The Capital
Crisscrossing the immediate vicinity outside the college building are the many bus routes that offer convenient local transport to all nearby areas and attractions. There are also 24 hour bus services running along the High Road.
The local area offers excellent transport facilities. Leyton Underground Station is only a short walk away from MRC down High Road Leyton. There, frequent Central Line trains can whisk you to the heart of the capital in a matter of minutes. So 10 minutes’ train ride, via Stratford Station – east London’s transport hub, will drop you in the City of London. The financial capital of the world. The City is home to London Stock Exchange, Bank of England and the largest concentration of headquarters of international banks than any rival global financial district.
Further few more minutes westward on the Central Line train, means you are in the West End. Here you will find every kind of entertainment venues and high culture attractions imaginable. From Shakespeare Company Theatre and Trocadero complex, an entertainment factory in Piccadilly Circus offering among other things an arcade with latest video games, to the most impressive lineup of theatres along Shaftesbury Avenue and the surrounding area, aptly named “Theatreland”. Intercepting Shaftesbury Avenue at Cambridge Circus is Charing cross Road boasting some of the largest academic and other specialist bookstores in the world and stretching all the way to Tottenham Court Road. There you will find Oxford Street on the right; a mecca for retail therapy seekers, while just round the corner form New Oxford Street on the left, stands British Museum where global human history and culture becomes tangible through one of the most extensive collection of objects in the world. It provides people of all tastes a unique mix of entertainment, education and intrigue. The City of Westminster is the seat of government and the UK Parliament.
The City of London landmarks
St Paul’s Cathedral
It is a cathedral dedicated to St Paul. It has been in the City of London since 604 AD. The current Cathedral in this site was built between 1674 and 1710 after the Great Fire of London destroyed its predecessor.
St Paul’s is one of the most architecturally and artistically significant building in London.
The Tower Bridge is Victorian building and among the greatest engineering marvels of its age. The Tower Bridge soon after it was built became an iconic landmark of the City.
West End attractions include:
The British Museum
In Wikipedia, the British Museum is described as “a museum of human history and culture in London. Its collections, which number more than seven million objects, are amongst the largest and most comprehensive in the world and originate from all continents, illustrating and documenting the story of human culture from its beginning to the present.”
Buckingham Palace
Buckingham Palace is the official resident of the queen in London. It is located in the City of Westminster. The state rooms in the palace are open to the public each year for most of August and September.
London Eye
London eye offers spectacular panoramic view of London from the 32 high-tech glass capsules.
Royal Opera House
Royal Opera House is a major performing arts venue in London district of Covent Garden. It is home of the Royal Opera, the Royal Ballet and the orchestra.
Madame Tussauds
This is an internationally known wax museum with branches in many major cities. The museum was set up by wax sculptor Marie Tussaud.
Big Ben
Big Ben is unofficial name of the great bell of the clock in the clock tower at the north end of the Palace of Westminster in London (the Houses of UK Parliament).
Big Ben is the largest four-faced chiming clock in the world.
The following websites are very good source of information and contain practical guidance on what to do and see in London: www.visitlondon.con and www.timeout.com/london.