London, the capital of England in the UK, has a massive selection of world class visitor attractions many of which are the most popular in Britain. For generations London has been a popular vacation destination and much of this interest is due to the immensity of the historical buildings and the unique culture. While many of the visitor attractions found in London have a historic interest, such as the Houses of Parliament, The Tower of London and Buckingham Palace, there are many that are only recent additions, such as the London Aquarium, and the youngest of these is the London Eye.
Many still refer to the London Eye as the Millennium Wheel, the reason being that it was built to commemorate then end of the old millenium and celebrate the new. It was officially opened by the British Prime Minister, Tony Blair, in the evening of December 31 but, sadly, there were technical issues and it was not opened to the public until March 2000. Standing 135m above London it has become an unmistakable, and highly visible, landmark.
In 1895, in Earl's Court, was the Great Wheel of London, a giant Ferris Wheel which could carry around 1,600 people at a time. Unfortunately it was demolished in 1907 but today London has a replacement in the London Eye. Although it is not the largest Ferris wheel in the world it can legitimately claim to be the worlds largest cantilever observation tower!
Although the London Eye cannot carry as many people as the Great Wheel of London could it can manage to carry 25 people in each of its 32 capsules. In contrast to a Ferris wheel it is possible to get up and walk around in a pod but you may find that you want to sit down as it takes about half an hour for it to complete a full revolution.
Around 3.5 million people take a flight on the London Eye each year making it the most popular paid visitor attraction in London and the UK. Most people take a flight on the London Eye just to take in the most fantastic views of London. At the very top you are able to see for about 4 miles which takes in some of the best London landmarks which include St Paul's and Westminster Abbey. One of the best views is of the Houses of Parliament which are so close that it would appear that they are just below.
The London Eye has been the scene of many a marriage proposal and a number of weddings, which can be booked as a package. When booking a flight it is also possible to book other things such as educational trips for small groups of students of all ages.
If you are planning a vacation to London or just a weekend break it is well worth taking the opportunity to take a ride on this incredible visitor attraction. If your time in London is limited it is a real time saver as you are able to take in nearly all of the most important London landmarks during the 30 minute trip which is impossible to do any other way (excluding a helicopter or balloon ride).
If you are looking for accommodation in London you may appreciate the listings of hotels near the London Eye or the cheap London hotels listed on http://www.londonhotelhelper.com/
No Comments »
England is wonderful and exciting country to visit for a vacation. It has a great many tourist attraction|places of interest well worth a visit perfectly suited for all tastes. For instance|One such place is the historical city of York which dates back to Roman times, Liverpool (2008’s European City of Culture), and Torquay (referred to as the English Riviera). One of the most interesting, and famous, places to visit is London, the capital city of England
London is an astounding place to visit, maybe for just a weekend or, possibly for a full vacation. You may be surprised at how many people who live in the United Kingdom of Britain who have failed to visit London, even more surprising when you consider the fact it is usually top of the majority of visitors lists (of the most enjoyable places they went to).
There are a multitude of things to do and see in London that it is quite impossible to list them all all in one go. Surprisingly one of the newest attractions in London also happens to be one of the most popular – The London Eye. Another popular attraction nearby to the London Eye is the Houses of Parliament and Big Ben. However, one place which must not be missed is Buckingham Palace.
Buckingham Palace is England’s most well known Royal residence, as it is home to the Queen of England. The Palace is is situated in the heart of London which makes it a natural focus for tourists. The daily pageant of ‘Changing of the Guard’ is interesting to watch and amazingly English.
Buckingham Palace was originally referred to as Buckingham House. It was originally a large town house, built in 1703 for the Duke of Buckingham. It is actually the town house that forms the main core of the palace as we are familiar with today.
Over the following 75 years Buckingham House was made larger by the construction of 3 wings forming a central courtyard. The primary architects responsible for these constructions were Edward Blore and John Nash. John Nash was also responsible for the interior design of the monumental staterooms.
The widely known architect Aston Webb was responsible for the building of the principal facade of Buckingham Palace which, in 1912, he re-designed. Webb in association with Sir Thomas Brock, the sculptor, were the winners of a competition to design a memorial to Queen Victoria. This memorial still exists today.
The Queen has a number of royal residences other than Buckingham Palace. Every year the Queen stays, at Sandringham House in Norfolk, during the Christmas period. Sandringham House is one of the Queen’s private royal residences.
Another private residence is Balmoral Castle, situated in Aberdeenshire, Scotland. The Queen was in Balmoral Castle when she was informed about the heartbreaking accident involving Diana (the ex-wife of Prince Charles).
If you would like to take a break in England then you might be pleased to discover that it is possible to find cheap hotels in London without any great difficulty, on the other hand you may wish to stay in more luxurious surroundings and the small number of boutique hotels in London should more than satisfy.
No Comments »
It is becoming increasingly common to see that many of the new, smaller, hotels are describing themselves as a “Boutique Hotel”. All across the world, in such places as the city of London in the UK, there appears to be an increase in the number of hotels describing themselves as a “Boutique Hotel” but what makes a boutique hotel and where did they originate from? Below you will find the answers.
Boutique hotels are usually small hotels run by a family, couple or small enterprise. However, there has been a recent trend for some of the larger hotel chains to build hotels to meet the specific demand for these hotels so this distinction may not hold true for much longer! One thing that has to be true is that they are unique in style and decoration and often based upon a theme. Such themes can range from a hotel decorated and furnished in the 17th Century style to one which is focused on chocolate for avid chocoholics. Sometimes a boutique hotel may feature rooms which have different themes to each other with no overall theme but this is rare.
Where Was The First Boutique Hotel?
Boutique hotels first appeared in the late 1980s in New York USA. Although some hotels claim to have been boutique hotels as far back as 1981 in places such as London UK and San Francisco the first hotel to be described as such was the ‘Morgans’ hotel, New York, in 1984. These earlier claimants were, therefore, subsequently described as such and can not, realistically, claim to be the first.
‘Morgans’ hotel was owned by Steven Rubell and Ian Schrager who had commissioned the Parisian designer Andrée Putman to create a unique, highly stylized, hotel in New York. Putman created the hotel in what has become known as an “America meets Europe” fashion. When promoting his Morgans Hotel large hotel chains wanted to make his hotel stand out from, what he thought were, the mundane hotels owned by the large hotel chains. He described other hotels as “department store” hotels and his own as a “boutique hotel” to show the distinctive difference – thus the phrase entered the English language for the first time.
Interesting Boutique Hotels in the United Kingdom
42 The Calls (hotel) in Leeds claims to be one of the first to appear in the UK. The Calls was a hotel built in the carcass of an old corn mill and used that as the overall theme. The hotel is well known for featuring superb, and extremely comfortable, hand crafted beds in each room and, interestingly, it also has some of the old corn mills original machinery.
The Blake’s Hotel in South Kensington, London, is often quoted as being one of the first boutique hotels in the world but, although this appeared before Morgans in New York, for the reasons outlined above this claim is often dismissed. In recent decades there has been a sharp increase in the number of boutique hotels opening in various places within the United Kingdom of Great Britain with the largest number opening in London.
If you are planning a trip to, or a vacation in, London and you are considering booking a boutique hotel you may wish to check out the listings of boutique hotels in London at http://www.londonhotelhelper.com/
No Comments »
