London and Places of Interest in the UK

The specific part of maturita topic 12 (Holidays and entertainment), at B2 level. The geography and political system of the UK are in The United Kingdom.

London

Basic facts

London is the capital of England and of the whole UK and, with about 9 million people, one of the largest cities in Europe. It lies in the south-east of England on the River Thames. It is the seat of the King, Parliament and the government, one of the world’s leading financial centres and a very cosmopolitan city – over 300 languages are spoken there.

A short history

• AD 43 – the Romans founded a settlement called Londinium at a place where they could cross the Thames.
• 1066 – after the Norman Conquest, William the Conqueror started building the Tower of London.
• 1666 – the Great Fire of London destroyed most of the medieval city. The architect Sir Christopher Wren then rebuilt many churches, including St Paul’s Cathedral.
• 19th century – under Queen Victoria London became the capital of the British Empire and the largest city in the world; in 1863 the first underground railway in the world was opened.
• 1940–1941 – during the Blitz, German bombing destroyed large parts of the city.
• 2012 – London hosted the Olympic Games for the third time.

The main parts of the city

• The City (the “Square Mile”) – the historic centre and the financial district, full of banks and modern skyscrapers such as the Gherkin and the Shard.
• Westminster – the political centre with Parliament, government offices and Westminster Abbey.
• The West End – theatres, musicals, shopping streets, restaurants and nightlife.
• The East End – traditionally a working-class area, today a lively multicultural district.

Sights

• The Houses of Parliament (the Palace of Westminster) with the clock tower known as Big Ben – strictly speaking, Big Ben is the name of the great bell; the tower has been called the Elizabeth Tower since 2012.
• Westminster Abbey – a Gothic church where English and British monarchs have been crowned since 1066, most recently King Charles III in 2023, and where many famous people are buried.
• Buckingham Palace – the official London residence of the monarch, famous for the Changing of the Guard.
• The Tower of London – a medieval fortress that has served as a royal palace, a prison and a place of execution. Today it houses the Crown Jewels and is guarded by the Beefeaters. Legend has it that if the ravens ever leave the Tower, the kingdom will fall.
• Tower Bridge – a Victorian bridge whose middle part can be raised to let ships through.
• St Paul’s Cathedral – Wren’s Baroque masterpiece with a huge dome.
• Trafalgar Square with Nelson’s Column, commemorating the Battle of Trafalgar (1805), and the National Gallery.
• Piccadilly Circus – a busy junction famous for its neon advertising and the statue known as Eros.
• The London Eye – a giant observation wheel on the South Bank with a great view of the city.
• Museums and galleries – most of them are free: the British Museum, the Natural History Museum, the Science Museum, the Victoria and Albert Museum and Tate Modern, a gallery of modern art in a former power station.
• Parks – Hyde Park with Speakers’ Corner, where anyone can make a speech on any subject, St James’s Park, Regent’s Park and Kensington Gardens.
• Markets and shopping – Oxford Street, Covent Garden, Camden Market and Harrods department store.
• Greenwich – the Prime Meridian (0° longitude) runs through the Royal Observatory here.

Getting around

The Underground, known as the Tube, has eleven lines and is the oldest underground railway in the world. Other symbols of London are the red double-decker buses and the black cabs, whose drivers have to pass a famous exam called “the Knowledge”. You pay with a contactless card or an Oyster card. London has six airports, the largest of which is Heathrow.

Places of interest in the UK

England

• Stonehenge – a circle of huge standing stones built around 5,000 years ago. Nobody knows for sure what it was used for, but it may have been a temple or a kind of calendar.
• Oxford and Cambridge – the two oldest English universities (from the 12th and 13th centuries), made up of dozens of colleges. Their students compete in the famous Boat Race on the Thames.
• Stratford-upon-Avon – the birthplace of William Shakespeare.
• Bath – a spa town founded by the Romans, with Roman baths and elegant Georgian streets; the novelist Jane Austen lived there.
• Canterbury – the seat of the Archbishop of Canterbury, the head of the Church of England, with a magnificent cathedral.
• York – a medieval city with city walls and York Minster, one of the largest Gothic cathedrals in northern Europe.
• Liverpool – a port city famous for the Beatles and football; Manchester – a former textile centre and the home of two famous football clubs.
• The Lake District – a national park in north-west England with lakes and mountains, which inspired Romantic poets such as William Wordsworth.
• Hadrian’s Wall – a Roman wall built across northern England in the 2nd century to protect the province from northern tribes.
• The white cliffs of Dover on the south coast, the first thing travellers see when crossing the English Channel.

Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland

• Edinburgh – the capital of Scotland, with its castle on an extinct volcano and the Royal Mile. Every August it hosts the Edinburgh Festival and the Fringe, the world’s largest arts festival.
• The Scottish Highlands – wild mountains, valleys and lochs, including Loch Ness with its legendary monster, and Ben Nevis, the highest mountain in the UK.
• Wales – called “the land of castles”, with Snowdonia National Park and the capital Cardiff.
• Northern Ireland – the Giant’s Causeway, about 40,000 hexagonal basalt columns on the coast, and the capital Belfast, where the Titanic was built.

Key vocabulary

Useful phrases

• If you only have one day in London, you shouldn’t miss…
• It is well worth a visit because…
• It was built in… by… as…
• It is said that… / Legend has it that…
• The best way to get around is…
• I would love to see… one day, because…

Questions the examiner may ask

Try to answer each question in two or three sentences, then click on the hint to compare.