Student Dumitrescu Ctlin Paul Grupa 114A

LONDON, HEART OF THE NATION

London is the capital city of the United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its founding by the Romans, who called it Londinium. London's ancient core, the City of London, largely retains its square-mile mediaeval boundaries. Since at least the 19th century, the name London has also referred to the metropolis developed around this core. The bulk of this conurbation forms the London region and the Greater London administrative area, governed by the elected Mayor of London and the London Assembly. London is a leading global city, with strengths in the arts, commerce, education, entertainment, fashion, finance, healthcare, media, professional services, research and development, tourism and transport all contributing to its prominence. It is the world's largest financial centre and has the fifthlargest city GDP in the world (and the largest in Europe). It has the most international visitors of any city in the world and London Heathrow is the world's busiest airport by number of international passengers. London's 43 universities form the largest concentration of higher education in Europe. London has some of the highest real estate prices in the world. In 2012 London will become the first city to host the modern Summer Olympic Games three times. London has a diverse range of peoples, cultures, and religions, and more than 300 languages are spoken within its boundaries; it is widely deemed to be the culture capital of the world. In July 2010 Greater London had an official population of 7,825,200, making it the most populous municipality in the European Union, and accounting for 12.5% of the UK population living on just 0.6% of the land area . The Greater London Urban Area is the second-largest in the EU with a population of 8,278,251, while London's metropolitan area is the largest in the EU with an estimated total population of between 12 million and 14 million. London had the largest population of any city in the world from around 1831 to 1925. London contains four World Heritage Sites: the Tower of London; Kew Gardens; the site comprising the Palace of Westminster, Westminster Abbey, and St Margaret's Church; and the historic settlement of Greenwich (in which the Royal Observatory marks the Prime Meridian (0 longitude) and GMT). Other famous landmarks include Buckingham Palace, the London Eye, Piccadilly Circus, St Paul's Cathedral, Tower Bridge, Trafalgar Square and Wembley Stadium. London is home to numerous museums, galleries, libraries, sporting events and other cultural institutions, including the British Museum, National Gallery, British Library, Wimbledon and 40 theatres. The London Underground is the oldest underground railway network in the world and the second-most extensive (after the Shanghai Metro). 1

City of London is the historic old town, and at the same time the most important financial district of the United Kingdom. It is administered by the Corporation of London, led by Lord Mayor of London. City's police corps has its own separate from the Metropolitan Police. City's permanent population is only 7,000 inhabitants, but over 300,000 people working here. The quality of the City's financial center began to be diluted in recent years, with the opening of the Docklands, in east of the city, Canary Wharf complex. West End West End (the old city) is shopping and entertainment district of London. Trafalgar Square is the most important objective. Oxford Street is one of the most popular shopping streets, that many supermarkets are famous (Selfridges, John Lewis, Marks and Spencer). Another street Tottenham Court Road is known for electronics stores, computer and musical instruments. South of the eastern end of Oxford Street is Soho, London's bohemian district, packed with cafes, pubs, clubs and sex shops. City's West End and central London form . Canary Wharf seen from the western city of East London was the center of industry in the nineteenth century. German bombing in 1940, combined, from the 1950s, the decline of the Port of London and moving industry out of town, led to the abandonment of many buildings and land, and generally looks desolate area. The 2012 Olympic Games in east London will have an opportunity regeneration and increase the attractiveness of the area. Docklands, the old Port of London, was a successful experiment of regeneration. West London West London are luxury residential districts such as Notting Hill, Kensington, Chelsea and Richmond parks (the largest in London) and sports arenas to Twickenham, the home stadium of the English national team rugby. The White City is the headquarters of BBC, and farther west, Hillingdon Borough, is Heathrow airport. South London South London hosts various districts, such as Wimbledon, with park and tennis arenas that organizes the Wimbledon tennis tournament, and Brixton, Peckham and Camberwell, where the living communities of African Americans who emigrated in years '50-'70 in the Caribbean. At the eastern extremity, on the banks of the Thames, is Greenwich, where the park with the same name and the Royal Observatory in Greenwich, which marks the zero meridian of the world. North London North is a region more hilly town, many of the hills give excellent views of the city. Islington are famous suburbs, home to football club Arsenal FC, Highgate, Camden, Hampstead, Tottenham, Harringay. London has a well-deserved reputation as one of the most expensive cities in the world. However, it is one of the most popular tourist destinations. This is probably due to the fact that the city on the Thames has something to offer for any traveler, regardless of budget. As one of the most important capitals of the world for both business and tourism, London can be visited at any time of year. People from different parts of the world have different preferences when it comes to a proper time to visit London. This makes the flow of tourists to be relatively constant 2

throughout the year and keep prices high enough. Many tourists but prefer warmer summer weather. Spring is dominated by traditional Japanese tourists who vacation in April and May. Winter is the season in which London is the least visited because of frequent rains and temperatures low. The exception is December when London is flooded even the British who come to shop or to attend various shows held during the holidays. In conclusion, July, August and December are the busiest of the year and January is the month ideal for those who want to make savings and look for something lower prices. London tourist attractions, museums and the historical, are crowded in July, August and during school holidays. But how such attractions London has plenty of input queues at ticket offices or are not generally a problem. In London you can easily reached by plane, because the city is served by no less than five international airports which are used by most airlines in the world. London is also the main railway junction of Great Britain and a starting point in European travel by train. Due to the abundance of tourists from around the world who choose to visit London, appeared and offers unlimited flight and accommodation packages various advantageous. Travel agents give their best to attract more clients with advantageous offers competitive prices. Heathrow and Gatwick airports are still the main gateways in London and the UK, but with the growing popularity of low-cost airlines and other airports are becoming more widely used. All airports are well connected by means of city transportation which makes it very easy to move from city to airport and vice versa. Those business travelers are increasingly attracted to smaller airports: City, Stansted or Luton. They are used by low-cost companies are less crowded, delays are rare but are equally well connected by means of city transportation as the two great aerporturi of London. Although ranked as a city dearly, London remains a top holiday destination among European cities with nearly six million tourists annually. With careful planning can be a location for a holiday.