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Visit London, England, And Buckingham Palace

By RomanticHeart | September 21, 2008

England is wonderful and exciting nation in which to take a vacation. There are a large number of| tourist attraction|places of interest well worth visiting to suit all tastes. For instance|One such place is the ancient city of York which dates back to the times of the Roman Empire, Torquay (which is widely known as the English Riviera) and Liverpool (which won the title of European City of Culture in 2008). If visiting England you really must make an effort to visit London the capital city of Great Britain

London is an astounding location to visit, maybe for just a weekend or, hopefully for longer. You may be surprised at the number of folk who live in Great Britain who have failed to visit London, even more surprising when you ponder on the fact it is most often top of the vast majority of visitors lists (of the most enjoyable places they went to).

There is simply so much to see and do in London that it is not possible 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 Big Ben and the Houses of Parliament. However, one place which must not be missed is Buckingham Palace.

Buckingham Palace is England’s most well known Royal residence, being home to Queen Elizabeth. Buckingham Palace is is placed right in the very center of London which makes it the perfect focus for visitors. The daily pageant of ‘Changing of the Guard’ is incredibly interesting to see and quintessentially English.

Buckingham Palace was originally referred to as Buckingham House. It was originally a large town house, constructed in 1703 for the Duke of Buckingham. It is actually the town house that forms the main core of the palace as we know it today.

During the following 3 quarters of a century Buckingham House was enlarged by the building of 3 wings creating a central courtyard. The primary architects responsible for these additions were John Nash and Edward Blore. It was also John Nash who was responsible for the interior design of the monumental staterooms.

The well known architect Aston Webb was responsible for the construction of the principal facade of Buckingham Palace which he re-designed in 1912. Webb together with Sir Thomas Brock, the sculptor, were the winners of a competition to design a memorial to Queen Victoria. This memorial is still seen today.

The Queen has various other royal residences other than Buckingham Palace. Annually the Queen stays, at Sandringham House in Norfolk, over the Christmas season. Sandringham House is actually privately owned by the Queen (classed as a private royal residence.

A further private residence is Balmoral Castle, in Aberdeenshire in Scotland. Queen Elizabeth was at Balmoral Castle when she was told of the shocking accident involving Diana, Princess of Wales.

If you would like to take a break in the United Kingdom you may be surprised to be informed that it is possible to find cheap hotels in London without any great effort, on the other hand you may wish to reside in more luxurious accommodation and the fine selection of boutique hotels in London should be more than satisfactory.