Visit the London Dungeon - Not for the Faint Hearted

The London Dungeon is situated under the expansive Victorian railway arches of London Bridge. It is a light hearted attempt at celebration of torture, death and disease of bygone ages. Visitors are led past varying degrees of vile rotting corpses and other symptoms of the great plague, while trying to pick their way along the dry ice fogged, rat infested pathways. Other things to tempt the horror lovers among you are exhibits featuring the Great Fire of London and the Judgment Day Barge, where the visitors play the part of the condemned.

The experience lasts for 90 minutes and is faciliated through the use of actors, special effects and shows. Everything you see during the experience is based on actual historical events, including, from this Easter, Jack the Ripper. There are also two spine tingling rides to experience.

The London Dungeon is open daily between September and June from 10.30 until 5.30. In July and August, it is open daily from 9.30 until 7.30. For more details why not check out the website at www.thedungeons.com

Seeing London

London is full of hot tourist spots. There is so much to see and do in London that you could spend weeks visiting the city and everyday you would find something new. There is so much to see and do that unless carefully planned you may not see it all.

The Houses of Parliament and Big Ben are among the top of the list. You couldn't travel to London and not see Big Ben. Although many people think that Big Ben is the clock on the houses of parliament, Big Ben is actually the name of the bell that sounds out the hour. The former Palace of Westminster is home to both the House of Lords and House of Commons. The houses have been located here since the 11 th Century. Visitors can see the inside of the palace, however, the wait is long and tedious. The best sight is from outside where you can see the magnificent architecture of the Houses of Parliament. Across the street from Big Ben is the Jewel Tower. It is one of the oldest buildings from the Palace of Westminster. The Jewel Tower offers a virtual tour of the Houses of Parliament and explains the history behind them. [Read more]

Buckingham Palace Visits

Visiting London usually entails much more than a sightseeing and shopping opportunity - most people who visit are also interested in getting to know more about British culture. One central facet of British culture is its government - a unique combination of a theoretical monarchy and a representative Parliament.

An opportunity to learn more about the role of the monarchy is going to visit some of the royal residences, with the foremost being the main residence of the Queen, the famous Buckingham Palace . However, the Palace is much more than a large domicile - it plays an integral role in British government as a busy administrative headquarters of the Monarchy, where much policy and tradition is enacted. [Read more]

Big Ben, How it Became a Legend

People have no trouble instantly conjuring the image of the famous clock tower in London when you mention the name "Big Ben," although a lot about the tower is misunderstood. The name "Big Ben" doesn't actually refer to the clock faces or the tower itself - it's the name given to the largest of the five bells that chime the different cadences as the hours tick by, and Big Ben is specifically the hour bell - heard once every hour.

Big Ben was named after Sir Benjamin Hall, Commissioner of Works, who was known for his being a rather hefty fellow, just like the bell, which is the largest that has ever been cast. Big Ben is 8 feet in diameter and it weighs 13.5 tons. The first Big Ben hour bell was complete before the tower, so the bell was hung in New Palace Yard, where after repeated public ringing cracked the huge bell, and it had to be replaced by the current bell. [Read more]