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.
From 1235 until 1835, the monarch’s personal zoo was kept at the Tower, and it included many exotic animals given as presents by other monarchs, including polar bears, leopards and elephants.
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.
London Bridge was once crowded with buildings and prone to fires. It survived the 1666 Great Fire because an earlier fire had destroyed houses at the north end, creating a fire break!
Sculpted from Italian marble and based on the Arch of Constantine in Rome, this was built in 1827 as the entrance to Buckingham Palace. It was moved here in 1851 when the palace was enlarged.
This arch, built in honour of the hero of the Battle of Waterloo, once formed a grand western entrance to London, but had to be moved aside in 1885 as it created a notorious traffic bottleneck.
Built to commemorate the Great Fire of 1666, the height of the Monument is the same as its distance from the bakery on Pudding Lane where the fire started.
The statue of Horatio Nelson, killed at his greatest victory at Trafalgar in 1805, is 18 feet tall. If Hitler had conquered Britain, he planned to have the column moved to Berlin.
The Mall took on its current form as a royal processional route around 1912. The palace approach was widened, and Admiralty Arch was built at one end and the Victoria Memorial at the other
Landmark building which incorporates an archway providing access between The Mall, which extends to the South-West, and Trafalgar Sq to the North-East. John Prescott used to have a private flat here.
This monument to the beloved husband of Queen Victoria celebrates Albert as a patron of the arts, science and industry. Its enormous cost (about £10m today) was met by public donations.
The names of every town in Australia that sent tropps to one of the campaigns is engraved. I've taken photos and will put up a site so you can find your town before you arrive in London!
This, the first aluminium statue in the world, represents Christian Charity, as a tribute to Victorian philanthropist Lord Shaftesbury. The winged archer is actually Anteros, brother of Eros.
Time to reflect & pay respect to the men who serve red in bomber command during I2md world war
The Diana, Princess of Wales Memorial Fountain was opened in 2004, and is made from 545 pieces of Cornish granite. The design is intended to reflect the Princess’s openness.
Public speaking on any subject has been officially tolerated here since the 1870s. Marx, Engels and Lenin are amongst those who have come to listen to the radical and often eccentric speeches.
Built by the Duke of Somerset (executed in 1552 before the building was complete), it was later a residence for the queens of Charles I and II, and was regarded as a dangerous hotbed of Catholicism.
If you've been moved by this memorial, please consider making a donation to give practical help to animals in need. Read more.
The 18 foot high statue of Achilles is made from metal melted down from captured enemy cannon. It is dedicated to the Duke of Wellington and the army that defeated Napoleon Bonaparte.
The US Embassy in Grosvenor Square was the focus of anti-Vietnam war demonstrations during the 1960s. The worst riots were in March 1968, leaving 80 injured and 200 under arrest.
This was the nickname for Albert Bridge, which vibrated when lots of people walked across it. A notice still reminds soldiers from Chelsea Barracks to break step when marching across the bridge!
Hyde Park was a favourite venue for duellists in the 18th and 19th century, including the brutal 1712 duel between the Duke of Hamilton and Lord Mohun in which they hacked each other to death.
Originally a deer park for Henry VIII, so he could hunt while staying at Whitehall Palace, the park was laid out in a formal style by Charles II, when Pepys came here to watch ice skating.
In the 18th century the park was notorious for highwaymen and Horace Walpole was one of many robbed here. Handel’s ‘Music for the Royal Fireworks’ was composed for an event here in 1749.
Take a few minutes, even in winter, to explore the central Rose Garden. Lots of flowers with silly names, and plenty of sculpture.
‘Soho’ is thought to come from the hunting and battle cry of the Duke of Monmouth, a local landlord. He used it at the Battle of Sedgemoor where he was defeated in 1685, and later executed.
Dr.Sloane, who purchased the Manor of Chelsea in 1712, was a physician who also invented milk chocolate, adapted from a Jamaican custom. It was originally marketed as medicine.
‘Billionaires Boulevard’ tells you all you need to know about local property prices. Indian steel magnate Lakshmi Mittal, the richest man in Europe, bought Nos.18-19 for £70 million in 2005.
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 famous illuminated advertising of Piccadilly Circus began as early as 1893, before most of the city had electric street lighting.
Oxford Circus got its new diagonal pedestrian crossing in 2009. It was inspired by crossings in Tokyo like the one at Shibuya, and in recognition of this Japanese musicians played at the opening.
This area was named after Leicester House, the London mansion home of the Earl of Leicester built in 1635. But by 1800 it was a home of popular entertainment and theatres, and has never looked back.
I love going to my friends’ house that overlooks Primrose Hill, walking to the top of the hill to see the amazing view of London, Bay Garnett, stylist
Two traffic milestones occurred in this square. In 1868 the world’s first traffic lights were installed here (which later blew up) and in 1926, it became Britain’s first official roundabout.
50 Berkeley Sq, once home of Prime Minister George Canning and now of antiquarian book dealers Maggs, was famous to Victorians as the most haunted house in London!
H&M’s highly anticipated luxury line, & Other Stories, will open a shop on Regent Street this spring selling women’s ready-to-wear, shoes, bags, accessories and beauty products. Read more.
A hidden statue of ‘the boy who never grew up’ can be found in Kensington Gardens, where Peter Pan used to come to play with the fairies and sail the Serpentine with a nest for a boat.
The Duke of Wellington’s home was known popularly as Number One, London, because after entering London through the old Knightsbridge toll-gate it was the first house you passed.
John Adams, the first American ambassador to Britain, lived in Grosvenor Square, and this is where the US embassy has been since 1938. It plans to relocate to Wandsworth by 2017.
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.
The V&A is the world’s largest museum of decorative art and design and holds 4.5 million objects. Henry Cole, the museum’s first director, printed the world’s first Christmas card in 1843.
Opened in 1881, the museum facade uses terracotta tiles which were resistant to the soot of Victorian London. The largest of the famous dinosaur skeletons in the central hall is a diplodocus.
Henry VIII built a palace here on the site of a leper hospital. Since 1698 it has been the official royal residence in London, which is why foreign ambassadors are still ‘to the Court of St.James’.
