London

===Architecture===
{{main|Architecture of London|List of tallest buildings and structures in London|List of demolished buildings and structures in London}}
[[File:Aerial Tower of London.jpg|thumb|The [[Tower of London]], a medieval castle, dating in part to 1078]]
London's buildings are too diverse to be characterised by any particular architectural style, partly because of their varying ages. Many grand houses and public buildings, such as the [[National Gallery]], are constructed from [[Portland stone]]. Some areas of the city, particularly those just west of the centre, are characterised by white [[stucco]] or whitewashed buildings. Few structures in central London pre-date the [[Great Fire of London|Great Fire]] of 1666, these being a few trace [[Ancient Rome|Roman]] remains, the [[Tower of London]] and a few scattered [[Tudor architecture|Tudor]] survivors in the city. Further out is, for example, the Tudor-period [[Hampton Court Palace]].<ref>{{cite book| author = Summerson, John | year = 1969| title = Great Palaces (Hampton Court. pp. 12–23)| publisher = Hamlyn| isbn = 9780600016823| url = https://archive.org/details/greatpalaces0000unse| author-link = John Summerson}}</ref>

Part of the varied architectural heritage are the 17th-century churches by [[Christopher Wren]], neoclassical financial institutions such as the [[Royal Exchange, London|Royal Exchange]] and the [[Bank of England]], to the early 20th century [[Old Bailey]] courthouse and the 1960s [[Barbican Estate]]. The 1939 [[Battersea Power Station]] by the river in the south-west is a local landmark, while some railway termini are excellent examples of [[Victorian architecture]], most notably [[St Pancras railway station|St. Pancras]] and [[Paddington railway station|Paddington]].<ref name=london_078>{{Cite web |url=http://www.greatbuildings.com/buildings/Paddington_Station.html |title=Paddington Station |publisher=Great Buildings |access-date=6 June 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110525164017/http://www.greatbuildings.com/buildings/Paddington_Station.html |archive-date=25 May 2011 |url-status=dead}}</ref> The density of London varies, with high employment density in the [[Central London|central area]] and [[Canary Wharf]], high residential densities in [[inner London]], and lower densities in [[Outer London]].

[[File:Buckingham Palace from side, London, UK - Diliff.jpg|thumb|The east wing public façade of [[Buckingham Palace]] was built between 1847 and 1850; it was remodelled to its present form in 1913.]]
[[File:Trafalgar Square by Christian Reimer.jpg|thumb|[[Trafalgar Square]] and its fountains, with [[Nelson's Column]] on the right]]

[[The Monument]] in the City of London provides views of the surrounding area while commemorating the [[Great Fire of London]], which originated nearby. [[Marble Arch]] and [[Wellington Arch]], at the north and south ends of [[Park Lane (road)|Park Lane]], respectively, have royal connections, as do the [[Albert Memorial]] and [[Royal Albert Hall]] in [[Kensington]]. [[Nelson's Column]] (built to commemorate [[Horatio Nelson, 1st Viscount Nelson|Admiral Horatio Nelson]]) is a nationally recognised monument in [[Trafalgar Square]], one of the focal points of central London. Older buildings are mainly brick, commonly the yellow [[London stock brick]].<ref name=london_077>{{Cite news |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/property/main.jhtml?view=DETAILS&grid=A1&xml=/property/2008/03/27/lpgreen127.xml |title=Eco homes: Wooden it be lovely... ? |work=The Daily Telegraph |access-date=12 October 2008 |location=London |first=Sarah |last=Lonsdale |date=27 March 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130308205754/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/property/main.jhtml?view=DETAILS&grid=A1&xml=/property/2008/03/27/lpgreen127.xml |archive-date=8 March 2013 |url-status=dead}}</ref>

In the dense areas, most of the concentration is via medium- and high-rise buildings. London's skyscrapers, such as [[30 St Mary Axe]] (dubbed "The Gherkin"), [[Tower 42]], the [[Broadgate Tower]] and [[One Canada Square]], are mostly in the two financial districts, the City of London and [[Canary Wharf]]. High-rise development is restricted at certain sites if it would obstruct [[protected view]]s of [[St Paul's Cathedral]] and other historic buildings.<ref name=Protected/> This protective policy, known as 'St Paul's Heights', has been in operation by the City of London since 1937.<ref name=Protected>{{cite news |title=Protected views and tall buildings |url=https://www.cityoflondon.gov.uk/services/planning/planning-policy/protected-views-and-tall-buildings |access-date=28 June 2022 |website=City of London.gov.uk |archive-date=1 November 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221101182326/https://www.cityoflondon.gov.uk/services/planning/planning-policy/protected-views-and-tall-buildings |url-status=dead }}</ref> Nevertheless, there are [[Tall buildings in London|a number of tall skyscrapers]] in central London, including the 95-storey [[Shard London Bridge]], the [[List of tallest buildings in the United Kingdom|tallest building in the United Kingdom]] and Western Europe.<ref>{{cite news |title=Take a tour of The Shard's viewing platform |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/av/uk-20979547 |access-date=16 June 2023 |agency=BBC}}</ref>

Other notable modern buildings include [[The Scalpel]], [[20 Fenchurch Street]] (dubbed "The Walkie-Talkie"), the former [[City Hall, London (Southwark)|City Hall]] in [[Southwark]], the [[Art Deco]] [[BBC Broadcasting House]] plus the [[Postmodernism|Postmodernist]] [[British Library]] in [[Somers Town, London|Somers Town]]/[[Kings Cross, London|Kings Cross]] and [[No 1 Poultry]] by [[James Stirling (architect)|James Stirling]]. The [[BT Tower]] stands at {{convert|620|ft|0}} and has a 360 degree coloured LED screen near the top. What was formerly the [[Millennium Dome]], by the Thames to the east of Canary Wharf, is now an entertainment venue called [[The O2 Arena|the O<sub>2</sub> Arena]].<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/newsbysector/mediatechnologyandtelecoms/2788214/The-lemon-Dome-that-was-transformed-into-O2s-concert-crown.html |title=The Lemon Dome That Was Transformed into O2's Concert Crown |last=White |first=Dominic |date=15 April 2008|work=[[The Daily Telegraph]]|access-date=19 June 2022}}</ref>

{{Wide image|Palace of Westminster from the dome on Methodist Central Hall (cropped).jpg|900px|The [[Houses of Parliament]] and [[Big Ben|Elizabeth Tower]] (Big Ben) on the right foreground, the [[London Eye]] on the left foreground and [[The Shard]] with [[Canary Wharf]] in the background; seen in September 2014}}