Portal:London
The London Portal Panorama of modern London, taken from the Golden Gallery of St Paul's Cathedral. See Panorama of London for more panoramic images.
London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of 9.1 million people in 2024. Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Western Europe, with a population of 15.4 million. London stands on the River Thames in southeast England, at the head of a 50-mile (80 km) tidal estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a major settlement for nearly 2,000 years. Its ancient core and financial centre, the City of London, was founded by the Romans as Londinium and has retained its medieval boundaries. The City of Westminster, to the west of the City of London, has been the site of the national government and parliament for centuries. London grew rapidly in the 19th century, becoming the world's largest city at the time. Since the 19th century the name "London" has referred to the metropolis around the City of London, historically split among the counties of Middlesex, Essex, Surrey, Kent and Hertfordshire. Since 1965 it has largely comprised the administrative area of Greater London, governed by 33 local authorities and the Greater London Authority. As one of the world's major global cities, London exerts a strong influence on world art, architecture, culture, cinema, entertainment, commerce, finance, education, healthcare, media, science, technology, tourism, transport and communications. London is Europe's largest city economy and one of the world's major financial centres. London is home to several of the world's leading academic institutions and hosts Europe's largest concentration of higher education institutions, comprising over 50 universities and colleges collectively enrolling more than 500,000 students in 2023. It is the most-visited city in Europe and has the world's busiest city airport system. The London Underground is the world's oldest rapid transit system. London's diverse cultures encompass over 300 languages. The 2025 population of Greater London of just over 9.8 million made it Europe's third-most populous city, accounting for 13.1 per cent of the United Kingdom's population and 15.5 per cent of England's population. The Greater London Built-up Area is the fourth-most populous in Europe, with about 9.8 million inhabitants as of 2011. The London metropolitan area is the third-most-populous in Europe, with about 15 million inhabitants as of 2025, making London a megacity. (Full article...)
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Featured biography -
Samuel Johnson (18 September [O.S. 7 September] 1709 – 13 December 1784), often called Dr Johnson, was an English writer and polymath who made lasting contributions as a poet, playwright, essayist, moralist, literary critic, sermonist, biographer, editor, and lexicographer (creator of dictionaries). The work for which he is best known is his 42,733-entry Dictionary of the English Language (1755). For this and other contributions in and to the English language, the Oxford Dictionary of National Biography has called him "arguably the most distinguished man of letters in English history".
Born in Lichfield, Staffordshire, he attended Pembroke College, Oxford, until lack of funds forced him to leave. After working as a teacher, he moved to London and began writing for The Gentleman's Magazine. Early works include the poem London (1738), the biography Life of Mr Richard Savage (1744), the poem The Vanity of Human Wishes (1749) and the play Irene (1749). After nine years' effort, Johnson's A Dictionary of the English Language (1755) appeared and was acclaimed as "one of the greatest single achievements of scholarship". Later works included The History of Rasselas, Prince of Abissinia (1759) and The Plays of William Shakespeare (1765). In 1763, he befriended James Boswell, with whom he travelled to Scotland; Johnson described his travels in A Journey to the Western Islands of Scotland (1775). Near the end of his life, he authored the voluminous and highly influential Lives of the Most Eminent English Poets (1779–1781), a series of biographies and critical appraisals of 52 poets of the 17th and 18th centuries. (Full article...)
Selected quotation
| “ | When a man is tired of London, he is tired of life; for there is in London all that life can afford. | ” |
Did you know...
- …that there were reports of a vampire haunting Highgate Cemetery (pictured) in the 1970s?
- …that the Magnificent Seven are a group of 19th-century cemeteries on what were then the fringes of London?
- …that Kensal Green Cemetery is the only Victorian cemetery in Britain established by an Act of Parliament with a mandate that its bodies may not be exhumed?
- …that London's first non-demoninational garden cemetery, at Abney Park, is the most important burial place in the UK of 19th-century Congregational, Baptist, Methodist and Salvation Army ministers and educationalists?
- …that Beatrix Potter took the names for many of the characters in her children's books from headstones in Brompton Cemetery? (There is even a certain Peter Rabbett buried there.)
General images
A view of London from the east in 1751 (from History of London)
In spite of heavy traffic, several companies operate tour buses in London. (from Tourism in London)
A plaque in the City of London noting the re-establishment of the Roman walled city (from History of London)
A detailed copy of John Rocque's Map of London, 1741–5 (from History of London)
People gathered in Whitehall to hear Winston Churchill's victory speech, 8 May 1945. (from History of London)
Outline of the London region (from Geography of London)
A depiction of the imprisonment of Charles, Duke of Orléans in the Tower of London, from a 15th-century manuscript. Old London Bridge is in the background (from History of London)
Firefighters putting out flames after an air raid during The Blitz, 1941 (from History of London)
London c. 1300 (from History of London)
Girl in costume at the Notting Hill Carnival (from Culture of London)
A signpost on Parliament Square with directions for nearby attractions (from Tourism in London)
Main entrance to the British Museum (from Culture of London)
Amy Winehouse was a singer-songwriter from Southgate, north London. (from Culture of London)
The Houses of Parliament from Westminster Bridge in the early 1890s (from History of London)
Ogilby & Morgan's map of the City of London (1673). "A Large and Accurate Map of the City of London. Ichnographically describing all the Streets, Lanes, Alleys, Courts, Yards, Churches, Halls, & Houses &c. Actually Surveyed and Delineated by John Ogilby, His Majesties Cosmographer." (from History of London)
Tourists at Buckingham Palace (from Tourism in London)
A Carausius coin from Londinium mint (from History of London)
John Evelyn's plan for the rebuilding of London after the Great Fire (from History of London)
Cheapside pictured in 1909, with the church of St Mary-le-Bow in the background (from History of London)
Satellite image by Sentinel-2 satellite (from Geography of London)
Three cultural icons of London: a K2 red telephone box, Big Ben and a red double-decker bus (from Culture of London)
John Norden's map of London in 1593. There is only one bridge across the Thames, but parts of Southwark on the south bank of the river have been developed. (from History of London)
Young people in Carnaby Street in 1966 (from History of London)
Floral Hall of the Royal Opera House (from Culture of London)
Richard Blome's map of London (1673). The development of the West End had recently begun to accelerate. (from History of London)
Buckingham Palace in 1837, enlarged by John Nash (from History of London)
The Shard (left), an icon of 21st-century London (from History of London)
The National Gallery from Trafalgar Square (from Culture of London)
Map of Roman London, c. 400AD (from History of London)
London as engraved by J. & C. Walker in 1845 from a map by R Creighton. Many districts in the West End were fully developed, and the East End also extended well beyond the eastern fringe of the City of London. There were now several bridges over the Thames, allowing the rapid development of South London. (from History of London)
The Clock Tower of Wren's St Paul's Cathedral (from History of London)
Tourism in London 2013 (from Tourism in London)
A tourist stall selling various London and United Kingdom related souvenirs on the edge of Trafalgar Square on the Strand (from Tourism in London)
Buckingham Palace as it appeared in the 17th century (from History of London)
A medal of Constantius I capturing London (inscribed as lon) in 296 after defeating Allectus. From Beaurains treasure. (from History of London)
Tourists consulting a map near St Paul's Cathedral (from Tourism in London)
Brixton Academy (from Culture of London)
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London Boroughs
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| † sui generis – not a London borough | ||