MY DREAM DESTINATION:LONDON

NAME:NADIA ENROLLMENT NO :10SETEE131 ROLL NO:EE055 ASSIGNMENT:3rd

TABLE OF CONTENTS:
1: TOPONOMY 2:HISTORY 3:GOVERNMENT 4:GEOGRAPHY 4.1: SCOPE 4.3:TOPOGRAPHY 4.4 :CLIMATE 4.5: MOST VISITED PLACES 4.6 ARCHITECTURE 4.7 PARKS AND GARDENS 5. RELIGON 6. CULTURE 7. SPORTS 8. FOOD

INDRODUCTION

REASON OF CHOSING LONDON AS MY DREAM DESTINATION

London is the capital of England and the United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures London is a leading global city, with its strengths in the arts, commerce, education, entertainment, fashion, finance, healthcare, media, professional services, research and development, tourism and transport all contributing to its prominence. It is the world's largest financial centre alongside New York, has the largest city GDP in Europe and is home to the headquarters of more than 100 of Europe's 500 largest companies. It is the most visited city in the world London's five international airports make its airspace the busiest of any urban centre worldwide ad London Heathrow is the world's busiest airport by number of international passengers London's 43 universities form the largest concentration of higher education in Europe In 2012 London will become the first city to host the Summer Olympics three times. London has a diverse range of peoples, cultures and religions, and more than 300 languages are spoken within its boundaries In July 2007 it had an official population of 7,556,900 within the boundaries of Greater London, making it the most populous municipality in the European Union. The Greater London Urban Area is the second largest in the EU with a population of 8,278,251, while London's metropolitan area is the largest in the EU with an estimated total population of between 12 million and 14 million. London contains four World Heritage Sites: the Tower of London; the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew; the site comprising the Palace of Westminster, Westminster Abbey and St. Margaret's Church; and the historic settlement of Greenwich (in which the Royal Observatory marks the Greenwich Meridian (0 longitude) and GMT). Other famous landmarks include Buckingham Palace, the London Eye, Piccadilly Circus, 30 St Mary Axe (The Gherkin), St Paul's Cathedral, Tower Bridge and Trafalgar Square. London is home to numerous museums, galleries, libraries, sporting events and other cultural institutions including the British Museum, National Gallery, British Library, Wimbledon and 40 theatres. London's Chinatown is the largest in Europe. The London Underground network is the oldest underground railway network in the world and the most extensive after the Shanghai Metro.

1.TOPONOMY AND HISTORY

The etymology of London is uncertain. It is an ancient name and can be found in sources from the 2nd century. It is recorded c. 121 as Londinium, which points to RomanoBritish origin. The earliest attempted explanation, now disregarded, is attributed to Geoffrey of Monmouth in Historia Regum Britanniae. This had it that the name as

originated from a supposed King Lud, who had allegedly taken over the city and named it Kaerlud From 1899 it was commonly accepted that the name was of Celtic origin and meant place belonging to a man called *Londinos; this explanation has since been rejected Richard Coates put forward an explanation in 1998 that it is derived from the pre-Celtic Old European *(p)lowonida, meaning 'river too wide to ford', and suggested that this was a name given to the part of the River Thames which flows through London; from this, the settlement gained the Celtic form of its name, *Lowonidonjon. Until 1889 the name officially only applied to the City of London but since then it has also referred to the County of London and now Greater London.

2.GEOGRAPHY
2.1 Scope
Greater London is the top-level administrative subdivision covering London. The small, ancient City of London at its core once contained the whole settlement, but as the urban area grew the City Corporation resisted attempts to amalgamate it with its suburbs, causing "London" to be defined in a number ways for different purposes; and the situation was once open to legal debate Forty percent of Greater London is covered by the London post town, within which 'LONDON' forms part of postal addresses.

2.2 STATUS
Within London, both the City of London and the City of Westminster have city status and both the City of London and the remainder of Greater London are the ceremonial counties. The current area of Greater London has incorporated areas that were once part of the counties of Middlesex, Kent, Surrey, Essex and Hertfordshire. London's status as the capital of England, and later the United Kingdom, has never been granted or confirmed officiallyby statute or in written form. Its position was formed through constitutional convention, making its status as de facto capital a part of the UK's unwritten constitution. The capital of England was moved to London from Winchester as the Palace of Westminster developed in the 12th and 13th centuries to become the permanent location of the royal court, and thus the political capital of the nation. More recently, Greater London has been defined as a region of England and in this context known as London

2.3 CLIMATE
London has a temperate marine climate , like much of the British Isles, so the city rarely sees extremely high or low temperatures. Summers are warm with a July high of 22.8 C (73.0 F) and low of 14.0 C (57.2 F). But temperatures can exceed 25 C (77 F) on many days, and in almost every year they exceed 30 C (86 F) on some days. The highest temperature ever recorded was 38 C (100 F) on 10 August 2003 during the 2003 European heat wave. Winters in London are chilly, but rarely below freezing (although in recent years this has been questionable) with daytime highs around 5 C (41 F) 8 C (46 F), while spring has mild days and cool evenings. The lowest ever recorded temperature was 21.1 C (6 F) in January 1795. Autumn is usually mild but often unsettled as colder air from the arctic and warmer air from the tropics meet. London is a relatively dry city with regular but generally light precipitation throughout the year, with an average of 583.6 millimetres (22.98 in) every year. This is lower than many cities such as New York, Paris, Sydney and around the same as Jerusalem and San Francisco.London receives an average of only 1461 hours of sunshine every year. Snow is relatively uncommon, particularly because heat from the urban area can make London up to 5 C (9 F) warmer than the surrounding areas in winter. Some snowfall, however, is usually seen up to a few times a year. The February 2009 Great Britain and Ireland snowfall was the heaviest London had seen for 18 years.

3. GOVERNMENT
3.1 Local government
The administration of London is formed of two tiersa city-wide, strategic tier and a local tier. City-wide administration is coordinated by the Greater London Authority (GLA), while local administration is carried out by 33 smaller authorities. The GLA consists of two elected components; the Mayor of London, who has executive powers, and the London Assembly, who scrutinise the mayor's decisions and can accept or reject his budget proposals each year. The headquarters of the GLA is City Hall, Southwark; the current mayor is Boris Johnson. The mayor's statutory planning strategy is published as the London Plan, which as of mid-2009 is being revised, for final publication in 2011. The local authorities are the councils of the 32 London boroughs and the City of London Corporation.]They are responsible for most local services, such as local planning, schools, social services, local roads and refuse collection. Certain functions, such as waste management, are provided through joint arrangements.

Policing in Greater London, with the exception of the City of London, is provided by the Metropolitan Police Force, overseen by the Metropolitan Police Authority. The City of London has its own police force the City of London Police. The British Transport Police are responsible for police services on National Rail and London Underground services in the capital. The London Fire Brigade is the statutory fire and rescue service for Greater London. It is run by the London Fire and Emergency Planning Authority and is the third-largest fire service in the world. National Health Service ambulance services are provided by the London Ambulance Service NHS Trust, the largest free at the point of use emergency ambulance service in the world. Her Majesty's Coastguard and the Royal National Lifeboat Institution operate on the River Thames.

3.2 National government

London is the seat of the Government of the United Kingdom, which is located around the Palace of Westminster. Many government departments are located close to Parliament, particularly along Whitehall, including the Prime Minister's residence at 10 Downing Street. The British Parliament is often referred to as the "Mother of Parliaments" (although this sobriquet was first applied to England itself by John Bright) because it has been the model for most other parliamentary systems, and its Acts have created many other parliament.

MAIN BODY
MOST VISITED PLACES
1. Top 10 London Attractions

British Museum-The world-famous British Museum exhibits the works of man from prehistoric to modern times from around the world. Highlights include the Rosetta Stone, the Parthenon sculptures, and the mummies in the Ancient Egypt collection. Entry is free but special exhibitions require tickets. r National Gallery-The crowning glory of Trafalgar Squae, London's National Gallery is a vast space, filled to the rafters with Western European paintings from the 13th to the 19th centuries. In this iconic art gallery you can find works by masters such as Van Gogh, da Vinci, Botticelli, Constable, Renoir, Titian and Stubbs. Entry is free. Tate Modern-Sitting grandly on the banks of the Thames is Tate Modern, Britain's national museum of modern and contemporary art. Its unique shape is due to its previously being a power station. Inside you'll find temporary exhibitions by top artists from Damien Hirst to Gauguin. The gallery's restaurants offer fabulous views across the city. Entry is free. Natural History Museum-As well as the permanent (and permanently fascinating!) dinosaur exhibition, the Natural History Museum boasts a collection of the biggest, tallest and rarest animals in the world. See a life-sized Blue Whale, a 40-million-year-old spider and the amazing new Darwin Centre. Entry is free but special exhibitions require tickets. The London Eye-The London Eye is a major feature of London's skyline. It is the world's highest observation wheel, with 32 capsules, each weighing 10 tonnes, and holding up to 25 people. Climb aboard for a breathtaking experience, offering you unforgettable views of more than 55 of London's most famous landmarks all in just 30 minutes! Science Museum-From the future of space travel to asking that difficult question, "Who am I?", the Science Museum makes your brain perform Olympic-standard mental gymnastics. See, touch and experience the major scientific advances of the last 300 years; don't forget the awesome Imax cinema. Entry is free but some exhibitions require tickets. The Tower of London-Take a tour with one of the Yeoman Warders around the Tower of London, one of the world's most famous buildings. Discover its 900-year history as a royal palace, prison and place of execution, arsenal, jewel house and zoo! Gaze up at the White Tower, tiptoe through a medieval king's bedchamber and marvel at the Crown Jewels. National Maritime Museum-One of the world's greatest maritime museums, the National Maritime Museum contains models, paintings and trophies from every continent. Find out about the traditions of maritime London, recall the romance of great ocean liners, and study the controversial history of trade across the Atlantic. Free entry; some exhibitions require tickets.

2.PARKS AND GARDENS The largest parks in the central area of London are the Royal Parks of Hyde Park, its neighbour Kensington Gardens at the western edge of Central London and Regent's Park on the northern edge. Regent's Park contains London Zoo, the world's oldest scientific zoo, and is located near the tourist attraction of Madame Tussauds Wax Museum. Closer to central London are the smaller Royal Parks of Green Park and St. James's Park. Hyde Park in particular is popular for sports and sometimes hosts open-air concerts. A number of large parks lie outside the city centre, including the remaining Royal Parks of Greenwich Park to the south-east and Bushy Park and Richmond Park to the south-west, as well as Victoria Park, East London to the east. Primrose Hill to the north of Regent's Park is a popular spot to view the city skyline. Some more informal, semi-natural open spaces also exist, including the 320-hectare (790-acre) Hampstead Heath of North London. This incorporates Kenwood House, the former stately home and a popular location in the summer months where classical

musical concerts are held by the lake, attracting thousands of people every weekend to enjoy the music, scenery and fireworks.

2.ARTITECTURE
London's buildings are too diverse to be characterised by any particular architectural style, having been built over a long period of time. Notable recent buildings are Tower 42, the Lloyd's building, and 30 St Mary Axe, also known as "the Gherkin". London's generally low-rise nature makes these skyscrapers and others such as One Canada Square and its neighbours at Canary Wharf, and the BT Tower in Fitzrovia easily noticeable from a distance. High-rise development is restricted at certain sites if it would obstruct protected views of St. Paul's Cathedral. Nevertheless, there are plans for more skyscrapers in Central London), including the 72-storey Shard London Bridge, which will be one of the tallest buildings in Europe. Development temporarily stalled as a result of the recent financial crisis, but is reported to be recovering. Older buildings are mainly brick built, most commonly the yellow London stock brick or a warm orange-red variety, often decorated with carvings and white plaster mouldings. Many grand houses and public buildings, such as the National Gallery, are constructed from Portland stone. Some areas of the city, particularly those just west of the centre, are characterised by white stucco or whitewashed buildings. Few structures pre-date the Great Fire of 1666, except for a few trace Roman remains, the Tower of London and a few scattered Tudor survivors in the City. Wren's late 17th century churches and the financial institutions of the 18th and 19th centuries such as the Royal Exchange and the Bank of England, to the early 20th century Old Bailey and the 1960s Barbican Estate form part of the varied architectural heritage. The disused, but soon to be rejuvenated, 1939 Battersea Power Station by the river in the southwest is a local landmark, while some railway termini are excellent examples of Victorian architecture, most notably St. Pancras and Paddington. The density of London varies, with high employment density in the central area, high residential densities in inner London and lower densities in the suburbs.

3.FOOD
British food has traditionally been based on beef, lamb, pork, chicken and fish and generally served with potatoes and one other vegetable. The most common and typical foods eaten in Britain include the sandwich, fish and chips, pies like the cornish pasty, trifle and roasts dinners. Some of our main dishes have strange names like Bubble &

Squeak and Toad-in-the-Hole.The staple foods of Britain are meat, fish, potatoes, flour, butter and eggs. Many of our dishes are based on these foods.

3.ECONOMY
London is one of the pre-eminent financial centres of the world and vies with New York City as the most important location for international finance.
London's largest industry is finance, and its financial exports make it a large contributor to the UK's balance of payments. Around 325,000 people were employed in financial services in London until mid-2007. London has over 480 overseas banks, more than any other city in the world. Due to its prominent global role, London's economy has been affected by the City of london.

More than half of the UK's top 100 listed companies (the FTSE 100) and over 100 of Europe's 500 largest companies are headquartered in Central London. Over 70% of the FTSE 100 are located within London's metropolitan area, and 75% of Fortune 500 companies have offices in London. The City of London is home to the Bank of England, London Stock Exchange, and Lloyds of London insurance market. Along with professional services, media companies are concentrated in London and the media distribution industry is London's second most competitive sector.[162] The BBC is a significant employer, while other broadcasters also have headquarters around the City. Many national newspapers are edited in London. Tourism is one of London's prime industries and employs the equivalent of 350,000 fulltime workers in London in 2003, while annual expenditure by tourists is around 15 billion.[164] London attracts over 15 million international visitors per year, making it the world's most visited city. London attracts 27 million overnight-stay visitors every year. The Port of London is the second-largest in the United Kingdom, handling 53 million tonnes of cargo each year.

4.EDUCATION
London is a major centre of higher education teaching and research and its 43 universities form the largest concentration of higher education in Europe. In 2008/09 it had a higher education student population of around 412,000 (approximately 17% of the UK total), of whom around 287,000 were registered for undergraduate degrees and 118,000 were studying at postgraduate level In 2008/09 there were around 97,150 international students in London, approximately 25% of all international students in the UK.A number of world-leading education institutions are basedinLondon.Inthe201QSWorldUniversityRankings,UniversityCollegeLondon(UCL)isra

nked4th, Imperial College London 7th and King's College London 21st in the world.The London School of Economics has been described as the world's leading social science institution for both teaching and research. The London Business School is considered one of the world's leading business schools and in 2010 its MBA programme was ranked best in the world by the Financial Times. There are a number of universities in London which are outside of the University of London system, including Brunel University, City University London, Imperial College London, Kingston University, London Metropolitan University (with over 34,000 students, the largest unitary university in London), London South Bank University, Middlesex University, Thames Valley University, University of the Arts London (the largest university of art, design, fashion, communication and the performing arts in Europe), University of East London and University of Westminster. In addition there are three international universities in London - Regent's College, Richmond University and Schiller International University. The majority of primary and secondary schools in London are state schools and are controlled by the London Boroughs, although there are also a number of private schools in London, including old and famous schools such as the City of London School, Harrow, St Paul's School, University College School and Westminster School.

CONCLUSION
1.CULTURE
1.1Accent
The London accent long ago acquired the Cockney label, and was similar to many accents of the South East of England, of which Cockney rhyming slang is a part. The accent of a 21st century 'Londoner' varies widely; what is becoming more and more common amongst the under 30s however is some fusion of Cockney, Received Pronunciation, and a whole array of 'ethnic' accents, in particular Caribbean, which form an accent labelled Multicultural London English (MLE).

1.2Leisure and entertainment

Within the City of Westminster, the entertainment district of the West End has its focus around Leicester Square, where London and world film premieres are held, and Piccadilly Circus, with its giant electronic advertisements .London's theatre district is

here, as are many cinemas, bars, clubs and restaurants, including the city's Chinatown district (in Soho), and just to the east is Covent Garden, an area housing speciality shops. The United Kingdom's Royal Ballet, English National Ballet, Royal Opera and English National Opera are based in London and perform at the Royal Opera House, the London Coliseum, Sadler's Wells Theatre and the Royal Albert Hall as well as touring the country. Islington's 1 mile (1.6 km) long Upper Street, extending northwards from the Angel, has more bars and restaurants than any other street in the UK. Europe's busiest shopping area is Oxford Street, a shopping street nearly 1 mile (1.6 km) longwhich makes it the longest shopping street in the UK and home to many shops and department stores including Selfridges. Knightsbridgehome to the Harrods department storelies just to the southwest. London is home to designers Vivienne Westwood, Galliano, Stella McCartney, Manolo Blahnik, and Jimmy Choo among others; its renowned art and fashion schools make it an international centre of fashion alongside Paris, Milan and New York. London offers a great variety of cuisine as a result of its ethnically diverse population. Gastronomic centres include the Bangladeshi restaurants of Brick Lane and the Chinese food restaurants of Chinatown. There are a variety of regular annual events in the city. The beginning of the year is celebrated with the relatively new New Year's Day Parade, fireworks display at the London Eye, and the world's second largest street party, the Notting Hill Carnival is held during the late August Bank holiday each year. Traditional parades include November's Lord Mayor's Show, a centuries-old event celebrating the annual appointment of a new Lord Mayor of the City of London with a procession along the streets of the City, and June's Trooping the Colour, a formal military pageant performed by regiments of the Commonwealth and British armies to celebrate the Queen's Official Birthday.

1.3Literature, film and television

London has been the setting for many works of literature. The literary centres of London have traditionally been hilly Hampstead and (since the early 20th century) Bloomsbury. Writers closely associated with the city are the diarist Samuel Pepys, noted for his eyewitness account of the Great Fire, Charles Dickens, whose representation of a foggy, snowy, grimy London of street sweepers and pickpockets has been a major influence on people's vision of early Victorian London, and Virginia Woolf, regarded as one of the foremost modernist literary figures of the 20th century. William Shakespeare spent a large part of his life living and working in London; his contemporary Ben Jonson was also based there, and some of his workmost notably his play The Alchemistwas set in the city. A Journal of the Plague Year (1722) by Daniel Defoe is a fictionalisation of the events of the 1665 Great Plague. Later important depictions of London from the 19th and early 20th centuries are Dickens' novels, and Arthur Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes stories. Modern writers pervasively influenced by

the city include Peter Ackroyd, author of a "biography" of London, and Iain Sinclair, who writes in the genre of psychogeography.

1.4Museums and art galleries

London is home to many museums, galleries, and other institutions, many of which are free of admission charges and are major tourist attractions as well as playing a research role. The first of these to be established was the British Museum in Bloomsbury, in 1753. Originally containing antiquities, natural history specimens and the national library, the museum now has 7 million artifacts from around the globe. In 1824 the National Gallery was founded to house the British national collection of Western paintings; this now occupies a prominent position in Trafalgar Square. In the latter half of the nineteenth century the locale of South Kensington was developed as "Albertopolis", a cultural and scientific quarter. Three major national museums are located there: the Victoria and Albert Museum (for the applied arts), the Natural History Museum and the Science Museum. The national gallery of British art is at Tate Britain, originally established as an annexe of the National Gallery in 1897. The Tate Gallery, as it was formerly known, also became a major centre for modern art; in 2000 this collection moved to Tate Modern, a new gallery housed in the former Bankside Power Station.

1.5Music
major music corporations, such as EMI, as well as countless bands, musicians and industry professionals. The city is also home to many orchestras and concert halls, such as the Barbican Arts Centre (principal base of the London Symphony Orchestra), Cadogan Hall (Royal Philharmonic Orchestra) and the Royal Albert Hall (BBC Promenade Concerts). London's two main opera houses are the Royal Opera House and the Coliseum Theatre. London is one of the major classical and popular music capitals of the world and is home to The UK's largest pipe organ can be found at the Royal Albert Hall. Other significant instruments are found at the cathedrals and major churches. Several conservatoires are located within the city: Royal Academy of Music, Royal College of Music, Guildhall School of Music and Drama and Trinity College of Music.

London has numerous venues for rock and pop concerts, including large arenas such as Earls Court, Wembley Arena and the O2 Arena, as well as many mid-sized venues, such as Brixton Academy, Hammersmith Apollo and the Shepherd's Bush Empire.[210] Several music festivals, including the O2 Wireless Festival, are held in London. The city is home to the first and original Hard Rock Cafe and the Abbey Road Studios where The Beatles recorded many of their hits. In the 1970s and 1980s, musicians and groups like David Bowie, Elvis Costello, Cat Stevens, Ian Dury and the Blockheads, The Kinks, The Rolling Stones, The Who, Madness, The Jam, The Small Faces, Led Zeppelin, Iron Maiden, Fleetwood Mac, The Police, The Cure, Squeeze and Sade, took the world by storm, deriving their sound from the streets and rhythms vibrating through London. London was instrumental in the development of punk music, with figures such as the Sex Pistols, The Clash, and Vivienne Westwood all based in the city. More recent artists

to emerge from the London music scene include Bananarama, Bush, East 17, Siouxie and the Banshees, the Spice Girls, Jamiroquai, The Libertines, Babyshambles, Bloc Party, Coldplay and Amy Winehouse. London is also a centre for urban music. In particular the genres UK garage, drum and bass, dubstep and grime evolved in the city from the foreign genres of hip hop and reggae, alongside local drum and bass. Black music station BBC 1Xtra was set up to support the rise of homegrown urban music both in London and the rest of the UK. In the 1980s London was the main city in the new wave of British heavy metal era which made bands like Iron Maiden and Motrhead famous all around the world

2.RELIGON IN LONDON
London has centres of worship for a multitude of faiths. According to the 2001 Census, the largest religious groupings are Christians (58.2 per cent), followed by those of no religion (15.8 per cent), no response (8.7 per cent), Muslims (8.5 per cent), Hindus (4.1 per cent), Jews (2.1 per cent), Sikhs (1.5 per cent), Buddhists (0.8 per cent) and other (0.5 per cent). London has traditionally been Christian, and has a large number of churches, particularly in the City of London. The well-known St Paul's Cathedral in the City and Southwark Cathedral south of the river are Anglican administrative centres, while the Archbishop of Canterbury, principal bishop of the Church of England and worldwide Anglican Communion, has his main residence at Lambeth Palace in the London Borough of Lambeth. London is also home to sizeable Muslim, Hindu, Sikh, and Jewish communities. Many Muslims live in Tower Hamlets and Newham; the most important Muslim edifice is London Central Mosque on the edge of Regent's Park. Following the oil boom, increasing numbers of wealthy Middle-Eastern Muslims have based themselves around Mayfair and Knightsbridge in west London. London is home to the largest mosque in western Europe, the Baitul Futuh Mosque, of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community.

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http://www.demographia.com/dm-lonarea.htm, retrieved 2009-04-01 5. ^ a b "Resident Population Estimates by Ethnic Group (Percentages)". Neighbourhood Statistics. Office for National Statistics. http://www.neighbourhood.statistics.gov.uk/diss emination/LeadTableView.do?a=7&b=276743&c= london&d=13&e=13&g=325264&i=1001x1003x1004 &m=0&r=1&s=1280577856710&enc=1&dsFamilyId =1812. Retrieved 31 July 2010. 6. ^ Roman, The Museum of London, http://www.museumoflondon.org.uk/English/Ev entsExhibitions/Permanent/RomanLondon.htm, retrieved 2008-06-07 7. ^ Roman, The Museum of London, http://www.museumoflondon.org.uk/English/Ev entsExhibitions/Permanent/RomanLondon.htm, retrieved 2008-06-07