Category: holiday

The capital city of England is London. When visitors come to London, they are awe struck at the sheer size of the place. There are so many different places to visit and things to do. There is a plethora of world-class museums and galleries to visit, including “Tate Modern” and the “British Museum”. One of the best views of the city is from the “London Eye”. One area of the city which visitors often neglect is the East End. To many people this is where real Londoner’s or Cockney’s live.

The East End of London is, really, most of the area found east of the city centre. Although most of the most famous tourist attractions of London are found in the centre the, often overlooked, East End has a number of incredibly popular attractions and places of interest. One place that is well worth a visit is the fantastic Bethnal Green Museum which has one of the finest collections of antique dolls houses to be seen anywhere with examples dating as far back as 1673.

When you mention the East End of London, a great many people automatically think of the word “Cockney” or “Cockneys”. A Cockney is a person who was born in the East End of London within hearing distance of the bells at Bow Church (Bow Bells). You may wonder about the origins of such a strange word and you may be surprised to learn that it came from an old middle English word for a misshapen egg (or cock’s egg) – “cokeney”.

The largest and most interesting city to visit in England is the capital city, London. The city always has something to do, or somewhere to visit that will suit everyone. The most famous attractions of course are the Royal Family and the Queen, and the traditional ceremonies that are synonymous with them. Travelling around can be quite tiresome and troublesome, as London is a huge city. There are many ways of getting around, the two most popular ways to see London are either the Tube (London underground), or via an organised tour. The Tube is popular as there is a tube station near to every tourist spot.

If time is an issue when visiting London then one of the many tours available is ideal. This is the best way to see as many attractions as possible in as little time as possible. The only problem will be which tour to choose from. There are tours of historic monuments, musical history, educational, and haunted (ghost) tours. Tours of the pubs are very popular as are the walking tours. The younger generation is not forgotten as there are tours more suited to them as well.

For the more culturally minded tourist London is an ideal destination. With a population of over 7,000,000, London is by far the most ethnically diverse cities in Europe. As you walk around it soon becomes obvious just how culturally diverse the city is. In fact there are over three hundred different languages spoken within London. The different ethnic backgrounds differ according to country of origin and religion. Of course we must not forget the English language, the most common of all. Other languages to be heard are Hokkien, Punjabi, Cantonese, Mandarin and Gujarati.

Of course most people know of London because of the Queen, who lives at Buckingham Palace and has a number of other properties around the city. There is much more to London than the Queen and the usual tourist attractions of Big Ben, Westminster Abbey and the likes. As the largest city in Europe the city is one of the most cosmopolitan in England and each sector of the city has it’s own uniqueness. To experience the quintessential London it is best to spend some time in the area known as the East End.

To some people the location of the East End is obvious, but the average tourist is often confused, expecting only a small area. In actual fact the East End encompasses all those districts which are to be found east of the centre. Of course such a large area contains a number of highly interesting places to visit and a number of top class tourist attractions. One thing that you really should make the effort to see is the fascinating collection of dolls houses at Bethnal Green Museum. The collection contains numerous antique houses dating back to the 17th century.

Londoner’s who live in the East End are generally known, and commonly referred to, as “Cockneys”. However, to be a true Cockney the person has to have been born within the sound of “Bow Bells” (the “Bow Bells” are the bells from Bow Church). Strangely the word “Cockney” is derived from the middle English word “cokeney” which is the name given to misshaped eggs or cock’s eggs.