London
London is the capital city of England and the United Kingdom.
An important settlement for around two millennia, London is today one of the world's leading business, financial and cultural centres, and its influence in politics, education, entertainment, media, fashion and the arts all contribute to its status as one of the major global cities.
London is the most populous city within city limits in the European Union with an official population of 7.6 milllion (as of 2006) and has a metropolitan area population of between 12 and 14 million people. Its population is very cosmopolitan, drawing from a wide range of peoples, cultures and religions, speaking over 300 different languages. London is an international transport hub, with five international airports and a large port. It serves as the largest aviation hub in the world, and its main airport, the multi terminal Heathrow, carries more international passengers than any other airport in the world.
London is a major tourist destination, with four world heritage sites and numerous iconic landmarks such as Houses of Parliament, Tower Bridge, the Tower of London, Westminster Abbey, Buckingham Palace and the London Eye amongst its many attractions, along with famous institutions such as the British Museum and the National Gallery.
Tourist attractions
Within the City of Westminster, the entertainment district of the West End has its focus around Leicester Square, where London and world film premiers are held, and Piccadilly Circus, with its giant electronic advertisements. London's theatre district is here, as are many cinemas, bars, clubs and restaurants, including the city's Chinatown district, and just to the east is Covent Garden, an area housing speciality shops and London's "Avenue of Stars" which honours achievers in the entertainment industry. Shoreditch and Hoxton in the East End form a second, less mainstream, focus of bars, nightclubs, restaurants and galleries. Islington's 2km long Upper Street, extending northwards from The Angel, has more bars and restaurants than any other street in the UK. It was also the first street in the UK to have wireless enabled for its cafes.
Europe's busiest shopping area is Oxford Street, famous home to the vast Selfridges department store, a shopping street nearly 2 km long which makes it the longest shopping street in the world. The adjoining Bond Street in Mayfair is an extremely upmarket location, complimented with the Knightsbridge area - home to the Harrods department store - to the southwest, home to fashion, jewellery, and accessories design houses. The districts of Knightsbridge (Sloane Street), Mayfair (Bond Street, Brook Street), and Chelsea (King's Road) represent London's prestigious role in the world of fashion, home to Vivienne Westwood, Galliano, Stella McCartney, Manolo Blahnik, and Jimmy Choo amongst others, its renowned art and fashion schools cementing it an international centre of fashion alongside Paris, Milan, New York and Tokyo. Top global supermodels such as Naomi Campbell and Kate Moss come from South London; and Chelsea raised actress Sienna Miller. London also has a high number of street markets, including Camden Market for fashions and alternative products, Portobello Road for antiques, and vintage and one off clothes, and Borough Market for organic and specialist foods.
London offers a huge variety of cuisine as a result of its ethnically diverse population. Gastronomic centres include the Bangladeshi restaurants of Brick Lane and the Chinese food of Chinatown. Soho offers a huge variety of restaurants including novelties such as Garlic and Shots - an entirely garlic restaurant, whilst more upmarket restaurants are scattered around central London, with concentrations in Mayfair, Knightsbridge and Notting Hill. Across the city, areas home to particular ethnic groups are often recognisable by restaurants, food shops and market stalls offering their local fare, and the large supermarket chains stock such items in areas with sizeable ethnic groups.
There are a variery of regular annual events. The Caribbean-descended community in Notting Hill in West London organises the colourful Notting Hill Carnival, Europe's biggest street carnival, every summer. The beginning of the year is celebrated with the relatively new New Year's Day Parade, whilst traditional parades include November's Lord Mayor's Show, a centuries-old event celebrating the annual appointment of a new Lord Mayor of the City of London with a procession along the streets of the City, and June's Trooping the Colour, a very formal military pageant to celebrate the Queen's Official Birthday.