The sights of London (part 2)

Hude park 

Hyde Park is a big park located in central London. Today it is a popular place for meetings, celebrations and festivals.

The park is known for its artificial lake Serpentine where it is allowed to swim. There is a gallery, a museum and several sculptures on the territory of Hyde Park.

During the Olympic Games 2012 Hyde Park was the place where some competitions were held.

St. Paul's Cathedral

St. Paul's Cathedral is located at the highest point of the City of London, Ludgate Hill. The Cathedral was seriously damaged during the Great Fire of London. It was redesigned by Christopher Wren, a famous architect.

There are  three Galleries and 17 bells in the Cathedral. The largest bell is called Great Paul. The funerals of a lot of notable figures have occured at the cathedral.

British Museum

The British Museum is one of the largest museums in the world. It was founded in the XVIII century and in the XIX century it was already divided into different departments.

The museum houses large collections of artefacts representing different cultures of the world, both ancient and modern.

So, there is the Department of coins and medals, the Department of prints and drawings, the Department of Ancient Egypt and Sudan and many others.

Westminster

Westminster is a historical area of central London with several famous landmarks.

Westminster Abbey, a Gothic church, is located there. The church is a traditional place of coronation and burial site for all British kings and queens.

Not far from the church there is the Palace of Westminster which is the meeting place of the House of Commons and the House of Lords.

Big Ben

Big Ben is the name of the Great bell of the clock at the Palace of Westminster. Nowadays this name mostly refers to the clock and the clock tower.

In 2012 the tower was renamed to celebrate the Diamond Jubilee of the Queen and is now officially known as the Elizabeth Tower.

The height of the tower is 96,3 metres. Big Ben is one of the most prominent symbols of the United Kingdom.