SEE
Buckingham Palace
The official residence of the British monarch, Queen Elizabeth II; Buckingham Palace is used for official events, State occasions and ceremonies by the Royal Family. The palace is conveniently located close to central London and accessible by the London underground. The palace is surrounded by public Royal Parks: Green Park, St. James Park and Hyde Park and has the largest private garden in London. The palace building covers 77,000m² and key rooms include the Music Room, the Blue, Green and White Drawing Rooms, Throne Room and the Picture Gallery. Works by Vermeer, Rubens, Rembrandt and other masters are displayed in the Picture Gallery which connects the State Rooms together. Tourists come to the palace to watch the pageantry of the Changing of the Guard performed by the Royal guards who wear their distinctive red uniforms and black tall furry hats. During the ceremony the guards march from nearby Wellington Barracks to the front gate of the palace and replace the Old Guard of their duty. You can tour the palace state rooms during the Summer Opening in August and September and visit the Queen’s Gallery where there are exhibitions of work from the Royal Collection.
Visit www.royal.uk/royal-residences-buckingham-palace for more information.
London Eye
Among all the historic attractions of London the London Eye is one of the more recent and contemporary attractions. The Eye is a huge Ferris wheel located on the edge of the Thames River in the Jubilee Gardens. The wheel was built as part of the millennium celebrations and has changed name several times due to different ownership and sponsoring, at present it is officially called the EDF Energy London Eye. The wheel took 1.5 years to build and was designed by David Marks and Julia Barfield. It is constructed from 1700 tons of steel and has foundations made with 3000 tons of concrete. The wheel has 39 sealed egg-shaped capsules which can each hold up to 25 people. In each capsule there is air-conditioning, seating and interactive screens which give information about the sites you can see below in London. From the capsules, passengers have a 360 view of London and most of the famous landmarks can be seen from the wheel. There are a number of combination tickets available for the wheel as well as tickets which include a boat ride down the Thames which brings you to the Eye.
Visit www.londoneye.com for more information.
Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park
Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park knits a vibrant area of East London into a modern urban destination – redefining the historic industrial and creative heartlands of Stratford and Hackney Wick as an exciting and sustainable place to live, work, study, play and visit. Award winning parklands, waterways and playgrounds are free to visit every day. Former Olympic and Paralympic venues – including London Stadium, the London Aquatics Centre, the Copper Box Arena and Lee Valley VeloPark – sit alongside innovative business districts, quality neighbourhoods, excellent schools and universities, the biggest names in culture and a talented workforce, and combine to make Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park a global centre for London.
Visit www.queenelizabetholympicpark.co.uk for more information.
Houses of Parliament and Big Ben
The building widely referred to as the Houses of Parliament is actually called The Palace of Westminster. It is located on the banks of the River Thames and is the place where Britain’s House of Lords and House of Commons convene. The site where the Palace of Westminster stands today was originally the site of an 8th century Saxon church called West Minster (west monastery). The parliament building has three towers, the octagonal Central Tower; Victoria Tower and the most famous Elizabeth Tower. Victoria Tower (1860) stands opposite Elizabeth Tower, here the records of both houses of parliament have been kept since 1497. During the parliamentary year the British flag is flown on top of the 98-metre-high tower. Big Ben is the name of the bell which hangs in Elizabeth Tower which is at the north end of the Houses of Parliament. The tower is commonly referred to as Big Ben, it is 96 meters tall and UK residents can climb the 393 steps to the belfry. The square tower bears the famous four clock faces of the Great Clock of Westminster. The clock faces of this accurate timepiece are 7 meters in diameter and the hour hands are 2.7 meters long. Within the belfry there are five bells, four strike the Westminster Chimes on the quarter hour and the largest bell, Big Ben, strikes on the hour. UK residents can take a tour of the Houses of Parliament, observe parliamentary debates and even climb up into the Big Ben belfry. Foreign visitors can tour the Parliament building on Saturday and during the Summer Opening, they can also watch debates and committee hearings when Parliament is in session.
Visit www.parliament.uk/bigben for more information.
Canary Wharf
This is the place for truly living London. Whether you’re heading to the boardroom or the bar, looking for a sushi spot or a spin class, fresh art or fresh air, Canary Wharf has it all.
Over 300 shops, cafes, bars and restaurants, a year-round events programme, one of London’s biggest roof gardens and an award-winning, free-to-visit, public art collection – stroll, shop, sip, savour, stretch, socialise, and make Canary Wharf your own.
Visit www.canarywharf.com for more information.
SLEEP
Snoozebox Hotel
For the perfect, uninterrupted, idyllic sleep, make time to rest your head on a pillow at Snoozebox Stratford. Located right in the heart of the action, this innovative accommodation is located within the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park next to Pudding Mill Lane DLR station, one stop from Stratford with easy access to London city and the West End. Snoozebox has 78 en-suite rooms and 2 accessible rooms at affordable prices. Guests have access to a social lounge with 24-hour food and beverage facilities, free Wi-Fi, TV’s and rest rooms. There is also a large garden area offering outdoor space with games for the family.
The location offers easy access to the shops and restaurants of Stratford and the sports facilities of Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park. Book today at www.snoozebox.com
