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 è l'ultimo edificio rimasto di Whitehall Palace, ospita un magnifico soffitto dipinto da Sir Peter Paul Rubens e il luogo dell'esecuzione del re Carlo I. L'edificio fu progettato da Inigo Jones in stile palladiano per il re Giacomo I e fu completato nel 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.

Con i suoi 135 metri di altezza, il London Eye è la ruota panoramica a sbalzo più grande del mondo. Il London Eye è stato progettato da Marks Barfield Architects e lanciato nel 2000 come attrazione temporanea. Il London Eye è diventato rapidamente una delle attrazioni a pagamento più popolari al mondo, con oltre 3,5 milioni di visitatori ogni anno. In una giornata limpida la visibilità è fino a 40 km consentendo viste del Castello di Windsor e del ponte Queen Elizabeth II a Dartford.

St. James Park è il parco reale più antico di Londra ed è circondato da tre palazzi reali, il Palazzo di Westminster, St. James Palace e Buckingham Palace. Nel 1536 la corte reale aveva sede presso il Palazzo di Westminster e il re Enrico VIII acquistò un terreno a St. James per costruire il St. James Palace e un nuovo parco dei cervi. Dopo la sua ascesa al trono nel 1603 Giacomo I fece prosciugare il parco, abbellirlo e riempirlo di animali esotici tra cui cammelli, coccodrilli, uccelli e un elefante.

St. James Park subì ulteriori modifiche quando Carlo II lo aprì al pubblico e lo fece rimodellare in uno stile più formale con un grande canale. St. James Park ha visto un altro restyling nel 1820 quando il principe reggente (in seguito diventato Giorgio IV) ha incaricato l'architetto e paesaggista John Nash di dare al parco un aspetto più naturale. Il canale è stato modellato in un lago ed è stato costruito un ponte di ferro che offre eccellenti viste sul lago. L'attuale ponte (The Blue Bridge) è stato costruito nel 1957 ed è il terzo ponte ad attraversare il St. James Park Lake.