Did you know that some of the most famous attractions
in London are not really located in London?
Big Ben, Buckingham Palace, Westminster Abbey
They're all in Westminster, which is actually a different city. Most of the Royal London is actually in Westminster
So in this video I'll walk around Westminster
to show you some of the top attractions here
Let's get started with London's most famous attraction
If you come here until 2022
This is how you find the Big Ben
You really can't see anything
Big Ben is the name of the bell inside the tower and
as the name suggests, Big Ben is big, heavy,
so the refurbishment is to upgrade the entire structure
that holds the bell. But when you come to this area, there are many other things to see
This building right here is the Palace of Westminster, which is the seat of the U.K. government
That's the meeting place of the two houses of the Parliament of the UK:
The Lower House, House of Commons, those elected by the people
And the Upper House, the House of the Lords,
those that are appointed by the Monarchy or who have hereditary titles like some Viscounts, some Earls, Lords
It's a beautiful building, just a shame that it's under a refurbishment now, too
But you can visit inside, there are guided tours
Or you can go for free if you want to see a debate
Now let me show you how close Westminster Abbey is
The church is already this one
But the best view is from here
This place represents the origins of Westminster, where everything started around here
But why is this so important?
All coronations for almost 1000 years have been taking place right here
Imagine! Kings and queens since the Middle Ages got their crowns right here
Also royal weddings and burials happen here
Not only royalty. Some important figures historically are buried here like Isaac Newton,
Charles Darwin and more recently Stephen Hawking
But why am I telling you all this instead of actually showing inside?
Because pictures are not allowed, sorry
But it is a very beautiful place, very impressive
Worth a visit
Now we're crossing St. James's Park to arrive at Buckingham Palace,
where the most famous ceremony in London takes place: the change of the guards
St. James's Park is a former hunting ground
Today, it's a really nice park
Feel like getting a suntan today?
Oh, he's so focused
Buckingham Palace...that way
Oh, my God!
Look at the amount of people
Except during summer, the change of the guard here doesn't happen everyday
So check online before coming here
Most of the ceremony happens inside the gates
So unless you're right there by the gates
You're just gonna see them coming in and then getting out. For the rest of the time you just wait
[Guard] March!
Buckingham Palace serves as both the office and the residence of Her Majesty The Queen
Actually, it's one of the few working royal palaces remaining in the world today
You can go for a visit, but out of the 700 rooms
Only 19 are open to the public
See the flag?
That indicates the Queen is not home
That's the U.K. flag
If she was home, there would be the Royal Standard of the United Kingdom
But this concept of the flag is relatively new
Once I was on a guided tour here and the guide explained that it all started in 1997, when Lady Di died
Because people started coming here and they expected to see a flag at half-mast and there was no flag at all
That's because the Queen was not home
There's a palace right here behind these trees and this is where Prince Charles lives
Very close to mom. That's Buckingham
St. James's Palace is one of the oldest palaces in England. It's from the 1500's
It once was the official residence of the monarchs
And to this day it is still the official address of the Queen
Not where she lives, but if you want to send her a letter,
this is her mailing address
To this date, some official events still happen here, like
receptions to foreign heads of state
One thing very interesting about this palace is that it has lots of chimneys
Look at that, how many
It's really all over! And centuries ago there were taxes on chimneys. I guess the more chimneys you had,
the more money you had, maybe?
And this palace belonged to a king, Henry VIII
Who obviously didn't need to pay taxes
Baby, just eat
Just eat. Is that what you want?
He doesn't get it!
Ah, from this side you can see the clock!
Here you can also catch the boat for a river cruise
We took a quick break. You may recognize this place, we're not in Westminster anymore
This is the Southbank
The day so beautiful today that I really wanted to come to this side and take some photographs
And I wanted to come here today also
to show you how close it is
Do you see?
Big Ben is right there, the Parliament is right there
So the day you come to visit these attractions you can take advantage and also go to the London Eye
This line for the ferris wheel is gigantic! Lots of turns here
Where are you guys from?
[Tourists] Germany
Germany! Deutschland! (Germany)
Two fish and chips, please
Fish and chips: can't get any more British than that
Quick escape from Westminster
Gordon, shall we?
[Gordon] Shall we?
Shall we?
That's my husband's name
Gordon, shall we?
Do you recognize the view from Admiralty Arch?
We're back at The Mall, which is the name of this road here. And over there, Buckingham Palace
Now here, on the other side of Admiralty Arch,
Trafalgar Square
Trafalgar Square is a central square for the entire London area
This is where people traditionally
demonstrate and celebrate
This square actually commemorates a very important battle in history for the British
When British defeated the French. When Napoleon wanted to conquer the world
So this is something very meaningful here
If you go that way, you arrive at Buckingham Palace
and if you go this way here,
you arrive at Big Ben and the Parliament
Now, the place I saved for last is probably where you find one of the best nightlives in the entire London area
This is Covent Garden
It's famous for the theatres, high-end shops. Here, you also have lots of pubs and restaurants
It's really great to come in the evening
And this is the famous Piazza in Covent Garden, it's where everything happens
Most people have no idea that all this that I show today
except for the Southbank is actually in Westminster
And London has yet another peculiarity
It's another city called City of London,
which is different from just London
And that's the topic of my next video
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You're trying my pie before me?
[Gordon] Yeah
Is it good?
Imagine! Kings and queens
So imagine! Imagine!
[Gordon] Imagine
That's a song by Lennon
[Gordon ]Did you hear what he said? [Renata] No
[Gordon] I love you, man
No, I love you!
I love you more!
Ah, that's a good one
Hello!
[Gordon] Hello
Miami Beach!
Hello from Miami Beach
Hello, Miami Beach