An Overview of The City of London
This article is a quick overview of the City of London. It’s also a glimpse at the population, a small portion of recent history, and how that has affected the views of its citizens. Lastly, it’s a quick overview of some landmarks and activities available to London’s residents and visitors. All which will be covered in greater detail in this series of articles.
Any conversation of the five or so greatest cities in the world automatically includes London. Whether you are talking about leading financial centres, cultural, educational, political, or entertainment centres, doesn’t really matter. London will be mentioned as a leader in these and many more categories.
The population of London is quite diverse, and an estimated 300 different languages are spoken by its inhabitants. Those inhabitants number about 7.5 million, in the city and boroughs, and a total of 12 to 14 million in the metropolitan area combined. This ranks the London metro area at 18th in the list of the largest world metropolitan areas.
London was the largest metropolitan area in the world by population from 1825 to 1925, but has been overtaken by many cities around the world, and probably just as well. The diverse population is a lesson in tolerance, with 30 % of the population being born outside the U.K. Perhaps it’s not so much tolerance as apathy. Londoners are not known for their warmth towards foreigners, but London is a place of business and it is necessary to get along to do business.
Certainly no one could blame Londoners for feeling a little distain towards its immigrant population, but they really don’t. London has long been a target of terrorist attacks of one kind or another. Without going too far back into history you can try imagining what it would have been like to be raising children during the early part of the 20th Century when World War I had Zeppelins overhead dropping incendiary bombs on the city. This was one of the earliest aerial bombings ever, and it took a while before defences were developed to combat the bombing.
World War II was even worse, when the German Blitz had the population in constant fear, bombing the city day and night. In both situations, much of the population headed for the countryside, or at least sent their children there. Several decades later car bombs were detonated and pubs were targeted. Other attacks took place in the city by Provisional IRA and other groups sympathetic to their cause over the last four decades. The newest, most recent attacks by Muslim Extremists on public transportation systems would cause many countries to close their borders, and take an isolationist stance, but Londoners seem to know the difference between Muslims and Muslim extremists, and don’t show fear or distain for any of these groups, or others who have attacked them over the years. They don’t roll out the red carpet, but they show a genuine open mindedness toward most people. They also show a logical approach to dealing with terrorism.
It may be that dealing with harsh reality gets easier over time. London has endured Plague, Civil War, Devastating Fires, along with bombardment and attacks over the past two thousand years, and seems to come back stronger from each event.
Throughout all of this London has remained one of the most diverse cities in the world.
London has also remained a vibrant city and a leader in all of the categories of any importance that makeup a key global city.
London has thirty two boroughs, and the city of Westminster included within its loosely organized boundaries. Over time boroughs have been grouped into districts, cities, and other authorities in many different and sometimes confusing ways. Talking about Central London, Inner London, Greater London, The City of London, Metropolitan London, Municipal London, or Outer London is quite confusing to anyone who hasn’t spent a lot of time there.
Having a map on hand may be a requirement for not only tourists, but residents as well.
The actual City of London is a small city within Greater London. It is the core of London and not much bigger than a square mile. This area of the city is the major financial centre, and is Europe’s second largest central business district.
Besides being a powerful financial community, London is also a great transportation hub. London has five international airports, and is a large port. Heathrow International Airport alone carries more passengers than other airport in the world.
Also a great tourist destination, London offers entertainment with theatre, music, dance, and films. Shopping is a big draw to people visiting London with many famous shopping venues. From small markets to huge department stores many people are attracted to London by the shopping opportunities.
Clubs and live music venues bring in another crowd, albeit a little different crowd, but again London is all about diversity. Sports, attractions, cultural spots, and historic locations also bring in tourists by the car load. Buses are a primary method of touring London, but a ride on British Airway’s London Eye gives you a good look at the city from the banks of The River Thames and on a clear day you can take in 55 of the most famous landmarks in London in a half hour ride on the Eye. This can be combined with a river cruise that departs from LondonEye Pier to get an even more detailed look at the sights. It’s a good idea to do this at the beginning of a sightseeing journey because seeing the sights from the Eye may help you decide which ones you want to see in person and give you an idea of their location from where you are staying.
London has some great museums, and you can gain access to many of them without breaking your budget. The National Gallery displays many classic paintings, while The National Portrait Gallery displays portraits of many of history’s most famous people. The National Portrait Gallery also has a rooftop restaurant with great views. The Tate Britain, and Tate Modern Galleries are excellent, and The Royal Academy of the Arts has been putting on a great summer exhibition since 1768.
The Tower of London where The Crown Jewels are kept, Tower Bridge, St Paul’s Cathedral, Buckingham Palace, and Royal Albert Hall are other must see landmarks that will help you gain an understanding and an appreciation of London’s history.
Susan Ashby
March 8th, 2010 at 5:36 am
can you help me? i'm italian and i need somebody who correct this text..thanks a lot!?
help me please. i’m italian and i have only 14 years old. so, can you correct this text please? tomorrow i must give this text to my teacher, and i know there are lot of mistakes.. thankssssssss
i love travelling, in fact in my life I saw a lot of interesting places such as Kenya, Honk Hong, Maldive, Germany, Iceland.
Last summer I went on holiday in England. I went there whit two friends: Sonia and Paola.
We staued there for 2 week, we took a flight from bari to London. Exactly we stayed in a college in Richmond.
Richmond is a district of London. The college was called Digby Stuart and it is 20 minutes from the center of London.
In London I saw a lot of famous places like Trafalgar Square, British Museum, Buckingham Palace, the Big Ben. Than I saw Piccadilly Circus one of the most important square inn London, I remember when I go to a bar and I bought a bottle of mineral water and I spend 15 euros, so the prices are very high…
Then I saw Madame Toussaud, it was really nice because I saw a lot of famous people like actor actress, sportman.. I saw Jonny Depp, Beckam, Bread Pitt! I like him a lot, in my opinion he’s wonderful, and he’s a fantastic actor..
I have seen Mourighno. I hate him. He’s a football coach and he work with inter, an Italian club..
I don’t like inter, because I am a supporter of Juventus. I don’t like him because he’s serius and disagreeable.
The places I liked most were Brighton Oxford London eye..
Brighton is a city near London, full of shops, and it is famous because there are beautiful sandy beaches., I also had a bath there.. it was great, instead London eye is fabulous, and there was a breathtaking overview.
Oxford is famous fot its college. In fact there are a lot of them.
One of the most populare is Harry Potter’s college. It is beautiful. I look it very old. Oxford is full of souvenirs shops in fact I bought a lot of them for all my friends.
English food is terrible, in my college the meal was horrible. I always eat chips, bread and butter, I also eat a lot of chocolate and sweeties
One of the best meal that I tried was fish and chips, a very traditional taka away.
I often went to McDonald. I love it! I know is very unhealthy but it is too tasty!
Shopping in London in fantastic.
I visited all the famous street like regent’s street, oxford st….. and there are s lot of shops, most of them are famous brands.
But the best department store in the world is Harrods!
It is indescribable. There are hundred and hundred brands.
There are 5 floors and it is very wide.
In fact when I went there with some friends we get lost!
So, I love London because is a lovely city, it is interesting so, I would like to come back there.
March 8th, 2010 at 10:38 am
there is a lot of mis-spellings and bad sentences. Here is a little help..i corrected some mis-spellings and changes some words a bit.
I love traveling, in fact in my life I saw a lot of interesting places such as Kenya, Honk Hong, Maldive, Germany, Iceland.
Last summer I went on a vacation to England. I went there with two friends, Sonia and Paola.
We stayed there for 2 weeks, we took a flight from Bari to London. We stayed in a college in Richmond.
Richmond is a district of London. The college was called Digby Stuart and it is 20 minutes from the center of London.
In London I saw a lot of famous places like Trafalgar Square, British Museum, Buckingham Palace, the Big Ben. Then I saw Piccadilly Circus, one of the most important square in London. I went to a bar and I bought a bottle of mineral water and I spent 15 Euros, the prices are very high…
Then I saw Madame Toussaud, it was really nice because I saw a lot of famous people like actors, actress, and sportsman.. I saw Jonny Depp, Beckam, Bread Pitt! I like him a lot, in my opinion he’s wonderful, and he’s a fantastic actor..
I have seen Mourighno. I dislike him. He’s a football coach and he works with Inter, an Italian club..
I don’t like Inter because I am a supporter of Juventus. I don’t like him because he’s serious and disagreeable.
The places I liked most were Brighton Oxford London eye..
Brighton is a city near London, full of shops, and it is famous because there are beautiful sandy beaches., I also had a bath there.. it was great. London eye is fabulous, and there was a breathtaking overview.
Oxford is famous for its college. In fact there are a lot of them.
One of the most popular is Harry Potter’s college. It is beautiful. It look it very old. Oxford is full of souvenir shops. In fact I bought a lot of them for all my friends.
English food is terrible, in my college the meal was horrible. I always eat chips, bread and butter, I also eat a lot of chocolate and sweets.
One of the best meals that I tried was fish and chips, a very traditional take away.
I often went to McDonalds. I love it! I know is very unhealthy but it is too tasty!
Shopping in London is fantastic.
I visited all the famous street like regent’s street, oxford St., and there are s lot of shops, most of them are famous brands.
But the best department store in the world is Harrods!
It is indescribable. There are hundreds and hundreds of brands.
There are 5 floors and it is very wide.
In fact when I went there with some friends we get lost!
So, I love London because is a lovely city, it is interesting, I would like to come back there.
References :
March 8th, 2010 at 10:40 am
do your own homework, if you cant write in proper english, thats something you need to learn. dont cheat.
References :
March 8th, 2010 at 10:42 am
As much as people want to help you really if you then get it perfect,it isn’t fair is it? If you make mistakes your teacher will correct you and tell you where you went wrong. Otherwise she will think you are more advanced than you really are. Don’t get into the habit of cheating – not worth itin the long run. By the way, considering you are Italian, and English is not your first languageI think your attempt is very good!
References :
March 8th, 2010 at 10:44 am
I love travelling, in fact, in my life I saw a lot of interesting places such as Kenya, Honk Hong, Maldive, Germany and Iceland.
Last summer I went on holiday in England. I went there with two friends, Sonia and Paola.
We stayed there for 2 weeks, then took a flight from Bari to London. We actually stayed in a college in Richmond.
Richmond is a district of London. The college was called Digby Stuart and it is 20 minutes from the center of London.
In London I saw a lot of famous places like Trafalgar Square, British Museum, Buckingham Palace and the Big Ben. Than I saw Piccadilly Circus, one of the most important squares in London. I remember when I went to a bar and I bought a bottle of mineral water and I spent 15 euros, so the prices are very high…
Then I saw Madame Toussaud. It was really nice because I saw a lot of famous people like actors, actresses and sportsman. I saw Jonny Depp, Beckam and Brad Pitt! I like him a lot. In my opinion he’s wonderful, and he’s a fantastic actor..
I have seen Mourighno. I hate him. He’s a football coach and he works with inter, an Italian club..
I don’t like inter, because I am a supporter of Juventus. I don’t like him because he’s serious and disagreable.
The places I liked most were Brighton, Oxford and London eye..
Brighton is a city near London, full of shops, and it is famous because there are beautiful sandy beaches. I also had a bath there.. it was great. Instead London eye is fabulous, and there was a breathtaking overview.
Oxford is famous for its college. In fact, there are a lot of them.
One of the most popular is Harry Potter’s college. It is beautiful. It looks very old. Oxford is full of souvenier shops. In fact, I bought a lot of them for all my friends.
English food is terrible. In my college, the meal was horrible. I always eat chips, bread and butter, I also eat a lot of chocolate and sweets.
One of the best meals that I tried was fish and chips…a very traditional take-a-way.
I often went to McDonalds. I love it! I know is very unhealthy but it is too tasty!
Shopping in London in fantastic.
I visited all the famous streets like Regent’s Street, Oxford St….. and there are lots of shops. Most of them are famous brands.
But the best department store in the world is Harrods!
It is indescribable. There are hundreds and hundreds of brands.
There are 5 floors and it is very wide.
In fact, when I went there with some friends we get lost!
So, I love London because is a lovely city. It is so interesting. I would like to come back there.
References :
English
March 8th, 2010 at 10:46 am
To begin with, traveling only has one l. Anyone who missed that (since the spell checker built into this site tells you that, i\sn’t worth paying attention to.
References :
March 8th, 2010 at 10:48 am
I love travelling; in fact in my life I saw a lot of interesting places such as Kenya, Honk Hong, Maldive, Germany and Iceland.
Last summer, I went on holiday to England. I went there with two friends: Sonia and Paola. We stayed there for two weeks and took a flight from Bari to London. We stayed in a college in Richmond (a district in London). The college was called Digby Stuart and it is 20 minutes from the center of London.
In London I saw a lot of famous places such as Trafalgar Square, The British Museum, Buckingham Palace and the Big Ben. I also saw Piccadilly Circus, one of the most important squares in London. I remember when I going to a bar and I buying a bottle of mineral water for 15 Euros! It was very expensive. I also saw Madame Tussauds, it was really nice because I saw a lot of famous people like sportsman and actors and actresses such as: Jonny Depp, David Beckam, Brad Pitt! I like him a lot. In my opinion he’s wonderful and a fantastic actor.
I have seen Mourighno and I dislike him. He is a football coach who works with Inter, an Italian club. I do not like Inter because I am a supporter of Juventus. I don’t like him because he’s serious and disagreeable.
The places I liked most were Brighton, Oxford and London eye. Brighton is a city near London, full of shops and it is famous because there are beautiful sandy beaches. I also had a bath there. It was great! The London eye is also fabulous, and there was a breathtaking overview.
????/Oxford is famous fot its college. In fact there are a lot of them.
One of the most populare is Harry Potter’s college.????
It is beautiful. It looks very old. Oxford is full of souvenirs shops. In fact I bought a lot of souvenirs for all my friends.
English food is terrible! In my college, the meal was horrible. I always ate chips, bread and butter as well as a lot of chocolate and sweets. One of the best meals that I tried was fish and chips, a very traditional taka away. I often went to McDonald. I love it! I know is very unhealthy but it is tasty!
Shopping in London is fantastic. I visited all the famous streets such as Regent’s street, Oxford Street. There are a lot of shops, most of them are famous brands but the best department store in the world is Harrods! It is indescribable. There are hundred and hundreds of brands. There are five floors and it is very big. In fact when I went there with some friends we get lost!
So, I love London because is a lovely city. It is interesting and I would like to come visit it again.
References :
March 8th, 2010 at 10:50 am
I love travelling, In the past I have travelled a lot and seen many very interesting places which include Kenya, Hong Kong, The Maldives, Germany and Iceland. Last year I visited England with two of my friends Sonia and Paola.
We stayed there for two weeks, we took a flight fron Bari to London. We stayed at a college called Digby Stuart in Richmond. This was only twenty minutes from the centre of London. Whilst there we visited many famouse places for example Trafalgar Square, The British Museum, Buckingham Palace, Big Ben and the famouse Piccadilly Circus. I can remember going to a bar and buying a mineral water and it cost 15 euros, so quite expensive. We then went to Madam Toussauds which was really nice because I saw a lot of famous people for instance I saw Johnny Depp, Beckham, Brad Pitt who I like a lot who in my opinion is great and a fantastic actor.
Hope this helps had enough now x
References :
March 8th, 2010 at 10:52 am
I love travelling, in fact, in my life I saw a lot of interesting places, such as Kenya, Honk Hong, Maldive, Germany, and Iceland.
Last summer I went on vacation in England. I went there with two of my friends, Sonia and Paola.
We stayed there for 2 weeks and took a flight from bari to London. Then, we stayed in a college in Richmond.
Richmond is a district of London. The college was called Digby Stuart and it is 20 minutes from the center of London.
In London, I saw a lot of famous places, like Trafalgar Square, British Museum, Buckingham Palace, and the Big Ben. Then, I saw Piccadilly Circus, one of the most important squares in London. I remembered when went to a bar and I bought a bottle of mineral water.I spend 15 euros,which was expensive.
Then, I saw Madame Toussaud! It was really nice because I saw a lot of famous actresses, actors, athletes and more. I saw Jonny Depp, Beckam, Brad Pitt! I like him a lot! In my opinion, he’s wonderful, and he’s a fantastic actor.
I saw Mourighno. I hate him. He’s a football coach and he works in an Italian club..
The places I liked most were Brighton, Oxford, and London eye.
Brighton is a city near London, full of shops, and it is famous because there are beautiful sandy beaches. I also had a bath there..It was great, instead London eye is fabulous, and there was a breathtaking overview.
Oxford is famous fot its college. In fact there are a lot of them.
One of the most populare is Harry Potter’s college. It is beautiful. I look it very old. Oxford is full of souvenirs shops in fact I bought a lot of them for all my friends.
English food is terrible, in my college the meal was horrible. I always eat chips, bread and butter, I also eat a lot of chocolate and sweeties
One of the best meal that I tried was fish and chips, a very traditional taka away.
I often went to McDonald. I love it! I know is very unhealthy but it is too tasty!
Shopping in London in fantastic.
I visited all the famous street like regent’s street, oxford st….. and there are s lot of shops, most of them are famous brands.
But the best department store in the world is Harrods!
It is indescribable. There are hundred and hundred brands.
There are 5 floors and it is very wide.
In fact when I went there with some friends we get lost!
So, I love London because is a lovely city, it is interesting so, I would like to come back there.
References :
March 8th, 2010 at 10:54 am
i love traveling and so far, I have seen a lot of interesting places such as Kenya, Honk Kong, Maldive, Germany, and Iceland.
Last summer I went on holiday in England and I went there with my two friends, Sonia and Paola.
We stayed there for 2 weeks and we took a flight from Bari to London to get there. For the duration of the two weeks, we stayed in a college in Richmond, which is a district of London.
The college was called "Digby Stuart College" and it is 20 minutes from the center of London.
In London I saw a lot of famous places like the Trafalgar Square, the British Museum, the Buckingham Palace, and Big Ben.
I also saw the Piccadilly Circus, one of the most important squares in London.
I bought a bottle of mineral water from a bar there and I spent 15 euros for it, so the prices are very high…
Then, I saw Madame Toussaud!
It was really nice because I saw a lot of famous people like actors, actresses, sports figures. I even saw JJohnny Depp, Beckam, Brad Pitt!
I like him a lot, in my opinion he’s wonderful, and he’s a fantastic actor..
I also saw Mourighno. I hate him. He’s a football coach and he work with inter, an Italian club..
I don’t like inter, because I am a supporter of Juventus. I don’t like him because he’s serious and disagreeable.
The places I liked most were Brighton, Oxford, and London eye.
Brighton is a city near London, full of shops, and it is famous because there are beautiful sandy beaches. I also had a bath there and it was great. London eye is very fabulous, and there are many breathtaking views there.
Oxford is famous for its college. In fact there are a lot of them.
One of the most popular colleges is the Harry Potter’s college and thought it was beautiful and old. Oxford is full of souvenirs shops and I bought a lot of souvenirs for all my friends.
English food is terrible and even at my college the meal was horrible. I always ate chips, bread and butter, I also ate a lot of chocolate and sweeties
One of the best meal that I tried was fish and chips, a very traditional taka away.
I often went to McDonalds. I love it even though I know is very unhealthy, but it is too tasty!
Shopping in London in fantastic.
I visited all the famous streets like regent’s street and oxford st.
On those streets, there are lot of shops and
most of them are famous brands,
In my opinion, the best department store in the world is Harrods!
It is indescribable. There were hundred and hundred brands inside
the 5 story tall, wide building.
When I went there with some friends, we got lost!
So, I love London because is a lovely interesting city. I would like to back there someday.
References :
I cleaned it up a bit.
it should be a lot smoother. Have someone else double check it.
hope that helps.