London
| London | ||
|---|---|---|
| ||
Location of the town | ||
| Administration | ||
| Country | United Kingdom | |
| Nation |  England | |
| District | City and 32 districts | |
| Mayor (Mayor) Current term | Boris Johnson ( PC ) 2008 - 2012 | |
| Website | Browse | |
| Geography | ||
| Contact | 51 30 '25 "North 0 07 '39 "West / 51.506944, -0.1275 | |
| Area | 1 706 km | |
| Altitude | Min. 0 m - max. 24 m | |
| Other information | ||
| Population | 7,684,700 inhabitants (2007). | |
| Density | 4505 inhabitants / km | |
| Calling code | 020 | |
London .
The Greater London has 7,512,400 inhabitants , called Londoners ( English : Londoners). It carries 19% of gross domestic product in the United Kingdom . The metropolitan area is home to 8,278,251 inhabitants . According to various criteria can assess the population of the metropolitan area , its area of direct influence, at 12 or 14 million. In Europe, only the cities of Moscow and Paris , have similar demographic weight.
London is a dynamic and very diverse culturally. It plays an important role in art and fashion. It is also a major tourist destination. It receives 27 million tourists per year and has four sites listed on World Heritage as well as numerous iconic monuments: the Palace of Westminster , the Tower Bridge , the Tower of London , the Westminster Abbey , the Buckingham Palace but also institutions such as the British Museum or National Gallery.
Summary |
Geography and climate
Definition of London
The common name can refer to several London geographical areas or different administrative, can sometimes be confusing.
The most common use refers to the Greater London (Greater London), one of nine regional subdivisions of England , comprising the territory under the authority of the Greater London Authority and Mayor of London. This set of approximately 1600 square kilometers for 7.5 million people which is commonly referred to when speaking of the British capital. However, Greater London is not officially a city, whose status is strictly defined in the United Kingdom, is awarded to a city by the British monarch on specific criteria. Before its creation in 1965 , the territory of Greater London was among the counties of Kent , Middlesex , Surrey , Essex and Hertfordshire.
The City of London (City of London, abbreviated City, Square Mile or in reference to his area of 1 square mile ), located in the heart of Greater London, meets the definition of historic London. This is where the modern city was born and today is the oldest district of the capital. It is also a full-fledged district with a special status. City of London and the rest of Greater London form two parts of "lieutenant" (Lieutenancy areas) different.
The vast Greater London can be described by the London Metropolitan area , which is the area occupied by the suburbs, and occupies an area roughly similar to the Greater London but with a population slightly higher. Beyond the urban area is the urban area of London (London switch London Metropolitan Area or belt) which includes the territories inhabited by people traveling daily basis (commuters) to work in London. The urban area of London has grown considerably during the Victorian era and again during the period between the wars. Its expansion has stopped in the 1940s because of World War II and the policy known as the green belt and its acreage has not changed much since. The boundaries of the Metropolitan Police District and the area served by the London transport have evolved over time but are now approximately that of Greater London.
Other terms such as Inner London , Outer London , Central London , North London , South London, East London, East End of London , West London or West End of London are sometimes used untranslated, to designate neighborhoods, statistical units or districts of London
Unlike many other capitals, the status of "capital of the United Kingdom" London has never been formally granted to the city by decree or by written charter. His current position was established by constitutional convention , with London being the seat of British power. His status as the capital de facto actually part of the unwritten constitution of the United Kingdom. The capital of England was transferred from Winchester to London after the Norman Conquest.
It may be that the Romans have marked the center of Londinium with the London Stone , still visible on Cannon Street . The coordinates of the center of London (traditionally located in the Eleanor Cross at Charing Cross , near the corner of Trafalgar Square and Whitehall ) are approximately 51 30'29 "N 00 07'29" W / 51.50806, -0.12472. Trafalgar Square has also become a central place of celebration and protest.
Geography
The Greater London is situated in south-east of England , 45 km west of the Firth of Thames and covers an area of 1579 square km, which places the city in thirty- seventh of the big cities most extensive . The altitude varies from sea level up to 245 m at Biggin Hill , south of the town .
The river, which crosses the city from west to east, had a major influence on the development of the city. London was originally founded on the north bank of the river and has arranged for several centuries, only one bridge , the London Bridge (London Bridge). The main focus of the city was therefore confined to this side of the Thames, through construction, the eighteenth century , a series of other bridges. The city was then extended in all directions, this expansion being constrained by any natural obstacle, in a campaign almost devoid of relief, with the exception of a few hills (Parliament Hill, Primrose Hill).
The Thames was once wider and shallower than today. The river banks have been massively upgraded, most of the tributaries have been diverted and are now underground, sometimes transformed into sewers (eg the River Fleet which is named after the Fleet Street , the old street of journalists). The Thames is subject to the tide and London is largely flood. The threat of flooding also increase over time given the steady rise of water level at high tide and the slow slope of Great Britain (bearing north, lower in the south) caused by a phenomenon of rebounding. Dam, the Thames Barrier was built across the Thames at Woolwich in 1970 , to overcome this threat. In 2005 , however, it was suggested the construction of a dam of about fifteen miles long lower downstream to address future risks of flooding.
Neighborhoods
Often described by London neighborhoods ( Bloomsbury , Mayfair , Whitechapel , for example). These names have no official use but are often referred to parishes (parishes) or districts (city wards) and remained in use through tradition, each referring to a separate area with its own characteristics but without official demarcation.
There is one central area of London which has a strict definition and status, the City of London (City of London). Often called simply the City, is one of the largest financial districts ( central business district ) global . The City has its own governing body and its own borders, thus giving a complete political and administrative autonomy. The new financial and commercial district of the Docklands is located east of the City and is dominated by Canary Wharf. The other business district is located in the City of Westminster , which also houses the British government and the Westminster Abbey.
West End is the main shopping area and includes major attractions such as Oxford Street , Leicester Square , Covent Garden and Piccadilly Circus. West London includes upscale residential areas such as Notting Hill , Knightsbridge and the District of Kensington and Chelsea where the average price a house in certain neighborhoods is approximately 5.5 million pounds and where a house was sold 60 million books . According to a 2007 ranking done by the real estate group Knight Frank and Citi Private Bank, a subsidiary of Citigroup , London is the most expensive city in the world in the field of luxury residential real estate: 36 800 euros on average per square meter in this sector .
Another is the upmarket Hampstead district in Camden , where there are also many individuals in London.
Areas east of London include the East End and the suburbs of Essex. These areas are located on or near the Port of London original, are known to have a high proportion of immigrants and to be one of the poorest in the capital Urbanization The population density varies considerably in London. The center includes many jobs, while the suburban area includes residential areas more or less densely populated, the density being higher in the suburbs ( Inner London ) than in more distant suburbs ( Outer London ). Densely populated areas consist mainly of high rise buildings and skyscrapers in London are concentrated in two business districts, such as 30 St Mary Axe , Tower 42 and the Lloyd building in the City of London , One Canada Square , 8 Canada Square and 25 Canada Square in Canary Wharf. Recently, the construction of very tall buildings has been encouraged by the London Plan and many tall buildings should be created, particularly in the City of London and Canary Wharf . The Shard London Bridge , 310 m for 72 floors, near London Bridge station , turn the Bishopsgate Tower of 288 m and 30 other skyscrapers over 150 m in height proposed or under construction, such as Boomerang Tower of 170 m, could transform the look of the city. Other notable buildings include the London City Hall in Southwark , the Natural History Museum of London , the British Library in Somers Town , the great court of the British Museum and the Millennium Dome near the River Thames to Canary Wharf. The Battersea Power Station , now disused but in the process of rehabilitation is an important symbol, while some stations including St Pancras and Paddington , are good examples of Victorian architecture. There is no single architectural style to describe London. Different styles and influences have mixed and accumulated over the years. Many buildings are constructed of brick red-orange or dark brown as in Downing Street, decorated with carvings and moldings. Number of neighborhoods are characterized by buildings in stucco or whitewashed. Few structures predate the Great Fire of 1666 with the exception of a few Roman remains, the Tower of London and some remains of the Tudor period. The majority of buildings dating from the Edwardian or Victorian. Many monuments celebrating personalities or events in the city. The monument , located in the city of London , commemorates the Great Fire of 1666 , providing a broad perspective on the historic heart of the city, where the fire started. Marble Arch and Wellington Arch , located respectively at the north end and south of Park Lane , are linked to the British monarchy as well as the Albert Memorial and Royal Albert Hall in Kensington. The Nelson's Column is a national monument located in Trafalgar Square and is typically used to mark the center of London. The climate of London is like temperate with rainfall regularly throughout the year but, unlike the west of the United Kingdom, rather light intensity. The average annual rainfall amounted to 583.6 mm , February being the driest month of the year. This level is lower than Rome or Sydney. London is actually one of the driest capitals, with resources of water per person lower than those of Israel, for example . Summers are hot but not extreme heat and frigid cold winters but rarely. The warmest month is July with an average temperature at Greenwich of 13.7 C to 22.3 C rarely exceeding 33 , although higher levels have become more frequent recently. The highest temperature ever recorded in London reached 38.1 , measured in the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew , on 10 August 2003 , during the heatwave of 2003 . The coldest month is January with average temperatures of 2.4 C to 7.9 C. The coldest temperature was registered on 1 January 1962 to -16.1 C at Northolt . The falling snow is abundant almost unknown. During the most recent winters, snow has rarely exceeded an inch thick (less than 3 cm). This is mainly because the vast Greater London area creates a microclimate, with heat trapped by buildings in the city. At night the temperature sometimes is from May to September higher than surrounding areas . The famous smog London, a mixture of fog and smoke, has become rare nowadays in the streets of the capital. In 1954, he had killed 4000 people . The regions around London (now located within the boundaries of Greater London ) appear to have been inhabited by Britons island since prehistoric times, but no archaeological evidence has been unearthed north of bridge London , where the city is truly born and where she has developed. The oldest certain traces of sustainable facilities date back to the year 43 and are due to the Romans who, following the conquest of Britain by the Romans , have built the first city . Only 18 years after the founding of the city by the Romans, Queen Boadicea , head of the Celtic tribe of Iceni , rose against the Roman invasion and took London to target . The governor Suetonius Paulinus , then busy exterminating the Druids on the island of Anglesey , could be an army in time to confront the invasion Celtic. The town was partially evacuated, but thousands of traders, however, were killed. London was so completely looted and destroyed. Archaeological excavations have helped to reveal the presence of burnt debris covering coins and pottery dating back to 60, within the limits of the Roman city . The city was quickly rebuilt and soon prospered again, like trade in Britain, and replaced Colchester as the capital of Roman Britain. However, there is no information to date and explain the transfer of the capital. Towards the second century , the city was walled: the London Wall. For over a millennium, the city boundaries were marked by the wall that bounded area now largely subsumed by that of the City. At its peak in the third century , the population of Londinium reached 45 000 to 60 000 people according to sources. When the Roman Empire began to decline, the troops protecting the city were recalled on the continent, London has also started to decline and its population dwindled. There is little information about this period called Dark Ages of London ("The Dark Ages of London"), but after the departure of the Romans from Britain in 410 , it is widely established that the fifth century , London was in ruins and virtually abandoned . But the privileged position of the city on the Thames has always been a strategic place and towards the year 600 , the Anglo-Saxons established a new city Lundenwic about 1 km upstream of the Roman city, where is now Covent Garden . There was probably a fishing port and trade at the mouth of the River Fleet. Lundenwic flourished until 851 when the city was invaded and completely destroyed by the Vikings. After the Viking occupation, the new English King Alfred the Great brought peace and moves the city within the walls of the old Roman city (then called Lundenburgh). The original city became Ealdwic ("old town"), whose name has survived until today to Aldwych. Then, under the control of several English kings, London once again prospered and became a place of power and a center of trade and commerce. However, the Viking raids resumed in the tenth century and peaked in 1013 when the city was besieged by King Canute of Denmark and that Ethelred II of England was forced to flee. During an attack against the army of King Ethelred has won a victory by destroying the bridge in London while the Danish garrison was over. The English control was re-established. Knut has taken control of the English throne in 1017, and reigning over the city and the country until 1042. At his death, the Anglo-Saxons took control under the authority of Edward the Confessor , who refounded the Abbey of Westminster and the Palace of Westminster. At that time, London had become the city's largest and most successful of England although the seat of government was still at Winchester. After the Battle of Hastings , William the Conqueror , then Duke of Normandy was crowned king of England in the new Westminster Abbey on Christmas Day 1066. He granted certain privileges to residents of London while building a castle in the southeast of the city to maintain control over the population. This castle, enlarged by subsequent kings, served as royal residence and prison and is now known as the Tower of London. In 1097, William II began the construction of Westminster Hall, near the abbey of the same name. This hall was used as a basis for the new Palace of Westminster , the royal residence throughout the Middle Ages. Westminster became the seat of the royal court and government while the City of London neighbor was a center of trade and commerce and flourished under the authority of his own administration, the Corporation of London. Finally, the surrounding cities have grown together and formed the base of the heart of London, modern, replacing Winchester as the capital of England in the twelfth century. After the defeat of the Invincible Armada Spanish in 1588, some political stability in England allowed London to grow further. In 1603, Jacques VI of Scotland ascended the throne of England and has mainly sought to unify the two countries. His anti-Catholic laws, however, have made it very unpopular and he was the victim of an assassination attempt on 6 November 1605 , the famous Gunpowder Plot. Outbreaks of plague have on numerous occasions, hit London in the early seventeenth century , the episode highlight being the Great Plague of London in 1665-1666 that killed around 20% of the population. The Great Fire of 1666 was born in the city unique and rapidly spread through the wooden houses of London, destroying much of the city. The reconstruction that followed lasted more than 10 years. From 1825 to 1925 , London is the most populous city in the world . This growth was accelerated by the construction of the first railway lines in London, which was considerably closer to neighboring towns. The rail network has rapidly expanded and enabled these cities to grow while allowing London to expand and encompass the surrounding villages (an example of Kensington ). The onset of congestion in the city center led to the creation in 1863 , the first underground transit system in the world, the London Underground , which further accelerated the development of urbanization . With this rapid growth, London became one of the first cities to over a million inhabitants and the first to exceed five million. The local government of London has had difficulty managing the rapid expansion of the city, especially in infrastructure. Between 1855 and 1889 , the Metropolitan Board of Works oversaw infrastructure growth. It was then replaced by the County of London which was managed by the London County Council from 1889 to 1965, it was the first elected assembly in the city. The Blitz and the bombing of the German Luftwaffe during the Second World War killed about 30,000 people and destroyed many homes and buildings in the city. Reconstruction in the 1950s , 60 and 70 was characterized by a lack of architectural unity, typical of modern London. In 1965 , the limits of London have been changed to reflect the expansion of the city outside of London County. The new enlarged territory was called Greater London and administered by the Greater London Council. In the decades following the Second World War, a large immigration from Commonwealth countries has made London one of the most ethnically European cities cosmopolitan. The integration of new immigrants has not always been smooth with for example the riots in Brixton in the 1980s but was still better place than in other UK regions. The economic revival of the 1980s London was restored to the front of the stage. However, as the seat of government and the main town of the United Kingdom, the city has experienced many episodes of terrorism. The Provisional Irish Republican Army tried to put the British government pressure on the negotiations in Northern Ireland , frequently disrupting city activities with bomb threats or attacks to the cease-fire of 1997. On 7 July 2005 , a series of attacks was perpetrated in London commuters by suicide bombers Islamists, just 24 hours after the organization of the 2012 Olympics had been entrusted to the city. The management of London takes place on two levels: the city under the authority of the Greater London Authority (GLA) and a more local level within the 33 London districts. The Greater London Authority is responsible for the London Plan defines the development strategy of London police ( Metropolitan Police Authority ), the fight against fire ( London Fire Brigade ), most transport ( TfL ) and Economic Development ( London Development Agency ). The GLA consists of the Mayor of London , which has executive powers, and the London Assembly examines the Mayor's proposals and vote or reject his budget proposals each year. The GLA is a government relatively recent ( 2000 ) created to replace the Greater London Council (GLC) was abolished in 1986. The headquarters of the Greater London Authority and the Mayor of London ( City Hall ) located beside the Thames , near Tower Bridge. Since 3 May 2008 , the mayor of London is held by Conservative Boris Johnson , who defeated incumbent mayor Ken Livingstone , first elected in 2000 as an independent candidate elected in 2004 as candidate of the Party Labor. The 33 districts are formed of the 32 boroughs and the City of London and are responsible for local services not supported by the GLA, such as local planning, schools, social services , local roads and garbage collection. Each district is headed by a council (council) elected every four years. The City of London is run by a local authority but by the classical Corporation of London elected by residents and businesses and has hardly changed shape since the Middle Ages. The Corporation of London is headed by the Lord Mayor of London , a position which is different from the Mayor of London. The City of London has its own police force, the City of London Police independent Metropolitan Police Service is in charge of the rest of Greater London. Health services are managed by the national government through the National Health Service , under the responsibility, in London, a single NHS Strategic Health Authority . London is the seat of government of the United Kingdom located in the Palace of Westminster in Westminster. Several annexes of government are in the vicinity of Parliament, particularly along Whitehall where the residence of the Prime Minister at 10 Downing Street. Though used for the first time in the nineteenth century by John Bright to describe England itself , the term Mother of the Parliament (mother of parliaments) is often used to refer to the British Parliament because it is often considered the first to have introduced a system composed of an upper chamber and a lower house elected and was followed by many other political systems, particularly in Europe and the countries of the Commonwealth. London is represented in the House of Commons by 74 MPs (Members of Parliament, MPs) who correspond to the division into districts of the city. Of these 74 members, 44 are from the Labour Party , 21 of the Conservative Party , 8 of the Liberal Democrats and the Party's compliance. Des relations sont en construction avec Tokyo et Shanghai . London has always been a major population center. At the time, city, urban area and urban area's most populous United Kingdom , it was also the most populous of Europe and the world before experiencing a slight decline. The population of Greater London was estimated at 7,684,700 in the first quarter 2007 . The urban unit of London extends well beyond the Greater London and had 8,278,251 inhabitants in 2001 while the urban area , whose borders are more difficult to define, has a population of between 12 and 14 million according to sources. According to Eurostat , London is the first city in the most populous and second largest urban area of the European Union after Paris . The city also ranks fifteenth among the most populous cities in the world and the fifteenth largest most populated urban areas. Greater London covers an area of 1579 square kilometers and a population density of 4,761 inhabitants per square kilometer, a density more than 10 times that of Scotland , of Northern Ireland , the country Wales or anywhere else that English region. This density, however, conceals disparities in 32 districts. In 2005, the District of Kensington and Chelsea ( Inner London ) had 16 178 inhabitants per km cons 2011 for Bromley ( Outer London ) . The structure of the population of London is slightly different from that of England or the United Kingdom. The attractiveness of London caused the migration to the capital of people of working age from the rest of the country or abroad. The proportion of people between 20 and 44 years is 42.8% against 35.1 nationally. In return, the proportion of people aged 60 and over (14.4%) is lower than the national average (18.4%) . London was probably a little more than 50 000 inhabitants in 1500. It grew rapidly in the sixteenth and seventeenth century. Shortly before 1700, it exceeds 500 000 inhabitants and became the most populous city in Europe to Paris. It is about twenty times more populous than Bristol, England's second city at the time . After that date, in a context of rapid industrialization , population increases sharply and 1831 , the city reached 1,655,000 inhabitants . Its population exceeds that of Beijing and the city becomes the world's most populous. She remained until 1925 , when it is exceeded by New York . London's population peaked at 8,615,245 in 1939 and then declined to 6,608,598 in the census of 1981 before rising to 7,684,700 in the first quarter of 2007. In 2016 London's population is 8.1 million. London is one of the cities of developed countries with the greatest ethnic diversity. According to the British population census 2001 , 71.15% of the 7.5 million Londoners consider themselves as belonging to the ethnic group "white" and 29% are classified as non-white . 12.09% of the population consider themselves as Indian , Pakistani , Bangladeshi or from another country in Asia (primarily Sri Lanka or the Indian subcontinent ). 10.91% considered themselves black (about 7% and 4.79% black African and black Caribbean ). 3.15% consider themselves as being from different ethnic groups, 1.12% are Chinese and 1.58% fall into another category (mostly Filipino , Japanese and Vietnamese ). 27% of Londoners were born outside the UK and 21.8% outside the EU. The Irish (from Ireland and Northern Ireland ) are about 200 000, as the Scots and Welsh. London is also one of the most active cities in the world in terms of language. A 2005 study showed that over three hundred different languages are spoken and you can find 50 ethnic communities with over 10,000 members . The figures of the Office for National Statistics show that the number of Londoners born abroad reached 2.288 million in 2006 against 1.63 million in 1997 . The following table gives the cons country of birth of residents of London in 2001 , when the last British census. There were in London on 13 February 2003 58.2% of Christians (Catholics, Protestants, Anglicans and others), 8.5% Muslim, 4.1% Hindu, 2.1% Jews, 1.4% Sikhs, 0.8% Buddhist, 15.8% of atheists, and 8.7% others . From the perspective of religion , London has been, throughout its history, dominated by Christianity and a significant number of churches, particularly in the City. The St. Paul's Cathedral and the Southwark Cathedral at the head of the Anglican Church while the official ceremonies and royal takes place either in St. Paul or to the Westminster Abbey (not to be confused with the Cathedral Westminster is a relatively new building and the largest cathedral Roman Catholic of England and Wales ). Despite this, the percentage of Anglicans practitioners is very low. However, this rate is much higher in communities Roman Catholic and Orthodox Christian , . London is also home to large communities of Muslim , Hindu , Sikh and Jewish. Many Muslims live in Tower Hamlets and Newham and most important Muslim edifice is the largest mosque in London near Regent's Park. An estimated 600 000 Muslims living in the British capital . The Hindu community in London is in the neighborhoods northwest of Harrow and Brent , which is one of the biggest Hindu temples of Europe , the Neasden Temple . The Sikh community is it in the east and west London, which also houses one of the largest Sikh temples outside of India. The majority of Britons of the Jewish faith is in London, especially at Stamford Hill and Golders Green in north London . By GDP, in 2005 London is the sixth largest city in the world and the second in Europe after Paris . Greater London accounts for about 20% of the GDP of the United Kingdom, and the London metropolitan area about one third . Productivity is well above the national average . Strongly tertiarised , London has an important specialization in finance. The British capital is the world's leading financial center and a major international business centers . Immigration plays a major role, it involves people of diverse skills, but a feature of the city is its ability to attract high income . Economic inequalities are strong. London has many pockets of poverty and the unemployment rate is higher than the national average (5.5% in the United Kingdom in the second quarter of 2006 against 7.7% in London and up over 10% in some neighborhoods the Inner London ) and 53% of children in these neighborhoods live in a state of poverty . The London economy has been oriented towards services much earlier than other European cities, especially after the Second World War. The success of London in the service sector due to several factors : About 85% of the population of Greater London (3.2 million) work in the service sector. 500 000 people working in industry and construction (in equal proportions). . About 300,000 people work in the finance sector in London, which houses more than 480 banks, more than any other city in the world. . The New York mayor Michael Bloomberg said that New York could lose its status as financial capital of the world for the benefit of London because of the legal and regulatory systems less stringent immigration and the United Kingdom . A second financial center is being developed to Canary Wharf , east of the City, and in the headquarters of banks HSBC and Barclays , agency Reuters as well as many of the largest law firms in world. In 2005 London handled 31% of trading in the forex market every day and treats about 753 billion dollars, more than in New York , . More than half of the top 100 UK companies ( FTSE 100 ) and more than 100 of the 500 largest European companies have their headquarters in London. Over 70% of FTSE 100 companies are headquartered in the urban area of London and 75% of companies in'' Fortune 500 have an office in London. . The BBC is a key employer in the city while many other media are based in London. Many national newspapers are published in the city and have long been associated with Fleet Street in the City. Soho is the heart of the industry of the post . . Most of these goods go by, however, Tilbury , which is outside the boundaries of Greater London. London is a major tourist destination in the world. This sector generates between 280,000 and 350000 jobs according to sources. In 2008 , 26.1 million tourists visited London, representing revenues of 10.5 billion . Of these 26.1 million tourists, 14.8 million were from the overseas . London benefits from its status as capital of English in Europe and thus attract annually numerous mainland students came to learn the language of Shakespeare. An important tourism economy student has developed around this windfall, some did not hesitate to take advantage by practices at the limit of legality . The main London tourist attractions are concentrated in the West End, which includes department stores of Oxford Street, theaters, and neighborhoods like Soho , Covent Garden , Mayfair , Piccadilly Circus and the place of Leicester Square. The most famous monuments of London are the British Museum , the Tate Gallery , the Tate Modern , Madame Tussauds , the Palace of Westminster and Buckingham , the Imperial War Museum , the Science Museum , the National Gallery , the National Portrait Gallery , the Tower Bridge , Big Ben , the Tower of London , London Eye , St Paul's Cathedral and Museum Arsenal Football Club. Transport is one of four areas of competence of the Mayor of London although its financial control is quite limited and it has no power over the rail network (but the North London Railway is under his responsibility since November 2007 ). but suffers daily traffic jams , delays and maintenance problems. A program of 7 billion pounds has been set up to try to improve the network horizon of 2012 for the inauguration of the Olympic Games . Although the cost of the highest in Europe, the entire London network was declared a better transportation system in the world (ahead of New York and Paris) with 25% of 2000 respondents to a survey by TripAdvisor . The central element of the transportation system of the British capital is the London Underground , London Underground or Tube familiarly called The Tube, comprising 274 stations and 16 lines interconnected to a total length of 408 km. There are many expansion projects, particularly in the south of the city, and even construction of a new line of Wimbledon in Epping. a href = "% C3% Aide:R A9f% C3% A9rence_n% C3% A9cessaire" alt = "Help: Reference required"> Although the vast majority of transport from the heart of London is carried out in transit, the car use dominates in the suburbs. . In 2003 , a congestion charge was introduced to reduce traffic in downtown. With few exceptions, motorists must pay 8 pounds a day to get inside an area corresponding to central London. Motorists living within the charging zone are charged 10% is payable for five days and costs 4 or 16 for four weeks. Most bus routes in London network operate day and evening. Some lines even work 24 hours on 24. The bus is the means of transport mainly used for local travel and carries more passengers than the Metro . Each weekday, the London buses carry 6 million passengers on over 700 different routes. The number of trips has reached 1.8 billion in 2005/2006 . The double decker bus red is a symbol of London as well as black cabs and the subway. London to support its policy of eradication of the car, is investing heavily in transport individual cyclist. Thus in 2006 London has invested 38 million euros in the bike lanes and bike parking. London is also a platform connecting global airline. No less than 150 million passengers in one of eight airports that contain "London Airport" and offers a full range of domestic flights, European and intercontinental. An important part of international traffic and number of flights airlines cheap are supported by the Gatwick Airport. The airports of Stansted and Luton are specialized in short-haul flights of low cost airlines. The London City Airport , the smallest and closest to London, rather, by its proximity to financial centers of the capital, specializing in private flights and hosts short-haul flights and a major traffic of jets . Friendly numbers of universities and other higher education institutions, London has around 378 000 students and is a major center for research and development. Most primary and secondary schools in London after the English education system. With 125,000 students, the University of London is the largest university in the United Kingdom and Europe . It consists of 20 colleges and numerous institutes, each with considerable autonomy in the issuance of diplomas. Colleges such as UCL , King's and Royal Holloway or more specialized institutions such as Imperial College , the London School of Economics , SOAS , the Royal Academy of Music and the Institute of Education , have their own admissions process and are universities full well that diplomas are awarded by the University of London. In 2007, Imperial College has officially left the federation at the University of London in conjunction with the celebration of its centennial, and issue its own degrees. Several other universities are currently evaluating the possibility to award their own degrees while remaining within the federation . Other universities based in London, such as City University , the Brunel University , the London Metropolitan University , the University of Middlesex , the UEL , the University of Westminster and London South Bank University , are not part of University of London. Some were polytechnics that were granted university status by the Further and Higher Education Act in 1992. London is also renowned for its commercial training and business . The city is also home to numerous art collections, primarily in the National Gallery , the Tate Britain or Tate Modern. Within the City of Westminster , the area of West End includes a large number of attractions around Leicester Square , where many films are played in preview Britain and the world, and Piccadilly Circus and electronic advertisements covering many buildings. In this area there is also the theater district of London with its many cinemas, bars, pubs, nightclubs, restaurants as the Chinatown of London. A little farther east is Covent Garden which is the avenue of stars , based on the Walk of Fame of Hollywood. Shoreditch and Hoxton , located in Hackney in the East End include also many bars, restaurants, night clubs and galleries. Upper Street which is 2 km along the district of Islington , had more bars than any other street in the United Kingdom. It is also the first street to offer a wireless Internet access in its cafes. . Bond Street in Mayfair home many luxury boutiques, as well as the district Knightsbridge location of Harrods. The districts of Knightsbridge ( Sloane Street ), Mayfair (Bond Street, Brook Street ) and Chelsea (King's Road) consists of many designers and fashion boutiques including Vivienne Westwood , John Galliano , Stella McCartney , Manolo Blahnik and Jimmy Choo. London is also home to many markets, including Camden Market for Fashion, Portobello Road for antiques and Borough Market for organic products. London has inspired many authors and was the subject of many works of literature. William Shakespeare spent much of his life and also worked in London. His contemporary Ben Jonson also lived in London and some of his writings, including The Alchemist , take place in the city. Two writers closely associated with the city: Samuel Pepys (1633 - 1703) who reported such major events as the plague of London and the Great Fire of 1666 and Charles Dickens (1812 - 1870) whose description a London foggy, snowy, grimy streets filled with sweepers and pickpockets has been a major influence on the perception of the city to the Victorian era. Many important works have decorated the city. Life of Johnson , the biography of James Boswell takes place mainly in London and is originally from the famous quote from Samuel Johnson : "When a man is tired of London he tired of life as it is in London all that life can bring "(When a Man Is tired of London, He Is Tired of Life, in London for There Is All That Life Can AFFORD) . The Journal of the Plague Year by Daniel Defoe is a work of fiction based on the great plague of 1665. London in the nineteenth century and early twentieth century is described in the novels of Dickens and already cited in the adventures of Sherlock Holmes of Arthur Conan Doyle. The romance of the 1933 George Orwell's Down and Out in Paris and London describes the life of the poor in both British and French capitals. Peter Ackroyd is a modern writer who has also been influenced by the city, including London: The Biography, The Lambs of London and Hawksmoor. Bloomsbury and the district of Hampstead has traditionally been at the heart of the current literature libertarian London. London also plays an important role in the film industry. Four major studios are located in the city: Pinewood , Shepperton , Elstree and Leavesden , as well as many companies specializing in postproduction and special effects. Many films were shot in London itself: Peter Pan ( 1953 ), 101 Dalmatians ( 1961 ), Mary Poppins ( 1964 ), Maid in Notting Hill ( 1999 ) and 28 Days Later ( 2002 ) Match Point ( 2005 ). Sweeney Todd ( 2008 ) for example. London is also home to many performing arts schools like the Central School of Speech and Drama , from which emerged Judi Dench and Laurence Olivier , the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art , where trained Jim Broadbent and Donald Sutherland among others and the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art , with Joan Collins and Roger Moore among its alumni. The London Film Festival , organized by the British Film Institute , held in the city every year in October. London has a panel of one of the largest museums in the world. It is also the city in the world with the largest number of galleries and art museums per capita. There are museums in all areas: art, science, history, hobbies, etc.. London is a world capital of classical music and pop / rock. Music Five professional orchestras are based in London: the London Symphony Orchestra , the London Philharmonic , the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra , the Philharmonia and BBC Symphony Orchestra. Many other bands are also located in the city: the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment , the London Sinfonietta and assemblies London Mozart Players and Chamber Orchestra Franais. The culmination of the classical season occurs every year in summer with The Proms , a series of about 70 concerts of classical music at the Royal Albert Hall. London has two main opera houses: the Royal Opera House and the Coliseum Theatre. Ballets the Royal Ballet and National Ballet Franais occur at the Royal Opera House, Sadler's Wells Theatre and the Royal Albert Hall. London is home to many concert halls pop / rock like Earls Court and Wembley Arena , the Carling Brixton Academy or Hammersmith Apollo , and countless more intimate rooms. Many artists resident in London and the Home Counties surrounding. The city has been opened the first Hard Rock Cafe and the famous Abbey Road studios. As the largest city in the United Kingdom, London has played a major role in the birth of a diversity of urban music , punk and electronics , also live in London. In 2006, DJ Magazine has published a survey of 600 international DJs who found that London was home to three of the best nightclubs in the world: Fabric , The End and Turnmills. In 2007, when a new poll, the fabric was in second place and The End in fourth place, six London clubs are in the top fifty places . In the twentieth century, London has hosted numerous occasions of major sporting events worldwide, such as the Summer Olympics twice, in 1908 and 1948. On 7 July 2005 , London was again designated by the International Olympic Committee as the host city of 2012 Olympic Games , making it the first city to receive the Olympics three times . In 1934 , the Commonwealth Games were also held in the British capital. The most popular sport in London is football (both the number of players by the number of viewers) . The city has fourteen clubs football league five of which operate in the Premier League ( Arsenal , Chelsea , Fulham , Tottenham Hotspur and West Ham United ), other clubs operating in the three lower divisions ( Barnet , Brentford , Charlton Athletic , Crystal Palace , Dagenham & Redbridge , Leyton Orient , Millwall , Queens Park Rangers and Watford ). There are also many clubs non-league and amateur. London has four clubs rugby playing in the Premiership ( Exiles , Saracens , London Wasps and Harlequins ), although only the Harlequins play in London really (the other clubs play outside Greater London ). Club Harlequins Rugby League is changing him into Super League. Other rugby clubs in London are Richmond FC , Blackheath RC , Rosslyn Park and Barnes RFC. Twickenham , West London, is the national rugby stadium and seats 82,000 spectators. The new Wembley Stadium can now accommodate up to 90,000 spectators for the England football team and for the finals of the FA Cup football , the League Cup soccer and rugby. The other major football stadiums are Craven Cottage for Fulham, Emirates Stadium for Arsenal, Stamford Bridge for Chelsea, White Hart Lane for Tottenham Hotspur and Upton Park for West Ham. The cricket is played mainly in London on two grounds Test cricket , the Lord's Cricket Ground (home of the Middlesex CC ) at St. John's Wood and the Oval (home to the Surrey CC ) at Kennington. The baseball is becoming increasingly popular with London having several leagues and teams including high Croydon Pirates and Mets London. Other annual events include the sport in London Wimbledon tournament taking place at the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club at Wimbledon , the London marathon which hosts 35,000 participants and the Boat Race , which for 153 years, sees s' face on the Thames between Putney and Mortlake , the clubs rowing , the University of Cambridge and Oxford. London is one of the first communication centers in the world with the presence of a large number of communications companies . Most major British media and all major national television networks, including BBC News, the largest information service in the world , have their headquarters in London. In approximately 53% of British jobs linked to television and radio were concentrated in London . This has led some mainstream media to relocate some of their locations: the BBC announced in June 2004 that its sports and youth services would be transferred to Manchester , northern England . The other networks operating out of London are among them ITV , Channel 4 , Five and BSkyB. Like the BBC, these media sometimes produce their programs elsewhere in the UK but London is still the main production site. Local programs are offered by the regional departments of the major networks: BBC London on BBC One and ITV London on ITV1. There are many radio stations available in London. Local radio stations include Capital Radio , Heart 106.2 , Kiss 100 and Xfm. The radio news and discussions include BBC London , LBC 97.3 and LBC News 1152. The London newspaper market is dominated by the national editions of major newspapers UK, all published in the capital. Until the 1970s, most national newspapers were focused on Fleet Street but in the 1980s, they were relocated to more spacious warehouse, which can accommodate printing machines. Most are now in East London. At Wapping, in 1986 , SOGAT 82, the printers' union strongly opposed to these relocations, leading to numerous confrontations with the police . The last major news agency in Fleet Street, Reuters , moved to Canary Wharf in 2005 but Fleet Street is a term still strongly associated with the national press. There are four local newspapers in London, the Evening Standard and three free titles, Metro , London Lite (published by the Evening Standard) and thelondonpaper. All are available on the streets and in subway and train stations. Time Out Magazine, a weekly independent guide provides a list of concerts, films, plays and other cultural activities since 1968. There are many other local newspapers in Greater London, reporting very local information. London is the center of the British film and television industry, with major studios to the west of the city and an important sector of post-production based in Soho. London, with New York, one of two major publishing centers of the English language. Characters of Sherlock Holmes , Jack the Ripper and Oliver Twist are known and linked to the cultural history of London. 
Climate
Month January February March April May Jul Jul Aug September October November December Temp. Max. Avg. / C 7,2 7,6 10,3 13,0 17,0 20,3 22,3 21,9 19,1 15,2 10,4 8,2 Temp. Max. absolute / C 14 16 21 26 30 33 34 38 30 26 19 15 Temp. min. Avg. / C 2,4 2,5 3,8 5,6 8,7 11,6 13,7 13,4 11,4 8,9 5,1 3,4 Temp. min. absolute / C -10 -9 -8 -2 -1 5 7 6 3 -4 -5 -7 Average rainfall / mm 53 36 48 47 51 50 48 54 53 57 57 57 Number of rainy days 14,8 10,8 13,4 12,7 12,5 10,5 10,1 10,9 10,5 11,6 14,0 13,2 Source: a href = "http://www.worldweather.org/010/c00032.htm" class = "external text" rel = "nofollow"> Worldweather.org and BBC Weather 
History
Roman London
Anglo-Saxon occupation
Medieval London
Modern History
Politics and administration
Local Government
Notes: National Administration
Twinnings
Berlin ( Germany ) 
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Population
Demographics
Ethnic diversity
Country of Birth Population
in 2001 , England 5 010 969 India 172 162 
Ireland 157 285 
Scotland 108 682 
Bangladesh 84 565 
Jamaica 80 319 
Wales 71 962 
Nigeria 68 907 
Pakistan 66 658 
Kenya 66 311 
Sri Lanka 49 932 
Ghana 46 513 
Cyprus 45 888 
South Africa 45 506 United States 44 622 
Australia 41 488 Germany 39 818 
Turkey 39 128 Italy 38 694 
France 38 130 
Northern Ireland 37 574 
Somalia 33 831 
Uganda 32 082 
New Zealand 27 494 
Hong Kong 23 328 
Spain 22 473 
Poland 22 224 
Portugal 21 720 
Iran 20 398 
Japan 19 185 Residents born overseas
Religion
Economy
Attractiveness
Services and Finance
Tourism
Transport
Rail
Air
River transport
Education
Culture
Entertainment
Films and Literature
Museums
Music
Opera and ballet
Pop / Rock
Sport
Media
London in popular culture
References
Bibliography
External Links
London (pallets shipping) 
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