35 CURIOSITIES OF LONDON

Are you going to travel to the English capital and are you looking for curious facts and atypical things? In this article we will tell you 35 curiosities of London. Some are funny facts, others are really funny and others you would never have imagined. Let's see how many you knew 😉

1. Everyone says that it always rains in London but, statistically, it rains more in Brussels! Of course, it rains a lot of rain so never leave the accommodation without an umbrella.

2. There are 33 bridges crossing the Thames: the oldest is the Richmond Bridge (1777) and the Millennium Bridge is the most modern (2002).

3. In HarrodsIt was said that you could find everything (from a needle to an elephant) and it's true ... Until 1916 you could find a kit that included ...cocaine! Look.

4. In tourist places is prohibited: make barbecue, give propaganda talks, wash clothes, feed the birds or sleep in a bed ... Although all that could be done if a permission from the mayor is received.

5. There is a legend that says that if ravens of the Tower of London decided to leave it, the building (and with it the monarchy) would collapse. So that this does not happen there are always 6 crows in the Tower (Munin, Thor, Branwen, Hugine, Baldrick and Gwyll). If one dies, they replace it. And cruel trap: they cut a part of the wing so they can not fly.

6. London has always attracted numerous artists and celebritiesIs it that in your air you breathe inspiration? Some of its famous inhabitants were Edgar Allen Poe, Mahatma Gandhi, Vincent Van Gogh or Sigmund Freud.

7. Technically it is prohibited to die in the English Parliament, already, we know that it is absurd but it is so.

8. The London Eye, the famous London Ferris Wheel, is formed by 32 cabins (each one represents a neighborhood of the city), but there is no number 13: they are numbered from 1 to 33.

9. The last execution in the Tower of London It does not go back to medieval times as many believe: it was during World War II that a spy was executed: the German Josef Jakobs.

10. The Union Jack, the famous flag of Great Britain, was the result of superimposing the flags of England, Scotland and Ireland.

11. And speaking of “Jack”… surely you heard about Jack the Ripper. In London there are even tours (like this one, in Spanish) that run through some of the key places in the life of this character. One of the most famous is "The Ten Bell", the pub where one of its victims was last seen.

12. The fish and chips, the dish most loved by the English, has origin Spanish: It is in Spain where, in fact, fish began to be fried.

13. The Big ben, the most famous clock in the world is actually ... a Bell.

14. And has a miniature copy: It is located at the junction of Vauxhall Bridge Road and Victoria Road.

15. The 9 ¾ platform of Harry Potter It exists in reality: it is at King's Cross station.

16. The 25% of the population from London have been born outside Britain. It is multicultural and cosmopolitan: under its sky more than 40 different cultures live together.

17. The Thames River it was one of the most contaminated of the world, he was even declared biologically dead. After the ban on industrial dumping in 1960, things gradually improved and today is much cleaner.

18. There are more than 17,000 London black cab (taxis) in London ... but they are carillos, huh!

19. In 1950 every Londoner could call the prime minister Winston churchill: Your phone number was in the phone book.

20. London is the city largest in Europe: its extension is 1,580 square km.

21. At No. 10 of Hyde Park is the smallest little house in London: with only 1 meter wide. And on 23/24 of Leinster Gardens there is a house ... which is only a facade!

22. The Windsor Castle It is the oldest royal residence in the world.

23. In Notting hill one of the Carnivals most famous in the world ... but it is not in February: it takes place in August.

24. Isabel II She is the monarch who has reigned the longest (from all over the world!), has answered more than 3 and a half million letters in her life, is very superstitious and never allows a banquet of 13 people. Oh, and he loves Corgis dogs, although the last of this breed in the palace died a little sadly.

25. There is a trick to know if the Queen Elizabeth II is inside the Palace Buckingham: If the Jack Union is present, the Queen is not at home.

26. London has one of the most expensive public transport in the world: the subway ticket costs £ 4.90 (although there are tricks to save: here are some tips to travel to London and not screw it up).

27. The London subway (The Tube) is the oldest in Europe, it was opened in 1863.

28. There is a bar that until the 1960s was a… public toilet: the Attendant.

29. Did you know that in London there is a Little venice? It is located in the Paddington area and is very beautiful although ... the truth, Venice has only water.

30. In the Tower of London there are some 23,500 jewels worth more than £ 20 million.

31. The British Museum It is one of the richest museums in the world (and it's free!). It has about 7 million objects and only a small part is exposed to the public.

32. If you are looking for a beautiful and colorful place to take a picture and enjoy a different place, go to the Neal's Yard, a patio full of colorful houses.

33. In 1910 it was decided close the traffic to the top of the London Bridge since it had become one of the most decayed areas of the city: full of prostitutes, drunkards and criminals.

34. All distances from London they are measured from Trafalgar Square.

35. In London you can visit the tallest skyscraper in Europe: The Shard, which measures 309.6 meters. (We don't have Russia here!)

Do you know more London curiosities? Leave us a comment 😉

* Photocredit: Shutterstock