Текст 3 London Life

London is a byword for fashion and culture, and no London tour is complete without a visit to the famous shops of Oxford Street, followed perhaps by a drink at a street café before taking in a West End show. London`s West End is the centre for shopping and entertainment. In the West End theatres, clubs, cafes, bars, restaurants, famous department stores, designer shops and specialist stores, and even market stalls are all within easy reach of one another.

Piccadilly Circus lies at the heart of the area between Soho and Mayfair and bustles with activity throughout the day and night. Stretching east from the square is Shaftsbury Avenue along which many of London`s famous theatres can be found. Famous department stores such as Harrods, Harvey Nichols, Fortnum and Mason and Liberty`s can be found to the west of Piccadilly Square, while High Street stores abound on Oxford Street and Tottenham Court Road.

Covent Garden, with its elegant piazzas and mix of shops and market stalls, is always busy and popular. The Royal Opera House, London Transport Museum and the Theatre Museum add to the cultural atmosphere. London is one of the cultural capitals of the world and the wealth and diversity of its museums and galleries continue to delight visitors year after year. While here you might want to visit one of London`s museums and galleries, which range from the fascinating Science Museum to the Tate Britain gallery, home of many of Britain`s finest works of art. The British Museum is Britain's oldest museum and attracts millions of visitors each year. The enormous collection includes treasures from the Egyptian, Greek and Roman civilisations through to medieval European art and Japanese and Asian antiquities. Highlights include the Rosetta Stone, the Egyptian mummies and the Sutton Hoo treasure. The Natural History Museum has a fine collection of dinosaurs, birds, mammals and plant life, as well as geology and ecology displays. The Science Museum has five floors packed with imaginative displays about science and technology from the Industrial Revolution through to space exploration, and even the digital age in the Wellcome Wing, opened in 2000.

The Museum of London at the Barbican takes a look at the fascinating history of the city and its people from prehistoric times to the present day. At the London Transport Museum trams, buses and even underground trains are among the colourful displays. The National Gallery, overlooking Trafalgar Square, has over 2000 paintings in its collection covering more than 700 years of art. Popular paintings include The Haywain by Constable and Sunflowers by Vincent Van Gogh. Famous names in British history and culture from Tudor times to the 21st century are represented at the National Portrait Gallery. The national art collection can be found at the Tate Britain (a branch of the national Tate galleries), while the Tate Modern houses an exciting collection of 20th century art.

Away from the galleries and museums visitors to London will find much to do at the city`s many other attractions – from the pleasure of feeding an elephant at one of the world`s oldest zoos to mixing with the rich and famous at Madame Tussaud`s. Madame Tussaud`s is one of the London`s most popular attractions, has been open since 1835 and has delighted visitors ever since with its waxwork models of the famous and infamous. At the Planetarium, next door to Madame Tussaud's, the displays are altogether more celestial with spectacular presentations on the night sky and a gallery that charts the history of astronomical discovery. Below ground, the London Dungeon vividly recreates grisly episodes from London's past, including executions, murders and the Great Fire of 1666. In Regent's Park the exotic animals and birds of London Zoo continue to attract the crowds, while fish and marine life fascinate and delight visitors to the London Aquarium, beside Westminster Bridge.

The Rock Circus in Piccadilly Circus provides an opportunity to enter into the world of rock and pop music. Madonna, Bob Marley and the Spice Girls feature among the waxwork exhibits of video shoots, recording studios and celebrity parties. Nearby the Trocadero is a huge indoor entertainment complex with the emphasis on hi-tech computer games and extravaganzas.