Places of interest in Central London

HMS Belfast  

World War II cruiser, now a floating museum. A marked route shows every aspect of the ship. Bridge, operations room and fire-control equipment all at action stations readiness. Below decks, model figures help illustrate life at sea, including sleeping, eating and medical attention.

London Dungeon

A gruesome medieval horror museum on the site of premises occupied by Roland Topcliffe, the royal torturer to Elizabeth I. Displays include Queen Boudicca's death-dealings, headless Mary, Queen of Scots and numerous hangings, rackings and boilings!

St Paul's Cathedral  

St Paul 's stands at 365 ft high and 515ft long. It was designed by Sir Christopher Wren after the previous cathedral was destroyed in the Great Fire of 1666. At the centre of the cathedral is the great dome, painted with incidents in life of St Paul . The viewing gallery offers broad views of the City. The Whispering Gallery is reached by 259 stairs and the acoustics allow a whisper uttered on one side to be clearly heard on the other – more than 100 ft away.

Tower Bridge  

Gothic-towered, hydraulically opening road bridge which has been a world landmark since 1894. The high level footbridge is reached by lift or 200 steps. The museum has diagrams, models, films and original equipment which lifted 1100 ton bascules until 1976. Fantastic panoramic views can be seen from the walkway.

Tower of London  

Medieval fortress dominated by the White Tower dating from 1097. The Crown Jewels are housed here. Chapel Royal dates from 1520. State enemies were brought through Traitors' Gate for execution. The presence of the Tower's ravens is believed to guarantee its invincibility.

British Museum  

One of the world's largest collections of antiquities, housed in imposing neoclassical building by Robert Smirke in 1824. Exhibits include the Rosetta Stone, which provided the clue to translating Egyptian hieroglyphs, the Elgin Marbles from the Parthenon, the Magna Carta and the first draft of Alice in Wonderland.

Covent Garden  

Street entertainers and stall owners vie with designer shops, restaurants and pubs for attention of shoppers and tourists. Restored Victorian market buildings remain on the square designed by Inigo Jones.

Madame Tussaud's  

Waxworks founded in 1835 features hundreds of lifelike images of celebrities and historic figures such as Martin Luther King, Napoleon and the Royal Family. The Chamber of Horrors features models of infamous murderers, and displays on methods of execution. Find out the history of waxworks and discover how wax models are made, and workings of animatronics.

National Gallery  

Collection of over 2000 paintings. Works are included by Velazquez, Hans Holbein, Leonardo da Vinci, Constable, Seurat, Rembrandt and turner. The gallery was designed by William Wilkins and built in 1832-38.

National Portrait Gallery  

The gallery contains some 10,000 likenesses of famous British men and women, 1,000 of which are shown at any one time. Portraits on view include Chaucer, Oliver Cromwell, Nell Gwynne, Florence Nightingale, Charles Darwin and Beatrix Potter.

Oxford Street  

London 's most famous shopping street stretches from Marble Arch to St Giles Circus. Stores mingle with established fruit stalls and shops for souvenirs and fashion. Selfridges neoclassical department store, founded in 1908, has an impressive food hall.

Buckingham Palace  

Buckingham Palace was rebuilt from the former Buckingham House of 1703. John Nash started rebuilding for George IV in 1825, but the first monarch to live there was Queen Victoria in 1837. The façade was added in 1913. The palace has around 600 rooms and the gardens cover more than 40 acres. The Changing of the Guard takes place daily.

Houses of Parliament  

The Houses of Parliament are officially named New Palace of Westminster and stand on a site of principal royal residence from the time of Edward the Confessor to Henry VIII. The present Gothic-style buildings were constructed between 1840 and 1860 by Sir Charles Barry and A W Pugin, and comprise of a central hall and corridor with the Houses of Lords and Commons on either side. The Interior of the House of Lords is decorated in scarlet and gold, with canopied gold throne from which the monarch addresses the lords and commoners. The House of Commons was destroyed during World War II and restored by Sir Giles Gilbert Scott.

The Clock Tower at the end of the House of Commons is famous for Big Ben, a massive bell inside the tower. The tower is 316ft high. The clock was completed in 1859 and the clock mechanism weighs 5 tons. T here are 4 dials on Big Ben, each measuring 23ft sq. The minute hand is 14ft long, and the figures themselves are 2 ft high.

Next to Clock Tower is Westminster Hall, which survives from the original Palace built as a banqueting hall by William Rufus in 1097. There is a statue of Oliver Cromwell standing outside.

Westminster Abbey  

Westminster Abbey was originally built by Edward the Confessor in about 1050, replacing the little timber church of St Peter 's. Rulers of England have been crowned here since William the Conqueror in 1066. The present buildings were constructed between 13 th and 16 th centuries.

West towers, designed by Wren and Hawksmoor, were built during the 18 th century. A portrait of Richard II, dating from the 14 th century, hangs near the west door. Memorials to Lloyd George, Clement Attlee, David Livingstone, Isaac Newton and Winston Churchill can be found in the Chapel of St George. The grave of the Unknown Warrior of World War I, surrounded by poppies is also here.

The North transept has statues of Pitt, Gladstone, Castlereagh and Disraeli and the south aisle contains Poets' Corner, including the tomb of Geoffrey Chaucer. St Edward the Confessor Chapel contains a shrine to the saint. The Coronation Chair stands here, carrying Scotland 's Stone of Scone on a shelf beneath the seat.

All around are tombs of medieval kings and queens.

Henry VII Chapel has a fan-vaulted ceiling, and banners of Knights Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath . Tombs of Henry VII, Mary Tudor and Elizabeth I are here. Abbey plate, mostly 17 th century, is displayed in Pyx chamber.