Natural History Museum

London is home to several museums and galleries. The city is the capital of United Kingdom and is situated close to the river Thames. The city has a rich, royal history and glorious heritage. The galleries and museums in London attract millions of tourists from all around the world. Amongst all the well known museums and galleries Natural History Museum is one of the most popular tourist attraction in London. Natural History Museum is located at the renowned exhibition road and has an easy access from the south Kensington tube station. Opened in the year 1881, it is by far one of the largest and finest museums in the field of natural history. The museum displays several interactive such as dinosaurs, volcano experience, creepy crawlies, earth treasury, blue whale and many more. The entry in the museum is absolutely free of charge and the opening time of the museum is from 10: 00 – 17:50. The museum is open on all week days except from 24th – 26th December. Experienced guides are available in the museums to help you explore this spectacular museum even better.

The museum is globally famous for is phenomenal collection on natural history and is home to more than 70 million items. The collection at the museum comprises of earth and life sciences specimens. The collection is divided into five sub categories – zoology, mineralogy, botany, entomology and paleontology. It is also a globally well known research centre and specializes in conservation, identification and taxonomy. The Darwin’s collection in the museum is amongst the most valuable collection in the world. The Darwin live centre is a free event organized at the museum. It gives an opportunity to all the visitors, to talk to the scientists who actually work and exhibit the exceptional collections in the museum. The library at the Natural History Museum is also one of the best libraries in the city. It contains manuscripts, journals, books and artworks of science departments. The dinosaur skeleton exhibition is the most popular exhibition of this museum. You can also savor a variety of delicious food at the on sight restaurant at the museum.

The museum also hosts a well appointed snacks bar, café’s and picnic area offering extremely friendly atmosphere. The museum shop, dino store and earth shop at the museum offer a variety of souvenir, gifts and replicas. The museum also offers several facilities such as cash machine, telephones, toilets, first aid and information desk. Visitors are allowed to click photographs but its recommended not to take any sharp object inside the museum as your belongings are checked before you enter the museum. The museum organizes several exhibitions on a daily basis and the following are the exhibitions that will be organized from 8th June to 15th June:
• Tree
• Ida fossil cast on display
• Butterfly Jungle
• Wildlife Garden Workshops
• Pondbusters

The museum organizes several special exhibitions for the kids and students. It is extremely educational and interesting.

St. Paul’s Cathedral

St. Paul’s Cathedral was founded in 604 AD in then Lundenwic which is now better known as London. The original cathedral was built at a site which was earlier a Roman trading post at the banks of the River Thames. It is considered as the first traditional Saxon cathedral. The cathedral was erected by Mellitus and it is amongst the most renowned London attractions. The St. Paul’s Cathedral is located on the Ludgate Hill in the heart of the City of London. The cathedral is also the seat of the Bishop of London. The current building has been standing dating back to the 17th century and is termed as the fifth ST Paul’s Cathedral. The St. Paul’s Cathedral is counted amongst one of the best tourist spots in London sightseeing. The beautiful architecture, ancient artwork and the awe-inspiring building designing, that too a millennium before the latest advancements in architecture could be even dreamt of, makes the cathedral amongst the churches in England.

It was believed that the St. Paul’s Cathedral stood on the same site of a previous temple dedicated to the goddess of Diana. That is what Geoffrey of Monmouth claimed too. He believed that it built after the Apollo Temple in Westminster. The cathedral was burnt to ashes in the “most fatal fire of 962”. It was found mentioned in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle that the cathedral had caught fire because it was made of timber. People still believe it to be assumptions and a proper reason for the fire is not justified. Later the cathedral was built entirely in stone. Ethelred the Unready was buried in the cathedral premises. That cathedral also got damaged in a fire in 1087. The complete city had burnt then. Later another St. Paul’s Cathedral which is often termed as the Old St. Paul’s Cathedral was built. It is believed that Normans started building the cathedral right after the fire in 1087. Its completion almost took 200 years. And several parts were still lost in a fire in 1136.

The Old St. Paul’s Cathedral had become moldy by the mid of 16th century and the Great Fire of London in the year 1666 added insult to injury. The current cathedral started building in 1168 under Sir Christopher Wren and completed on his birthday, 20th October 1708. The Royal Family is known to have used St. Paul’s Cathedral for the marriage of Charles, Prince of Wales and the Lady Diana Spencer. Queen Victoria’s Diamond Jubilee also was celebrated at the cathedral.

The St. Paul’s underground station is the nearest tube station to the St. Paul’s Cathedral. Britain’s memorial service also honoured the victims of the 9-11 attacks in the year 2001 at the St. Paul’s cathedral. The event was attended by U.S. ambassador William Farish and the Royal Family. The cathedral is open to public for free but there is a charge for non-worshipping attendees. St. Paul’s has an amazing view of the London city from the golden gallery. The cathedral is supposed to go a £40 million refurbishment on its 300 year anniversary. Sited quite close to London’s St Paul’s Cathedral, Grange Hotels is about to launch one more luxurious and glorious hotel in the capital’s financial district – Grange St Paul’s Hotel in next 20 days.