London: Recommended Cultural and Historical Sites
By Douglas J. Murphy
If you plan to be in London for at least a semester, you will have plenty of time to visit the sites of interest in your guidebook. One mistake people often make is feeling like they need to spend every second of their time touring. You will get much more out of your experience if you decide beforehand what you want to see. The following are some of the cultural and historical sites that I recommend.
The British Museum is not your average museum; it houses a collection of art and antiques from both ancient and living cultures spanning two million years of civilization. These collections come from all over the world and include the largest and most comprehensive ancient Egyptian material outside Cairo. The Egyptian displays contain monumental sculpture and an impressive collection of mummies and coffins. The Greek collection, with the Nereid Monument and sculptures from the Parthenon, is also worth seeing.
The British Museum is so large that it may seem intimidating when you first walk into the Great Court, a spectacular covered courtyard opened in December of 2000. At the heart of the Great Court is the magnificent Reading Room. The papier-mâché interior of its dome has been restored to its 1857 splendor. The Paul Hamlyn Library is breathtakingly big and holds 25,000 books, catalogs and other printed material, focusing on world cultures represented in the British Museum.
Because of its size and vast number of pieces, the museum is not the sort of site that tourists can explore blindly. In order to get the most out of it consider using some kind of tour guide. Guided tours are available all day. In my experience, though, the best way to tour the museum is to rent a personal audio guide. They are cheap, easy to use, and they come with maps to guide you through the museum.
Regents Park is very near the British Museum. It is a beautiful, well-kept park, frequented by many locals who use it to jog and play soccer. “The Broad Walk” within the park provides for a picturesque stroll and leads north to the London Zoo. During the evening, concerts and plays are performed in an open-air theater. It is a magical setting, especially for plays. The lighting is wonderful and the orchestra seated to the left of the stage adds a special touch to any performance.
Of course if you’re interested in plays, and specifically William Shakespeare, you’ll definitely want to spend at least a day catching a performance at the Globe Theatre located next to the Thames River. The Globe is modeled after the original theatre, which burned down in 1613. All performances take place during the day, just as they did in Shakespeare’s time. Tickets are surprisingly easy to come by, and you can choose to sit in the balcony or stand on the floor, just feet from the stage. Besides the historical aspect, it is a chance to see the absolute best Shakespeare performers in the world.
A short walk from the Globe is the Tate Britain Museum of Art and the Tate Museum of Modern Art. The original Tate is the national gallery of British art from 1500 to the present day. The Tate Modern is an equally impressive gallery of modern and contemporary art, which fits right in with the new age architecture that is abundant in this part of the city. You can cross the Millennium Bridge, which provides wonderful views of both sides of the river. Even more of the city can be seen from the indoor walking bridge at the top of the Tower Bridge (www.towerbridge.org.uk). The Tower Bridge was built in 1894, and at the time was the largest and most sophisticated bridge ever built.
The Tower Bridge is named after the famous Tower of London, which is located nearby. During the nine centuries since its construction, the Tower has served many purposes for many different rulers. Visitors interested in history’s dark side can view the torture chambers and cells that held political prisoners during both Catholic and Protestant rule. You can stand on the exact spot where Henry VIII had his wife Anne Boleyn beheaded. Others may want to view the famous Crown Jewels or witness the ceremonial locking-up of the Tower by the famous Yeoman Warders.
You could spend three months in London and still not see everything. Find the things you are interested in and enjoy them. Also, be sure to visit at least a few good pubs and restaurants (see www.pubs.com) while you are there, but don’t forget that every pound you spend is worth a dollar and seventy cents in America.
At the time of this writing, Douglas J. Murphy was a junior at Butler University. He is working toward a major in English and a minor in telecommunications. In August 2003, he accompanied his English professor, William Walsh, and a group of Butler students on “Shakespeare in London.”