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6 January 2009 | Our local time: 04.17 GMT | ||
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London is the capital of England and of the United Kingdom. On 6th February 1952, Elizabeth Windsor became Queen Elizabeth II upon the death of her father King George VI and Buckingham Palace in Westminster remains her principal home. London is also home to approximately 7.5 million people and until the early 20’s was the most populous city in the world.
London was established as a civilian town by the Romans about seven years after the invasion of AD43, however there is evidence of prehistoric settlement in London dating from at least a thousand years before that. The name Londinium is thought to be pre-Celtic in origin and although there has been no academic consensus, it probably means "the flowing river".
During London’s 2,000 years of recorded history, it has experienced plague, devastating fire, civil war and two world wars; yet, it has still grown to become one of the most important business, financial and cultural capitals in the world.
The city is a major tourist destination, with four world heritage sites and numerous iconic landmarks such as the Houses of Parliament, Tower Bridge, the Tower of London, Westminster Abbey and the London Eye amongst its many attractions, along with famous institutions such as the British Museum and the National Gallery.
London is made up of 32 boroughs, plus the City of London borough, and about 22 per cent of London's population were born outside of the UK, which is what makes it such an ethnically-mixed and culturally-diverse city.
Travel around London on public transport is easy and frequent. The London Underground (more commonly known as “The Tube”) serves 275 stations and there are hundreds of bus routes serving the city and suburban areas. London has five main train stations:-Waterloo, Victoria, St. Pancras, Paddington and Euston, with trains running to all of Britain’s major cities. Waterloo station is also the terminus for the Eurostar train to Paris.
With a large port and five international airports, London is a major international transport hub. Its main airport at Heathrow carries more international passengers than any other airport in the world.
Soho is the bohemian heart of London. Soho is an area in the centre of the West End of London, England, in the City of Westminster. It is an area of approximately one square mile bounded by Oxford Street to the north, Regent Street to the west, Shaftesbury Avenue to the south and Charing Cross Road to the east. The area to the west is known as Mayfair, to the north Fitzrovia, to the east Holborn and Covent Garden, and to the south St James's. Chinatown and the area around Leicester Square can be considered as either just inside or just outside the southern edge of Soho.
The district is home to major music venues such as the Marquee, the 100 Club, Studio 54, Browns, etc. The British Museum is where one can take at least a year perusing through its collections. There are a myriad of pubs both notable and notorious, Soho Square is where the Football Association is based. Fresh food can be bought at the regular Berwick St. Market within easy walking distance as is Piccadilly Circus, Trafalgar Square, Covent Garden etc. The tube station at Tottenham Court Road will give you excellent access to anywhere in the world.