Buckingham Palace A Top Class Visitor Attraction In England
England is a most beautiful and wonderful nation to visit for a vacation. It has a large number of| visitor attractions well worth a visit which cater for all tastes. For example the ancient city of York which is known to have been inhabited since Roman times, Torquay (often called the English Riviera) and Liverpool (European City of Culture 2008). One place to spend some time in, and that shouldn’t be missed, is London the capital city of the United Kingdom
London is an amazing place to visit, either just for a weekend or, maybe for a longer period. You would be surprised at how many folk residing in the United Kingdom of Great Britain who have failed to visit London, this is especially surprising when you consider the fact it is most often top of the vast majority of visitors lists (of places they enjoyed most).
There literarily so many things to see and do in London that it is almost impossible to list them all all in one go. Surprisingly one of the newest attractions in London also happens to be one of the most popular – The London Eye. Another popular attraction nearby to the London Eye is the Houses of Parliament and Big Ben. However, one place which must not be missed is Buckingham Palace.
Buckingham Palace is England’s most widely known Royal residence, maybe because it is home to Queen Elizabeth II of England. The Palace is is placed right in the heart of London which makes it an important focus for tourists. The daily pageant of ‘Changing of the Guard’ is fascinating to witness and quintessentially English.
Buckingham Palace was originally known as Buckingham House. It was originally a large town house, built in 1703 for the Duke of Buckingham. It is actually the townhouse which forms the main core of the palace as we are familiar with today.
Over the next 75 years Buckingham House was extended by the construction of 3 wings creating a central courtyard. The primary architects responsible for these additions were John Nash and Edward Blore. It was also John Nash who was responsible for the interior design of the monumental staterooms.
The well known architect Aston Webb was responsible for the building of the principal facade of Buckingham Palace which, in 1912, he re-designed. Webb together with Sir Thomas Brock, the sculptor, were the winners of a competition to design a memorial to Queen Victoria. This memorial can still be today.
The Queen has a number of royal residences besides Buckingham Palace. Annually the Queen stays, at Sandringham House in Norfolk, over the Christmas season. Sandringham House is actually privately owned by the Queen (classed as a private royal residence.
Another private residence is Balmoral Castle, found in Royal Aberdeenshire, Scotland. Queen Elizabeth was at Balmoral Castle when she was informed about the untimely accident involving Princess Diana.
If you would like to take a break in the United Kingdom then you might be surprised to be informed that it is possible to find cheap hotels in London without any great effort, on the other hand you may want to reside in more luxurious surroundings and the small number of boutique hotels in London should be more than satisfactory.
