Westminster
Westminster is the borough right next to Central London. It is the center of government and houses the parliament building. There are A LOT of attractions to see in this borough!
The Churchill War Rooms were really freaking cool. Churchill set up a top secret underground complex to direct the war from. He had an entire staff who worked (and often lived) here throughout the war. He had a bedroom for himself, one for his wife (Clementine) and there was even space for news broadcasts. When the war ended, they literally just locked the doors and left! Everything was left completely untouched until recent years when it was opened up and turned into a museum. Each room is preserved exactly as it was when used during the war. We did our best to get pictures, but each room is behind glass, so unfortunately there is some glare.
Also in Westminster we checked out an area called Covent Garden. It was SO cool! So many pedestrian areas, restaurants, and wine bars! We were in “London heaven”. We hung out at a wine bar in an open air market/courtyard and there was an Italian opera singer performing. I can’t say we are much into opera, but he was pretty stinking talented!
Westminster Abbey is straight up amazing! Every Tudor except Henry VIII is buried there as is Mary Queen of Scots, Charles Dickens, Charles Darwin, Isaac Newton, Stephen Hawkins, and a crap-ton of other famous people and royals. It is the site of every coronation since 1066 and also where William and Kate were married.
Buckingham Palace is the official residence of the English monarchy. It has 175 rooms and 78 bathrooms. Many royals haven’t really like it there and spend more time in other residences/palaces. It was built in 1703 and used by previous monarchs, but became the official royal residence in 1837 when Queen Victoria was crowned. Currently no member of the royal family lives there. We were not able to tour the inside, so only have photos of the outside.
St. James Palace was built by Henry VIII in 1531 for Ann Bolyn! But she never saw the finished product because he chopped off her head before it was complete – so sad! It was the primary residence of kings and queens until Victoria made Buckingham palace the official residence.
Big Ben is actually the name of the bell housed inside the tower. The tower is the Elizabeth Tower. It’s beautiful! Unfortunately all the tours were booked through July.
A section of Westminster is called “West End” or the “Theatre District”. We saw Hamilton at the Victoria Palace Theatre. It was AMAZING!! We had 3rd row center stage seats!
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