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Key Attractions British Airways London Eye Towering 135m (444ft) into the heavens right in the heart of London, the BA London Eye is literally an unmissable attraction. The initial engineering problems have long been forgotten as the world's tallest observation wheel has emerged as one of the city's most popular attractions. Its unparalleled views of the city skyline, which are particularly impressive in the evening, reach as far away as 40km (25 miles). The experience is one revolution of the wheel, lasting approximately 30 minutes. Jubilee Gardens, South Bank, SE1 Tel: (0870) 500 0600 (booking line). Web site: www.ba-londoneye.com Transport: Underground Waterloo or Charing Cross. Opening hours: Daily 0930-1800. Admission: £8.50 (concessions available). Tate Gallery of Modern Art Yet another new attraction for the year 2000 is the Tate Modern. This 130-million-Pound project is a model of urban regeneration with the disused Bankside Power Station transformed into an avant-garde space dedicated to twentieth-century art. The permanent exhibition contains much of the Tate Gallery's collection of modern work, displayed thematically rather than chronologically. This includes major works by Matisse, Picasso, Rothko and Warhol, as well as contemporary pieces. The Bankside area is itself becoming one of the most exciting of the city. The new 14-million-Pound Millennium Bridge is the first new River Thames crossing in the capital for more than a century. Designed by Lord Foster, it provides a pedestrian link from St Paul's Cathedral in the north to the Tate Modern. However, it has been plagued by safety problems since its opening in spring 2000, and these have led to its temporary closure. Bankside's cultural regeneration harks back to the area's Golden Age as the centre of the Elizabethan theatre scene. Shakespeare's plays were originally performed at the Globe Theatre here and can now be seen at the beautifully reconstructed Globe Theatre & Exhibition (tel: (020) 7902 1400; web site: www.shakespeares-globe.org). Other attractions in the area include Vinopolis, Bankside (tel: (0870) 444 4777), an interactive celebration of wine, and the Golden Hinde (tel: (020) 7403 0123), a replica of Sir Francis Drake's flagship, moored at St Mary Overie Dock. Southwark Cathedral (tel: (020) 7407 3708) lies on the edge of nearby Borough Market. Bankside, SE1 Tel: (020) 7887 8000 (information line). E-mail: boxoffice@tate.org.uk Web site: www.tate.org.uk Transport: Underground Southwark or Blackfriars. Opening hours: Sun-Thurs 1000-1800, Fri and Sat 1000-2200. Admission: Free; donations welcome. Palace of Westminster The Palace of Westminster contains the Houses of Parliament, part of which, of course, is one of the city's most famous landmarks: Big Ben, which is actually just the huge bell of St Stephen's clock tower. The most ancient part of the building, Westminster Hall, is 900 years old. The rest of the palace was rebuilt in neo-Gothic style in the nineteenth century to designs by Charles Barry, after almost total destruction by fire. Free group tours of the palace, including the Royal Robing Rooms, the House of Lords and the House of Commons, must be booked in advance. UK visitors should contact their MP; overseas visitors should apply to the Parliament Education Unit (tel: (020) 7219 4600) for the organisation of group tours. Visitors who want to see Parliament in session can join one of the queues outside the Palace from October to July. Parliament Square, SW1 Tel: (020) 7219 4272. Fax: (020) 7219 5839. Web site: www.parliament.uk Transport: Underground Westminster. Admission: Free; official guide £25. Westminster Abbey Across Parliament Square is Westminster Abbey - a magnificent Gothic structure where innumerable members of the British royal family have been christened, married, crowned and interred. Consecrated in the eleventh century under Edward the Confessor, it was rebuilt in Gothic style over the next four centuries. Highlights include Henry VII's Chapel, Poet's Corner and the Coronation Chair. Parliament Square, SW1 Tel: (020) 7222 7110. Fax: (020) 7233 2072. Web site: www.westminster-abbey.org Transport: Underground Westminster. Opening hours: (sightseeing) Mon-Fri 0930-1545 and Sat 0930-1345; (religious services only) all day Sun. Admission: £5 (concessions available). Trafalgar Square Admiral Nelson lords it over the traffic, the tourists and the pigeons from the top of his column on Trafalgar Square. On the north side is the National Gallery, one of the world's great museums, which houses an incredible collection of Western painting from the thirteenth to the early twentieth century, as well as frequent special exhibitions. Nearby, at 2 St Martin's Place, the National Portrait Gallery displays the country's famous, infamous and forgotten in the media of oil, watercolour, marble and photography. In May 2000, the Queen officially opened the new Ondaatje Wing, which includes a lecture theatre and restaurant, as well as being part of a wider project to make the gallery more spacious and the art more enjoyable and accessible. Opposite the gallery is the beautiful eighteenth-century neo-classical church St Martin-in-the-Fields, which hosts regular concerts and has a café in the crypt. Trafalgar Square, WC2 Tel: (020) 7747 2885 (National Gallery); (020) 7306 0055 (National Portrait Gallery); (020) 7766 1100 (St Martin-in-the-Fields). Web site: www.nationalgallery.org.uk or www.npg.org.uk Transport: Underground Charing Cross or Leicester Square. Opening hours: (National Gallery) daily 1000-1800 (Wed until 2100); (National Portrait Gallery) Mon-Sat 1000-1800 and Sun 1200-1800. Admission: Free. Buckingham Palace Buckingham Palace may charge exorbitant entry fees, but as the London home of the Queen it draws millions of tourists each year. They flock to witness royal pageantry dating back centuries at the Changing of the Guard ceremony at 1130 daily from April to July (alternate days at other times of the year), and for the rare chance to see inside a royal residence. The building, by John Nash and Edward Blore, was built in the nineteenth century around the shell of Buckingham House, and the rather drab façade was added in 1913. The State Rooms of the palace, including the Throne Room and the Picture Gallery, are only open to the public in summer. Buckingham Palace Road, SW1 Tel: (020) 7321 2233. Fax: (020) 7930 9625. Web site: www.royal.gov.uk/palaces/bp.htm Transport: Underground Green Park, Victoria or Hyde Park Corner. Opening hours: 6 Aug-3 Oct only: daily 0930-1615. Admission: £10.50 (concessions available). Tower of London & Tower Bridge The infamous royal fortress, the Tower of London, on Tower Hill was begun in 1078 by William the Conqueror and remained a royal residence until the mid-sixteenth century. Today, it houses the priceless Crown Jewels and the Royal Armouries. The history of the tower is a catalogue of intrigue and bloodshed - key historical figures, including members of the royal family, were imprisoned, tortured or executed here. There are hour-long tours of the main sights. A special exhibition throughout 2000 celebrates the Tower's last two thousand years. Nearby, Tower Bridge, a prime example of Victorian architecture and engineering, spans the River Thames. Hydraulic machinery, hidden in twin neo-Gothic towers, lifts the central section to allow ships in and out of the Pool of London. Visitors can learn about the bridge in the Tower Bridge Experience or enjoy the excellent views towards Canary Wharf and the City of London. On the northeast side, the harbour at St Katharine's Dock marks the beginning of the London Docklands, while the warehouses to the south house the stylish Design Museum and the Bramah Tea & Coffee Museum. Tower Hill, EC3 Tel: (020) 7709 0765 (Tower of London); (020) 7403 3761 (Tower Bridge); (020) 7403 6933 (Design Museum); (020) 7378 0222 (Bramah). Web site: www.tower-of-london.com or www.towerbridge.org.uk or www.designmuseum.org Transport: Underground Tower Hill. Opening hours: (Tower of London) Mon-Sat 0900-1700 and Sun 1000-1700; (Tower Bridge) daily 1000-1830. Admission: (Tower of London) £11; (Tower Bridge) £8.30 (concessions available). St Paul's Cathedral The dome of Sir Christopher Wren's masterpiece is the third largest in the world and one of the most distinctive features of the London skyline. The present building was completed in 1710 on the site of an even larger medieval cathedral, which had been destroyed in the Great Fire of 1666. The Whispering Gallery, named for its incredible acoustics, offers a close-up of the frescoes of the life of St Paul that decorate the interior of the dome. Higher up, there are magnificent views across the City of London. Guided tours are available Monday to Saturday. The main religious services are held 1030 and 1130 on Sunday and throughout 2000 there are also a series of concerts celebrating the work of Johann Sebastian Bach. Paternoster Square, EC4 Tel: (020) 7236 4128 or 7246 8348 (information line). Fax: (020) 7248 3104. Web site: www.stpauls.co.uk Transport: Underground St Paul's. Opening hours: (worship) Mon-Sat 0715-1800 and Sun 0745-1700; (sightseeing) Mon-Sat 0830-1600 (galleries from 0930). Sightseeing is restricted on Sun and religious holidays. Admission: (cathedral) £5; (galleries) £4; concessions available. British Museum Currently embroiled in a lengthy refurbishment programme, whose centrepiece is Lord Foster's ambitious glass-roofed Great Court, the British Museum is one of the world's great museums. Visitors to the British Museum must contend with a mind-boggling six million artefacts plucked (or plundered) by collectors from all corners of the globe. The awesome scale of the museum means it is essential to select just a few of the 94 galleries for close attention. Highlights include the Rosetta Stone, a copy of the Magna Carta and the controversial Elgin Marbles (taken from the Parthenon in Athens), which Greece want back before the Olympic Games in Athens in 2004. A new British Museum souvenir shop opened in the year 2000 next to the museum. Great Russell Street, WC1 Tel: (020) 7636 1555 or 7323 8000. Fax: (020) 7323 8616. Web site: www.thebritishmuseum.ac.uk Transport: Underground Russell Square. Opening hours: Mon-Sat 1000-1700 and Sun 1200-1800. Admission: Free. Victoria & Albert Museum The Victoria & Albert Museum (V&A) is one of three major museums in South Kensington; the others being the Natural History Museum (tel: (020) 7942 5000; web site: www.nhm.ac.uk) and the Science Museum (tel: (020) 7942 4000; web site: www.nmsi.ac.uk). Founded in the nineteenth century as a museum of the decorative arts, the V&A's 11km (seven miles) of corridors trace a path through paintings, jewellery, furniture and textiles dating from 3000BC to the present day. Highlights include the Raphael Cartoons, the sculpture court and the collection of vintage costumes. The V&A is going through a massive period of renovation and expansion, the centrepiece of which, the controversial new extension known as The Spiral, is under construction. Designed by Daniel Libekind, the groundbreaking structure will be a self-supporting spiral, covered in hand-crafted ivory-coloured tiles. Cromwell Road, SW7 Tel: (020) 7942 2000. Web site: www.vam.ac.uk Transport: Underground South Kensington. Opening hours: Daily 1000-1745; plus Wed 1830-2130 (seasonal Late View). Admission: £5 (children free); free daily 1630-1745. Tate Britain The Gallery of Modern British Art opened in 1897 around the collection of sugar merchant Henry Tate, and now holds an unrivalled collection of English painting from the sixteenth to the nineteenth centuries. All twentieth-century art has moved to the newly opened Tate Modern (see above). The magnificent Turner Bequest is housed in the purpose-built Clore Gallery. Millbank, SW1 Tel: (020) 7887 8725. Fax: (020) 7887 8788. Web site: www.tate.org.uk Transport: Underground Pimlico. Opening hours: Mon-Sat 1000-1750 and Sun 1400-1750. Admission: Free (except for temporary exhibitions). London Aquarium The London Aquarium has Europe's largest display of fish and marine life; 350 different species from around the world are represented by 30,000 live specimens. In the 'Pacific Tank', sand tigers and brown sharks swim in one million litres (220,000 gallons) of water, while rays, hermit crabs, anemones and starfish draw children to the interactive pools. County Hall, Westminster Bridge Road, SE1 Tel: (020) 7967 8000. Fax: (020) 7967 8029. E-mail: info@londonaquarium.co.uk Web site: www.londonaquarium.co.uk Transport: Underground Westminster or Waterloo. Opening hours: Daily 1000-1800. Admission: £8.50 (concessions available). |
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