Hyde Park, Top Tourist Attraction in London

Air View of Hyde Park

Hyde Park was opened to the public in 1637 and still one of the largest parks in London as well as one from the eight Royal Parks of the city that make up the “Green Lung” system in the center of the city. No doubt it is one of the most charming tourism objects in London city which attracts millions of local and international tourists.

A Concert at Hyde Park

The Hyde Park London is situated on the area of 142 hectares (360 acres) and provides many holidays’ activities to its visitors such as jogging, swimming, rowing, family picnicking, and horse riding. It also hosts several large events, celebrations and concerts.

According to history, the area of Hyde Park London was snatched by King Henry VIII in 1536 from a monk named Westminster Abbey. Its primarily used was hunting. Later on in 1638 the King Charles I opened it for public. The hunting area is so wide that extends from Westminster to Kensington. The park faced many modifications with the passage of time. The current position of the Park has been designed by Decimus Burton in decade of 1820.

The Serpentine Lake

The Hyde Park in London has many sites to visit one of the top attractions is its large artificial lake called The Serpertine also known as Long Water. It is popular for boating and swimming. The lake is located at south end and stretches straight to north into the neighboring Kensington Gardens. The lake was constructed in 1730.

Another top attraction in Hyde Park is a modern fountain, installed in honor of famous princess Diana, located on just southwest of Serpentine and inaugurated by Queen Elizabeth II in 2004. It more resembles a stream rather than a fountain designed by American architect named Kathryn Gustafson.

The main entrance Gate of Hyde Park is located on southeast corner. It consists of three entrances. These entrances are very wide as to let a horse drawn passing the gate easily. There are two more entrances for pedestrians.
At the south end of Hyde Park is a famous 6.4 kilometers long bridle path known as Rotten Row. In the past, during 17th century the road was often used by William III.  Along the route the oil lamps were installed to let the route lit. The road is now used for jogging and horse riding.

The Marble Arch

In the other attractions there is speakers corner where every Sunday people stand and can free announce their views on every topic such as political and religious. While near this corner and in the north east corner of Hyde Park you can see the Marble Arch. It was built in 1872 as a gateway to Buckingham Palace. It was designed by John Nash from Rome.
There are plenty of statues in the Hyde Park such as Still Water, and Genghis Khan statues that were installed in 2012, and the Archilles Statue which is the largest statue in the Hyde Park erected in 1822. 

Tower Bridge One of The Iconic Symbols of London & UK

One of the most impressive structures and sites in London, Tower Bridge is located over River Thames. One of the most recognizable landmarks in the world and one of the most visited tourist attractions in UK.

Tower Bridge London, UK

During industrial revolution time the capital (London) became more populated and flourished especially the east side industrial area of the city where the Thames was flowing. It was badly needed bridge over River in that area. Before Tower Bridge construction started it took eight years in lots of discussions about its design.

A Night View of Tower Bridge London, UK 

Actually the discussion on a bridge begins in 1876, when a committee was sit to start making plans for Tower Bridge, after a lot of discussions over more than 50 designs the committee finally agree over a design. Designed was created by famous local architect Horace Jones with his teammate John Wolfe Barry’s collaboration. The construction took 11,000 tons of steel to build the framework with help of 450 labors. 

Tower Bridge London, UK

Tower Bridge London, UK

The bridge was officially opened in 1894 after completing its construction. Though the Tower Bridge was a bit of an engineering marvel at the time but locals disliked its old Victorian Gothic design, but it prove that they were wrong, it became one of the London’s symbols over the time.

  Tower Bridge London Wallpaper

  Tower Bridge UK Wallpaper

The special design of the bridge allows the passage of large ships along with small because it was needed in that area. The move-able bridge was created which can be opened to give passage heavy traffic in River. The hidden mechanism in two towers opens the Tower Bridge and was powered by stream. Although in 1976, the steam pumps were replaced by an electric system. Both decks of Tower Bridge are 30 meters wide and can be opened to an 83 degrees angle. In past they were opened it almost 20000 times per year but now a days it is raised about 1000 times per year.

 Tower Bridge London Wallpaper

Taking a walk in between two towers over Tower Bridge in London can be wonderful experience. A view from top is incredible. Tourists can take pictures through the glassy windows. The 11 meter long glass floors were installed 40 meters above the river.  Taking pictures of Tower Bridge is one of favorite tourist activity. The enclosed area lined with pictures and information for visitors about its history.

 Tower Bridge London Wallpaper

 Tower Bridge London Uk Wallpaper

 Tower Bridge Wallpaper

Tickets for Tower Bridge London Exhibit can be purchased online or from ticket office ranging from about 5 to 20 British Pounds, the children under age 5 are free. The opening timing of Tower Bridge is from 9:30 to 6:00 pm daily throughout the year.

 Tower Bridge Wallpaper

London Eye Millennium Wheel of London, Most Popular Tourist Attraction in UK

The London Eye offers a support to take a best view of the London City. This giant observation wheel is located on the Southern Bank of River Thames in the Jubilee Garden. It has become one of the very popular tourist attractions and most visited place in London. London Eye is also known as Millennium Wheel. It is actually a huge Ferris wheel. To celebrate the New Millennium on 31 December, 1999, the Prime Minister Tony Blair officially opened in a ceremony. The large wheel receives about 3 million local and international visitors per year, these figure shows how quickly Eye Millennium Wheel became a popular tourist attraction. It is currently the tallest Ferris wheel in Europe.

Capsules of Millennium Wheel

The construction of the London Eye Millennium Wheel took one and a half year to complete. The builders used 3000 tones of concrete for the foundations and 1700 tones of steel for the structure. 32 number of futuristic style capsules are on London Eye Millennium Wheel. The single can accommodate around 26 passengers. All capsules were designed and supplied by a French company. People can easily walk inside them. These air conditioned capsules are eight meters long with 500 KG weighs and connected with 82 feet long spindle made in Czech Republic. The rim of the wheel has 400 feet diameter.

 Millennium Wheel 

 Millennium Wheel 

The London Eye is become a symbol of Londoncity. It turns slow enough for people to enjoy an expansive view of the city through glass capsules on the outer side of the rim during climbing on wheel. It takes half an hour for one full rotation. Tickets for London Eye are available at tickets box office on very cheap rates near the Millennium Wheel. But now most tourists can book them online in advance to save your time and protect yourself standing in long lines in front of ticket box. The beauty of Londonis easily accessible for the public.

Millennium Wheel 

The London Eye Millennium Eye has become the hottest tourist attraction not only for foreigners but also for the locals. The wheel has gained the worldwide popularity and become one of the most visited destinations in the world. An idea of visiting at night can be more memorable when views become more spectaculars. The government must be appreciated for this idea of entertainment giving to the tourists. The Wheel remained tallest Ferry Wheel from 1999 to until 2006 when the 525 feet Star of Nanchang (China) surpassed it.

Night View of London Eye

Night View of Millennium Wheel

Big Ben, One Of The Iconic Symbol Of London, UK

Big Ben is actually the nickname used for the Great Bell of the clock located on a tower and this clock tower is located at the north end of the building (Palace of Westminster) in London on the bank of River Thomas.   

The original name of the Big Ben Clock Tower is Saint Stephen’s Tower, while often used name Big Ben Clock is a wrong one. Although the entire structure of tower is known by people as Bing Ben in London, or Big Ben of London. In tribute to Queen Elizabeth II on her Diamond Jubilee the Tower name was changed to Elizabeth Tower in 2012. Since then, it is the official name of the tower.  This Elizabeth Tower is the third tallest free standing clock tower in the world while it has the largest four-sided chiming clock.

The Big Ben Tower is 315 feet (96.0 m) tall. The Big Ben is located on the banks of River Thames. It has four clocks and the outer faces of the clocks are 23 square feet in size. When it was completed the clock was biggest of its kind. The structure of the tower was completed between 1843 and 1858. It was built for the building named Palace of Westminster recently known as the Houses of Parliament.

Huge Clock in Big Ben, London

The Houses of Parliament and Elizabeth Tower are among London’s most iconic landmarks of UK. This big clock has big hands too; the hour hands are 09 feet long, while the minute hands are 14 feet long. Pieces of the clock face can be removed easily due to its special design, to allow the cleaning and maintenance.  There are 312 pieces of glass used in each dial. Big Ben Tower’s clock is remarkably durable and rarely stopped, as the clock continued to chime and was running accurately even in WWII when the Parliament was nearly destroyed with bombing.  

The Great Bell in the bell house within the Big Ben Tower in London is the largest bell in the tower and a part of the Great Clock of Westminster. This massive bell weighs almost 14 tons. The hour bell was probably takes its name from the man who the first commissioner of works, Benjamin Hall. The Big Ben first time rang across Palace of Westminster on 31 May 1859. The overseas tourists are not allowed to visit the tower. However the UK residences can tour the Tower, there is no lift facility so people can only climb via stairs to reach top.

A Night view of Big Ben and the House of Parliament