The British Museum began from the collection of naturalist Sir Hans Sloane which he left to the nation on his death in 1753. Now it houses 7 million objects including more than 100 Egyptian mummies.
Built in 1703 for the Duke of Buckingham, George III acquired it in 1762 as a private house. It became an official royal residence in the reign of Queen Victoria, when it was greatly enlarged.
Every year a Norway Spruce is erected here and decorated as part of the Christmas festivities. The tree is a gift of thanks from the Norwegians for Britain's support during the Second World War
The Bankside Power Station was built as a ‘cathedral of power’ in 1963, but closed in 1981. It reopened as one of Europe’s finest modern art galleries in 2000. The Turbine Hall is 35m high.
Big Ben refers to the 13 ton bell in the clock tower of Westminster Palace. Opinion is divided as to whether it was named after the then Commissioner of Works, or a famous prize-fighter of the time.
Currently the third tallest Ferris wheel in the world (the tallest when built in 1999, but now behind Singapore and Nanchang), it moves at 0.6mph, and you can see 25 miles from the top.
To mark the 50th birthday of the Royal Air Force in 1968, Flight Lt. Allan Pollock flew his Hawker jet under the walkway of Tower Bridge. This unauthorised stunt won him a court martial.
The famous illuminated advertising of Piccadilly Circus began as early as 1893, before most of the city had electric street lighting.
175-9 Oxford St, now a retail and office development, was in 1912 the site of the world’s first ever motor museum, and included Britain’s first ever petrol-engined car, the 1894 Bremer.
Britain’s first escalators were installed at this famous department store in 1898. Women were offered brandy at the summit in order to calm their nerves.
