21 Interesting Facts About London

The capital of England and the United Kingdom, London is every traveler’s dream city. With rich history and culture, world class architecture and many captivating galleries and museums, London has something for everyone. One of the most visited cities in the world, London is also the most populous city of UK. Besides being the cradle of modernization, there is a lot to know about this dream city. Here are some interesting facts about London that are worth knowing:

Yes, that’s true! The core London city is actually the smallest city in England covering only 1.12 square miles with a population of around 7,500. However, Greater London, the metropolis developed around the core city is home to around 8.5 million people and is large enough to fit in 4 New Yorks.

1. Smallest City

2. Big Ben is not the Tower

Now for a surprising fact, Big Ben is actually the name of the bell inside the clock tower. The tower itself is called as “The Elizabeth Tower.” It is also leaning towards northwest by 230 millimeters.

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3. UK’s largest Palace!

Palace of Westminster is commonly known as the Houses of Parliament and is the largest Palace in the country.

4. Strange Laws

Among various silliest laws in London, one such law is that it’s illegal to die in the Palace of Westminster. However, it’s not clear that what the punishment would be.

5. Top Museums and Galleries

London is home to three of the top ten museums and galleries in the world. There are around 860 art galleries in total in London.

6. More than 300 Languages

There are more than 300 languages spoken in London currently, more than in any other city in the world. Some of the most established are- Gujarati, Bengali, Mandarin, Punjabi, Hokkien, and Cantonese.

There are more than 300 languages spoken in London currently, more than in any other city in the world. Some of the most established are- Gujarati, Bengali, Mandarin, Punjabi, Hokkien, and Cantonese.

7. London Eye

The most popular tourist attraction, London Eye is a huge Ferris wheel located on the South Bank of Thames. It was the tallest Ferris wheel in the world until 2006 when Star of Nanchang surpassed it. It is still the Europe’s tallest Ferris wheel.

8. Importance of Ravens

Due to a superstition that if all the ravens leave the Tower, the kingdom will fall, at least six ravens are kept in the Tower of London at all times. Each raven has a clipped wing to make sure they don’t fly far from the tower.

9. Tower of Jewels!

There are over 23,500 royal jewels

in Martin Tower with a net worth of

over 20 Billion Pounds.

10. World’s First Underground Railway!

Did you know that the London Underground is the world’s first underground railway system and the oldest rapid transit system! It started in 1863 between Paddington and Farringdon.

11. The White Elephant!

Known as the O2 Arena, in Greenwich, London, Millennium Dome is the largest structure of its kind in the world and can easily fit the Statue of Liberty or the Great Pyramid of Giza inside. Due to its expensive infrastructure, media has termed it as London’s “White Elephant.”

12. It’s not easy to become a cabbie here!

To become a London cabbie, you have to know over 50,000 points of interest and over 25,000 streets in London; this is essential to pass the special test called “The Knowledge test” for getting a license.

13. Home to Europe’s Tallest Building!

London is home to the tallest building in the European Union- The Shard. Standing at 309.6 meters tall with 72 floors, the Shard provides panoramic views of the London city.

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14. Home to UK’s largest Museum!

The British Museum is the largest museum in the United Kingdom and is one of the oldest and finest museums in the world. The Egyptian gallery in the museum has the world’s finest collection of Egyptian antiques.