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The London Portal

Panorama of modern London, taken from the Golden Gallery of St Paul's Cathedral. See Panorama of London for more panoramic images.

St Paul's Cathedral

London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a 50-mile (80 km) estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a major settlement for two millennia. The City of London, its ancient core and financial centre, was founded by the Romans as Londinium and retains boundaries close to its medieval ones. Since the 19th century, "London" has also referred to the metropolis around this core, historically split between the counties of Middlesex, Essex, Surrey, Kent, and Hertfordshire, which largely comprises Greater London, governed by the Greater London Authority. The City of Westminster, to the west of the City of London, has for centuries held the national government and parliament.

London, as one of the world's global cities, exerts strong influence on its arts, commerce, education, entertainment, fashion, finance, health care, media, tourism, and communications. Its GDP (€801.66 billion in 2017) makes it the biggest urban economy in Europe and one of the major financial centres in the world. In 2019 it had the second highest number of ultra high-net-worth individuals in Europe after Paris and the second-highest number of billionaires of any city in Europe after Moscow. With Europe's largest concentration of higher education institutions, it includes Imperial College London in natural and applied sciences, the London School of Economics in social sciences, and the comprehensive University College London. The city is home to the most 5-star hotels of any city in the world. In 2012, London became the first city to host three Summer Olympic Games.

London's diverse cultures mean over 300 languages are spoken. The mid-2018 population of Greater London of about 9 million, made it Europe's third-most populous city. It accounts for 13.4 per cent of the UK population. Greater London Built-up Area is the fourth-most populous in Europe, after Istanbul, Moscow and Paris, with 9,787,426 inhabitants at the 2011 census. The London metropolitan area is the third-most populous in Europe after Istanbul's and Moscow's, with 14,040,163 inhabitants in 2016. (Full article...)

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Geographic map of the UERL's three deep-level tube lines in 1907

The Underground Electric Railways Company of London Limited (UERL), known operationally as the Underground for much of its existence, was established in 1902. It was the holding company for the three deep-level "tube" underground railway lines opened in London during 1906 and 1907: the Baker Street and Waterloo Railway, the Charing Cross, Euston and Hampstead Railway and the Great Northern, Piccadilly and Brompton Railway. It was also the parent company from 1902 of the District Railway, which it electrified between 1903 and 1905. The UERL is a precursor of today's London Underground; its three tube lines form the central sections of today's Bakerloo, Northern and Piccadilly lines.

The UERL struggled financially in the first years after the opening of its lines and narrowly avoided bankruptcy in 1908 by restructuring its debt. A policy of expansion by acquisition was followed before World War I, so that the company came to operate the majority of the underground railway lines in and around London. It also controlled large bus and tram fleets, the profits from which subsidised the financially weaker railways. After the war, railway extensions took the UERL's services out into suburban areas to stimulate additional passenger numbers, so that, by the early 1930s, the company's lines stretched beyond the County of London and served destinations in Middlesex, Essex, Hertfordshire and Surrey. (Full article...)

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Featured picture

Photo credit: Colin

The western departures concourse of King's Cross railway station. Designed by John McAslan, it opened in 2012. The architect claims that the roof is the longest single-span station structure in Europe.

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Subcategories

Articles about London can be found under these categories:

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Illustration from "The House that Jack Built" in The Complete Collection of Pictures & Songs; engraving and printing by Edmund Evans, illustration by Randolph Caldecott (1887)

Edmund Evans (23 February 1826 – 21 August 1905) was an English wood-engraver and colour printer during the Victorian era. Evans specialized in full-colour printing, which, in part because of his work, became popular in the mid-19th century. He employed and collaborated with illustrators such as Walter Crane, Randolph Caldecott, Kate Greenaway and Richard Doyle to produce what are now considered to be classic children's books. Although little is known about his life, he wrote a short autobiography before his death in 1905 in which he described his life as a printer in Victorian London.

After finishing an apprenticeship, Evans went into business for himself. By the early 1850s, he had established a reputation as a printer of covers for a type of cheap novels known as yellow-backs. In the early 1860s, he began to print children's toy books and picture books in association with the printing house Routledge and Warne. His intention was to produce books for children that were beautiful and inexpensive. For three decades he produced multiple volumes each year, first illustrated by Crane, and later by Caldecott and Greenaway. (Full article...)

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William Shakespeare Henry Wood Jack the Ripper Samuel Johnson Jack Sheppard Mary Wollstonecraft Noël Coward Mellitus David Bowie Alice Ayres Edgar Speyer Harold Pinter Elizabeth Canning Henry Moore William Sterndale Bennett Gilbert Foliot Lilias Armstrong Laurence Olivier George Lansbury Marie Lloyd Stanley Holloway Robert of Jumièges

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Selected quotation

“

London, thou art the flour of cities all!

”

William Dunbar (1460?–1520?), London

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Did you know...

…that the Ritz Hotel in Piccadilly was the first British hotel with a private bathroom to each room?

…that the forecourt of the Savoy Hotel (pictured) is the only street in the United Kingdom where vehicles are required to drive on the right?

…that the Mayfair hotel Claridge's has been called an "extension to Buckingham Palace" due to its royal connections?

…that the Langham Hotel appears in two Sherlock Holmes stories and that The Goon Show broadcasts were recorded in its ballroom?

…that Winston Churchill had a wall built for privacy between his balcony at the Dorchester Hotel and that of the room next door, which survives to this day?

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General images

The following are images from various London-related articles on Wikipedia.

Image 1London c. 1300 (from History of London)
Image 2Plaque in the City of London noting the re-establishment of the Roman walled city (from History of London)
Image 3Shaftesbury Avenue, c. 1949 (from History of London)
Image 4Section 3 (from History of London)
Image 5Les Misérables at the Palace Theatre (from Culture of London)
Image 6Three cultural icons of London: a K2 red telephone box, Big Ben and a red double-decker bus (from Culture of London)
Image 7Statue of Alfred the Great at Winchester, erected 1899 (from History of London)
Image 8The Shard, an icon of 21st century London (from History of London)
Image 9Buckingham Palace as it appeared in the 17th century (from History of London)
Image 10Young people in Carnaby Street in the 1960s (from History of London)
Image 11Buckingham Palace in 1837, enlarged by John Nash (from History of London)
Image 12Tourists at Buckingham Palace. (from Tourism in London)
Image 13A depiction of the imprisonment of Charles, Duke of Orléans, in the Tower of London from a 15th-century manuscript. (from History of London)
Image 14Carausius coin from Londinium mint. (from History of London)
Image 15Section 2 (from History of London)
Image 16Tourism in London 2013 (from Tourism in London)
Image 17A signpost on Parliament Square with directions for nearby attractions (from Tourism in London)
Image 18A view of London from the east in 1751 (from History of London)
Image 19Outline of the London region (from Geography of London)
Image 20Firefighters putting out flames after an air raid during The Blitz, 1941. (from History of London)
Image 21Maughan Library, King's College London (from Culture of London)
Image 22Silver coin of Alfred, with the legend ÆLFRED REX (from History of London)
Image 23Medal of Constantius I capturing London (inscribed as lon) in 296 after defeating Allectus. Beaurains hoard. (from History of London)
Image 24A detailed copy of John Rocque's Map of London, 1741–5. (from History of London)
Image 25The Clock Tower of Wren's St Paul's Cathedral (from History of London)
Image 26The "Woodcut" map of London, formally titled Civitas Londinum (c. 1561) (from History of London)
Image 27Ogilby & Morgan's map of the City of London (1673). "A Large and Accurate Map of the City of London. Ichnographically describing all the Streets, Lanes, Alleys, Courts, Yards, Churches, Halls, & Houses &c. Actually Surveyed and Delineated by John Ogilby, His Majesties Cosmographer.". (from History of London)
Image 28The Houses of Parliament from Westminster Bridge in the early 1890s (from History of London)
Image 29London as engraved by J. & C. Walker in 1845 from a map by R Creighton. Many districts in the West End were fully developed, and the East End also extended well beyond the eastern fringe of the City of London. There were now several bridges over the Thames, allowing the rapid development of South London. (from History of London)
Image 30Cheapside pictured in 1909, with the church of St Mary-le-Bow in the background. (from History of London)
Image 31John Evelyn's plan for the rebuilding of London after the Great Fire (from History of London)
Image 32A tourist stall selling various London and United Kingdom related souvenirs on the edge of Trafalgar Square on the Strand. (from Tourism in London)
Image 33Tourists consulting a map near St Paul's Cathedral. (from Tourism in London)
Image 34Richard Blome's map of London (1673). The development of the West End had recently begun to accelerate. (from History of London)
Image 35John Norden's map of London in 1593. There is only one bridge across the Thames, but parts of Southwark on the south bank of the river have been developed. (from History of London)
Image 36In spite of heavy traffic, several companies operate tour buses in London. (from Tourism in London)
Image 37Section 1 (from History of London)
Image 38Satellite image by Sentinel-2 satellite (from Geography of London)
Image 39Amy Winehouse was a singer-songwriter from Southgate, north London. (from Culture of London)
Image 40Samuel Pepys, chronicler of Stuart London (from History of London)

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London Boroughs

City of London † City of Westminster Kensington and Chelsea Hammersmith and Fulham Wandsworth Lambeth Southwark Tower Hamlets Hackney Islington Camden Brent Ealing Hounslow Richmond Kingston upon Thames		Merton Sutton Croydon Bromley Lewisham Greenwich Bexley Havering Barking and Dagenham Redbridge Newham Waltham Forest Haringey Enfield Barnet Harrow Hillingdon
† sui generis – not a London borough

More about London Boroughs
Category: London boroughs

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London Topics

London-related topics

History

Politics

London government	Mayor of London Greater London Authority London Assembly The 32 London Boroughs City of London Corporation Ken Livingstone London Development Agency City Hall London Plan Metropolitan Board of Works Greater London Council London County Council
UK government in London	Downing Street MI5 SIS (MI6) Middlesex Guildhall Palace of Westminster Palace of Whitehall Portcullis House Somerset House War Office Whitehall

Geography

Attractions

Historic	Barbican Estate Covent Garden Leicester Square Mayfair Palace of Westminster Piccadilly Circus St Paul's Cathedral Tower Bridge Tower of London Trafalgar Square Westminster Abbey
Royal	Buckingham Palace Clarence House Hampton Court Palace Horse Guards Parade Kensington Palace The Mall St James's Palace
Modern	8 Canada Square 22 Bishopsgate 30 St Mary Axe Canary Wharf Citigroup Centre London Eye Millennium Bridge The O2 Arena Millennium Dome One Canada Square The Shard Tower 42 Wembley Stadium
Retail	Bond Street Carnaby Street Harrods Harvey Nichols Knightsbridge Liberty Oxford Street Regent Street Selfridges Tottenham Court Road
Monuments	Albert Memorial Cenotaph Cleopatra's Needle (London) Monument to the Great Fire Nelson's Column more ...

Civic

Culture

Economy

Education

Museums
and galleries

Parks and
open spaces

League teams
(tiers 1–4)

1	Arsenal Brentford Chelsea Crystal Palace Tottenham Hotspur West Ham United
2	Fulham Millwall Queens Park Rangers
3	Charlton Athletic AFC Wimbledon
4	Leyton Orient Sutton United

Non-league teams
(tiers 5–8)

5	Barnet Bromley Dagenham & Redbridge Wealdstone
6	Dulwich Hamlet Hampton & Richmond Borough Welling United
7	Carshalton Athletic Corinthian-Casuals Cray Wanderers Enfield Town Haringey Borough Harrow Borough Hayes & Yeading United Hendon Hornchurch Kingstonian Wingate & Finchley
8	Barking Bedfont Sports Cray Valley Paper Mills Hanwell Town Northwood Phoenix Sports Romford Sutton Common Rovers Tooting & Mitcham United Uxbridge VCD Athletic

Rivalries

London derbies

Cup competitions

Transport

London has one of the oldest and largest public transport systems in the world. Many components of its transport system, such as the double-decker bus, the Hackney Carriage black taxi and the Tube, are internationally recognised symbols of London. London has a comprehensive rail network with several major railway stations, including two international train stations at St. Pancras railway station and Stratford International, which connect London to mainland Europe through the Eurostar service. London also has six international airports. In addition to public transport, London is the start point for a number of motorway routes. The M25 is an orbital motorway which enables vehicles to avoid travelling through central London and is one of the busiest motorways in Europe.

Transport in London

Companies and
organisations

Transport for London	Air Line Buses Night buses Coach station Cycle hire Dial-a-Ride London Rail Docklands Light Railway London Overground TfL Rail Tramlink Crossrail, under construction Crossrail 2, proposed London River Services London Streets London Underground Night Tube Source London Taxi and Private Hire office
Bus operators	Abellio Arriva East Herts & Essex Arriva London Arriva Southern Counties Blue Triangle Go-Ahead London HCT Group London Sovereign London United Metrobus Metroline Quality Line Stagecoach London Tower Transit Uno
River operators	Bateaux London City Cruises Crown River Cruises Livett's Launches Lower Thames and Medway Passenger Boat Company Thames Clippers Thames Executive Charters Thames River Services Westminster Passenger Services Association
Train operators	Arriva Rail London Avanti West Coast c2c Caledonian Sleeper Chiltern Railways East Midlands Railway Eurostar Govia Thameslink Railway Gatwick Express Great Northern Southern Thameslink Grand Central Great Western Railway Greater Anglia Stansted Express Heathrow Express Hull Trains London North Eastern Railway London Northwestern Railway South Western Railway Southeastern TfL Rail
Other	Global Infrastructure Partners Heathrow Airport Holdings Port of London Authority

Airports

Within London	City Heathrow London Heliport Military: Northolt Private: Biggin Hill
Outside London	Gatwick Luton Southend Stansted

Major stations

Central area	Baker Street Bank/Monument Blackfriars Bond Street Cannon Street Charing Cross City Thameslink Euston Farringdon Fenchurch Street King's Cross Liverpool Street London Bridge Marylebone Moorgate Oxford Circus Paddington St Pancras International Tottenham Court Road Vauxhall Victoria Waterloo Waterloo East Westminster
Other	Barking Canary Wharf Clapham Junction Ealing Broadway East Croydon Finsbury Park Heathrow Stations Highbury & Islington Lewisham London City Airport Putney Richmond Stratford Surbiton Sutton Wimbledon

Roads

Motorways	M1 M4 M11 M25 London Orbital Former: M41 (West Cross Route) A40(M) (Westway) A102(M) (East Cross Route)
Ring roads	London Inner Ring Road North Circular Road South Circular Road
Charging	Congestion charge Low emission zone Ultra Low Emission Zone