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.

Big Ben

London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of 9.14 million people in 2025. 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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The Arsenal Football Club, otherwise known as simply Arsenal, is a professional football club based in Islington, North London, England. They compete in the Premier League, the top tier of English football. Domestically, Arsenal have won 14 league titles (including one unbeaten), a record 14 FA Cups, 2 League Cups, 18 FA Community Shields and a Football League Centenary Trophy. In European football, they have won one European Cup Winners' Cup and one Inter-Cities Fairs Cup. In terms of trophies won, it is the third-most successful club in English football, and one of the most successful clubs in world football.

Arsenal was the first club from southern England to join the Football League in 1893, officially joining the First Division in 1904. Arsenal carries the longest active streak continuously in the top division (over 105 years and counting) and completed the 20th century with the highest average league position of any club. Arsenal has won the second-most top-flight matches in English football history. In the 1930s, Arsenal won five League Championships and two FA Cups, with another FA Cup and two more Championships coming after the war. In 1970–71, it won its first League and FA Cup double. Between 1989 and 2005, the club won five league titles and five FA Cups, including two more doubles. Between 1998 and 2017, Arsenal qualified for the UEFA Champions League for an English football record of nineteen consecutive seasons. The club finished as Champions League runners-up in 2006 and 2026. (Full article...)

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Photo credit: David Iliff

The Royal Albert Hall, as viewed from the Albert Memorial in Kensington Gardens. The Royal Albert Hall, built 1867–71, is a concert hall in South Kensington best known for holding the annual summer Proms concerts since 1941. With the Albert Memorial the Hall forms part of the national memorial to Prince Albert, consort of Queen Victoria.

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Portrait c. 1772

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...)

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“

London doesn’t love the latent or the lurking, has neither time, nor taste, nor sense for anything less discernible than the red flag in front of the steam-roller. It wants cash over the counter and letters ten feet high.

”

Henry James, The Awkward Age (1899), Bk. I, Ch. 2

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Did you know...

...that Hyde Park (pictured) is larger than the Principality of Monaco and has been a Royal park since 1536?

...that Victoria Park was laid out between 1842–1846, partially on the former hunting grounds of the Bishop of London. It contains two alcoves from old London Bridge and the oldest model boat club in the world founded in the Park on 15 July 1904?

...that Battersea Park was opened in 1858. In 1951 the park was transformed into the "Festival Gardens" as part of the Festival of Britain celebrations?

...that The Beatles shot films to accompany their songs "Paperback Writer" and "Rain" in the grounds of Chiswick House?

...that the Artillery Ground was set aside in 1498 for shooting and archery and was home to the original London Cricket Club. It remains in use by the Honourable Artillery Company, who have owned this private open space since 1638?

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General images

The following are images from various London-related articles on Wikipedia.

Image 1In spite of heavy traffic, several companies operate tour buses in London. (from Tourism in London)
Image 2A Carausius coin from Londinium mint (from History of London)
Image 3Map of Roman London, c. 400AD (from History of London)
Image 4Samuel Pepys, chronicler of Stuart London (from History of London)
Image 5A signpost on Parliament Square with directions for nearby attractions (from Tourism in London)
Image 6A plaque in the City of London noting the re-establishment of the Roman walled city (from History of London)
Image 7Shaftesbury Avenue, c. 1949 (from History of London)
Image 8Ogilby & 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)
Image 9John Evelyn's plan for the rebuilding of London after the Great Fire (from History of London)
Image 10Brixton Academy (from Culture of London)
Image 11Buckingham Palace in 1837, enlarged by John Nash (from History of London)
Image 12Young people in Carnaby Street in 1966 (from History of London)
Image 13A tourist stall selling various London and United Kingdom related souvenirs on the edge of Trafalgar Square on the Strand (from Tourism in London)
Image 14Main entrance to the British Museum (from Culture of London)
Image 15A medal of Constantius I capturing London (inscribed as lon) in 296 after defeating Allectus. From Beaurains treasure. (from History of London)
Image 16John 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)
Image 17Les Misérables at the Palace Theatre (from Culture of London)
Image 18Cheapside pictured in 1909, with the church of St Mary-le-Bow in the background (from History of London)
Image 19The Shard (left), an icon of 21st-century London (from History of London)
Image 20Richard Blome's map of London (1673). The development of the West End had recently begun to accelerate. (from History of London)
Image 21People gathered in Whitehall to hear Winston Churchill's victory speech, 8 May 1945. (from History of London)
Image 22Floral Hall of the Royal Opera House (from Culture of London)
Image 23London c. 1300 (from History of London)
Image 24Tourists at Buckingham Palace (from Tourism in London)
Image 25Buckingham Palace as it appeared in the 17th century (from History of London)
Image 26The National Gallery from Trafalgar Square (from Culture of London)
Image 27Outline of the London region (from Geography of London)
Image 28London 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)
Image 29The Clock Tower of Wren's St Paul's Cathedral (from History of London)
Image 30Three cultural icons of London: a K2 red telephone box, Big Ben and a red double-decker bus (from Culture of London)
Image 31Tourism in London 2013 (from Tourism in London)
Image 32A detailed copy of John Rocque's Map of London, 1741–5 (from History of London)
Image 33The "Woodcut" map of London, formally titled Civitas Londinum (c. 1561) (from History of London)
Image 34Amy Winehouse was a singer-songwriter from Southgate, north London. (from Culture of London)
Image 35Firefighters putting out flames after an air raid during The Blitz, 1941 (from History of London)
Image 36Girl in costume at the Notting Hill Carnival (from Culture of London)
Image 37The statue of Alfred the Great at Winchester, erected 1899 (from History of London)
Image 38Tourists consulting a map near St Paul's Cathedral (from Tourism in London)
Image 39A 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)
Image 40Maughan Library, King's College London (from Culture of London)
Image 41The Houses of Parliament from Westminster Bridge in the early 1890s (from History of London)
Image 42A view of London from the east in 1751 (from History of London)
Image 43A silver coin of Alfred, with the legend ÆLFRED REX (from History of London)
Image 44Satellite image by Sentinel-2 satellite (from Geography of London)

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London Boroughs

City of London † City of Westminster Kensington and Chelsea Hammersmith and Fulham Wandsworth Lambeth Southwark Tower Hamlets Hackney Islington Camden Brent Ealing Hounslow Richmond Kingston upon Thames		Merton Sutton Croydon Bromley Lewisham Greenwich Bexley Havering Barking and Dagenham Redbridge Newham Waltham Forest Haringey Enfield Barnet Harrow Hillingdon
† sui generis – not a London borough

More about London Boroughs
Category: London boroughs

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London Topics

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Transport

London has one of the oldest and largest public transport systems in the world. Many components of its transport system, such as the double-decker bus, the Hackney Carriage black taxi and the Tube, are internationally recognised symbols of London. London has a comprehensive rail network with several major railway stations, including two international train stations at St Pancras railway station and Stratford International, which connect London to mainland Europe through the Eurostar service. London also has six international airports. In addition to public transport, London is the start point for a number of motorway routes. The M25 is an orbital motorway which enables vehicles to avoid travelling through central London, and is one of the busiest motorways in Europe.