Five Must See London Attractions

If you’re going to be visiting London for the firstwhere you’ll be treated to traditional British food
time, you’d be wise to maximize the use of yourat its best from a full English breakfast with a high
time in this amazingly vast, divers and historicaltea or evening dinner.  Your meal will be freshly
metropolis by prioritizing.  Following are five Londonprepared with ingredients from British suppliers.
attractions which should be must-sees on your list ofThe London Telecom Tower
things to do!Located on Howland Street in London’s West
Piccadilly CircusEnd, the London Telecom tower was formerly the
No, we’re not suggesting that you spend somePost Office Tower, and until 1981 was the tallest (at
of your precious hours in London under a bigtop. 620 feet) tower in London.  It’s constructed of
Piccadilly Circus, at the intersection of five ofsteel, concrete, and glass, with a design which is both
London’s major thoroughfares, is the Britishstylish and highly wind-resistant.  It’s the heart
equivalent of New York’s Times Square, withof Britain’s telecommunications network, with
neon-lit glitz to suit.  If you want London nightlife,numerous enormous satellite dishes visible on its
head for Piccadilly Circus, where your fun will beupper stories.
watched over by the roundabout’s fountain andThe Changing of the Guards
statue of the archer now called simply "Eros."Christopher Robin and Alice were quite fond of the
Piccadilly Circus is named for the piccadill collar sochanging of the guards at Buckingham Palace, and
popular among gentlemen of the 17th century, andthey weren’t alone.  The Changing of the
within a block or two of Piccadilly today are some ofGuards is one of London’s major tourist draws,
London’s most avant-garde fashion shops. seen by countless visitors each year. You should
Piccadilly Circus is also within walking distance ofcheck in advance of your visit to Buckingham Palace
several London arcades, the precursors ofto determine if there will be a Changing of the guards
today’s shopping malls.on that day.  Bring along a camera, because you can
Trafalgar Square and the London Brass Rubbinghave your picture take with a guard whose duty it is
Centreto have his photo snapped with visitors.
If your trip to London is a family affair, or you simplyBig Ben
love to collect unique souvenirs of your travels, a tripNone of its other landmarks is more recognizable
to the Crypt at St.-Martin-in-the-Fields Church atthan London’s Big Ben.  Visible from a distance
Trafalgar Square will be well worth your time.  Atof several miles, Big Ben looks down n the Houses of
the Church’s Brass Rubbing Center, you canParliament from a height of 316 feet, and was
purchase a kit of papers and special waxes, and docompleted in 1859.  Its hands are 14 feet in length,
your own rubbings of characters straight out ofwhile its clock mechanism weighs over five tons. 
British history, from knights in armor and damsels inFor security reason, however, only UK residents are
distress to Shakespeare himself.  If you make aallowed inside Big Ben’s tower.
mistake with your rubbing technique, the staff at theThree of these attractions are on every London
Brass Rubbing Centre will be right there to undo thevisitor’s must-see list, while two if them may be
damage!less well-known.  But they are just a small sample of
No matter the time of day, you can have a meal atthe wonders which await you on your London trip,
the Brass Rubbing Centre’s café in the Crypt,and simply a place to begin!