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  • Hi, I'm Rick Steves back with more of the best of Europe. This time we're having a jolly

  • good time and enjoying lots of royal pageantry...in London. Thanks for joining us.

  • This time we'll see the "Old London" and....the "New London". Enjoy some of the city's traditional

  • pomp... hop a double decker bus ride to Christopher Wren's magnificent St. Paul's...shop for a

  • jaunty hat...checkout the vibrant scene in Soho...ponder some of England's greatest names

  • in Westminster Abbey, Discover treasures in the British Library and straddle the zero

  • meridian in Greenwich.

  • But first, we're checking out the Changing of the Guard at Buckingham Palace-beautiful

  • weather, lots of royal pageantry, and a huge excited crowd.

  • The Changing of the Guard at Buckingham Palace is a fine introduction to London. While no

  • longer ruling a vast empire-London is still a capital of regal traditions. This time-honored

  • ritual still stirs English hearts. And, while you have to be very tall or very early to

  • actually see the guards change...I get a kick out of watching what seems like every tourist

  • in London gathered together in one place at the same time.

  • Today, England's royal family calls Buckingham Palace home. But for centuries they lived

  • closer to the River Thames...where, in the 11th century, King Edward the Confessor built

  • the first Palace of Westminster. Over the centuries, that palace evolved to become this

  • building and an icon of modern democracy.

  • Eventually, representatives of local communities or "commons" gathered here to be near their

  • king. They began meeting independently as the "House of Commons." And to this day, Britain

  • is ruled from here...in the Houses of Parliament.

  • Visitors are welcome to queue up for a free look at either the uppity House of Lords or

  • the rowdier House of Commons in action.

  • Like much of the most medieval-looking architecture in Europe, this is actually over-the-top faux

  • medieval. It's Neo-Gothic...built in the 1800s...the Romantic Age.

  • All across Europe Neo-Gothic was a reaction against the neo-Classical Age of Revolution,

  • which challenged royalty and religion. With this less-cerebral, more romantic style, Victorian

  • England reaffirmed its royal and Christian roots.

  • People call this famous tower, Big Ben. But Ben is actually the 13-ton bell behind the

  • clock. Here's a fun way to make your sister envious...

  • Rick: Hi Jan. It's Rick.

  • An enormous royal palace once stretched all the way from Big Ben to Trafalgar Square at

  • the end of this street. While the palace is long gone, its name survives; Whitehall-today

  • Britain's most important street. The British Empire-which at one point ruled nearly a quarter

  • of the world's population-was managed from here and a Whitehall walk is filled with reminders

  • of England's proud and hard-fought history. Stately reliefs and stern buildings seem to

  • celebrate "the empire upon which the sun never set."

  • As it has for centuries, the Royal horse guard still keeps the royal family safe. And if

  • you're here at the right time, you'll enjoy the ritual changing of this guard as well.

  • Prime ministers-like Winston Churchill-have long lived and worked on Whitehall. Here,

  • Churchill is wrapped in the iconic trench coat he wore as he led Britain through the

  • dark days of WWII.

  • Duck under sand bags and descend into the Churchill War Rooms. This was the secret underground

  • nerve-center of the British government's fight against the Nazis in the desperate Battle

  • for Britain. Shut down after victory in 1945, and ignored for decades, it's open today as

  • a fascinating time warp for visitors to explore. Audio guides give it meaning.

  • Audio Guide: On the morning of the 16th of August 1945, the day after VJ day and the

  • end of the war, the map officers tidied their desks, switched out their lights for the first

  • time in 6 years and went home. And that's the way the room stayed.

  • You'll see the room where Churchill famously took his short naps. In this room the progress

  • of the entire war was followed as the day by day movement of troops and convoys was

  • charted. And this room was the communication hub from where Churchill maneuvered Britain

  • to ultimate victory.

  • The adjacent museum introduces you to Churchill-the man. It brings the colorful statesman to life-complete

  • with his trademark cigar, bow tie, cognac-he loved his drink, and famous hat.

  • You'll get a taste of Winston's irascibility, wit, work ethic, even the industry of kitchy

  • knicknacks he inspired.

  • Back out on Whitehall there are monuments to other great English war heroes and at the

  • end of the street at Trafalgar square is a memorial to the greatest English war hero

  • of them all. The one-armed, one-eyed, and one-minded Admiral Horatio Nelson looking

  • out to sea.

  • The year was 1805. Napoleon with his mightly army was poised on the other side of the English

  • Channel, preparing to invade. Meanwhile, a thousand miles away off the coast of Spain,

  • Admiral Nelson defeated the French fleet at the Battle of Trafalgar. Because Britannia

  • ruled the waves and Napoleon was stopped.

  • Bronze battle reliefs-made of melted down French cannon-decorate the column. These huggable

  • lions are a hit with visitors.

  • Trafalgar Square marks the very center of London. Big Ben is just over there. Buckingham

  • Palace is about a ten-minute walk that way. Soho, where all the entertainment is, is that

  • way. That is the National Gallery with the best paintings in Britain. Right there is

  • St. Martin in the Fields-a church famous for great classic concerts and the charity work

  • that it does for this community.

  • Big as it is, London's easy to get around in. And, once you're oriented, riding its

  • double-decker buses can be both efficient and fun. For me, enjoying the view from the

  • top deck is one of the great treats of this city.

  • We're entering the historic core of London, the one-square-mile district locals call,

  • simply, "The City." While only a few thousand people actually live here, its 9 to 5 crowd

  • numbers half a million. This is Britain's Wall Street, thriving with big time commerce

  • and packed with banks.

  • "The City" is also packed with history. This monument commemorates the devastating fire

  • of 1666-which started here and burned down nearly all of London. These reliefs show in

  • heroic terms how city leaders came together determined to rebuild. The great architect

  • Christopher Wren was chosen to spear-head the project.

  • And the city that rose from the ashes of that fire was decorated by the Wren-designed spires

  • of some fifty churches. Christopher Wren spent four decades-the rest of his life-working

  • on his grand vision.

  • The centerpiece: this mighty cathedral, St. Paul's. Today, it's the symbol of London's

  • resilience: its rise from the Great Fire and of London's survival of the Blitz of WWII.

  • The church is one of the world's biggest. Wren accentuated its spaciousness by the lack

  • of decoration...notice the simple ceiling...and the clear glass lighting everything evenly.

  • Today, only the west end of the church keeps Wren's original vision. In the 1800s, Queen

  • Victoria called St. Paul's "dim, dingy, and ungodly" so the east end of the church was

  • then slathered with Victorian bling...beautiful Victorian bling.

  • While the church's survival in WWII was almost miraculous, the apse of the church did take

  • a direct hit and was destroyed. Today it's rebuilt as the American memorial chapel to

  • honor our nation's contribution to the defense of Britain. We see Jesus, Mary, and...George

  • Washington. The American iconography includes stars, stripes and eagles. And hiding behind

  • birds and plants native to the USA...it's a U.S. rocket circa 1958, shooting up to the

  • stars.

  • The British are grateful to their WWII allies. The Roll of Honor lists the 28,000 American

  • servicemen based in Britain who gave their lives.

  • Climbing the dome is like climbing a 30-story building...with no elevator. And the reward...

  • a commanding view of London.

  • Christopher Wren spent nearly half his life working on St. Paul's. At age 75, he got to

  • see his son crown his masterpiece with this golden cross.

  • London has thriving shopping districts. Oxford Street is lined with big department stores.

  • It's fun to feel the energy of this dynamic city. And Piccadilly, the city's most touristy

  • square, has a magnetic attraction all its own.

  • With its tipsy-yet-somehow-balanced statue of Eros in the center, this is where worlds

  • of temptations fan out in all directions.

  • While Piccadilly seems tacky, just a few steps away is a more elegant slice of London.

  • And to enjoy this, we're joined by my friend and fellow tour guide, Brit Lonsdale.

  • Brit: This is a lovely street to come down, if you want an alternative to all of the big

  • shopping centers. Rick: Jermyn Street, right?

  • Brit: It is, yes, Jermyn Street after Dr. Henry Jermyn who was the Earl of St. Albans.

  • And it's full of lots of little, very individual, quintessentially English shops. It's really

  • worth coming down here even if you haven't got the money to buy all those wonderful things

  • that you see. Rick: Just if you want to window shop it gives

  • you a little elegant slice of London culture. Brit: Yes, absolutely. And a lovely flavor,

  • yes...We're walking past Swaine Adeney & Brigg. This is where members of the Royal Family

  • buy their umbrellas, gloves and whips. Rick: Whips! Oh, for horses.

  • Brit: Yes, of course.

  • Bates Hats still sells bowlers and top hats as it has for a century.

  • Brit: This is Bates, one of the lovely old shops on Jermyn Street. And they sell wonderful

  • hats here. This is a lovely top hat that you can see here. That's the sort of thing that

  • you might wear if you were going to the races. Rick: Oh, going to the horse race.

  • Brit: It's going to set you back a bit. Rick: So what would this cost me?

  • Brit: About 330 pounds. Worth every penny though, it's beautifully made.

  • Rick: Oh, my goodness, just under $500. Nice, a top hat for the races.

  • Brit: Now, the hats that you can see hanging on the wall here, these are Panama hats and

  • they're the sort of thing that you might wear in summertime when you're watching cricket,

  • you know traditional British occupation, the crack of leather on willow, sitting on the

  • river at Village Green with your Panama hat... This is a bowler hat. Years ago this is what

  • you wore when you went to work. It was a standard item of hat wear. If you worked in financial

  • institution in the city in the oldest part of London you would wear a bowler hat. Nowadays...

  • Rick: If you were a banker you had to have a bowler.

  • Brit: Oh, definitely. Definitely. More Laurel & Hardy I think!

  • Rick: Laurel & Hardy! Brit: A little more Laurel & Hardy than banker.

  • Simply wandering around London as evening approaches and people come out to play is

  • an experience in itself. Soho is particularly lively. The people-watching is fascinating

  • and talk about variety....

  • Rick: This is thriving with restaurants. Brit: Yes, we're in Soho. It's full of excellent

  • restaurants. It's a big center for media, the arts. There's a big gay community here.

  • Always humming, always buzzing. One of the marvelous things about London is that it's

  • such a mix. We used to have an enormous empire spanning the globe and as a result lots of

  • different nationalities came here. This part of London is the part that we call Chinatown.

  • Rick: Dim Sum, this is the place. Brit: Definitely. And of course Soho's all

  • about theater. There are at least 30 theaters within a 10 minute walk from this spot, running

  • the whole gamut: musical, comedy, Shakespeare even.

  • We're staying on a delightful-and peaceful-street in South Kensington. Hotels in London are

  • expensive -choose carefully. In my London guidebook, I recommend the family-run Aster

  • House. It has a friendly staff. And my room provides a good home base. To stretch my budget-especially

  • important here in London, I stock it with a few groceries. The conservatory has a sunny

  • Victorian elegance. And a genteel breakfast here is a fine way to start your London day.

  • A short taxi ride away is Westminster Abbey. This most historic church in the English-speaking

  • world is where kings and queens have been crowned and buried since 1066. While it was

  • first built in the 11th century, much of what we see today is 14th century. When there's

  • a royal wedding, the world looks on as, amid all this splendor, thousands of Britain's

  • glitterati gather under these graceful Gothic arches.

  • The centerpiece is the tomb of Edward the Confessor, who founded the abbey. And, surrounding

  • Edward, are the tombs of 29 other kings and queens. This is the tomb of Queen Elizabeth

  • I. Her royal orb symbolizes she was queen of the entire globe.

  • The abbey is filled with the remains of people who put the Great in Britain-saints, musicians,

  • scientists, and soldiers. For lovers of English literature, strolling through Poets' Corner

  • can be a pilgrimage in itself.

  • King Henry VII's Lady Chapel, with its colorful windows and fanciful banners, has the festive

  • air of a medieval pageant. The elaborate ceiling is a fine example of fan vaulting-a style

  • that capped the Gothic age. At the far end, a wall of modern stained glass

  • marks the Royal Airforce Chapel. It honors the fighter pilots of all nations who died

  • defending Britain in 1944.

  • With saints in stained glass, heroes in carved stone, and the remains of England's greatest

  • citizens under the floor stones, Westminster Abbey is the national church and the religious

  • heart of England.

  • London's subway-fondly known as "the tube"-is one of this planet's great people-movers and

  • easy to master: To avoid slow-moving ticket queues, buy your tube pass from machines.

  • Then, simply swipe yourself in and out...until your prepaid account needs topping up.

  • Follow signs to the right platform. Visualize the layout of the city and remember: Lines

  • are labeled north, south, east, or west. Each train line has two directions and therefore

  • two platforms. Signs list the line, direction, and stops served by each platform.

  • Because some tracks are shared by several lines, signboards announce which train's next

  • and how many minutes till it arrives. Final destinations are displayed above the windshield.

  • And always...Mind the Gap...mind the gap.

  • Once on board, you can track your progress. Confused? Many of the locals...speak English.

  • Our stop is King's Cross. Helpful signs show the best street exit for you, saving lots

  • of walking. The British Library's right this way.

  • The British Library is the national archive. The statue of Isaac Newton measuring the immensity

  • of the universe symbolizes the library's purpose: to preserve the record of man's endless search

  • for knowledge.

  • The massive building fills 180 miles of shelving with over 12 million books. For sightseers,

  • only one room matters-The Treasures Room. It showcases early gospels on papyrus; the

  • first complete New Testament-written in Greek from the 4th century; Illuminated manuscripts-with

  • pages lovingly illustrated by monks-some of the finest art from Europe's Middle Ages;

  • and the Gutenberg Bible-from 1455. Gutenberg's revolutionary movable metal type made printing

  • affordable. By bringing information to the masses, this innovation helped power Europe

  • into the modern age.

  • The Magna Carta-from 1215-documents the first steps toward government by people rather than

  • kings...and the king was forced to hang his seal on it.

  • Cases are dedicated to the titans of English literature... showing, for instance, early

  • editions of Shakespeare's plays.

  • You'll see precious musical manuscripts: a hand-written score of Handel's Messiah...a

  • Beethoven work tracing his stormy creative process... and hand-written Beatles lyrics.

  • Ponder the evolution of maps: In 1350 this world view came with Jerusalem at the center.

  • By 1550, with this, you could plan your next trip to England.

  • London is growing and its underground is growing with it. Historically most London attractions

  • have been contained within its downtown Circle Line. But there's a new Tube network emerging

  • and it's clear that London is shifting east.

  • Each morning a thunderous high-tech work force surges into a district called the Docklands.

  • Once a gritty industrial harbor, then a neglected no-man's-land, today the Docklands has been

  • transformed. It fills a peninsula created by a bend in the Thames with gleaming skyscrapers

  • springing out of a futuristic people zone. Canary Wharf Tower is one of the mightiest

  • skyscrapers in all of Europe. Workers enjoy good public transit and plenty

  • of green spaces for relaxing. The entire ensemble sits upon a vast underground shopping mall.

  • In the 1700s the Thames riverfront in Central London was jammed up with shipping in downtown

  • London while this end of town was an industrial zone-stinking industries like glue making

  • and chemical works and so on-located conveniently downwind from London. So, in about 1800 to

  • clear the shipping out of downtown London, they built what was the world's ultimate port.

  • The Docklands organized shipping for the vast British Empire. Evoking the days when Britannia

  • ruled the waves, the old West India warehouses survive. But rather than trading sugar and

  • rum, today they house the Museum of London Docklands and a row of happening restaurants.

  • London's Docklands illustrates how in order to fully experience the energy of a great

  • city, you often need to get out of the historic old town and explore its modern business district.

  • Further down the River Thames is Greenwich. Since many of its sights are free and it's

  • cheap to get here on the tube, it makes for a great budget day out.

  • While still well within the city limits of London, Greenwich feels like a small town.

  • Visitors enjoy lively market streets and fascinating museums.

  • Tudor kings, who ruled in the 15th century, favored their palace at Greenwich. Henry VIII

  • was born here. Later kings commissioned the top architects-Inigo Jones and Christopher

  • Wren-to beautify the town and palace.

  • Old Royal Naval College was originally a hospital founded by King William and Queen Mary in

  • 1692 to care for naval officers. Today, the navy's gone and the lavish place is open to

  • the public.

  • Originally intended as a dining hall for retired navy officers, this sumptuously decorated

  • room features one of the largest painted ceilings in Europe-112 feet long. It's a big propaganda

  • scene, glorifying the building's royal founders and their defeat of the French. Under his

  • foot, William's crushing a dark figure with a broken sword...Louis XIV. He's handing a

  • red cap (representing liberty) to a woman holding the reins of a white horse (symbolizing

  • Europe). Another woman hands him an olive branch, a sign of peace.

  • The message-which you can see without craning your neck thanks to this handy mirror: King

  • William has granted Europe liberty by defeating the French.

  • A stately park turns an adjacent hill into an inviting people zone. From its bluff visitors

  • enjoy sweeping views of Greenwich, the Docklands, and the distant London skyline. Crowning the

  • hill is the Royal Observatory, founded in the late 1600s by King Charles II.

  • Its purpose: improving maritime navigation by more accurately charting the night sky.

  • Visitors gain an appreciation of how exciting breakthroughs in astronomy and timekeeping

  • led to Britain's mastery of the sea.

  • For ships to know their location while at sea, mariners needed to know the precise time

  • from a reference point on the globe. With this, they could solve what was called "the

  • Problem of Longitude." After a huge effort, in 1760 John Harrison built this clock and

  • figured it out. And by 1772 this fine timekeeper was portable and functioned without a pendulum-critical

  • because pendulums don't work at sea.

  • Along with marking global time, Greenwich marks the earth's prime meridian. Outside

  • the observatory, visitors line up to grab a photo as they straddle the line-to be at

  • precisely 0 degrees longitude, with one foot in the east hemisphere and the other in the

  • west.

  • A trip to London makes it easy to see how this city truly is where the world comes together.

  • I hope you've had a grand visit with us here in London. This is one city that's certainly

  • worth coming back to again and again. I'm Rick Steves. Until next time, keep on travelin'!

  • 6

Hi, I'm Rick Steves back with more of the best of Europe. This time we're having a jolly

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