A rich, chequered history spanning decades, the home of cultural diversity and some of the best wine bars that you’ll ever visit all go into making the world renowned metropolis that is London, a city close to many people’s hearts. This city, known worldwide as the capital of England, has historic events stretching back over hundreds of years and there are all sorts of fascinating facts to accompany it. Here, we’ve picked out ten of the very best:
1. LANGUAGE: As a result of London’s cultural diversity, there are over 300 languages spoken. These include: Punjabi, Mandarin, Bengali, Cantonese, Polish as well, of course, English
2. THE TUBE: Don’t panic, but the Jubilee, Central, Northern and Victoria tube lines are all driven by computers. There is a ‘driver’ onboard, but his responsibilities only extend to opening and closing the doors and being on hand in case of an emergency.
3. PARLIAMENT: Most of us don’t get a choice about where or when we shuffle off the mortal coil, but just in case, it’s worth remembering that it’s actually illegal to die in the Houses of Parliament. You don’t need to worry too much though, it would prove exceptionally hard
4. BLACK CABS: Experience doesn’t count for much when it comes to being a London taxi driver. If you want to follow this hallowed career path, you must pass a test known as ‘The Knowledge’. It’s no mean feat however, since it involves memorising every single street, road and landmark in the capital. This is a huge amount of information to digest and it can take between 2-4 years to learn it all.
4. THE DOME: This structure is so vast that it’s the biggest of its kind in the world. It’s 365m in diameter, 52m high in the middle and as a symbol of days, weeks and months it also has 12 supporting poles. As a comparison, the Dome could easily fit the Great Pyramids of Giza under its roof!
5. WATERWAYS: Not many of us would have linked London and subterranean rivers, especially because a vast proportion of London’s transport system runs under the city. So, it may come as a surprise that over 20 of these rivers are flowing along beneath the streets of London.
6. ARCHITECTURE: The infamous Great Fire of London in 1666 was responsible for the destruction of more than 13,000Tudor, Medieval and early 17th century buildings across four fifths of the city. As a result, there remains very few examples of the early dwellings within the capital.
7. WIMBELDON: The world’s oldest and most prestigious tennis tournament is held annually at Wimbledon in south west London. This impressive event attracts thousands of spectators, but tickets are allocated through a ballot, so it’s advisable to get in early if you’re keen to attend.
8. EVOLUTION: London has evolved continuously since the first dwellers arrived to build their wattle and daub houses. Nowadays we consider London to be one of the most advanced and forward thinking cities in the world.
9. TRAFFIC: It may come as a surprise therefore to learn that the speed of traffic in central London moves no faster than the horse drawn carriages of old, pulled through the roads with a steady clipclop instead of today’s roaring diesel engine.
10. CULTURE: London has one of Earth’s greatest collection of cultural attractions. Whatever your preferences, there’s guaranteed to be something, somewhere to satiate your desires with a mix of castles, cathedrals, royal palaces and of course the Palace of Westminster which has 3 miles of passageways if you fancy a spot of exercise.