The most interesting facts about London

The name of London is not unique. The same cities are in the United States of America and in Canada (Ontario province). Through the capital of England passes the zero meridian, which allows you to visit simultaneously in the eastern and western hemisphere of the planet. Today every schoolboy can tell about it. Even in English lessons, we read a lot about the capital of Foggy Albion. Moreover, its history, cultural heritage and architecture attract millions of tourists from all over the world every year. But do we know everything about this city? What not to read in the textbooks? We study 7 interesting facts about London.

Transport

In London, two types of public transport are popular: buses and metro. In 2011, a car rally took place. His distance was 486 million kilometers. This figure is 12 thousand times greater than the circumference of the Earth. London buses also took part in this race . By the way, there are 8500 of them in the capital of England (19,500 stops). And do not be surprised if you do not notice traffic jams in the middle of the day in central London. The fact is that for the journey to the central streets on a private car you need to pay. This is another plus of the choice of public transport.

Regular bus trips cost Londoners not cheap, so recently a special payment card has been introduced. Not every tourist knows such interesting facts about London. In English, this card is called Oyster. With it you can pay for travel on the bus and boat. To do this, you only need to attach a card to a special device and money will be withdrawn from it at a tariff that is half the amount of cash.

The metro is a completely different picture. The cost of travel is directly related to their range. Therefore, the payment card must be scanned two times: when entering and exiting the subway. If the passenger forgot to make a second scan, then after a few hours he will be fined, taking a certain amount off the card.

By the way, if you want to replenish your language treasury, then you definitely need to know these interesting facts about London. In the English metro, the citizens themselves call Tube, which means "trumpet". The busiest station is Vaterloo. The morning rush hour lasts about three hours. During this time, it sends an average of 57 thousand passengers. Also in London there are several metro lines without a driver. Exactly! The trains are controlled by a special electronic system, called Docklands Light Rail.

Buses ride around London around the clock. Therefore, you can walk around the city, when and how much you want. But the subway works from 5 am to midnight.

Famous skyscrapers

Undoubtedly, interesting facts about London can not but be connected with the grandiose and majestic architecture of the city. However, now it is not historical, but modern buildings. According to the BBC, the most popular skyscraper in the world is located in London. This is the "Mary Ex Tower" in 40 floors. It has an original form, for which it received the nickname from Londoners "Cucumber" (in English it sounds like Gherkin). The building is located in the City of London and costs about 650 million pounds. This is about two billion dollars.

Another London skyscraper is called The Shard (or, in English, "Shard"). This is an office center in 72 floors, made in the form of a cone. Its height reaches 309 meters. According to these indicators, the skyscraper ranks 65th in the world rating.

Billionaires

Interesting facts about London will be especially relevant for the female half of humanity. After all, it is in the capital of Great Britain that most of the billionaires live, than in any other metropolis. According to statistics, such influential and wealthy masters there are 72. According to the magazine Business Insider, this indicator is the leading in the world. It is noteworthy that periodically this figure is growing. For comparison: in Moscow there are 48 billionaires, and in New York - 43. Among them, of course, the vast majority are middle-aged men.

Polyglot City

The capital of England is the most multinational and multilingual city in the world. This statement can be safely made into interesting facts about London. In English, almost all residents speak here. However, the most popular places are occupied by Bengali, Chinese, Cantonese and Punjabi. In total, the city has about three hundred languages. Probably, this is due to the fact that young people from all over the world are stretching to the famous London universities. After all, British education is and remains the most qualitative and authoritative.

In addition, London is considered the most populated city. According to the latest data, 8.4 million people live in it. This figure is even higher than the population of the whole of Israel, in which there are just over 8 million people.

Ferris wheel

Interesting facts about London can not bypass such a tourist attraction as the "London Eye". It is one of the largest wheels in the world. It is located on the south bank of the Thames, in the Lambeth area. The project was implemented in practice for almost six years. Externally, the London Eye resembles a bicycle wheel. At night, it can be seen from afar thanks to LED backlighting. The height of the construction is 135 meters (this is approximately 45 floors). If the wheel is unwound, the length of the rim will be 424 meters. More than three million people visit the site every year. "London Eye" makes a full turn in half an hour. From its height opens an amazing view almost to the whole city.

Laws

Interesting facts about London concern strange laws, which still operate there. For example, people are forbidden to die in the House of Parliament. Pregnant women can go to the toilet where they want, even if an unbearable desire overtakes them at Buckingham Palace. The penalty for this will not be imposed on them. Or another law, rooted in the depths of English history. Despite the fact that the 21st century has already been in the yard with high technologies and scientific achievements, all London hotels have a rule: to feed first the horse of the future guest. It is not known exactly what is now understood by this animal. Perhaps the staff need to refuel the car or simply park it conveniently. But the law exists, and you can not go against it.

Pubs

In fairness, there are pubs in interesting facts about London. You ask: what's unusual? However, these establishments are a true London landmark. From six o'clock in the evening they begin to be filled with inhabitants of a megacity. On Fridays by this time there are no more places in them. So people have to stand on the street in anticipation. El is one of the most loved and popular drinks in London. In addition, local pubs can be a tasty snack. The classic menu offers potatoes with fish or sausages, burgers. The favorite game in pubs is darts.

In 2009, an unusual bar was opened in London. It was called Alcoholic Architecture because it can only consume alcohol in the form of steam. The visitor pays five pounds for the entrance, they give him a special suit, and then the magic begins. The air in the hall is filled with vapors of gin and tonic. People inhale it and feel full immersion in this magnificent drink.

Useful little things

In addition, we will share information that will be especially useful for tourists. These are interesting facts about life in London:

• London is a large city. In order not to get lost in it, every resident has at hand a special card with all the streets and roads. And this is not surprising! Imagine only, in the capital of Britain, there are more than a thousand streets, not to mention the roads. Before you get a job as a taxi driver in London, you need to attend special courses for three years.
• Recently, a glass toilet has been installed on one of London's streets. This is a real test for impressionable people. The fact is that the toilet design has a rather cunning idea. Outside, its walls are mirrored, however, inside they appear glass and absolutely transparent. Here it is, English humor! By the way, Londoners are not at all boring people, they just joke very subtly and exquisitely. Connoisseurs often compare English humor with Odessa.
• An interesting correction for pedestrians was made in 2010. This is the speed limit! For this, the sidewalks were even divided into two strips. To make a promenade in London, it is better to move along the inner strip and not to interfere with passers-by, hurrying on business. This will save you from a collision and will give you plenty of opportunity to admire the majestic architecture and shop windows of the capital of Britain.
• Londoners do not wash houses at home! This is the golden rule of the city. To this end, numerous laundry rooms open the door every day. At a price the services are very affordable. And work is done without days off. So in London it's just impossible to stay dirty.

Summary

In this article we have collected the most interesting facts about London. However, this city surprises every day not only tourists, but also indigenous people. The British metropolis is growing, and every year it gathers new legends, ideas, creates new cultural masterpieces and sets records. In a word, London is a city that must be visited, and maybe stay in it people who love and appreciate a rich and multi-faceted life.