In 1889 the sugar merchant Henry Tate offered the government his collection of 65 British paintings to be displayed to the public. Due to a lack of space for British art at the National Gallery Tate provided £80,000 to build the National Gallery of British Art. The new gallery was designed by the architect Sidney R. J. Smith & built on the site of the old Millbank penitentiary. The gallery opened in 1897 with 245 works of art in eight galleries & quickly became known as the Tate Gallery. The gallery officially became known as the Tate Gallery in 1932 & then the Tate Britain in 2000 after the opening of the Tate Modern inside the old Bankside power station. The Tate Britain displays over 700 artworks, is free to visit & also has the Djanogly Café, Rex Whistler Restaurant & a wide range of exhibitions & events take place throughout the year _{(some exhibitions charge an entry fee)}.

The Jewel Tower is one of the last remaining structures from the Medieval Palace of Westminster. The Tower was built by Henry Yevele between 1365-1366 for King Edward III & originally served as a store for precious items including silver plate. After much of the medieval palace was destroyed by a fire in 1834 the Jewel Tower became a records office for the House of Lords. In 1869 it became a testing office for the Board of Trade Standards Department (More commonly known as Weights and Measures).

Known as the ‘Houses of Parliament’, the new palace was built between 1840-1870 after the original palace was damaged during a fire. The palace is the home of UK Parliament & the iconic Elizabeth Tower (known as Big Ben).

St. Margaret’s Church is dedicated to St. Margaret of Antioch & is the third church to stand on the site. The original St. Margaret’s Church was built by the Benedictine Monks of Westminster Abbey in the 11th Century. The Rule of St. Benedict required the monks to sing the Divine Office at set times each day. The creation of a smaller church next to the Abbey allowed the people of Westminster to worship without disturbing the monks.

The current St. Margaret’s Church was designed by Robert Stowell & work started in 1482. The church was finally consecrated on the 9th April 1523 & remains almost unchanged today. St. Margaret’s Church is now governed by the Dean and Chapter of Westminster & can be visited free of charge.

Westminster Abbey was built by King Edward (later to become St. Edward the Confessor) on the site of a Benedictine Monastery on Thorn Ey (Thorn Island) in Westminster. King Edward’s Abbey was consecrated on the 28th December 1065 however Edward was unable to attend the consecration due to illness, he died just days later sparking a succession crisis which intimately led to the Norman Conquest of England. William the Conqueror was coronated King William I on Christmas Day in 1066 & every coronation has taken place at Westminster Abbey since.

King Edward’s abbey stood for over two centuries until King Henry III started to rebuild the abbey in a Gothic style. Henry’s abbey was consecrated on the 13th October 1269 & still stands today. Westminster Abbey is the resting place of 17 monarchs & a number of poets, musicians, scientists and politicians.

The Supreme Court was formally established on the 1st October 2009 & is the highest court in the United Kingdom. The court hears appeals for civil cases in the United Kingdom & criminal cases in England, Wales & Northern Ireland. The Supreme Court sits in the Middlesex Guildhall, an art nouveau gothic style building designed by J. S Gibson & completed in 1913.

Florence Nightingale was a pioneer of modern nursing & a social reformer, she became known as the Lady with the Lamp after her night rounds tending to wounded soldiers during the Crimean War. The Florence Nightingale Museum is situated at St. Thomas Hospital on the site of Florence Nightingale’s Training School & celebrates the life & work of Florence Nightingale through collections of over 3000 objects.

La Banqueting House est le dernier bâtiment restant du palais de Whitehall, abritant un magnifique plafond peint par Sir Peter Paul Rubens et le site d'exécution du roi Charles Ier. Le bâtiment a été conçu par Inigo Jones dans le style palladien pour le roi Jacques Ier et a été achevé en 1622.

County Hall was designed by the architect Ralph Knott & opened by King George V in 1922. The building served as the headquarters for the London County Council & then the Greater London Council. Today County Hall is home to the Sea Life London Aquarium, London Dungeon, Namco Arcade, hotels, restaurants, private apartments & conference & event spaces.

À 135 mètres de haut, le London Eye est la plus grande roue d'observation en porte-à-faux au monde. Le London Eye a été conçu par Marks Barfield Architects et lancé en 2000 en tant qu'attraction temporaire. Le London Eye est rapidement devenu l'une des attractions payantes les plus populaires au monde avec plus de 3,5 millions de visiteurs chaque année. Par temps clair, la visibilité peut atteindre 40 km, ce qui permet de voir le château de Windsor et le pont Queen Elizabeth II à Dartford.

Le parc St. James est le plus ancien parc royal de Londres et est entouré de trois palais royaux, le palais de Westminster, le palais St. James et le palais de Buckingham. En 1536, la cour royale était basée au palais de Westminster et le roi Henri VIII acheta un terrain à St. James pour construire le palais St. James et un nouveau parc aux cerfs. Après son accession au trône en 1603, Jacques Ier fit assécher le parc, l'aménager et le remplir d'animaux exotiques, notamment des chameaux, des crocodiles, des oiseaux et un éléphant.

Le parc St. James a subi d'autres modifications lorsque Charles II l'a ouvert au public et l'a fait réaménager dans un style plus formel avec un grand canal. Le parc St. James a subi une autre transformation dans les années 1820 lorsque le prince régent (qui deviendra plus tard George IV) a chargé l'architecte et paysagiste John Nash de donner au parc un aspect plus naturel. Le canal a été façonné en lac et un pont en fer a été construit offrant d'excellentes vues sur le lac. Le pont actuel (le pont bleu) a été construit en 1957 et est le troisième pont à enjamber le lac St. James Park.