Portal:London

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Panorama of modern London, taken from the Golden Gallery of St Paul's Cathedral. See Panorama of London for more panoramic images.

St Paul's Cathedral

London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a 50-mile (80 km) estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a major settlement for two millennia. The City of London, its ancient core and financial centre, was founded by the Romans as Londinium and retains its medieval boundaries. The City of Westminster, to the west of the City of London, has for centuries hosted the national government and parliament. Since the 19th century, the name "London" has also referred to the metropolis around this core, historically split between the counties of Middlesex, Essex, Surrey, Kent, and Hertfordshire, which since 1965 has largely comprised Greater London, which is governed by 33 local authorities and the Greater London Authority.

As one of the world's major global cities, London exerts a strong influence on its arts, entertainment, fashion, commerce and finance, education, health care, media, science and technology, tourism, and transport and communications. Its GDP (€801.66 billion in 2017) makes it the largest urban economy in Europe, and it is one of the major financial centres in the world. With Europe's largest concentration of higher education institutions, it is home to some of the highest-ranked academic institutions in the world—Imperial College London in natural and applied sciences, the London School of Economics in social sciences, and the comprehensive University College London. London is the most visited city in Europe and has the busiest city airport system in the world. The London Underground is the oldest rapid transit system in the world.

London's diverse cultures encompass over 300 languages. The mid-2018 population of Greater London of about 9 million made it Europe's third-most populous city, accounting for 13.4% of the population of the United Kingdom and over 16% of the population of England. The Greater London Built-up Area is the fourth-most populous in Europe with about 9.8 million inhabitants at the 2011 census. The London metropolitan area is the third-most populous in Europe with about 14 million inhabitants in 2016, granting London the status of a megacity. (Full article...)

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Aerial view of Buckingham Palace during Queen Elizabeth II's official 90th birthday celebrations in 2016. The principal façade, the East Front, was originally completed in 1850, and was remodelled in 1913 by Aston Webb.

Buckingham Palace (UK: /ˈbʌkɪŋəm/) is a London royal residence and the administrative headquarters of the monarch of the United Kingdom. Located in the City of Westminster, the palace is often at the centre of state occasions and royal hospitality. It has been a focal point for the British people at times of national rejoicing and mourning.

Originally known as Buckingham House, the building at the core of today's palace was a large townhouse built for the Duke of Buckingham in 1703 on a site that had been in private ownership for at least 150 years. It was acquired by King George III in 1761 as a private residence for Queen Charlotte and became known as The Queen's House. During the 19th century it was enlarged by architects John Nash and Edward Blore, who constructed three wings around a central courtyard. Buckingham Palace became the London residence of the British monarch on the accession of Queen Victoria in 1837. (Full article...)

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Photo credit: David Iliff

Built in 1859 and at 4,880 square metres (52,500 sq ft) in area, the Temperate House in Kew Gardens is the largest surviving Victorian glass structure in the world, and houses an extensive collection of temperate plants, including the world's largest indoor plant, the Chilean wine-palm.

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Subcategories

Articles about London can be found under these categories:

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William Shakespeare (bapt. 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's national poet and the "Bard of Avon" (or simply "the Bard"). His extant works, including collaborations, consist of some 39 plays, 154 sonnets, three long narrative poems, and a few other verses, some of uncertain authorship. His plays have been translated into every major living language and are performed more often than those of any other playwright. He remains arguably the most influential writer in the English language, and his works continue to be studied and reinterpreted.

Shakespeare was born and raised in Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire. At the age of 18, he married Anne Hathaway, with whom he had three children: Susanna, and twins Hamnet and Judith. Sometime between 1585 and 1592, he began a successful career in London as an actor, writer, and part-owner of a playing company called the Lord Chamberlain's Men, later known as the King's Men. At age 49 (around 1613), he appears to have retired to Stratford, where he died three years later. Few records of Shakespeare's private life survive; this has stimulated considerable speculation about such matters as his physical appearance, his sexuality, his religious beliefs and whether the works attributed to him were written by others. (Full article...)

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Henry Wood Jack the Ripper Samuel Johnson Jack Sheppard Mary Wollstonecraft Noël Coward Mellitus David Bowie Alice Ayres Edgar Speyer Harold Pinter Edmund Evans Elizabeth Canning Henry Moore William Sterndale Bennett Gilbert Foliot Lilias Armstrong Laurence Olivier George Lansbury Marie Lloyd Stanley Holloway Robert of Jumièges

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Selected quotation

“

When a man is tired of London, he is tired of life; for there is in London all that life can afford.

”

Samuel Johnson, 20 September 1777. Quoted in The Life of Samuel Johnson, LL.D. (1791) by James Boswell

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Did you know...

...that The Clink prison in Southwark, from which the phrase "in the clink" derives, was possibly the oldest prison in England, founded in the 12th century?

...that Bridewell Palace (pictured), originally a residence of Henry VIII, later became a poorhouse and prison?

...that another defunct royal palace, the Palace of Placentia in Greenwich, housed a biscuit factory and a prisoner of war camp?

...that Newgate Prison was rebuilt in 1782 in an architectural style known as architecture terrible, intended to discourage law-breaking?

...that Millbank Prison, used largely to hold convicts who were to be deported to Australia, stood on the site now occupied by Tate Britain?

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General images

The following are images from various London-related articles on Wikipedia.

Image 1Buckingham Palace as it appeared in the 17th century (from History of London)
Image 2A depiction of the imprisonment of Charles, Duke of Orléans, in the Tower of London from a 15th-century manuscript (from History of London)
Image 3John Evelyn's plan for the rebuilding of London after the Great Fire (from History of London)
Image 4People gathered in Whitehall to hear Winston Churchill's victory speech, 8 May 1945. (from History of London)
Image 5Les Misérables at the Palace Theatre (from Culture of London)
Image 6A detailed copy of John Rocque's Map of London, 1741–5 (from History of London)
Image 7Shaftesbury Avenue, c. 1949 (from History of London)
Image 8Richard Blome's map of London (1673). The development of the West End had recently begun to accelerate. (from History of London)
Image 9Tourists at Buckingham Palace (from Tourism in London)
Image 10Young people in Carnaby Street in 1966 (from History of London)
Image 11Outline of the London region (from Geography of London)
Image 12Section 1 (from History of London)
Image 13In spite of heavy traffic, several companies operate tour buses in London. (from Tourism in London)
Image 14Cheapside pictured in 1909, with the church of St Mary-le-Bow in the background (from History of London)
Image 15Firefighters putting out flames after an air raid during The Blitz, 1941 (from History of London)
Image 16Satellite image by Sentinel-2 satellite (from Geography of London)
Image 17Section 2 (from History of London)
Image 18London as engraved by J. & C. Walker in 1845 from a map by R Creighton. Many districts in the West End were fully developed, and the East End also extended well beyond the eastern fringe of the City of London. There were now several bridges over the Thames, allowing the rapid development of South London. (from History of London)
Image 19John Norden's map of London in 1593. There is only one bridge across the Thames, but parts of Southwark on the south bank of the river have been developed. (from History of London)
Image 20The Shard, an icon of 21st century London (from History of London)
Image 21A tourist stall selling various London and United Kingdom related souvenirs on the edge of Trafalgar Square on the Strand (from Tourism in London)
Image 22A plaque in the City of London noting the re-establishment of the Roman walled city (from History of London)
Image 23The Clock Tower of Wren's St Paul's Cathedral (from History of London)
Image 24A Carausius coin from Londinium mint (from History of London)
Image 25Samuel Pepys, chronicler of Stuart London (from History of London)
Image 26A medal of Constantius I capturing London (inscribed as lon) in 296 after defeating Allectus. Beaurains hoard. (from History of London)
Image 27Maughan Library, King's College London (from Culture of London)
Image 28Buckingham Palace in 1837, enlarged by John Nash (from History of London)
Image 29Amy Winehouse was a singer-songwriter from Southgate, north London. (from Culture of London)
Image 30The statue of Alfred the Great at Winchester, erected 1899 (from History of London)
Image 31Three cultural icons of London: a K2 red telephone box, Big Ben and a red double-decker bus (from Culture of London)
Image 32Tourists consulting a map near St Paul's Cathedral (from Tourism in London)
Image 33A signpost on Parliament Square with directions for nearby attractions (from Tourism in London)
Image 34Tourism in London 2013 (from Tourism in London)
Image 35The Houses of Parliament from Westminster Bridge in the early 1890s (from History of London)
Image 36Section 3 (from History of London)
Image 37Ogilby & Morgan's map of the City of London (1673). "A Large and Accurate Map of the City of London. Ichnographically describing all the Streets, Lanes, Alleys, Courts, Yards, Churches, Halls, & Houses &c. Actually Surveyed and Delineated by John Ogilby, His Majesties Cosmographer." (from History of London)
Image 38A silver coin of Alfred, with the legend ÆLFRED REX (from History of London)
Image 39A view of London from the east in 1751 (from History of London)
Image 40The "Woodcut" map of London, formally titled Civitas Londinum (c. 1561) (from History of London)
Image 41London c. 1300 (from History of London)

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London Boroughs

City of London † City of Westminster Kensington and Chelsea Hammersmith and Fulham Wandsworth Lambeth Southwark Tower Hamlets Hackney Islington Camden Brent Ealing Hounslow Richmond Kingston upon Thames		Merton Sutton Croydon Bromley Lewisham Greenwich Bexley Havering Barking and Dagenham Redbridge Newham Waltham Forest Haringey Enfield Barnet Harrow Hillingdon
† sui generis – not a London borough

More about London Boroughs
Category: London boroughs

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London Topics

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Transport

London has one of the oldest and largest public transport systems in the world. Many components of its transport system, such as the double-decker bus, the Hackney Carriage black taxi and the Tube, are internationally recognised symbols of London. London has a comprehensive rail network with several major railway stations, including two international train stations at St Pancras railway station and Stratford International, which connect London to mainland Europe through the Eurostar service. London also has six international airports. In addition to public transport, London is the start point for a number of motorway routes. The M25 is an orbital motorway which enables vehicles to avoid travelling through central London, and is one of the busiest motorways in Europe.