They’re the images on your bucket list when you come to London, the awe inspiring impressive structures that make the Capital truly great, the solid towering relics from the London’s historic past still standing in London’s present. London is packed full of the most amazing monuments!
Here’s a short list of London Duck Tours most marvellous monuments! We do recommend getting your camera out and snapping these lifelike statues, amazing arches and classical columns if you’re in the vicinity for some perfect picture postcard memories of your trip to London.
Nelson’s Column
The massive 169ft 51m tall monument is a tribute to Admiral Horatio Nelson, who died in 1805 at the Battle of Trafalgar. Nelson’s Column was constructed after his death between 1840-1843 and was designed by William Railton.
The ground level pedestal area features four relief panels cast entirely of captured French guns. They show key scenes from Nelson’s life – The Battle of Copenhagen, The Battle of the Nile, The Battle of Cape St Vincent and, of course, the Battle of Trafalgar.
Marble Arch
For those of you that might have seen the TV dramatisation of the life of Queen Victoria, this early 19th Century three-bayed arch might look strangely familiar. This marble-clad triumphal arch was designed by Sir John Nash in 1827 as the official state entrance to Buckingham Palace.
It’s glory days were fleeting however, and it was relocated just 24 years later to Park Lane, and, less fortunately, since the early 1960s it’s been located on a busy traffic island near the top end of Hyde Park at the west end of Oxford Street. Worth a look if you’re near Selfridges though – imagine how many times Queen Victoria gazed upon this elegant archway!
Wellington Arch
Originally named the “Green Park Arch” the Wellington Arch was planned as an imposing and triumphal gateway into London from the west, and would form an outer gateway to Constitution Hill. The Wellington Arch is topped with the largest bronze sculpture in Europe, depicting the Angel of Peace descending onto the four horsed chariot of war, or Quadriga.
Set in the very centre of today’s royal quarter of London, visitors can tour three floors of exhibition space inside the arch, then take in the eye popping panoramic views of London’s Royal Parks and the Houses of Parliament from its top floor balconies.
Temple Bar Monument
Back in the 1200s the original Temple Bar was mentioned as the official entrance into the City of London, situated on the ancient and ceremonial pathways to the royal residences at the Tower of London and Palace of Westminster. It was the custom for the monarch to pause at the Temple Bar before passing through it, as a token of respect to the Lord Mayor of the City Of London.
The current Temple Bar was designed by Sir Christopher Wren and described by Charles Dickens in Bleak House, as “that leaden-headed old obstruction, appropriate ornament for the threshold of a leaden-headed old corporation”.
This graceful white archway now stands in Paternoster Square close by St Pauls Cathedral, re-erected here in 2004 after spending decades in the grounds of a country estate called Theobalds Park In Hertfordshire. It is now fully renovated and looking its 17th century best, and provides an excellent “frame” through which to photograph Wren’s Cathedral.
For more wonderful landmarks, world famous sights and marvelous monuments, do book a London Duck Tour today – you’d be quackers not to!