London is the capital and most populous city of England and the United Kingdom. Standing on the River Thames in the south east of the island of Great Britain, London has been a major settlement for two millennia. It was founded by the Romans, who named it Londinium.
London is a leading global city in the arts, commerce, education, entertainment, fashion, finance, healthcare, media, professional services, research and development, tourism and transport all contributing to its prominence. It is one of the world’s leading financial centres and has the fifth- or sixth-largest metropolitan area GDP in the world. London is a world cultural capital. It is the world’s most-visited city as measured by international arrivals and has the world’s largest city airport system measured by passenger traffic.
London has a diverse range of people and cultures, and more than 300 languages are spoken in the region. Its estimated mid-2016 municipal population (corresponding to Greater London) was 8,787,892, the largest of any city in the European Union and accounting for 13.4% of the UK population. London’s urban area is the second most populous in the EU, after Paris, with 9,787,426 inhabitants at the 2011 census.
It is a cultural hub for the UK, with numerous museums, galleries, libraries and sporting events. Thirty-seven percent of the jobs in London are in the cultural sector; this is twice the percentage for the whole of the UK. The city is home to four World Heritage Sites: the Tower of London; Kew Gardens; the Palace of Westminster, including Big Ben; and the site comprising St Paul’s Cathedral, Greenwich and the Royal Naval College. Other landmarks include Buckingham Palace, the London Eye, Piccadilly Circus, St Pancras International station, Tower Bridge, Trafalgar Square and The Shard.
Museums include: The British Museum, the Natural History Museum, the Science Museum, Tate Modern and Tate Britain.
London has numerous parks, including eight within Greater London which are managed by the City of London Corporation: Hyde Park, Green Park, St. James’s Park, Regent’s Park, Richmond Park, Greenwich Park, Battersea Park and Victoria
