Buckingham Palace A Top Class Visitor Attraction
June 5th, 2009 by Henry, under Airport Hotels, Vacations. No Comments
England is a most beautiful and wonderful country in which to take a vacation. There are a great many tourist attraction|places of interest well worth a visit enough to satisfy all tastes. There is the historic city of York which dates back to the days of the Roman Empire, Liverpool (2008′s European City of Culture), and Torquay (referred to as the English Riviera). Possibly the most famous place to visit is London the capital city of the UK
London is an astounding location to visit, either just for a weekend or, hopefully for a full vacation. You would be surprised at the number of people residing in Great Britain who have not yet visited London, this is especially surprising when you are mindful of the fact it is commonly top of the vast majority of visitors lists (of the most enjoyable places they went to).
There simply so many things to see and do in London that it is not possible to list them all at the same time. 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, being home to Queen Elizabeth II of England. The Palace is is placed right in the heart of London which makes it the perfect focus for visitors. The daily pageant of ‘Changing of the Guard’ is incredibly interesting to witness and amazingly English.
Buckingham Palace was originally named Buckingham House. It was originally a large townhouse, 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 seventy five years Buckingham House was made larger with the building of three wings around a central courtyard. The main architects responsible for these additions were John Nash and Edward Blore. John Nash was also responsible for the interior design of the monumental staterooms.
The widely known architect Aston Webb was responsible for the building of the principal facade of Buckingham Palace which, in 1912, he re-designed. Webb along with the sculptor Sir Thomas Brock were the winners of a competition to design a memorial to Queen Victoria. This memorial still exists today.
The Queen has a selection of royal residences besides Buckingham Palace. Annually the Queen spends the Christmas season at Sandringham House in Norfolk. Sandringham House is a private royal residence (owned by the Queen).
Another private residence is Balmoral Castle, in Aberdeenshire, Scotland. The Queen was in Balmoral Castle when she heard of the untimely accident involving Diana (the former wife of Prince Charles).
If you would like to take a break in England then you might be pleased to hear that it is possible to find cheap hotels in London without any great effort, on the other hand you may wish to stay in more luxurious surroundings and the small number of boutique hotels in London should be more than satisfactory.
