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London

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London is the capital of Britain. It was founded in 55 BC by Romans. This city is Britain's political, economic and cultural centre. London has three big parts: the City, the West End and the East End. The City of London is a big business centre. After the Great Fire of 1666 the City was rebuilt, and since then the City has become a centre of commerce, finance, and trade.

The West End of London has many historic places and places of interest. The East End is the poorest district in London with piers, warehouses and slums.

Piccadilly Circus is the heart of London. On special occasions many people come to the statue of Eros in the centre of the Circus. St. Paul's Cathedral is Sir Christopher Wren's creation. It contains a lot of paintings, sculptures and other works of art.

The Houses of Parliament are the building in which Parliament sits. Big Ben, the famous clock, is situated there. Westminster Abbey is one of the most popular cathedrals. A lot of famous people are buried inside: Queen Elizabeth I, Isaac Newton, Charles Darwin, William Shakespeare, Charles Dickens and many others.

London has a number of royal palaces. Buckingham Palace is one of them. It has been the residence of British kings and queens for ages. When Queen Elizabeth is at home the flag is above the palace.

Trafalgar Square is famous for the tall monument in the centre of it. The monument, which is called Nelson's Column, was built to commemorate the Battle of Trafalgar and to honour Admiral Nelson. The National Gallery, which is situated near the square, contains the national collection of Western European painting.

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The British Museum is one of the biggest museums in the world. It was founded in 1753 by an act of Parliament. In 1857 the famous Reading Room was built in the museum. There are a lot of artifacts and pieces of art on display at the museum. There is a big сlock exhibition, the Egyptian Sculpture Gallery.

But still one of the most famous museums in London is Madam Tussaud's Museum, which has a great collection of wax figures. The museum consists of several galleries where visitors can see wax figures of presidents, pop-stars, football players, film stars, musicians and other outstanding people.

The Tower of London is the oldest building in the city built in the 11-th century. It used to be a prison, a fortress, a palace, a treasury and even a zoo. The oldest part of the Tower is the White Tower. Most of the public displays are in the White Tower nowadays. They include a big collection of armour, jewels and clothes.

Twelve black ravens live in the Tower of London. There is a legend that England will be prosperous till the ravens live behind the Tower walls. If one of the ravens dies, it is replaced by another.

One of the London sites is Tower Bridge. This is a bridge across the Thames built because of the need for an open waterway for large ships.

London is an educational centre, too. From all over the world students come to the University of London, the largest university in England.

London is also a cultural centre. There are more than forty theatres in the West End of London .

London is also a big shopping centre. It has many cheap and expensive shops of different kinds, so visitors can find anything in them. Harrods is one of the most famous and most expensive shops in the world. Famous people including the Royal Family buy things there.

London is really a great city. I would love to visit it one day.