What you didn’t know about London, England.
London’s character is shaped by centuries of trade, migration, monarchy, fire, reinvention, and some of the most fascinating urban engineering on Earth.
Its layout tells the story: the winding medieval streets of The City reflect Roman foundations; Westminster grew around royal power; Southwark blossomed as the theatre and tavern district outside the old city walls. The Thames itself is tidal, rising and falling twice daily, and London’s embankments were engineered in the 19th century to control flooding and reshape the shoreline entirely. Beneath your feet lies another world: layers of buried Roman ruins, plague pits, abandoned Tube stations, and Victorian mail tunnels once used to shoot letters under the city at incredible speed. London’s cultural richness has been shaped by waves of global influence, from South Asian and Caribbean communities that redefined its food and music scenes, to European artisans who transformed its fashion and design. Even its weather has quirks: the “London fog” was once mostly coal smog, not mist, and the Clean Air Act of 1956 changed the city’s atmosphere forever. And today, the Tube map, a global design icon, bears almost no resemblance to real geography, a deliberate choice made for legibility rather than accuracy.
Five fascinations about London.
5. It’s built on top of an ancient Roman city.
Modern London grew directly over Londinium, a Roman settlement founded nearly 2,000 years ago. Remains of Roman walls, amphitheaters, and even mosaics still lie beneath the city, some visible in tucked-away corners of the financial district.
4. More than 300 languages are spoken here.
London is the most linguistically diverse city in the world. From Bengali to Yoruba to Polish, its voices reflect generations of migration and multiculturalism. It’s not just international, it’s interwoven.
3. The Tube is the oldest underground system on Earth.
Opened in 1863, the London Underground was the first of its kind, and parts of it still operate today. It’s more than transit, it’s time travel, rattling through tunnels older than most countries’ governments.
2. There’s a law stating all unclaimed swans belong to the king.
By royal tradition, any unmarked mute swan on open water in England and Wales technically belongs to the Crown. Each summer, the “Swan Upping” ceremony counts and tags them on the Thames, equal parts history and pageantry.
1. Big Ben isn’t the name of the tower.
Most people think Big Ben refers to the clock or the tower, but it’s actually the nickname for the Great Bell inside. The tower itself is officially called the Elizabeth Tower. But London’s not picky about names, it’s the sound that matters.
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