LONDON is the capital city of England and of the United Kingdom. It is the largest city in Europe and one of the largest cities in the world (together with Tokyo and New York). Historical and geographical circumstances have made London one of the world's most important commercial and cultural centres, while its range of historical connections and its buildings attract millions of tourists from overseas each year.
London dominates Britain. It is home for the headquarters of all government departments, Parliament, the major legal institutions and the monarch. It is the country's business and banking centre and the centre of its transport network. It contains the headquarters of the national television networks and of all the national newspapers.
The city is at least two thousand years old and was settled long before the first Roman invasion. The original walled city of London was quite small. (Today it is known colloquially as «the square mile»). It did not contain Parliament or the royal court, since this would have interfered with the autonomy of the merchants and traders who lived and worked there. It was in Westminster, another «city» outside London's walls, that these national institutions met. Today both «cities» are just two areas of central London. The square mile is home to the country's main financial organizations, the territory of the stereotypical English «city gent» (*infml or humour: a gentleman).
Two other well-known areas of London are the West End and the East End. The former is known for its many theatres, cinemas and expensive shops. The latter is known as the poorest residential area of central London. It is the home of the Cockney and in this century large number of immigrants have settled there.
There are many other parts of central London, which have their own distinctive characters, and central London itself makes up only a very small part of Greater London (*a local government area including the whole of London and parts of other areas surrounding London, whose length and breadth extends over an area of 700 square miles).
THE CITY is the oldest part of London, its commercial and business centre and the major banking centre of the world. Numerous banks, offices, firms and trusts are concentrated there, including the Bank of England, the Stock Exchange and Lloyds, the most famous insurance company in the world. Though few people (around 5,000) live in the City, over a million come to work there. Two masterpieces are situated within the City: St. Paul's Cathedral and the Tower of London. St. Paul's Cathedral was built in the 17th century by Christopher Wren. The Tower of London was built in the 11th century. Now it's a museum, but previously it was used as a fortress, a palace and even a prison.
The City is also famous for Fleet Street, which has been the meeting place for newspaper men since the 18th century, when writer met to talk in its coffee-houses. Up to now Fleet Street is the Street of news, for now it's the centre of Britain's national newspapers. The Daily Telegraph and The Daily Express have their offices there, as well
as The Times, The Guardian and many others. Publishing houses of many big foreign newspapers are also there
