London landmarks: What makes London special?

We take a look at some of London’s most iconic landmarks, and ask Londoners if they have a favourite.

Transcript

00:00What makes London so special? England's capital, a city with so much history, and

00:06that history is embedded throughout London, represented best by its iconic

00:12landmarks. London attracts millions of tourists every year to see the sights

00:17and tick them off their bucket list. The first to spring to mind is Big Ben, the

00:22huge clock tower that lords over London, right next to Parliament. It has to be

00:27one of the most recognisable landmarks in London. It took 16 years to finish

00:33construction and is now 181 years old. Has there ever been a more iconic

00:38landmark in any other city? Maybe the next most famous iconic landmark is the

00:43London Eye, and listen, yes it could be considered a tourist trap, but recently

00:49it's had its lease extended and is set to be a key member of London's skyline for

00:54the foreseeable future. It boasts three and a half million visitors annually, so

01:00it's easy to see why. So many of London's landmarks are dotted along the River Thames,

01:05there are so many incredible bridges linking South Bank to north of the

01:09river, but are there any more impressive than Tower Bridge? Big Ben's slightly

01:15younger sibling, the Tower Bridge, is just 138 years old. Visitors will gather at

01:21this iconic landmark, especially when the gates open as they did recently for a

01:26replica Spanish warship. But what are Londoners favourite landmarks and why do

01:31they think this city is so special?

01:34London landmarks, I like the Tate Modern, I think it's quite a brutalist building and it contains some amazing works of art.

01:44St Paul's Cathedral, quite a nice landmark in London, yeah, right by the river, easy to get to.

01:52When I was younger, because I've lived in London my whole life, when I was younger it used to be the

01:56lines in Trafalgar Square, I thought they were pretty cool. As I've got older, I

01:59think less so, because I think central London isn't somewhere that you really go

02:02if you're a Londoner, but I think it held a lot of, I just thought they were cool

02:06when I was younger, I spent a lot of time on there, I used to climb up there.

02:09It's a nice, it's a good feel in London and I think there's lots of

02:13tourists that are, I think it's quite relaxed. I enjoy, I have to go up there

02:18sometimes for work and I enjoy walking across the bridges and, you know,

02:23seeing lots of different people.

02:26I think what used to make it special was how multicultural it was, but I think gentrification has pretty much

02:32decimated the city and I think it's really, like, torn communities apart in a

02:38way that I actually find quite upsetting.

02:40Is there anything you still like about London at all, or are you feeling a bit jaded by it?

02:45I think I'm a bit jaded, I think I've never wanted to move out of London before, but I think I do now.

02:51I went to New York recently and it really kind of gave me a flavour of what

02:55a real, real big city with a better vibe could be like.