Yes, every visitor of London is impressed by the city´s majestic layout. It is really generous and very logical. To explore the city would need a lot of time bur even a brief visit is worthwhile.
London has nearly 2000 years of recorded history. It was founded as Londinium by the Romans, following their invasion in 43 A.D. It was in the time when Westminster was still a marsh. The Romans had inhabieted the land. They built the first wooden bridge and in 120 A.D. began the construction of the defensive walls, fragments of which can still be seen today. The Romans left in the 5th century and the city was largely abandoned, though by the 8th cenury it was again a busy trading centre and in the 11th cenury it became the capital of England. Edward the Confessor built a palace and abbey at Westminster, creating the twin centres which still exist. The Norman period saw the construction of the Tower, old St. Paul´s Cathedral and many other buildings and the first stone bridge over the Thames. Mediaval London grew in importance as a trading centre and in 1215, with the sealing by King John of Magna Carta, its citizens won the right to elect their own leader – the Lord Mayor. London saw rapid growth during the Tudor and Stuart period which led to new building outside the walls in areas such as Covent Garden and Loncoln´s Inn.
The most important building of the 16th century is Royal Exchange, founded in 1565 by sir thnomas Gresham. On the north side is the Bandk of England. The building was designed by Sir John Soane, though it has been much modified. In 1666 The Great Fire of London broke out and destroyed three-quarters of the city. The fire started at a baker´s shop and spread very quickly destroying the houses built of wood. The rebuilding of London foollowed the Mediaval street plan but the old timber houses were replaced by more up-to-date buildings made of brick in order to reduce any risk of fire in the future. Sir Christopher Wren, a famous English architect, spent many years reconstructing and rebuilding the city. He rebuilt St. paul´s Cathedral and designed 51 new churches of which 23 still stand. Sir Christopher Wren designed the Monument, a 202 feet column to commemorate the Great Fire of London, which broke out a short distance away in Pudding Lane.