You can hear the bells ringing from as far away as five miles! The Best Outdoor Bars in London, Fantastic Things to do London in July 2023. It obviously sometimes rains (its still Englandafter all), and is often just cloudy,but nowhere near as much precipitation falls as you might think. Thats 19 million to the resident population of 8.97 million. London Is The Smallest City In England Yes, you heard that right. Little Known Facts About London - Factinate Enforced nightly blackouts across the city were common to prevent attacks, and many hid in the London Underground to keep themselves and their families safe during these scary times. This site uses cookies, to learn more about what cookies are and how we use your data please read our Privacy Policy. Only 6 people died in the Great Fire of London For something that is called the "Great" Fire of London, and which went on for four days, ravishing four fifths of the city, I was surprised to discover that only six people died! Popular Interesting Facts About London - UniAcco He was caught before he managed to pull off his plan and executed. London is positively brimming with art and not all of it commissioned. In fact, London has its own official Forestry Conservator. However, for a long time, electricity and electric lighting was only reserved for the more upmarket areas of the city, while the poor slums were often completely shrouded in darkness when night fell. 7 Formidable Facts About the Tower of London. Posted on Last updated: 18th March 2022 Categories London History. In recent years, another gruesome event took place in a train approaching Aldgate Station. Learning about London is not all just scary historical facts. London has six orchestras The Royal Philharmonic, The London Philharmonic, The BBC Symphony Orchestra, the Philharmonia, Orchestra of the Royal Opera House and the London Symphony Orchestra. What is London? 66) The grounds of Buckingham Palace span 39 acres and the Palace is bordered by beautiful public spaces Green Park and St James Park. Famous past inmates of the Tower of London include Anne Boleyn, Guy Fawkes, Walter Raleigh and even senior Nazi Rudolf Hess at the end of WWII. All rightly well known, but somewhere as big and as old as the British capital is always going to have a few hidden tricks up its sleeve too. 8) Harry Potter catches the train from Londons famous Kings Cross Station to Hogwarts. Though we suspect were not far off.). Never was this truer than in the 18th century when Londoners rioted about the Irish (1736), in defence of cheap booze (1743) and for political reform (1780). As there are numerous facts about London and an array of attractions, you must find out the quirky nature of the city to capture its spirit. There are over 1,000 corpses underneath the station rather horrid. London is the capital city of England and the United Kingdom. The boys strangely disappeared and were never seen again, and historians still hypothesise as to what happened to them. 80) The Beatles are the most famous band of all time, and in 1969 The Fab Four made an everyday zebra crossing in London a photo op hotspot that visitors flock to even today. The idea that a few decades of immigration has somehow changed the fabric of a truly British London is a fabrication and a pretty laughable one. In the stories written by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Sherlock lived on Baker Street, and even today visitors alight the Tube at Baker Street and head for a photo op at 221b Baker Street. The Museum of London has launched a research project known as Guardians of Sleep to compile the dreams of Londoners. What are you waiting for? 59) The Tower was a notorious prison during the 16th and 17th centuries during the Tudor period of Henry VIII. London Is the Only City that has Hosted the Olympic City Three Times In 1908, 1948 and 2012 respectively. The most widely known is the story of The Princes in the Tower, two brothers who were rightful heirs to the British throne who were imprisoned in the Tower in 1483. Fact 4: Covent Garden is a spelling mistake! 63) The Tower of London is still officially listed as a royal residence. It was one of several exotic animals Henry III kept at the, and allowed out to play. One of our most disturbing facts about London is about Aldgate Station near the Tower Bridge. London has so many trees that it falls within the UN definition of a forest. In total, Victoria reigned for an incredible 63 years and lived the longest of any of her predecessors. There arent enough seats for all MPs, so over 200 have to stand if they dont get there early enough to grab a seat. London is the seat of central government in Britain. The 300 plots, which date from the 1880s, include one (the graveyard's very first in fact) with the simplebut movingheadstone inscription "Poor Cherry. Like in 1091, when a Force 4 tornado (the winds of which can reach 260 mph) whisked its way down the Thames, destroying London Bridge and 600 houses. It was the market garden of Westminster Abbey Monastery & Convent. If you see the Union Jack it means the Queen isnt at home. The actual address is now the awesome Sherlock Holmes Museum. Well, at some point in history someone thought that the answer to that question was a polar bear. Well thats because it was designed originally as the entrance to Buckingham Palace. These days it can feel like the citys anger pulses underneath a veneer of British politeness but Londoners never used to shy away from a riot or two. Adult tickets start at 24.70. 58) The famous Crown Jewels are housed at the Tower, and visitors can view them during a visit to the Tower of London. Shakespeare, as you might have heard, was one of the best playwrights of all time, filling London's theaters in a literary golden age. Usually you can catch a rotation of tourists on either side, waiting for the coast to be clear to strut across for the camera. 6) London is well known for its cloudy and rainy weather. At its widest the United Kingdom is 300 miles (500 km) across. London is one of the most culturally diverse cities in the world Londoners have a reputation for being pretty blunt in the past that extended to the naming of roads as much as anything else. It finally ended when laws were passed to restrict the distilling and selling of gin. Scientists are still looking into what caused this particular fog, but generally agree that a rare cold weather system created the thick layer of smog that hit the city for five deadly days in 1952. 27) Real estate or general space in London is crazy expensive. It all started when a vat of beer in the Meaux & Company Brewery exploded, unleashing a huge tsunami of beer that swept down from Tottenham Court Road to the surrounding streets. Black cab drivers are worth their weight in gold. You can still visit and see world class Shakespeare productions at. Its chime is in the key of E. Getty Images Big Ben is inside 29. Theyll navigate you home after a steaming night out on the town in the blink of an eye and without relying on unpredictable sat nav systems. Rather than it being down to Jedi levels of innate London intuition, its because they have to pass a ridiculously hard test called The Knowledge to get their licence. 2. Its notoriously bright and warm if you work or are staying in the offices or hotel inside it though. Fact 48: The only true home shared by all four Beatles was a flat at 57 Green Street near Hyde Park, where they lived in the autumn of 1963. They even had a Zoo on the Towers 12 acre grounds in the 13th century, which had a range of strange and exotic animals such as polar bears, elephants and even kangaroos! We hope this blog post has made you laugh and see London in a new light! Most people also know that they're only ever going to get a glimpse of it thanks to theuniformed folk holding large weapons who stand between them and the famous door. London is actually bigger than many other capital cities you know of. This was so the Governor of the Bank of England could call an emergency meeting and have everyone in attendance within half an hour. Londons Bedlam Asylum used to be one of the citys most visited attractions. 1h 40 Minutes Read Updated: February 17, 2023 In 2018, The Fact Site celebrated its 10th birthday by publishing this list of 1,000 interesting facts. We round up the list of must-not-miss venues for Van Gogh fans, home to the most iconic paintings by the Dutch visionary. Fact 40: The gravestone of famous Elizabethan actor Richard Burbage in the graveyard of St Leonards Shoreditch, reads simply Exit Burbage. Click to Tweet 7) The best way to get around London is by their amazing underground rail system. Around 99% of Londoners are annoyed by it everyday. No royal born queens are in sight for a while! To be fair, all the others are small tributaries, long since built over and now mostly hidden deep below street level. Presumably buoyed by the whole independence thing, George Washington once proclaimed he would never set foot on British soil again. History of London - Wikipedia 75) If visiting Buckingham Palace as a guest is a dream of yours, the best way is to wrangle a ticket to one of their three summer garden parties held each year. Obviously. In 1878, London University was the first in Britain to allow women to study and grant degrees to them. 1,000 rooms, 100 staircases, 11 courtyards, a hair salon, and a rifle-shooting range. It was 308 feet tall and even then, an incredible 2.5 million people took a ride on it. Butterflies cannot fly if their body temperature is less than 86 degrees. Let us assure you, we are not. Much like New York City, much of the cost of living in London is simply for the experience of living in such a fantastic, vibrant city. What you think of London is actually just a small urban area part of the Greater London region. Snap your photo and tell your friends you received VIP treatment on your trip to London. Before Waterloo, it was Oxford Circus, before that it was Victoria and before that, Kings Cross. After Guy Fawkes was discovered attempting to blow up the Houses of Parliament, he was tortured before being hung, drawn and quartered. It is situated on the River Thames in the south east of the island of Great Britain. It was constructed in 1703 but it has been the official royal residence since 1837. In fact, London has its own official Forestry Conservator. So green in fact is London (nearly 50% green to be exact when all the woods, gardens and parks are taken into account) that in 2019 it was declared a, One of Londons quirkier attractions is the zebra crossing on. Id love for you to take a look at a few more, and feel free to reach out with any questions youve got! We know, it really would have been fun to turn up in the public galleries in your ancestral suit but its just not worth the punishment. 44) During the Second World War, Big Ben was a symbol of resistance against the Germans. So when in 1921 the Commonwealth of Virginia gifted the UK a statue of the great man, they included some good old American soil to go beneath his plinth, so as not to posthumously deny the USA's first president his wish. 34) The worlds most famous unsolved mystery took place right in the heart of London. This is also where you can visit Westminster Abbey. The Romans conquered Britain under the Emperor Claudius they established Londinium a trading settlement on the north bank of the Thames in AD43. The Great Fire lasted four days and destroyed a quarter of London's metropolis, including 13,000 tightly packed wooden houses, 87 churches, and the iconic landmark, St Paul's Cathedral. 36) Shakespeares Globe Theatre still in operation today opened in 1599 and hosted the playwright himself for over a decade. Dont worry if you forget: most Londoners are unaware of this fact too, and any cab driver will still know where you want to go. You can still find Cock Lane in Farringdon it was the only street in London licensed for prostitution and housed more than its fair share of brothels. 5) London is around 2000 years old and was founded by the Romans as part of the Roman Empire. History of London The early period Foundation and early settlement Londinium c. AD 200 Although excavations west of London have revealed the remains of circular huts dating from before 2000 bc, the history of the city begins effectively with the Romans. They called London Londinium. London has something for everyone, with rich history and culture, world-class architecture, and many fascinating galleries and museums. Here are 30 interesting facts about London that will amaze you! Things you never knew about London - Lonely Planet Around 300 languages are spoken across London, but over 98% of residents speak the official language of English. The answers pretty simple actually the Royal Standard (yellow with a red dragon on it) is flown over the palace when the Queen is in residence. Its actually home to over 23,000 jewels with an estimated value of 20 billion. Too easy! From the northern tip of Scotland to the southern coast of England, it is about 600 miles (1,000 km). It was a far cry from the city that we find today but there have been settlements and villages in the area of London since the New Stone Age. Foodies, history and street-art lovers will find plenty to distract them in this post-industrial Midlands metropolis. He can be found standing on his own two feet in Trafalgar Square. 35) The term London Fog refers to the constant pea soup fog that clouded London in the 1800s and early 1900s. If you visit London, you can tell if Queen Elizabeth is home by checking whether her royal flag is flying on the flagpole or not. Another artist called Tim Fishlock has done something similar only he went for ears. For something equally incongruous but less lethal, check out the present-day pelicans at, That is to say, Big Ben is the name of the largest bell in the clock tower, not the name of the clock tower itself. The end of any year always makes us nostalgic, but this one also marks the end of a decade (can you believe it?)! You can still visit and see world class Shakespeare productions at Londons more modern Globe. The Fake Houses of Leinster Gardens might look like normal houses you need to walk around to the back of them to reveal the truth that theyre completely fake. One day Williams first born son, Prince George, will reign. Receive the latest updates direct to your inbox, for the freshest information. Less than a century earlier (animal lovers, look away now) it was possible to gain entry to the Tower of London and see its collection of exotic beasts by handing over a live cat or dog to be fed to the lions. Looking for the bestfacts about London!? The movie V for Vendetta pays homage to Guy Fawkes. 21 Interesting Facts About London - London City Calling He put his foot down, sped the bus up and got it to clear a 10ft gap before landing on the other side. London has a comprehensive bus system covering pretty much every part of the capital its also the basis for one of the more astonishing facts about London. Large-scale immigration in London started with the Huguenots in the 17th century, and has been followed by waves of Irish, African, Chinese and people from many more countries over the centuries. Interesting facts about London. Updated: February 17, 2023 In 2018, The Fact Site celebrated its 10th birthday by publishing this list of 1,000 interesting facts. Of course, the whole procedure is surrounded by pomp and circumstance because Londoners love a good show almost as much as they love a good drink. 55 Cool and Interesting Facts About London - The Discoveries Of London has always taken a relatively progressive position on things including allowing women to use their brains. No part of this site may be reproduced without our written permission. From films to TV, books to songs, London is constantly used as a stunning setting and a source of inspiration. Fact 43: 3.5 million passenger journeys are made every day on Londons Tube and there were more than 1 billion journeys in total in 2010. London has a long and interesting history so perhaps its no surprise that it has given rise to a number of weird and wonderful tales over the years. 43) After 34 years of construction, Big Ben was unveiled in 1858. The symbol for this is . 56) There was an original London Eye! 77) Londons famous streets have been immortalised on the original Monopoly board game. In 1016 the entire country fell under the control of King Cnut, who, though a warrior king from Denmark, wasnt technically a Viking, though Vikings did answer to him (its complicated). 1000 Random & Interesting Facts About Literally Everything - The Fact Site So, most visitors to St. Bartholomew The Great still have little idea why it's gained the nickname the 'weeping church'. in St Johns Wood, on which the Beatles shot the cover for their album of the same name. The English actor is urging support for a fundraising campaign to transform the house and turn it into a literary center. Elephants have the longest pregnancy in the animal kingdom at 22 months. Dont believe me? London is actually Britains driest city and receives less annual rainfall (23 inches) than New York (47 inches), Rome (32 inches) and Sydney (39 inches). Each year, the buses on Londons transport system drive over 300 million miles, which when you tot it up is more than 12x the earths circumference. 10 Interesting Fun Facts about London | MEININGER Hotels It was built to honour two builders who plunged to their deaths during an argument over a stolen sandwich however, its believed that the theft was, in fact, the work of a cheeky mouse in stealth mode. The world's most famous street artist has left a new artwork that very much sums up the year 2020 has been. 32) The Great Plague of 1665 killed tens of millions across Europe, but it was arguably London that was the worst hit city. The Tower of London has it owns secrets VDB Photos/Shutterstock. Dont worry they dont greet you to London like this anymore. So when in 1921 the Commonwealth of Virginia gifted the UK a statue of the great man, they included some good old American soil to go beneath his plinth, so as not to posthumously deny the USA's first president his wish. Over 100,000 people died in London as a result of the plague in that year alone. London is positively brimming with art and not all of it commissioned. Horrific tortures were carried out on medieval devices such as The Rack and manacles. All rights reserved. Over 300 languages are spoken in London First on our list of facts about London is the cultural diversity. Enjoy! London is actually Britains driest city and receives less annual rainfall (23 inches) than New York (47 inches), Rome (32 inches) and Sydney (39 inches). London is an historically and culturally diverse and rich city. How do you tell whether the Queen is in residence when you go and see Buckingham Palace? 50 Incredible and Unusual Facts about London. 76) The literary detective Sherlock Holmes was a famous London resident. Those Londoners know how to keep a tradition alive! Make sure this account has posts available on instagram.com. Cant think why. The Ceremony of the Constables Dues is when a navy boat has to pay a barrel of rum to the Constable at the Tower of London in order to enter the Port of London. Head out and explore, and you might discover one of the, Get more travel inspiration, tips and exclusive offers sent straight to your inbox with our, SecretLondon: 9 unusual sights hidden in the city, Londonwatchlist: films to see before your trip, Bookstores we've loved on our travels: Lonely Planet team's favorite places in the world to browse, Birminghams best neighborhoods for craft beer and colorful street art, 29 places to see Yayoi Kusamas art around the world, World famous artists create mini masterpieces for this tiny art gallery, Where to see Van Gogh paintings around the world, The art of Van Gogh and David Hockney comes together in Houston, Banksy's newest artwork perfectly captures the spirit of 2020, Ian McKellen and other celebrities campaign for Tolkiens home to become a creative center, Having weird quarantine dreams? And has been since 1313 when the Statute Forbidding Bearing of Armour was passed. Take Aldgate Underground Station as an example the station was built on what had previously been a mass grave for those who died from the plague. Okay, weve taken a bit of licence with that heading, but hear us out. Today the zoo is home to more than 20,000 animals! Required fields are marked *. He weighs a whopping 13.5 tons and chimes every fifteen minutes. and its satisfyingly spooky, though how much we have to thank Stephen King for that is unclear. 13) 30 millions tourists a year visit London, making it the most popular destination on the planet. and know of the notorious London gangsters The Kray Twins, it will interest you to know that they were the last official prisoners of the Tower. Children under 3 ride for free. 23) Its not a myth that the process to become a black cab driver in London is a monumental undertaking. Viking raiders repeatedly attacked London from the late 800s to the early 1000s, and on at least two occasions defeated the local defences and became an occupying force (once in 871 and again in 1013). A map of London, a copy of the Bible, some daily newspapers, a rupee, and 12 images of the most attractive English women at the time were among the items placed underneath during this time . In the year 2000 it housed the disappointment of a nation. London Facts 80 Cool, Fun & Interesting Facts About London, UK It was bought by Lake Havasu City, Arizona, to help tourism. Pinterest London. Back then, Charles was advised that if the ravens were removed, harm would befall Britain. 24) City dwelling foxes are everywhere in London. This rule was actually revoked in 1980 but until that date, all banks operating in the City had to be within a 10 minute stroll of the Bank of England. https://www.jonesaroundtheworld.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/London-Interesting-Facts-.jpg, https://www.jonesaroundtheworld.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/logotry-1-1-300x106.png, 80 Incredible, Fascinating & Fun Facts About London. Visit Bernard Blacks little book store in the heart of London. The final prisoner sentenced to death there was Josef Jakobs, a German spy. This basement is buried nearly 1,000 feet (300 metres) below London, sloping away southward to depths more than 3,300 feet (1,000 metres) below the English Channel. 58) The famous Crown Jewels are housed at the Tower, and visitors can view them during a visit to the Tower of London. With the terrifying nickname of The Knowledge, London can drivers are required to over 300 London routes, 25,000 streets, and 20,000 landmarks to even take the test. 19) Wimbledon is one of the worlds major tennis tournaments, and is held annually in the European summer. Since 9/11, theyve had intelligence officers in 13 overseas countries, including the U.K. 1000 Random & Interesting Facts About Literally Everything - The Fact Site
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