Essentials: London

1) Wild things! The Tower of London was once home to wild animals of all kinds - including tigers, lions, and bears. Gifts from kings and queens around the world, they lived in the Tower until they were moved to a more suitable home in the new London Zoo in the 1930s. 

2) It’s hard to believe – especially when you’re walking through the crowds at Oxford Circus and on Regent Street – but London is actually a forest. With around 8.4 million trees (nearly one for each of the city’s 8.6 million residents), the city meets the UN classification of an urban forest. 

3) High and free: Horizon 22, London’s highest free observation deck, opened in the fall of 2023 on the 58th floor of 22 Bishopsgate, near Liverpool Street Station. From a height of 254 meters, you can see St. Paul’s, the Shard, Tower Bridge, and the Thames. 

4) Beatles forever! The Abbey Road crosswalk became world-famous thanks to the cover of the Beatles’ album of the same name. A little-known fact is that the crosswalk was moved a few feet in the 1970s to better manage traffic. Fans don’t seem to mind, as up to 1,000 visitors make the pilgrimage to Abbey Road every day. 

5) Anybody home? If you’re wondering whether or not King Charles is at Buckingham Palace, pay attention to the flags flying over the palace. If you see the Union Jack, Charles is not there. If the Royal Standard flag is flying, you can be sure that he is in one of the 775 (!) rooms of the palace.