the worst
attraction in London - overpriced, and badly laid
out. We recommend you save time and money by
visiting the Tower or Hampton court (preferably
both) instead. However many want the more
intimate connection that Buck House has with the
existing monarchy (though Windsor Castle is
better in that degree) and it's certainly
improved in 2002, with more rooms open and better
gallery space
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The Tower of London
       We're not sure if this exactly counts as a
palace - it's more of a prison-cum-armoury - with
a shadier past than Kurt Waldheim. It's important
that you BOOK TICKETS IN ADVANCE if you intend to
visit or you could spend a long time queuing. The
famous beefeaters act as guides and are very
knowledgeable and helpful - but get on their
wrong side and they can be curmudgeonly old
stick-in-the-muds. The Tower features on our ,
which takes in many other local sights and is
highly recommended. The Tower was effectively
built by William the Conqueror after his extended
visit in 1066. It was called the White Tower and
followed the defensive architecture of the
period. In the 13th C the towered walls and the
great moat were added. A wharf was added in the
next century - much of this original architecture
still exists.
It was very much seen as a place of refuge for
the Royal family in a time when the rules of
engagement and the lines of succession were being
worked out. As the Tudors and Plantagenet's
fought over control of the country, several nasty
little incidents took place here egg. the
murdering of the two Princes in the Tower by
Richard III. By the way don't trust Shakespeare
on the subject - he was writing for the dynasty
which replaced the Gloucester regime. Richard III
was no saint, but the image of
                          a hunchbacked villain
was added much later - in the way Stalin vilified
Trotsky. Prisoners held in the Tower include
Sir Thomas More, Thomas Cromwell, two of Henry
Vies wives Anne Boleyn and Catherine Howard, and
his daughter, Princess Elizabeth (the future
Queen Elizabeth I). During the reign of Charles
II the Tower became more of an armoury and houses
many fine pieces as well as the Crown Jewels.
Open summer 9-5, winter 9-4 11.00 PRE-BOOKING
ADVISORY.
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Hampton Court        Bought by Cardinal Woolsey
and transformed by him into a sumptuous Palace in
the 1520s, it was effectively annexed by Henry
VIII as the Cardinal fell out of favor (the
official story is it was given as a gift).
Woolsey also didn't finish Cardinal College
Oxford, which became Christchurch - there you can
still see the foundations of the colonnade which
would have made Tom Quad the finest in Europe.
Henry rebuilt the Hampton Court after his own
tastes and entertained all six wives here, some
making a brief visit, en route for the scaffold.
A succession of later Kings and Queens
transformed the Palace according to their tastes
too, which accounts for the diverse styles. James
I used Hampton Court for its excellent hunting in
the park. Charles II used it for lodging his
mistresses). For more on that matter read the
well-written but smutty poetry of Rochester.
After the 'Glorious Revolution' in 1689 which saw
the rights of Catholics much curtailed, William
III and Mary II commissioned Sir Christopher Wren
to rebuild Hampton Court. Fortunately the work
was not completed as they planned to demolish all
of Henry VIII's bits. They did, however, build
the sumptuous Kings and Queen's Apartments which
are added on the back of Henry's buildings. King
William Apartments are the finest and most
important set of Baroque state apartments in the
world - are still furnished with the original
furniture and tapestries from 1700 when they were
completed for the King. Thankfully Henry's Great
Hall and the Chapel Royal exist in their original
form, as well as the magnificent Tudor Kitchens,
which are beautifully laid out as if a feast was
being prepared using all the food and utensils
that would have been used in the 16th century.
                                     The
Georgian era saw the final flowering of Hampton
Court Palace, but effectively the annual visit of
the full court to Hampton ended in 1737. The
intimate Georgian Rooms are left as they were
during the final visit of the royal court. The
Palace was eventually handed over to the Public
by Queen Victoria. Also worth seeing the
superb collection of renaissance paintings,
including Manteno's Triumphs of Caesar, Henry
VIII's Astronomical Clock the 60 acres of
gardens, including the famous Maze. Open Summer
1000-1800, winter 1000 -1630. Full tickets,
10.50
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Kensington Palace                    The State
Apartments at Kensington Palace take the history
began at Hampton court on further - Queen
Victoria grew up here and there's much fine
portraiture from the reign of George I. The
building also houses The Royal Ceremonial Dress
Collection, dating from the 18th century to the
present day, including a stunning collection of
dresses belonging to Her Majesty The Queen. Queen
Anne's orangey which dates from 1704, is also
worth the visit. The Queen's sister, Princess
Margaret lived there, as did Princess Diana. Off
Kensington High Street, a short walk from the
tube stop of the same name. Open 1000 -1700
summer, 10-1600 winter, admission 8.50
Kew Palace Kew Palace, in the Royal Botanic
Gardens at Kew, is currently closed to visitors.
However, Queen Charlotte's Cottage is open to
visitors every summer weekend. The cottage was
enjoyed by King George III and his wife, Queen
Charlotte, as a picnic place and home to their
menagerie of exotic animals. Visit it when you go
to Kew Gardens. Can easily be combined with a
trip to Ham House and Marble Hill House which are
nearby (vide infra).If you don't feel like
schlepping out of the centre the Chelsea Physic
Garden and the Conservatory of the Barbican could
furnish all your vegetal needs.
Clarence House The home of the late Queen Mother
- not open to the public, but you can view it
from outside. Built by Nash for William, Duke of
Clarence in 1828 - when he became King two years
later he continued to reside here as Buckingham
Palace wasn't finished. It was the home of Queen
Elizabeth before she became Queen too, and for a
time Princess Margaret lived here too. Has a
brilliant collection of paintings from the late
Queen Mother's collection. The story goes that
she once (probably often) rang down to the
butlers after getting no response from her bell
pull and said in a voice redolent of the highest
camp "I don't know what you old queens are doing
down there but this old queen up here is dying
for a glass of gin." The Queen Mum was much
beloved by the public - especially when during
the Diana years the Windsor's' gilt began to
tarnish.
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Historic Buildings
The Houses of Parliament Only open to the Public
when the two houses are not sitting, which
generally means Summer (June-September) but there
may well be an extension - the scheme is still
experimental. Now run by experienced 'Blue Badge'
guides this is a sine qua non. You get to see the
Commons and The Lords, as well as the Queen's
private rooms. Well worth the admission fee
(about 6 - 8). Booking arrangements vary from
year to year - there currently a booking tent
opposite the entrance to Lords, on College Green
The Inns of Court One of the least explored
areas of London. It's an oasis of calm - no
traffic noise which spreads from the river near
Temple tube station (Circle District), up
towards Holton (Central Line) and beyond. The
four Inns go back a long way and were founded to
organize Law Students along Oxbridge lines.
Lincoln's was founded in 1422, with Middle Temple
(1501) Inner Temple (1505) and Gray's (1569)
following. Their antecedents date from 1292 - so
do some of the laws which still govern England.
Lincoln's still retains its complete 16th C
gatehouse (1518), and much of the architecture
can be traced back to 1489 (the Old Hall). The
chapel dates back to 1619.                       
Ben Johnson as a boy, laid the bricks along with
his father a Bricklayer. Has an illustrious list
of former students William Penn, John Donne (who
founded the chapel), Oliver Cromwell, Pitt the
Younger, amongst others. See old buildings, old
hall, chapel, garden and new square.
Middle temple - its name goes back to the Knights
Templar - has buildings dating from 1320 (the
Hall still extant, though rebuilt in 1573). Has
many courts, visit Fountain Court, Brick Court,
New Court, Pump Court, and also see the
Cloisters, the gardens, the Library (modern
exterior, but interior old) and the gatehouse
Inner Temple much of this is Victorian and
Georgian, but Hare court dates back to 1567 and
King's Bench Walk goes back to 1677. The
beautiful gardens used to house the Royal
Horticultural Society Show before it moved to
Chelsea.
Gray's has lost most of it's original function
and apart from the gatehouse and buildings there
is little of interest apart from the gardens The
courts spread from the river northward to
Herbal's road (where there's the best fish and
chip shop in London).
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• Lloyds of London A practice run for the Pompidou
  Center in Paris's Beau Bourg, Richard Rogers'
  stunning building similarly has it's guts on the
  outside. Right next door to Leaden hall market at
  1 Lime Street, London EC3. Go at about 11am and
  have lunch in the market. It's illuminated by a
  blue light at night and stands out on the
  skyline. The Insurance market, with the famous
  Lupine Bell rung traditionally when an insured
  ship sinks (now it's rung for big market news,
  once for bad news, twice for good), bustles on
  around you as you whisk in one of the open
  elevators to the meeting rooms at the top of the
  building.Lombard merchants introduced maritime
  insurance to London in the 16th century and it
  flourished somewhat haphazardly around Lombard
  Street until the establishment of Lloyd's Coffee
  House where insurers and merchants met to trade
  risks. The register of ships goes back to 1760.

Kenwood In splendid grounds beside Hampstead
Heath, the impressive neoclassical Kenwood House
contains a good collections of paintings, with
works by Rembrandt, Vermeer, Turner, Gainsborough
and Reynolds. The House was remodeled by Robert
Adam between 1764 and 1773, when he transformed
the original brick house into a majestic villa
for the great judge, Lord Mansfield. The original
library survives intact. Later Earls of Mansfield
redesigned the parkland and Kenwood remained in
their family until 1922. Enter via Hampstead
Lane, NW3.   Free.
Freemason's Hall  Temple Once secretive, and
long accused of corruption, especially with so
many policemen members, the Masons are trying to
make amends. They've opened up their temple to
the public for tours. The current Grand Lodge on
Great Queen St, Covent Garden, occupies the site
of the Grand Temple of 1776, and was built in
1933. Many of the rooms are open - especially
noteworthy is the tiled staircase - used in many
film shoots. Hourly tours 1100 - 1600 Monday -
Friday. Free.
Paisley House  Now back under the auspices of the
Victoria and Albert museum after a disastrous
attempt to go solo, Wellington's house in London
houses collections that focus on his life - much
militaries, and the house has been well looked
after - not worth visiting on its own, but the
admission is included in the price of a ticket to
the V A. Has the best address in town No 1,
London
College of Arms Where you would come to have your
family tree traced, this bastion of the class
structure occupies the 17th century house of the
heralds on Queen Victoria Street, opposite Black
friars Station. It's close to St Paul's so worth
passing, if you want to see inside you have to
arrange a special visit, unless you want your
arms researching. There's not much to see unless
you're interested in heraldry, the designers of
the coats of arms of recent notables (including
Princess Diana and Prince William) can discuss
their work
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St James' Palace                       Another
one by Henry VIII, who was great news for
architects and builders across the country but
bad news for 5 of his 6 wives. Of the four
original courts only Color Court remains. This
was the principal in-town residence of 300 years
of monarchs from 1698 after Whitehall Palace
burnt down (Prince Charles still lives here). It
itself was substantially burnt in 1809, and
restored over the next five years. Royal Palaces
have a habit of burning down in this country - in
the past 20 years there have been significant
fires at Hampton Court and Windsor castle - now
thankfully both fully restored. The Duke of
Cumberland was almost murdered in St James' after
making gay advances on his footman (who he
discovered in bed with his wife) - another Royal
tradition. When Prince Charles is in residence
there are Bisbee's guards outside - easier to
access and photograph than Buckingham Palace.
There's usually a changing of the guard here at
1600 or thereabouts - and no crowds. The
interior is not open to the public. However you
can sneak in to get a peek - for details. It's in
the 'Palace district' at the westerly end of Pall
Mall.
Buckingham Palace                       Effectiv
ely State reception rooms and a small Royal
Apartments where the Queen lives when in London.
Regularly on the top ten lists of worse places to
visit by those that have, but still drawing huge
numbers of those that haven't. Nice place to view
from the outside, though the crowds can be
horrendous. If the Royal Standard is flying over
the palace then the Queen's in residence.Built
by George VI on the site of the King's House,
Pamlico, the shell of which was preserved by
Nash, the architect. Marble Arch once stood in
front, but it was later removed to the western
end of Oxford Street where the famous Tiburon
Gallows once stood. When Queen Victoria moved
here in 1837, just 10 years after the works had
been carried out, it was barely habitable, but
she grew to love the Palace, as did her son
Edward VII. There are 600 rooms in the Palace,
of which under twenty can be visited, as well as
the Queen's Picture gallery and the Mews. If
you're quick enough you could pop in to see the
Queen - the preferred route is to scale the walls
at Constitution Hill, then run like mad across
the lawns. A couple of people have made it, one
ended up sitting on the Queen's bed (a commoner!)
until she rang down, ostensibly for some
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London's Parks
In addition to the routes listed above, you might
want to just visit one of central London's many
other parks and wander.  In virtually all areas,
walking on the grass, picnicking and ball games
are permitted.  However, some Royal Parks close
at night and are patrolled by Parks Police.
 Skating and bicycling are prohibited in most
areas of most parks - unfortunately the councils
operate a very backward and restrictive policy to
alternative means of transportation.  Apart from
a few parts of Kensington Gardens and Serpentine
Road in Hyde Park there is virtually no place to
skate in London. Regent's Park - because of an
American University nearby this park is host to
many games of softball as well as football and
cricket.  There's a mosque on the park edges and
Friday afternoon sees a very multi cultural edge.
A beautiful rose garden and stunning terraces of
houses round the outside.  London Zoo is at the
top of the park and there's a boating lake.  
 Tube Regent's Park (Waterloo), Camden Town
(Northern) or Baker Street (Jubilee,
Circle)Holland Park - used to be the haunt of
spies due to the proximity of the old KGB
headquarters, this most genteel of parks has an
opera festival, one of London's most beautiful
Youth Hostels, and plenty of wilderness, as well
as immaculately manicured gardens.  Tube Holland
Park (Central) High Street Kensington (Circle)
Coram's Fields Provides a rare bit of green to
King's Cross/Bloomsbury area.  Part of the
grounds of the Foundling's Hospital, which was
endowed by Handel (a nearby Street commemorates
this) who donated the proceeds of several of his
operas and oratorios.  An adjoining children's
park has animals and play areas. Tube Russell
Square (Piccadilly) Battersea Park large
splendid park in this posh quarter, bordering the
Thames, it has a pagoda, a boating lake, and good
sports grounds as well as a zoo that's popular
with children.  Walk across Chelsea Bridge from
Sloane Square. Tube Sloane Square (Circle)
Hampstead Heath huge swathe of rolling
countryside overlooking London - you'd not think
you were in one of the world's largest cities.
 Bathing area (nudist), and good sports
facilities, including riding. Take a dog or a
packed lunch.  After dark certain parts of this
become a gay paradise, though this is not obvious
to those not able to pick up the signals. Tube
Hampstead (Northern) Blackheath and Greenwich
Park we think a trip to Greenwich should be part
of every visitor's itinerary. Greenwich Park,
with its deer park, rose garden and ancient trees
is a Royal Park and attached to the Queen's House
where Queen Elizabeth grew up. A great place for
Sundays, when Greenwich market is in full swing.
 The Old Royal Observatory is at the top of the
hill.   
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London Museums

• The shortlist
• The British Museum 2) Sir John Soane's
  Museum
• 3) Natural History and ScienceMuseums 4) Victoria
  Albert Museum 5) Imperial War Museum
• 6) National Maritime Museum

The British Museum Back from a substantial refit
and better than ever, the best museum in the
world where 4000 year old Pharoahs enjoy a busier
afterlife than they planned for and where Karl
Marx meets Buddha. Conveniently situated north of
Covent Garden, on Great Russell Street, and just
east of Oxford Street's main shopping drag.
Remember to visit the reading room - in which,
due to the numbers of tourists it is now
impossible to read. The African collection, newly
re-opened, is the world's largest (and the best
in terms of range and quality) with over 200,000
objects, of which 600 pieces are on show to the
public at any one time. If you are a collector or
researcher you can make an appointment to see the
rest.  Saturday - Wednesday 10.00-17.30, Thursday
- Friday 10.00-20.30.  Free.
 Sir John Soane's Museum A miniature British
Museum. (which includes the Inns of Court and the
Masonic Temple) that links some of London's most
beautiful and least known sights. So full of
objects that every bit of wall and ceiling is
used. Great collection of Hogarth prints and
friendly curators full of great anecdotes. Hidden
panels reveal even more paintings. Tuesday to
Saturday 10.00-17.00.   Free.  
The Natural History  Science Museums
                              There's a high
concentration of museums in South Kensington
(well signposted from the tube) and these two are
great for a rainy day. Kids love them. They
celebrate the Victorian's love of Science and
Nature - many of the machines that changed
history are here - Britain has been the world's
powerhouse of science - the Computer, the Fax,
the WWW, the jet engine, the train, the
television, Penicillin, the list is endless. But
Tyrannosaurus Rex puts man in his place. The
Natural History Museum is a beautiful building in
itself - if you had to visit one museum here it's
a tough decision either the animatronic dinosaur
for Jurassic Park fans, or the bells and whistles
of the Science museum - better to briefly visit
both as they're free.
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The Science Museum's new Wellcome wing is simply
astounding. It's right up to the minute - if a
breakthrough is made, they'll have an exhibit up
and running in as little as 24 hours. There's a
team of scientists on hand conducting real
experiments in which you can be a subject, if you
wish - the first team took swabs from people's
mouths and a photo to match facial shape with
their genes. We think this vies with the Tate
Modern as the best new addition to London's
art/museum scene. Both open every day 10.00 to
18.00, (Natural History opens at 1100 on
Sundays).  Free.
The Victoria  Albert Museum A huge museum of
culture, conveniently situated next door to the
Science museums and great for Harrods. It's worth
the visit for the cast rooms alone. The new
British Culture galleries have been refitted and
revitalised at a cost of over 31 million
(subsidised in part by a gambling tax) and the
museum's now entirely free - Prince Charles had a
lot of fun with the interactive corset display on
the opening day, confirming all our suspicions of
inbreeding. What's fascinating about the British
Galleries is the closeness of the objects - lots
are there to be touched, and the place is crammed
full of stuff (like the Soane) - anyone who's
ever bought a sofa, wallpapered a room, chosen
cutlery or curtains will be fascinated by the
displays - but intermingled are great works of
art and reconstructed period rooms. There are
several resource rooms with computers, AV
displays and book collections to be poured over.
Tours are free, as they are of the whole museum,
and you can even borrow a lightweight folding
stool to take round with you. You can spend
hours in here just wandering - whatever it is
you're interested, in it'll be in here - our
advice, as always is to pop in several times
rather than do a marathon. Less formal than the
British Museum, the level of interactivity is
very high and kids seem to love the hands-on
stuff (egg dressing up in old costumes, building
pieces of furniture, designing their own
monograms and seeing them put onto cutlery,
weaving oriental carpets). Spontaneous concerts
in the entrance hall on Sundays. There are
regular demonstrations of crafts - for which see
the website or pick up a leaflet. The cafe, which
was a trendy place to hang out, is now scruffy
and very expensive. Open 10.00-18.00 daily, on
Wednesdays and the last Friday in the month open
to 22.00). Free. Also includes Ashley House, at
Hyde Park Corner
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Imperial War Museum The name says it all, though
it's not just about different ways of killing,
recently they've become softer, looking at the
experience of war rather than its prosecution.
Some great exhibitions such as 'The Blitz' and
'The Holocaust' are quite moving. Is located on
the site of St Mary's Bethlehem hospital - better
known as Bedlam. 10.00-18.00 daily. Free.
National Maritime Museum In Britain you're never
more than 60 miles from the sea. Britannia really
did rule the waves and this is how she did it.
Good reason to visit beautiful Greenwich. Open
every day 10.00-17.00. Free.
Crowd Pullers
1) Changing of the Guard, 2)Tower Bridge3)The
London Dungeon 4)Madame Tossups 5)London Eye
Changing of The Guard                           
            Happens at all the Royal Palaces so
you don't have to endure the crush at Buckingham
Palace. Smaller ceremonies are held at St James'
Palace and Windsor. Doesn't happen every day at
Buckingham Palace (a notice board out front tells
you when), and some of the guards regiments are
quite dowdy in appearance (the Gekas for
instance). But when there's a full ceremony with
the regimental band marching out of the Guards'
Barracks (on Birdcage Walk to the left of the
Palace as you're facing it) and the soldiers are
dressed in red with full busbies it can be all
Pomp and Circumstance. And it's free.   However
there are plenty of other pieces of pomp and
ceremony, parades, gun salutes etc that go
unnoticed by most people, you can escape the
crush by looking for the Army's own list of
ceremonials. Good info on guard changing as well.
  
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Tower Bridge experience                         
           We like Tower Bridge, it's a real
achievement of Victorian engineering, and looks
great, especially at night when it's well
illuminated. We don't think it's necessary to go
inside to appreciate it, though the engines that
lift the two drawbridges are a miracle. The
bridge is opened on average once a week - it's
timetabled and you can find out when in advance -
which is quite spectacular. If there's a large
yacht moored next to HMS Belfast then it's
probable that it'll have to go out through the
raised bridge soon - check at the ticket office
or on their website.
The London Dungeon In the bowels of London Bridge
Station this famous waxwork museum of torture
focuses on the dark side of life. As such it can
paint an artificially grim portrait of London
Jack the Ripper is small fry by today's serial
killer standards. Stocks, executions, torture
machines, rats, plague are the main crowd
attractions. The queues stretch right up Duke St
Hill for at least 100 meters, unemployed actors
in 'period' costume and ghoulish make-up keep
them amused while they're waiting.Life in London
was undoubtedly hard for the poor or those who
for some reason were ostracized by society, worth
remembering as you go round, for example, Hampton
Court which paints an equally biased view of a
rosy Lode England. Their recently opened Paris
branch for some reason claims it's the original -
we suspect branches will be spring up everywhere.
There a restaurant inside and sometimes
nightclubs are held there. Their very atmospheric
website gives you a flavor of the place.
Madame Tossup's Most large towns have waxworks
museums, and this is just another one, albeit
much bigger. It's a big crowd puller - the queues
can be horrendous - but you can pre-book a ticket
online and walk jauntily by the unfortunates if
you wish. Has worked hard over the years to
achieve a semi-official status, like the Guinness
book of records. Have your photo taken next to
Charles , the artist formally known as Prince (if
the crowd will part for long enough), or the
artist formerly known as Prince (or whatever he
calls himself today). Also on the site is the
planetarium, which is much like all other planet
aria, only more so. We think there are much
better things to do in London, especially
considering the steep admission price - thousands
disagree. It's on the Marylebone Road, 100 yards
from Baker Street tube, and conveniently close to
Sherlock Holmes' alleged residence which
maintains a small 'Museum' - visit only if you're
a diehard fan.  Recently tourists have taken to
having their photo taken by the horrible statue
of Sherlock Holmes outside Baker Street tube. If
you get that stuffy feeling after Tossup's walk
400 yards north to Regent's Park - and beyond to
Primrose Hill for a great view over London. On
the weekend it's an easy walk right through to
Camden Market.
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London Eye A huge modern version of Vienna's
Prater ferries wheel which dominates the river
skyline opposite Parliament. Queues can be
horrendous, but a new ticketing system has
improved things markedly. The capsules can get
very hot in sunny weather - you can book a whole
capsule if you wish. Take a telephoto lens if you
want to get good photos from the top - London is
a big, big city.Our favorite natural vantage
points are at the top of Greenwich Hill - near
the Ranger's House or the Observatory there which
are much more atmospheric as the sun slices,
Bonduel fashion, down the city skyscrapers.
Another good vantage point is Parliament Hill, on
Hampstead Heath or Primrose Hill in Regent's
Park. As far as the wheel goes make sure there's
good weather before you go up as it's a really
depressing ride when it's rainy and overcast. Nab
Closed for annual maintenance 15 Jan - 9Feb.
CULTURE
Kew Gardens                                     
 A spectacular site laid out over acres in a
pleasant and wealthy London suburb, it's a great
place for a sunny afternoon - it doesn't work so
well in bad weather as the various hothouses and
exhibits are somewhat spread out over the site.
Kew house, the smallest of the London Royal
Palaces, is currently closed for refurbishment,
but the 'English' garden and the herb garden are
excellent. The Physic garden in Chelsea is also
worth a visit, if you don't have the time or
inclination to leave the centre of London. If
it's wet the Barbican has a large hothouse
conservatory on its roof.  Kew can be combined
with a visit to Marble Hill and Ham Houses
Many people expect London to be crawling with
cheerful cockney characters straight out of
Dickens, and assume there is a pure-bred English
type that rules over them. Nothing could be
farther from the truth. Many have striven to
define 'Englishness' and failed - in fact English
culture is really a bastard culture, having
assimilated the best from many other
cultures.Racially the English are Celts,
Romans, Vikings, Saxons, Normans, with a handful
of lesser traits thrown in for good measure. Our
favorite food is curry - a legacy of the Raja,
and our colonial past has made the city more
cosmopolitan than any other. Class is still often
more important than color, though its boundaries
shift with the winds. The English have always
admired foreigners, if somewhat grudgingly, and
we've imported other cultures, languages and
foods, giving them a unique 'spin'.
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The main distinguishing trait of the English is
our sangfroid, as one popular book put it ' all
over the trenches of the first world war there
were English soldiers, lying mortally wounded,
whose only comment was 'mustn't grumble' or 'it
could be worse'. Since then we've learned to
put up with high prices, a crumbling
infrastructure, dreadful food, shoddy housing,
and awful weather with a smile on our faces. To
quote the Washington Post" one learns only from
the corner coffee shop and convenience store the
true meaning of concepts like the famous
tolerance of the English. The tolerance applies
to bad food as well, judging from these local
cafes and 7-Elevens, all stocked with the same
nondescript pastries, prepackaged lunches and
unsatisfactory junk food. " In fact we almost
prefer to suffer - the cult of individual
happiness has still to make an inroad into our
culture. At it's most foolhardy it comes across
as a political stubbornness like the left-wing
commuter who single-handedly boycotted the
Jubilee line, because it was royalist, and had to
take a most convoluted route around the
city.This 'old labor' attitude of strikes and
common suffering is on the way out, with 'new
labor' and a final adopting of modernity (faxes,
portable phones, washing machines and video
recorder ownership is astonishingly high). The
greed of the eighties under Thatcher has also
left its mark the exploding property market has
almost replaced the weather as prime topic of
conversation. But finally we've recognized that
it's our cultural contribution that we have most
to be proud of, even if our national football,
cricket, Rugby teams (the list is endless) are
always getting beaten by our former colonies.  
The other characteristic English trait is our
attitude to eccentricity - we positively
encourage it. Where other cities have their
bloodshot and craggy loons the English have
eccentrics - eye contact is not necessarily
avoided. There seems to be something about even
only slightly intelligent people here that makes
them jump out of the groove. But as our culture
has had to absorb so many others over the years,
those little quirks do not jar as much as they do
in tight-knit communities elsewhere in the world.
It's been our eccentrics, after all, who've
planted the flag on the world's highest
mountains, produced more of the worlds inventions
than any other nation (the English file more
patents per head than any other country, by a
long margin) and who provide such excellent
entertainment at dinner parties. There's always a
good assortment to be had at Speakers' Corner and
usually sitting opposite you on the tube.
 
 
20
LIFE STYLE OF LONDON PEOPELE
ENTERTAINING LONDON  is the UK's largest Leisure
Lifestyle Club for lively professionals in their
20's and 30's, and London's only dedicated
20's/30's club. (If you are 35, please also call
020 8441 6672 for details of LEISURE LIGHTS,
London's liveliest (!) club for age 35). In big
cities such as London, it can be difficult for
busy people to find the time or opportunity to go
out and meet new people outside work or their
immediate circle of friends. Joining EL provides
the opportunity to meet HUNDREDS of sociable,
like-minded people whilst pursuing the activities
you enjoy.
The sheer variety of events is quite unmatched by
any other arts and leisure club in London, and
indeed, EL is the only London-based events
organisation that places equal emphasis on arts,
entertainment, cultural, sports, outdoor /
weekend activities, city breaks, parties, social
and leisure events. We are also London's only
club that offers its members great benefits such
as weekly FREE badminton, discounted entry to a
top London Gym without having to pay expensive
gym membership fees, and 50 - 85 off
theatre/concert tickets without the high credit
card charges or ticket mark-ups levied by some
other organizations and clubs
THANK YOU
21
T.V. NAGAR HIGHS SCHOOL STUDENTS
BY VIII STANDARD STUDENTS
S. SaticBatcha A.Anandan S.Gopinath
R. Balaji R. Prabhakaran