Breathtaking Architecture in London • London Day 3
- Journey into the Antarctic at the Nobbies Centre, Phillip Island - 9th April 2023
- Churchill Island: Discovering the Rustic Charm in Australia - 3rd April 2023
- A Day Trip to Yarra Valley: Gateway Market, St Hubert’s Winery, and Yarra Valley Dairy - 29th March 2023
Today, we will be exploring around the area of Westminster and Covent Garden.
- Landmark tower at the house of Parliament –Big Ben and the Palace of Westminster🕰
- The main Parliament building date back to the mid 1800s in Westminster Abbey👸🤴
- Home of Britain’s Monarch at Buckingham Palace🏰
- Public square in the City of Westminster at Trafalgar Square🏛
- Busker and fascinating market in Covent Garden🤹🏼♂️
- Transport heritage in London Transport Museum🚇🚖🚍
Big Ben and Palace of Westminster
For any first timers to London, Big Ben and Palace Westminster are definitely must visit places!🤓🤓🤓
Big Ben is the clock tower of the Palace of Westminster. It was built in 1844 together with the house of parliament, tower and clock.🕰
Do you know: Big Ben was given the name due to the massive bell inside the tower as it weighs more than 13 tonnes.⏱
Trying to act cool with Big Ben
This clock really looks spectacular in the day!😄😄😄
Like most tourists, we posed and took my photos with the Big Ben. We got really excited while standing and posing in front of Big Ben!😋😋😋
Quick Fact:Big Ben is the nickname for the bell in this clock tower. This clock tower is called Elizabeth Tower.
New will always say “ this is iconic, need to take more photos”. Hehehe🤣🤣🤣
So that’s why we really took a lot of photos from different pose to different angles!😬😬😬
Big Ben is the most iconic film location in London. It is also the world’s largest four faced chiming clock.
Outside Palace of Westminster
Westminster Abbey
This amazing gothic church is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Westminster Abbey is one of the world greatest churches. It has a very magnificent gothic Architecture and has more than 1000 years of history.😵😵😵
Quick Fact : Westminster Abbey was the venue for the wedding of Prince William and Kate Middleton.
While we are queuing and got nothing to do, we take photos again…Waiting to get into Westminster Abbey.📷📸📷📸
The queue can be pretty long, just be patient and soon you will be able to reach the entrance of Westminster Abbey.
There is an audio guide to bring you through the history of Westminster Abbey.📽📽📽
As we enter into Westminster Abbey, we are able to see many impressive stained glass windows, paintings and artifacts. Other than the super cool painting, there are also tombs and monuments in Westminster Abbey. 👑
It is a place where most kings and queens of England are buried in. It is said to be an honour to be buried here. This practice spread to include generals, admirals, politicians, doctors and scientists.👩🏼⚕️👨🏻⚕️
Till now, there are over 3,300 people that have been buried or commemorated here.
In fact, it has over 1Million visitors a year! So what are you waiting for?
Remember to make time to visit this magnificent church during your visit to London!🇬🇧🇬🇧🇬🇧
Buckingham Palace
The Buckingham Palace was built during the 1700s and was finished during the 1800s with a Baroque architectural style. It is among the top list among its architecture. 🏢🏢🏢
In this palace, it has 775 rooms, 78 baths, 1,514 doors, and 40,000-plus light bulbs.
Standing in the huge crowds in front of Buckingham Palace
But guess why…..
Because It’s time for … Changing of Guards💂🏼♀️💂🏼♀️💂🏼♀️
Us waiting for the changing of guards
Changing of guards ceremony takes place outside buckingham palace every alternate days- Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Sunday between 11.30am for 45 minutes. This is subject to weather condition. Time may change so do check before you go.
Just click onto the link below for the provisional schedule:
https://www.royalcollection.org.uk/visit/buckinghampalace/what-to-see-and-do/changing-the-guard
This free event is very popular, so be sure to arrive early to secure a spot with a good view.
Lucky us, we managed to squeeze in front for a clear view for changing of guards ceremony.😁😁😁
This is a scene that we usually see on TV or movie. It somehow felt different while we see it LIVE! 💂🏻💂🏻💂🏻
The new guards will march towards the Buckingham Palace from Wellington Barracks to change with the guards at the palace.👑
The guards are dressed in traditional red tunics and bearskin hats.💂🏼♀️💂🏼♀️💂🏼♀️
Btw, if I never remember wrongly, this photo is taken by a little Japan boy that TowkayNew carry on his shoulder so that the little boy can have a unblocked view👶🏻👶🏻👶🏻.
We are able to see precision drill and bands playing stirring music all combine during the changing of guards which is one of London’s most popular attractions.👍👍👍
I personally enjoyed the changing of guards as the guards are all very aligned as they marched towards Buckingham Palace. 🤓🤓🤓
There are also huge horses and also songs played by the Royal band.
Tourists from all around the world will come here to enjoy this memorable experience.😁😁😁
Admiralty Arch
Let’s teleport into the Trafalgar Square- the most vibrant spaces.💃🏼🕺🏼
Trafalgar Square
Trafalgar Square is in the City of Westminster. It is about 10 minutes walking distance from Buckingham Palace. This is a public square and has been a significant landmark.🏛🏛🏛
The square is also linked to the National Gallery in the back view.
The centre of Trafalgar Square stands one of London’s most famous monument -Nelson’s Column It was built to commemorate and honour Admiral Nelson who died in the battle of Trafalgar which led the British to victory.
There are some sculpture and statues that occupy the square. The lions behind is designed by Sir Edwin Landseer which are said to protect Nelson’s Column.
Fountains at Trafalgar Square.
⛲️⛲️⛲️
There are also many busker performances at in Trafalgar Square.
Covent Garden
Covent Garden is a place where we can shop, eat and enjoy street performance.👯♂️👯♂️👯♂️
Covent garden is a cultural destination in London. It has a very cool interior design.
It is a market hall where you can do some shopping and enjoy some cultural performance.❤️❤️❤️
For us, we bought a lot of small tins of chocolate powders from Whittard for souvenirs. 🎉🎉🎉
For these street performers in Covent garden, they will have to go through an audition by a group of judging panel made up of Musician association, street performers association, and Covent Garden Management team.
These auditions are for performance slots in the North Hall, West Piazza and Courtyard
- The North Hall and West Piazza pitch is for variety / circus acts with a structured show.
- The Courtyard pitch is for classical vocalists and instrumentalists.
This is a very cool place to visit and have a afternoon tea after a long day walk and shopping.👜👜👜
London Transport Museum
Beside Covent Garden is the London Transport Museum. London Transport Museum is in a Victoria iron and glass building on the east side of the market square.
Entrance of London Transport Museum
London Transport Museum provides an opportunity for guests to explore London’s Transport System in the last 200 years. There are many galleries, exhibitions on the past, present and also the future of the transport system.🚌🚍🚝🚄🚞
This is a museum guide where you can start your journey to understand the transportation used in London. The collections here comprise more than 400,000 objects which cover all aspects of public transport in London from 1800 to the present day.🚃🚋🚞🚝🚄
In the depot discovery, there are many London underground Trains of different types and era.🚉
This is one of the surviving steam locomotives from the Metropolitan railway.🚊
The collections of the London buses over the years.🚌
As we walked down, we discover the history of London’s famous transport network and get up onto the different buses.🚍
It is a great place for photo opportunity with the buses.🚐
And not forgetting the Iconic London Buses!!!
We also try to dress up in outfit that make us look like the transport system crossrail staff.😁😁😁
This is a very fun and interesting place to visit for adults as well as children to play and to view historical trains and buses.There are many interactive games to understand the history of transport and is suitable for all ages.👪
Do explore if you are near Covent Garden!
London has just too many things to explore! So do plan your trip before you reach London!🇬🇧🇬🇧🇬🇧
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