This dazzling global city has forged a strong bond with professional cycling, a relationship best summarised by a few key dates and names. The Tour de France held its Grand Départ there in 2007, when the prologue was dominated by Fabian Cancellara and Robbie McEwen followed up by winning a stage into Canterbury. The city then hosted the third stage of the 2014 edition, victory going to Marcel Kittel. At the 2012 Olympic Games, Marianne Vos and Alexandre Vinokourov clinched the road race titles, while Bradley Wiggins won gold in the time trial. The palmarès of the London Classic, which featured races for both women and men, includes names such as Kirsten Wild, Charlotte Kool and Lorena Wiebes. To these can be added visits by the Tour of Britain, where sprinters of the calibre of Tom Boonen, Alexander Kristoff, Pascal Ackermann, Caleb Ewan and Elia Viviani all savoured success. Turning to elite-level cyclists hailing from the capital, the list is also long: Emma Pooley, 2010 world time trial champion; Tao Geoghegan Hart, winner of the 2020 Giro d’Italia; Fred Wright, British road race champion in 2023 and 2026; and Ethan Hayter, one of the great animators of stage races on the current scene... Not all are British, though: Australian Phil Anderson, who was the first non-European to wear the yellow jersey in 1981, and 2022 US champion Emma Langley were both born in London!
- Capital of England and the United Kingdom
- Population: 8,860,000
- cityoflondon.gov.uk
London and cycling
In 2007, with a Grand Départ that remains etched in everyone’s memory, the Tour de France cemented its ‘entente cordiale’ with London and the United Kingdom. Admittedly, the Tour had already visited the island in 1974 and 1994, but this prologue around Buckingham Palace and Hyde Park left a lasting impression and marked a new dawn for British cycling. Whilst Fabian Cancellara had won the stage, Bradley Wiggins finished fourth, little realising that, five years later, he would be the first Briton to wear the yellow jersey on the Champs-Élysées. Chris Froome was even further from thinking about winning the Tour; he was preparing to compete in the African Games in Algiers, where he would finish third in the road race. As for Mark Cavendish, he would not begin his collection of stage victories until the following year. The jubilation and fervour of that day in 2007 heralded the successes to come for British cycling from 2012 onwards, including Bradley Wiggins’ victory in the Tour and then in the time trial at the London Olympics. The rest is history…
In 2011, the Tour once again halted in London, where Marcel Kittel claimed his second stage victory in three days, following his win in Harrogate on Stage 1. The popular success of this stage left a lasting impression.
London then hosted the Ride London Classic, which saw Lorena Wiebes win on three occasions (2019, 2022 and 2024) before the event was discontinued.
London has produced many cyclists, including Tao Geoghegan Hart, winner of the Giro in 2020; Fred Wright, double national champion in 2023 and 2026; Ethan Hayter; and Sean Yates, winner of a time trial stage at the 1988 Tour de France. Although not born there, Bradley Wiggins is also a true Londoner.
In the women’s ranks, credit goes to Emma Pooley, the 2010 world time trial champion, British road champion that same year and winner of four stages of the Giro d’Italia.
Sights
Westminster Abbey
Built in the 13th century.
Style: Geometric Gothic.
Features: Westminster Abbey, designed by Augustus Welby Pugin, is one of London’s most famous religious buildings. Most of the abbey was built in the 13th century, during the reign of Henry III. It is the final resting place of some of England’s kings and queens, as well as other famous men and women. The Poets’ Corner honours the kingdom’s writers. Almost all the coronations of English monarchs have taken place in the abbey, from William the Conqueror in 1066 to Charles III in May 2023.
The building is primarily constructed in the Geometric Gothic style, with Reigate stone used for the facing. The church has an eleven-bay nave with aisles, a transept and a chancel with an ambulatory and radiating chapels. The building is supported by two levels of flying buttresses. The west end of the nave and the west façade were designed by Henry Yevele in the Perpendicular Gothic style. The Henry VII Chapel was built in the late Perpendicular style. The western towers, designed by Nicholas Hawksmoor, blend the abbey’s Gothic style with the Baroque style in vogue at the time. The modern Westminster Abbey draws heavily on French Gothic styles, notably those of Reims Cathedral, rather than on contemporary English Gothic styles.
History: Westminster means “Western Abbey” as it was situated to the west of the City (as opposed to Eastminster, a Cistercian monastery located to the east, beyond the Tower of London). According to legend, the abbey was founded in 616. A fisherman named Aldrich is said to have witnessed visions of the Apostle Peter there. In the 10th century, Dunstan of Canterbury established a community of Benedictine monks there. In the mid-11th century, Anglo-Saxon King Edward the Confessor had his palace built on the banks of the Thames near the monastery, which he decided to enlarge. The abbey church was consecrated on 28 December 1065, a few days before the king’s death. England was subsequently invaded by William the Conqueror, Duke of Normandy, who was crowned King of England in the abbey church on 25 December 1066. In the 13th century, Henry III (1207–1272) decided to rebuild the church in the Gothic style to provide a splendid setting for the tomb of Edward the Confessor and to add a relic containing the Precious Blood of Christ. In doing so, he sought to rival the Sainte-Chapelle built by Saint Louis in Paris. Between 1503 and 1519, the chapel known as the Henry VII Chapel was built, inspired by the Italian Renaissance. In 1540, Henry VIII dissolved the monasteries and elevated the abbey to the status of a cathedral.
Listing: Grade I listed. Listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1987.
Palace of Westminster
Construction: 11th to 19th centuries.
Style: Neo-Gothic.
History: due to its location on the banks of the Thames, the Palace of Westminster held great strategic importance throughout the Middle Ages. The penultimate Saxon king of England, Edward the Confessor, built a royal palace on Thorney Island at around the same time as Westminster Abbey. Following the Norman invasion of 1066, William the Conqueror took up residence in the Tower of London but soon came to prefer Westminster. The oldest parts of the palace, Westminster Hall and the Great Hall, date from the reign of William the Conqueror’s successor, William Rufus. The palace became the principal residence of the kings of England until the fire of 1512, which destroyed a significant part of the buildings. From the reign of Henry VIII onwards, the palace was used primarily as the seat of the two Houses of Parliament and as a court of law. As a royal residence, the Palace of Westminster contained no rooms suitable for accommodating both Houses: the House of Commons did not secure a permanent home until the reign of Henry VIII’s successor, Edward VI. On 16 October 1834, most of the palace went up in smoke in a fire. Only Westminster Hall, the Tower of the Jewels, the crypt of St Stephen’s Chapel and the cloisters survived. In 1836, after examining nearly a hundred designs, the royal commission selected architect Charles Barry and his project for a palace in the Neo-Gothic style. Destroyed by German bombing in 1941, the House of Commons was rebuilt by Giles Gilbert Scott in 1950.
Characteristics: as a result of the fire of 1834, most of the building dates from the 19th century. The architect responsible for the reconstruction, Sir Charles Barry, designed the new building in the purest Neo-Gothic style, drawing inspiration from the Tudor period. One of the most famous attractions at the Palace of Westminster is its Clock Tower, officially named ‘Elizabeth Tower’ to mark Queen Elizabeth II’s Diamond Jubilee in 2012, which houses Big Ben. The palace, a vast complex comprising over a thousand rooms, contains not only the chambers of the House of Lords and the House of Commons, but also the offices of parliamentary committees, libraries, lobbies, dining rooms, bars and even gyms.
Listing: Grade I listed. Listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1987.
Buckingham Palace
Construction: 1703 to 1826.
History: situated in the City of Westminster and built for John Sheffield, Duke of Buckingham and Normandy, in 1703, it is the official residence of the British monarchy. It was extended during the 19th century by John Nash for King George IV. In the Middle Ages, the site of Buckingham Palace, formed part of Ebury Manor. It has had several royal occupants since Edward the Confessor and returned to royal ownership in the 18th century. Originally known as Buckingham House, the building forming the heart of the palace was then a large townhouse built in 1703 for the Duke of Buckingham, John Sheffield, and acquired by King George III in 1762. It was extended over the following 75 years by architects John Nash and Edward Blore, who added three wings around a square courtyard. The palace finally became the official residence of the British monarchy upon Queen Victoria’s accession to the throne in 1837. The last major structural additions date from the late 19th and early 20th centuries: the imposing east wing facing The Mall was added, and the former official entrance, Marble Arch, was moved to near Speaker’s Corner in Hyde Park, where it still stands today. The east façade was rebuilt in 1913 using blocks of Portland limestone, set against the backdrop of the Victoria Memorial, creating Buckingham Palace’s ‘public façade’, with the balcony at its centre. The State Apartments form the heart of the palace and were regularly used by Queen Elizabeth II and members of the Royal Family for official events. Buckingham Palace is one of the world’s most famous buildings: over 50,000 people are welcomed to the palace each year as guests at banquets, luncheons, dinners, receptions and garden parties. Major restoration work on the palace began in 2026.
Distinguishing features: the palace gardens are the largest private gardens in London, originally designed by Capability Brown, then redesigned by William Townsend Aiton (of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew) and by John Nash.
Trivia: at least 12 people have managed to gain unauthorised access to the palace or its gardens since 1914, including Michael Fagan, who broke into the palace twice in 1982 and entered Queen Elizabeth II’s bedroom during his second intrusion on 9 July. At the time, the media reported that he had a long conversation with her whilst she was waiting for security officers to arrive.
Listing: Grade I listed since 1970.
Hyde Park
Established: 1637.
History: The oldest part of the park belonged to Ebury Manor and covered an area of one ‘hide’ – an ancient English unit of area varying, depending on the composition of the soil, from twenty-four to forty-nine hectares – which gave the park its name. In 1536, during the Dissolution of the Monasteries, Henry VIII reclaimed the land from the abbots of Westminster Abbey. Much of the park’s design is attributed to architect Decimus Burton in the 1820s. Whilst Kensington Gardens are largely flat, Hyde Park is gently undulating. Hyde Park was the original site of the Crystal Palace, designed by Joseph Paxton for the Great Exhibition of 1851.
Features: Hyde Park is the largest park in central London, stretching over two kilometres in length and nearly one kilometre in width.
Distinguishing feature: Hyde Park has gained an international reputation as a venue for demonstrations and other protests due to its tolerance of freedom of expression. Rallies are held at Speakers’ Corner, situated in the north-eastern part of the park, near Marble Arch. Established in 1872, it is a space for free speech where anyone can speak freely to whatever audience happens to be present.
Note: on 20 July 1982, a bomb attack carried out by the Provisional IRA resulted in the deaths of four soldiers from the Household Cavalry.
Trivia: The park has also hosted famous rock concerts: Jethro Tull (1968), The Rolling Stones (1969), Pink Floyd (1970), Roy Harper (1971), Queen (1976), The Cure (2002), Red Hot Chili Peppers (2004), Blur (2009) and Bruce Springsteen (2009), as well as Live 8 in 2005. The photographs of The Beatles for the album Beatles for Sale were taken in Hyde Park in the autumn of 1964. The Rolling Stones also held a second concert in Hyde Park in 2013.
Listing: listed as Grade I in 1987.
The Tower of London
Construction: 1066.
History: construction began towards the end of 1066 as part of the Norman conquest of England. The White Tower, which gave its name to the entire castle, was built on the orders of William the Conqueror in 1078 and was regarded as a symbol of the oppression inflicted upon London. The castle was used as a prison from 1100 onwards. It also served as a royal residence. As a whole, the Tower is a complex comprising several buildings surrounded by two concentric defensive walls and a moat. There were several phases of expansion, mainly during the reigns of Richard I, Henry III and Edward I in the 12th and 13th centuries. The general layout established in the late 13th century remained unchanged. The Tower of London was besieged on several occasions, and control of it was crucial to controlling the country. It served as an armoury, a treasury and a menagerie; it housed the Royal Mint and the public archives; and today it is home to the British Crown Jewels. During the Tudor period, the Tower lost its role as a royal residence. Its use as a prison reached its peak in the 16th and 17th centuries, when many people who had fallen from grace were imprisoned there. Despite its grim reputation, only seven people were executed in the Tower before the 20th century. In the second half of the 19th century, institutions such as the Royal Mint left the Tower. Architects Anthony Salvin and John Taylor took the opportunity to restore it to its medieval appearance. During both World Wars, the Tower was once again used as a prison and was the site of twelve executions for espionage. After the Second World War, the damage caused by the Blitz was repaired and the Tower was reopened to the public.
Distinguishing features: the tradition of housing the Crown Jewels in the tower probably dates back to the reign of Henry III. The Jewel House was built specifically to house the regalia, including the crowns, sceptres and ceremonial swords. In 1649, during the English Civil War, the contents of the Jewel House were stripped of their royal artefacts. The metal objects were sent to the mint to be melted down. The Crown Jewels are currently kept at Waterloo Barracks. When visitors enter the Jewel Room, several rules apply: guides are not permitted to enter the room; only visitors are allowed; and it is strictly forbidden to photograph the jewels, on pain of imprisonment.
Trivia: the ravens of the Tower of London are a group of Common Ravens living there in captivity. A superstition holds that ‘if the ravens of the Tower of London are lost or fly away, the Crown will fall, and Britain with it’. This is why one of their wings is clipped. There must be at least six of them (there are currently seven), and each one has a name (Munin, Jubilee, Gripp, Harris, Rocky, Erin and Merlina). One of the Yeomen Warders, the Tower’s ceremonial guard corps, designated as the Ravenmaster, is responsible for looking after these birds; he is the only person permitted to approach them.
Current status: the Tower still houses the Crown Jewels and welcomes several million visitors a year.
Listing: designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1988. Listed as Grade I.
Tower Bridge
Opened: 1894.
History and features: it took eight years, five major construction firms and the hard work of 432 construction workers to build it. Tower Bridge was the largest and most sophisticated bascule bridge ever built, and large ships could pass underneath it. Steam engines powered the bridge decks; it took one minute for them to rise to a maximum angle of 86 degrees. Above the bridge, 42 metres above the Thames, are two footbridges which originally allowed the public to cross when the bridge was raised. The bridge provides the backdrop to many of the city’s most famous events, such as the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee parade on the Thames in 2012. Every year, 35,000 runners cross Tower Bridge during the London Marathon.
British Museum
Founded: 1753.
Features: its collections, comprising over seven million objects, are amongst the largest in the world and come from every continent. They illustrate human history from its beginnings to the present day. They are organised into the following sections: Ancient Egypt and Sudan; Greco-Roman Antiquities; the Middle East; Asia; Africa, Oceania and the Americas; Britain, Europe and Prehistory; Prints and Drawings; Coins and Medals; Conservation and Scientific Research. Among the museum’s most famous artefacts are the Rosetta Stone (196 BC), which enabled Jean-François Champollion to decipher hieroglyphs in 1822, the Parthenon Marbles (Elgin Marbles), carved in the 5th century BC by Phidias and his workshop for the temple in Athens, the bust of Ramses II (the Young Memnon), a 7.5-tonne granite colossus dating from the New Kingdom (c. 1270 BC), or the Assyrian reliefs depicting the lion hunt from Ashurbanipal’s royal palace in Nineveh, which are major examples of Mesopotamian art.
Distinctive feature: the wings housing the collections are situated around the Queen Elizabeth II Great Court, which is the largest covered square in Europe. It was designed by Foster and Partners, who won the competition launched in 2000 with three objectives: to reveal hidden spaces, to rethink existing spaces, and to create new ones. The court was inaugurated on 6 December 2000 by Queen Elizabeth II.
History: The British Museum was founded in 1753, largely based on the vast collection of 71,000 objects bequeathed by wealthy physician and scientist Sir Hans Sloane. The museum opened to the public on 15 January 1759 at Montagu House in Bloomsbury, on the same site as today; at that time, it housed some 80,000 objects. The collections were further enriched by contributions from Captain Cook and William Hamilton, a British archaeologist and diplomat. Napoleon’s defeat in Egypt led to the acquisition of Egyptian artefacts, including the Rosetta Stone. Then, in the early 19th century, Lord Elgin, the ambassador to Constantinople, brought sculptures from the Greek world to the museum. In 1865, a new building was constructed on Great Russell Street to replace the old one (Montagu House). The building featured a vast reading room where many illustrious writers, philosophers and scholars worked, such as Karl Marx and Charles Dickens. The natural history collections were moved to South Kensington in 1880.
Current status: the British Museum attracts six million visitors a year and is the most visited tourist attraction in Britain. As with most museums and art galleries in the United Kingdom, admission is free, with the exception of certain temporary exhibitions; donations are encouraged.
Listing: Grade I listed.
Tate Museums
Tate is an institution comprising several museums specialising in the fine arts in London and across the United Kingdom. Sir Henry Tate, having made his fortune in the sugar trade, wanted to establish a museum open to the public to exhibit paintings and sculptures by contemporary British artists that the National Gallery would not accept. A collector of modern art, he donated his collection to the nation, along with 80,000 pounds towards the construction of a building on land to be provided by the government. The building was constructed at Millbank on the site of a former prison. Later, the Tate Gallery was expanded to house the national collection of international modern art. For decades, the Tate exhibited both historical and contemporary works without having enough galleries to display all its most famous paintings. Eventually, it was decided to separate the two collections and move the modern art collection to a separate building. The Tate Gallery at Millbank, renamed Tate Britain, is now dedicated to art from the United Kingdom. It houses works by William Hogarth, Thomas Gainsborough, John Constable, William Turner and numerous Pre-Raphaelite painters.
The Tate Modern is the museum which, since its opening in 2000, has housed the British national collection of modern and international contemporary art, originally from the Tate Gallery. It is situated in central London, at Bankside in the borough of Southwark, on the right bank of the Thames. It houses works by David Hockney, Pablo Picasso, Salvador Dalí, Francis Bacon, Amedeo Modigliani, Henri Matisse and Mondrian.
The London Eye and the South Bank
Offering panoramic views of the capital, The Eye is the world’s largest Ferris wheel. Along the south bank of the Thames (South Bank), there is something for everyone: exhibitions, shows, films and a remarkable array of shops and restaurants on the Oxo Tower Quays and Gabriel Quay, as well as on the Riverside Promenade and at the Riverside Festival. Bernie Spain’s Gardens regularly host weekend festivals from June to September. These free events feature street theatre, circus acts, fireworks, music and dance from around the world. The South Bank is also home to the London Aquarium and the London Dungeon.
Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park
Years of investment have transformed this once-neglected area in East London to host the world’s biggest sporting event. In 2012, the Olympic Park buzzed with hundreds of thousands of spectators soaking up the atmosphere of the London Olympic and Paralympic Games. A spectacular new destination for culture and leisure, Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park has already welcomed over 1 million visitors in its first year since reopening. The recently developed southern part of the park features a square the size of 16 football pitches; opened in 2014, the South Square stretches between the Aquatics Centre, designed by architect Zaha Hadid, and the stadium used by West Ham United Football Club. It is also home to the tallest sculpture in the United Kingdom, the ArcelorMittal Orbit, which stands 114.5 metres tall – 22 metres taller than the Statue of Liberty: 35,000 bolts and 19,000 litres of paint were used in its construction.