The architecture of London is represented by almost all styles from Normandy to postmodernism. Many medieval buildings, however, have not survived, mainly due to the Great Fire of 1666, which destroyed more than 13,000 buildings, and air bombs during the Second World War. William the Conqueror brought Normandy architecture to England. Among the Norman-style buildings in London is the Tower, which began to be built under William and was repeatedly completed by other kings. In addition, the Westminster Reception Hall, built-in 1097, was built in the same style.
The 13th century was the century of the early English Gothic. One of the brightest examples of this style is Westminster Abbey. Other examples of this period have not survived in London. The early period was followed by an era of decorated English Gothic, but there are no examples of it in modern London, nor are there any examples of vertical Gothic architecture, the third Gothic period of English architecture.
The architecture of the Tudor era is similar to that of the Gothic period, but with significant changes such as deep and tall windows. The Chapel of Henry VII in Westminster and the Hampton Court in Richmond are monuments of architecture of the Tudor period. During the reign of King James I, Greenwich Park was started to develop. At the beginning of the XVII century, the founder of the English architectural tradition, Inigo Jones, worked in London. He instilled in British architecture the ideas of Palladianism (classicism), which are based on strict geometricity, conciseness, functionality, elegance, lack of small details and other architectural excesses. Of Jones' works in London, only two have survived - the Banquet Hall in Whitehall and the Chapel of St. James' Palace.
Georgian architecture, the era of which came in the middle of the XVIII century, in general, correspond to the pan-European classicism. The main thing in it was clear forms and proportions. This period is not represented in London by any famous buildings, but in the Georgian style built many residential and administrative buildings of the city. It is worth noting the churches designed by Nicholas Hawksmoor, the Somerset House (Sir William Chambers) of Sir William Chambers and the Pantheon Entertainment Center on Oxford Street by architect James Wyatt. In 1759, the Royal Botanical Gardens of Q, a 121-hectare complex of botanical gardens and greenhouses, were founded.
The 19th century differs from the previous ones in a variety of styles. The famous Parliament building with the Big Ben and Victoria towers on it was built in a neo-Gothic manner. The building was built after a fire on 16 October 1834 on the site of the old Westminster Palace, designed by Č. Barry and A. U. Pugin. Also worth mentioning is the Royal Court of Justice, built-in 1873-1882 to the design of former lawyer George Edmund Street. Among the notable monuments of this style is the Albert Memorial, a monument in Kensington Park. The monument was designed by Georg Gilbert Scott and opened in 1875. In 1839, as part of a plan to create seven large, modern cemeteries, the Highgate Cemetery was established.
In the 20th century, skyscrapers appeared in the city.
The peculiarity of London in a clear division of the city into municipal areas - business and financial City, the luxurious historic Kensington, the state and official Westminster, youth and creative Chelsea, the famous Greenwich, where the zero meridian of the planet, dividing the world to the east and west - all 33 districts.
The London Underground, the first subway in the world to see its first trains in 1863, deserves special attention. Now it is a 12-line system, divided into concentric zones. Each zone is paid for separately, and the availability of tickets is controlled at the exit.
London City is the business district of the English capital, its historical heart, its borders coincide with the borders of the Roman Londinium, and it is here that the main sights of the city are concentrated.
London City is a unique "city in the city", tiny, oldest, fastest and ultramodern, amazingly combining the polite elegance of British manners and a predatory shard of financial collars, amazing architectural treasures of the Middle Ages and ultramodern skyscrapers, filled with the mysticism of the great Roman Empire centuries-old history and rich imperialistic modernity of the world financial center. Administratively, the City is one of the districts in East London, but it has all the rights and benefits of self-government: it has the rights of a ceremonial county and an area with special historical privileges. Thus, even the Queen of Great Britain can visit this part of London only with the permission of the mayor.