London, England

Despite the evidence of scattered Brythonic settlements in the area, the first major settlement was founded by the Romans about four years after the invasion of 43 AD.

This only lasted until about 61 AD, when the Iceni tribe led by Queen Boudica stormed it and burnt it to the ground.

The next planned incarnation of Londinium prospered, superseding Colchester as capital of the Roman province of Britannia in 100. At its height in the 2nd century, Roman London had a population of about 60,000.

City of London

Tower Bridge

Sky Garden

Tower Bridge

In the late 19th century, commercial development in the East End of London increased, leading to demand for a new river crossing downstream of London Bridge. A traditional fixed bridge at street level could not be built because it would cut off access by sailing ships to the port facilities in the Pool of London between London Bridge and the Tower of London.

Construction started in 1886, with the foundation stone laid by the prince of wales on 21 June, and took eight years.

The Shard

London Eye

The Shard

St. Paul Cathedral

The Shard, also referred to as the Shard London Bridge and formerly London Bridge Tower, is a 72-storey skyscraper, designed by the Italian architect Renzo Piano, in Southwark, London, that forms part of The Shard Quarter development.

Standing 309.6 metres (1,016 feet) high, The Shard is the tallest building in the United Kingdom, and the seventh-tallest building in Europe.

Big Ben

London Eye

Westminster is a city and area of Central London, England, within the larger City of Westminster, most notable for being the seat of the majority of government institutions in the United Kingdom.

The area, which extends from the River Thames to Oxford Street, has many famous landmarks, including the Palace of Westminster, Buckingham Palace, Westminster Abbey, Westminster Cathedral, Trafalgar Square and much of the West End shopping and entertainment district.

Trafalgar Square

Oxford Street

Chinatown

Originally known as Buckingham House, the building at the core of today's palace was a large townhouse built for the Duke of Buckingham in 1703 on a site that had been in private ownership for at least 150 years.

It was acquired by King George III in 1761 as a private residence for Queen Charlotte and became known as The Queen's House.