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London Sightseeing City area
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Worth seeing in the City area
The walk you can follow here takes in the sights one by one:
Start of walk: Barbican underground station
End of walk: London Bridge underground station
Distance: 4 km
Barbican Centre
metro: Barbican
During the Second World War the city was badly damaged in the blitz. This area was completely destroyed. When it was rebuilt they opted for a non-conformist architecture. It was finished in the 1960s, and even back then the car was banished underground. Homes and workplaces were combined above ground. The architecture still has a revolutionary feel about it today.
Museum of London
metro: Barbican
Here you will discover that the Romans once occupied London. In fact, you can even see the remains of the 'Roman Wall'. But the museum digs even deeper into the history of London. The section on the Great Fire of 1666 will appeal most to your imagination, no doubt. The Museum of London presents the city’s history in a lively way. Certainly worth a stroll, as is the Barbican area to which it belongs.
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St.-Paul's Cathedral
metro: St. Paul's
This cathedral will probably always be best remembered for the fairytale wedding between Lady Diana and Prince Charles. It was built by Christopher Wren after the Great Fire of 1666. It is the dome more than anything else that fires the imagination. You can view the frescos in the 34-metre high dome at close quarters by climbing up to the 'Whispering Gallery'. The cathedral is 111 metres high. The top can be accessed via a staircase of more than 600 steps (the Golden Gallery). The view over the City and the river Thames is magnificent. For a beautiful view of the cathedral’s enormous pillars take the 'Stone Gallery' staircase. It is certainly worth descending into the crypt, which contains the tombs of Wellington, admiral Nelson and the celebrated architect Christopher Wren. Please note, however, there is an entrance fee for the cathedral and staircases!
Millennium Bridge
metro: St. Paul's
This footbridge is one of five projects, including the Millennium Dome and London Eye, erected in the year 2000. But things went drastically wrong after the day of its opening. It would sway dangerously when lots of pedestrians walked across. It was immediately closed, and it took nearly a year to solve the problem. The Millennium Bridge still closes in heavy winds. It connects St. Paul's Cathedral to the Tate Modern, another of the millennium projects.
Shakespeare’s famed Globe Theatre
metro: Southwark, London Bridge
They have built an exact copy where William Shakespeare’s famed Globe Theatre once stood. The original was destroyed by fire in 1616. Completely reconstructed in 1997 it is once again home to theatrical plays. The theatre is now a museum too. It is best to buy the Guidebook from the website in advance, or take a guided tour.
Tate Modern
metro: Blackfriars
A brand new museum was opened in an old power station in the magical year of 2000. Comparable with the Musée d'Orsay in Paris, it exhibits works from the 2nd half of the 19th century to the present day, and also gives space to contemporary artists.
Vinopolis
metro: London Bridge
Discover the world of wine in an original and interactive way: ride through the Chianti region on a Vespa, fly over the vineyards of Australia, discover Hollywood and the Napa Valley in California, reach the Champaign region via a 'bell' lift ... This is a wine odyssey from France to Chile in 20 magnificent rooms. Explanation by autoguide. And the great thing is that you get to taste five quality wines (choice from 200). Moreish? Vinopolis has its own Tapas bar and Cantina, serving more than 200 wines by the glass.
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Picture: © Photographer: Jan Csernoch | Agency: Dreamstime.com
Text: GVDV - © AT-Europe bvba
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