Arbeitsblatt: EN Sights of London

Madame Tussauds Tower of London Madame Tussaud is the wax-museum in London. As visitor you can see life size wax figures of famous people, like the Queen and Prince Harry with his wife Meghan. Harry married Meghan Markle, the actress, in May 2018. But there are also wax figures of Star Wars characters. The Tower of London is fortress (Festung) of the crown. It was used for different things throughout history. At one point it was prison (Gefängnis). Tate Modern Buckingham Palace The Tate Modern is modern art museum. More than 5 million people visit the museum per year. It is located right next to the river Thames. The Buckingham Palace is the home of the Queen Elizabeth the 2nd. The Palace is more than 300 years old. Tourists can see the changing of the guards (Wachablösung) almost every day at 11. During the 2nd World War the Palace was bombed seven times. Big Ben Westminster Abbey Big Ben is the name of the biggest bell (13.5 tons) that hangs in the clocktower of the Palace of Westminster. lot of people call the whole tower Big Ben. The Towers name is Elizabeth Tower. The big clock on the tower has pendulum (Pendel) that is 3.9 meters long. Westminster Abbey is famous church in London. The Kings and Queens of London are crowned (gekrönt) there. The church is more than 800 years old. Theres big organ (Orgel) in the church and museum that can be visited. lot of Kings and Queens are buried at the Westminster Abbey. Camden Town Kew Garden Camden Town is hip area in London. It is not in the centre, but it is easy to reach. lot of tourists visit the big market in Camden Town that has everything! You can get food from different countries, second hand clothes and furniture or new gadgets and things to take home. Kew Garden is located little bit outside of the centre but easy to reach with the Tube (underground). In the garden are over 28000 different plants. Some of the plants are in the greenhouse (Gewächshaus). Somewhere in the trees is walkway (Gehweg) that is 18 meters above the ground. The garden is very big and on nice day lot of people have picnics there. Hyde Park The Shard The Hyde Park is in the centre of London. It is 1.4 km2 in size. There are two lakes in the garden and people can rent (mieten) rowing boats of pedalos to spend time on the water. In summer lot of people spend their day in the park with family and friends, have picnics and play frisbee. The Shard (Scherbe) is the biggest skyscraper (Wolkenkratzer) in the EU. The skyscraper was finished in 2012 and is 309,6 meters tall. There are 72 floors (Etagen/Stockwerke) and there is also hotel in the Shard. London Eye Tower Bridge The London Eye is with height of 135 meters the highest Ferris wheel (Riesenrad) in Europe. It was built in 1999 and is 20 years old this year. There are 32 gondolas and almost 30 people fit into one gondola. Because the wheel turns very slowly it never stops! The Tower Bridge has its name because of the Tower of London that is close by. The bridge connects the two banks (Ufer) of the river Thames. The bridge can be opened to let boats pass. part (ein Teil) of the bridge has glass floor, where people can look through. St. Pauls Cathedral Millennium Bridge St. Pauls Cathedral is very famous church in London. It is more than 1400 years old an has been rebuilt 5 times. The current (aktuelle) Cathedral was built in 1666 after the old one burned down in the Great Fire of London. The Minnellium Bridge is pedestrian (Fussgänger) bridge over the river Thames. The bridge was opened in 2000. It had to be closed for two years because it swayed (schwankte) too much. It is 325 meters long. In 2008 the bridge was closed for two days because Harry Potter was shooting some scenes there. Trafalgar Square National Gallery The Trafalgar Square is located outside the National Gallery. It is the biggest public square and popular meeting point (Treffpunkt). In the middle of the square is monument that was put up (errichtet) in 1842 after the English won the battle of Trafalgar against the French and the Spanish. The monument is 52 meters tall. The National Gallery is art museum that is very famous. It has more than 2300 paintings. There is lot of older art in the gallery, some paintings are 700 years old. The gallery opened in 1824 and the building was built in 1837. Best of all: Entrance is free! Piccadilly Circus Harrods Piccadilly Circus is crossroads (Kreuzung) and square. It is compared to (verglichen mit) the Times Square in New York because it also has big billboards (Reklametafeln). Brands like Mc Donalds, Coca Cola and Samsung have billboard at the Piccadilly. It is well connected by the Tube (underground) and located close to the famous place for shopping: Oxford street. Harrods is luxurious shopping centre in London. The Queen also shops there. In Harrods they have everything and lot of famous brands. There is Christmas exhibition all year round.