Top London 2012 tourist spots

Great Britain, and London in particular are expecting a huge boom in tourism this summer, as everybody looks to soak up a piece of the Olympic spirit. Buckingham Palace, Oxford Street and Westminster Abbey are just some of the capital’s main attractions.


London -- one of the world’s most exciting cities. And very soon, home to the world’s biggest event.
As well as the athletes, hundreds of thousands of visitors are expected to pack into the city during the 2012 Olympics.

But it’s not all about sport. The city itself has plenty to offer.

With a history stretching back more than 2000 years, London is punctuated by iconic landmarks.
There’s Westminster Abbey and there’s the newly opened "Shard", Western Europe’s tallest building.
Mark Di-Toro, Visit-Britain, said, "We have got great cultural heritage here. Buckingham Palace, the Queen’s home is opened for two months in the summer. One of the most popular royal attractions in Britain. It’s a great place to visit. It’s hugely popular it brings about 600,000 visitors in only a couple of months which shows the great pull of event such as the Royal wedding, the Diamond Jubilee which we just had this year. Which will hope fully drive even more tourists to these places."

And then there’s the shopping.The UK’s tourist board, Visit-Britain, lists Oxford Street as the fourth must-see location on any visitor’s check list.


It’s home to some 300 shops, including Selfridges -- the UK’s second largest department store.
But what about the UK’s famously unpredictable weather?

Lena, Russian Tourist, said, "There are great sites here to go site seeing anywhere, very beautiful parks really. We are just not very satisfied with the weather".

2011 was a record year for UK tourism, with 31 million international visitors.
It’s hoped the Olympic Games will exceed that number, as well as leaving London another legacy to take forward into the future.
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