L ONDON
L ONDON IS THE CAPITAL CITY OF E NGLAND AND THE U NITED K INGDOM.
L ONDON IS A LEADING GLOBAL CITY, WITH STRENGTHS IN THE ARTS, COMMERCE, EDUCATION, ENTERTAINMENT, FASHION, FINANCE, HEALTHCARE, MEDIA, PROFESSIONAL SERVICES, RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT, TOURISM AND TRANSPORT ALL CONTRIBUTING TO ITS PROMINENCE.
L ONDON CONTAINS FOUR W ORLD H ERITAGE S ITES : THE T OWER OF L ONDON ; K EW G ARDENS ; THE SITE COMPRISING THE P ALACE OF W ESTMINSTER, W ESTMINSTER A BBEY, AND S T M ARGARET ' S C HURCH ; AND THE HISTORIC SETTLEMENT OF G REENWICH. O THER FAMOUS LANDMARKS INCLUDE B UCKINGHAM P ALACE, THE L ONDON E YE, P ICCADILLY C IRCUS, S T P AUL ' S C ATHEDRAL, T OWER B RIDGE, T RAFALGAR S QUARE, AND T HE S HARD. L ONDON IS HOME TO NUMEROUS MUSEUMS, GALLERIES, LIBRARIES, SPORTING EVENTS AND OTHER CULTURAL INSTITUTIONS, INCLUDING THE B RITISH M USEUM, N ATIONAL G ALLERY, T ATE M ODERN, B RITISH L IBRARY AND 40 W EST E ND THEATRES. T HE L ONDON U NDERGROUND IS THE OLDEST UNDERGROUND RAILWAY NETWORK IN THE WORLD.
T OWER OF L ONDON
P ICCADILLY C IRCUS
T ATE MODERN
N ATIONAL G ALLERY
B RITISH L IBRARY
T HE LARGEST PARKS IN THE CENTRAL AREA OF L ONDON ARE THREE OF THE R OYAL P ARKS, NAMELY H YDE P ARK AND ITS NEIGHBOUR K ENSINGTON G ARDENS AT THE WESTERN EDGE OF CENTRAL L ONDON, AND R EGENT ' S P ARK ON THE NORTHERN EDGE.
C LOSER TO CENTRAL L ONDON ARE THE SMALLER R OYAL P ARKS OF G REEN P ARK AND S T. J AMES ' S P ARK
L ONDON IS A POPULAR CENTRE FOR TOURISM, ONE OF ITS PRIME INDUSTRIES, EMPLOYING THE EQUIVALENT OF 350,000 FULL - TIME WORKERS IN 2003, WHILE ANNUAL EXPENDITURE BY TOURISTS IS AROUND £15 BILLION. L ONDON ATTRACTS OVER 14 MILLION INTERNATIONAL VISITORS PER YEAR, MAKING IT E UROPE ' S MOST VISITED CITY. L ONDON ATTRACTS 27 MILLION OVERNIGHT - STAY VISITORS EVERY YEAR
T RANSPORT IS ONE OF THE FOUR MAIN AREAS OF POLICY ADMINISTERED BY THE M AYOR OF L ONDON, HOWEVER THE MAYOR ' S FINANCIAL CONTROL DOES NOT EXTEND TO THE LONGER DISTANCE RAIL NETWORK THAT ENTERS L ONDON
L ONDON IS A MAJOR CENTER OF HIGHER EDUCATION TEACHING AND RESEARCH AND ITS 43 UNIVERSITIES FORM THE LARGEST CONCENTRATION OF HIGHER EDUCATION IN E UROPE.
T HERE ARE A NUMBER OF UNIVERSITIES IN L ONDON WHICH ARE OUTSIDE OF THE U NIVERSITY OF L ONDON SYSTEM, INCLUDING B RUNEL U NIVERSITY, C ITY U NIVERSITY L ONDON, I MPERIAL C OLLEGE L ONDON, K INGSTON U NIVERSITY, L ONDON M ETROPOLITAN U NIVERSITY L ONDON S OUTH B ANK U NIVERSITY, M IDDLESEX U NIVERSITY, U NIVERSITY OF THE A RTS L ONDON, U NIVERSITY OF E AST L ONDON, THE U NIVERSITY OF W EST L ONDON AND THE U NIVERSITY OF W ESTMINSTER.