Mini Guide to UK
For an island of modest size, Great Britain is a big tourist draw, thanks to its well-planned tourist facilities, world-renowned icons, gorgeous countryside, distinctively historic culture and lively cities.
One of the world’s grandest cities, London dazzles with the grandiose Trafalgar Square, Leicester Square teeming with buskers, and picture-perfect Piccadilly Circus. Theatres and eateries can be found, and adult persuasions entertained, in Soho and the West End. For shoppers, Regent and Oxford Streets are heaven, Buckingham Palace houses the Queen herself, and other buildings to behold are the Royal Albert Hall, Kensington Palace, Westminster Abbey, the Tower of London and Tower Bridge, St Paul’s Cathedral, the Parliament Buildings and Big Ben. Peruse world class museums, take a spin on the London Eye Ferris wheel, be wowed at the Planetarium, see who looks most alive at Madame Tussaud’s wax museum, and appreciate Shakespeare all over again at his rebuilt Globe Theatre.
Rich with the heritage of an industrial revolution, Manchester personifies a true English city. The city’s pulse is Albert Square, and sights include the Town Hall, St Peter’s Square, the Roman Fort in Castlefield, Salford Quays, Chinatown, Old Trafford and the Museum of Science and Industry.
Of course, Liverpool got on the global map when its native sons The Beatles placed it there. Perhaps lesser known features include Mathew Street and its Penny Lane and Strawberry Fields, Merseyside Maritime Museum, the Tate Liverpool, Beatles Story Museum and the Museum of Liverpool Life.
Hailed as the city of dreaming spires, Oxford provides its share of esteemed college graduates from the likes of Christ Church, Merton and Magdalen. The town of Bath stands noble and well-liked with its methodically placed terraced homes and the lure of the historic Roman baths.
With a designation as Britain’s most striking cathedral city, modern Durham is lauded as a university environment. Almost 2,000 years have seen York as the North’s capital, one that was a key player in Britain’s historical past beneath the rule of Romans, Saxons and Vikings.
A mammoth natural harbour is the foundation of the appealing town of Poole. Close by, Bournemouth hosts hopeful sun worshippers on one of England’s finest beaches. The grandeur of Canterbury’s Cathedral, seat of the Archbishop of Canterbury, is unrivalled in England.
The passageway to Wales is Cardiff, where a 900-year-old castle is king. Points of interest include The National Museum of Wales, Millennium Stadium, Llandaf Cathedral and the Welsh Folk Museum.
Edinburgh’s showpiece is its 1,200-year-old castle with an imposing location. From there the Royal Mile stretches to Baroque Holyrood Palace. Among the sights are the Old Town (Cowsgate), Dynamic Earth, Museum of Scotland, the National Gallery of Scotland, and Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art.
Purely Scottish in complexion, Glasgow was featured as Europe’s City of Culture in 1990. Gothic Glasgow Cathedral, Provand’s Lordship, and St Mungo’s Museum of Religious Life and Art are favourite stops.