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London, located on the south-east of the British Isles, is the capital city of England and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. River Thames, which flows through the city, divides it into the north and south part. The other parts of the city are western and eastern. The particular parts are distinguished by their specific features.

London is one of the most important cities in the world, along with the city like New York, Paris and Tokyo. It represents an important international trading and financial center. Many institutions with international powers and multinational companies are located here.

You can meet people of all nationalities in this cosmopolitan city. The Europe's largest city is a place where everyone can find whatever that he wants. You will find here a lot of buildings of architectural styles from older to the modern one and a wide range of galleries, museums and theaters.

The first settlement in the territory of today's London, named as Londinium, was founded by the Romans in 43 A.D. It did not take a long time and village was burned by Celtic tribes and later by Vikings. After a couple of years, it was again rebuilt and constantly developed. During the overgovernment of Anglo-Saxon kings was the city still more prosperous despite of the fact that it had to constantly faced the Viking`s raids. Step by step, the town became the political center and the center of international trade. In the Middle Ages, the town was divided into two parts, Westminster and the City. Westminster area acted as the seat of Government and the Royal Court and the City as a center of trade. Both parts are gradually grow and create the foundations for London nowadays. Status of London as capital city was gained in 12th century. Winchester had played the role of the capital before.

London was also marked by several disasters. In the 14th a 17th century, a plague (known as Black Death) brought about the death of more than a third of the population. In 1666 there was a big fire, which destroyed most of the city. It took 10 years, when London recovered from all these disasters. The biggest boom of the town began in the 18th century, when was built the first railway network and a couple of years later, in 1863, the first metro (tube) in the world. During World War II, there was the bombing of the city, and the most of till then well-kept monuments were largely damaged. During reconstruction in post-war period, was used a lot of various architectural styles that modified the original character of the city. In this period occurred a massive migration that evoked a modification of the national population structure. This multicultural city gained back its territorial status in the international arena in the 20th century.

London boasts the most comprehensive public transport system in the world. The underground or tube has twelve metropolitan subway lines. The bus network is one of the most extensive in the world, but also well known for its frequent traffic jam. The most famous red buses, called "doubledecker" , are undoubtedly important part of the city and are used by many tourists as a transport during their sightseeing tour.