Sightseeing in Britain

Introduction

Great Britain is one of the most prestigious countries in the north-western Europe. Its capital city is London, one of the greatest metropoles in the world as it is populated by eight million people and it is west Europe’s greatest city. It is the one of the most important financial, political and cultural centres of the world and very often it plays a vital role in national affairs. At the same time, it serves as one of the largest tourist destinations globally since it offers immense options for tourists to visit unique sights and various recreational theme parks.

Tourist attractions of London

London, the British capital offers a plethora of historical museums and various historical buildings. Among the most important sights of the city there is the British Museum, the collection of which numbers more than seven million items. It was founded in 1753 and opened to the public on 15 January 1759, where the current building is located. Another significant museum is Madam Tissaud’s museum which houses a big range of waxwork related to important people of both the past and the present. It was founded by Mary Tissaud and that’s the main reason why the museum was named after her. Another noteworthy museum, that was established in 1852 is located in the South Kensington. After the success of the Great Exhibition in 1851 the Victoria and Albert Museum was founded as an annex to the Kensington Museum in order to house a big range of industrial arts and various scientific collections. Among the important tourist attractions there is also another worth visiting museum that bears the name of ‘Science Museum” which is located in the South Kensington and was constructed in 1883.

Apart from the museums, London offers a rich range of other touristic attractions, such as picture galleries that attract the interest of the city’s visitors. To begin with, there is an important gallery, the National Gallery, which was founded in 1824 and houses one of the largest painting collections globally. It is located in the Trafalgar Square in London and displays more the 2,300 paintings. Furthermore, its paintings are considered to belong to the British people so its entrance is free of charge to the public. Another important gallery, is Tate Gallery. It is an art museum located in an area called Milbart and it is the 9^th most popular and recognizable museum in Britain while it is the oldest museum of the Tate museums. The Tate painting gallery is linked with the Gallery of Modern Arts which is located in the opposite bank of the river Thames.

Symbols

 Apart from the museums and galleries, there are also sights of London which function as its symbols that are closely associated with the city and British culture. One of these symbolic features, is the Big Ben, the name of which was changed into "Elisabeth Tower" in 2012. Although the tower was completed probably in 1858, the exact date of the completion of its construction is still unknown. It is also notable that loads of movies are filmed in London because of Big Ben.
 Another unique feature of London’s cultural heritage is the red tourist buses which are widely known as “double-decker” buses. Finally, among London’s most important sights is also the "London eye" where the visitors can enjoy the enchanting view of the whole city as it is 140m high.

Sights outside London
 Apart from the monuments that are located in London, Great Britain also offers a big range of touristic locations displaying the physical beauty of its natural environment. Such a location is the Seven Sisters which is a series of white Chalk Cliffs by the English Channel. Another globally recognized monument, constructed of gigantic stones, is the Stonehedge, which for centuries has inspired mystification and speculation as to what their original purpose might have been. In addition, the Cheddar Gorge is another worth mentioning location. It is a limestone gorge which is situated near the village of Cheddar and it shows caves estimated to be over 9000 years old. Another location displaying the physical beauty of nature is none other than the Wast Water which is a lake located in Waslade, a valley in the western part of the Lake District national park. The lake is almost 3 miles long and more than a third mile wide. It is the deepest lake in Britain, 79m deep, and is owned by the national Trust. Last but not least, worth-mentioning sights are both the Isle of Wight and the Jurassic Coast. The former is the largest island of England located in the English Channel while the latter is a world heritage site in the English Channel.

Conclusion
Taking all the above into consideration, the United Kingdom possesses a plethora of worth visiting touristic attractions located both inside and outside its capital city, London. Furthermore, Great Britain can be characterized as a historically significant country due to the fact that it displays many important and well preserved buildings, the majority of which are icons of historical significance. Great Britain, and especially London, is a worth visiting place because of its variety of very interesting attractions.