It is the place where the meetings of the Cabinet are held.
The third area of central London is the West End, famous for shops and entertainment. There, there are such well known streets as Piccadilly, Bond Street, Regent´s Street, Carnaby Street, and Oxford Street. In the West End we can find most of London´s theatres, cinemas and nightclubs. In the centre of Piccadilly Circus there is the Statue of Eros /God of love/. One of the most interesting streets of London, where especially young people like to wander, is Carnaby Street. It is full of shops offering the latest fashion. In the centre of the West End, there is Chinetown marked by beautiful Chinese gateways. London´s Chinatown is attractive place for tourists who like to taste traditional Chinese food in its typical restaurants.
London´s East End used to be a slum in the 19th century. It is historically associated with the Cockney dialect. This area was heavily bombed during World War II and then it was rebuilt again.
One of the largest London squares is Trafalgar Square with the statue of admiral Nelson in the middle. On the nothern side of Trafalgar Square there is the National Gallery built in the classic style. It contains Britain´s best-known collection of paintings including those by Raphael, Rubens, Van Dyck, El Greco and others. Just behind the National Gallery there is the National Portrait Gallery in which portraits of British monarchs can be seen. The Tate Gallery is another big gallery containing modern art. It is situated not far from the Houses of Parliament. Among the most famous London museums, the Victoria and Albert museum, and the British museum should be mentioned. Thousands of visitors visit Madam Tussaud´s museum every year. Waxworks of famous people from all the world can be found there.
London has a large number of parks and gardens. The best-known are the following ones: St. James´ s Park, Buckingham Palace Gardens, Hyde Park, Regent´s Park and Kensington Gardens. St. James´s Park is situated near Buckingham Palace. It is the smallest but the oldest of London´s royal parks. Buckingham Palace Gardens are bordered in the east by royal residence. Hyde Park is the largest of the royal parks. It has its attractions, e.g. a little lake /the Serpentine/, and Speaker´s Corner where anybody can make a public speech about any topic. In Regent´s Park there are the Zoo, the Open-Air Theatre and two lakes. The Kensington gardens are very beautiful with theVictorian Gothic Albert Memorial and a big cultural centre. The visitor of London is never far away from a park.