London Vacations And Buckingham Palace
England is a most wonderful country in which to spend a vacation. It has a great many visitor attractions to visit perfect for all tastes. For example the ancient city of York which is known to have been inhabited since the times of the Roman Empire, Liverpool (2008’s European City of Culture), and Torquay (referred to as the English Riviera). One of the most interesting, and famous, places to visit is London the capital city of the UK.
London is a most astounding place to visit, possibly just for a weekend or, hopefully for a full vacation. You may be surprised at the number of people living in the U. K. who have not visited London, even more surprising when you consider the fact it is most often top of most visitors lists (of the most enjoyable places they went to).
There are so many things to see and do in London that it is almost impossible to list them all all in one go. Surprisingly one of the newest attractions in London also happens to be one of the most popular – The London Eye. Another popular attraction nearby to the London Eye is Big Ben and the Houses of Parliament. However, one place which must not be missed is Buckingham Palace.
Buckingham Palace is England’s most well known Royal residence, being home to Queen Elizabeth II of England. Buckingham Palace is positioned right at the heart of London which makes it the perfect focus for visitors. The daily pageant of ‘Changing of the Guard’ is highly fascinating to see and ever so English.
Buckingham Palace was originally called Buckingham House. It was originally a large townhouse, constructed in 1703 for the Duke of Buckingham. It is actually the town house which forms the main core of the palace as we are familiar with today.
During the subsequent three quarters of a century Buckingham House was made larger with the building of an additional three wings forming a central courtyard. The primary architects responsible for these constructions were John Nash and Edward Blore. It was also John Nash who was responsible for the interior design of the monumental staterooms.
The widely known architect Aston Webb was responsible for the construction of the principal facade of Buckingham Palace which, in 1912, he re-designed. Webb in association with the sculptor Sir Thomas Brock were the winners of a competition to design a memorial to Queen Victoria. This memorial can still be today.
The Queen has many other royal residences besides Buckingham Palace. Annually the Queen stays, at Sandringham House in Norfolk, over Christmas. Sandringham House is one of the Queen’s private royal residences.
Another private residence is Balmoral Castle, situated in Royal Aberdeenshire, Scotland. Queen Elizabeth was in Balmoral Castle when she heard of the tragic accident involving Diana.
If you would like to take a break in the UK then you may be surprised to discover that it is possible to find cheap hotels in London without any great effort, on the other hand you may wish to reside in more luxurious accommodation and the small selection of boutique hotels in London should be more than satisfactory.