Location

When a man is tired of London, he is tired of life…
Samuel Johnson

 

Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history is going back to founding by the Romans, who named it Londinium. The etymology of London is uncertain. It is an ancient name and can be found in sources from the 2nd century. English linguist Richard Coates put forward an explanation in 1998 that the name Londinium is derived from the pre-Celtic Old European Language, “lowonida”, meaning 'river too wide to ford', and suggested that this was a name given to the part of the River Thames which flows through London.    

The city continued to grow and develop and became the biggest city in Europe, a cultural center with major historical figures as Christopher Marlowe, Ben Jonson and William Shakespeare. The Railway of London Underground is the oldest underground railway network in the world. London was Britain's economic powerhouse and the center of a burgeoning empire. Now, London is a leading global city, with strengths in the arts, commerce, education, entertainment, finance, healthcare, media, research and development, tourism and transport all contributing to its prominence.

 

The city is always a perfect mixture of past and present and is unusually green for a large city. London is home to numerous museums, galleries, libraries, sporting events and other cultural institutions, such as the British Museum, National Gallery, and British Library. One might enjoy Big Ben, the Houses of Parliament, Westminster Abbey, 10 Downing Street, Tower Bridge, Tate Britain and Tate Modern, the Barbican Arts Center, Nelson's statue in Trafalgar square, the wax museum, Buckingham palace, Kew Gardens, Piccadilly Circus with West End theatres, but also the vibrant and hip East End, and, last but not least, occasional rain.
London is the world's most-visited city as measured by international arrivals and has the world's largest city airport system measured by passenger traffic. A multicultural city, London has a diverse range of peoples and cultures, and more than 300 languages are spoken within its boundaries. In 2012, London became the first city to host the modern Summer Olympic Games three times. London's 43 universities form the largest concentration of higher education in Europe.