How many London landmarks and tourist attractions can you name that start with the letter B? Blue Badge Tourist Guide Themis Halvantzi-Stringer continues our Guide London A-Z video series and provides insights on the famous and not-so-famous landmarks in London starting with the Letter B.

London landmarks and tourist attractions that begin with the Letter B

Hello and welcome to the Guide London A-Z.

I’m Themis Halvantzi-Stringer, a London Blue Badge Tourist Guide and I’ll be looking at landmarks in London starting with the Letter B. Famous landmarks such as Big Ben.

Big Ben

The tower at the corner of the House of Commons is known as Big Ben, but Big Ben really is the grade belt inside the tower that rings the hours. The whole tower was renamed in 2012 to Queen Elizabeth Tower but trust me, in London, it will always be known as Big Ben.

View of Palace of Westminster and Big Ben from the Thames River. Photo Credit: © Ursula Petula Barzey.

British Museum

The British Museum and what you see is the famous Great Court of the museum. The British Museum is one of the oldest archaeological museums in the world. With over nine million objects, it tells the history of mankind from two million years ago to today. Some of the objects are very famous such as the Rosetta Stone and the Parthenon Frieze. Others not so, but they are all waiting to be explored.

British Museum – Great Court. Photo credit: © British Museum.

British Library

The British Library is the national copyright library. This means that they have a copy of every book, pamphlet, magazine, newspaper, and music. They even have some handwritten lyrics by the Beatles and the original manuscript of Alice in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll.

British Library in London: Exterior View. Photo Credit: © Steve Fallon.

Bethnal Green Museum of Childhood

B is also for Bethnal Green Museum of Childhood. This is a whole museum dedicated to childhood. It is child-friendly and many objects are displayed at toddlers’ height. It has all manners of toys, such as rocking horses, dolls horses, teddy bears, and even computer games. If you want to keep your inner child happy, this is the museum for you.

Bethnal Green Museum of Childhood. Photo Credit: © Themis Halvantzi-Stringer.

Battersea Park

London is also great for not just its museum but its green spaces. It has so many green spaces that it can be classified as a forest. Battersea Park is one of those popular green spaces in London. It has the Battersea Park Children’s Zoo, a deer park, a tennis court, and even a pagoda. The Peace Pagoda was a gift from a Japanese Buddist order. It was built by monks and nuns after the end of the Second World War to celebrate peace.

A view of the Battersea Park pagoda from the southwest. Photo Credit: © Doyle of London via Wikimedia Commons.

Borough Market

London is great for shopping too. Borough Market is one of the oldest food markets in London. It has been going for almost 1000 years. This is no museum. It is a real living breathing market for vegetables and spices, meat, seafood, bread, cheese, chocolate, wine. Anything that you can imagine. Borough Market is a real foodie’s paradise.

Borough Market with oranges. Photo Credit: © London & Partners.

Bond Street

For luxury shopping, you have to head to Bond Street. It is named not after James Bond but Sir Thomas Bond, a 17th-century developer. Bond Street is the home of elegant stores, exclusive brands, and designer fashion in London.

Shopping on New Bond Street in London.

Buckingham Palace

A short walk from Bond Street is the most exclusive residence in London, Buckingham Palace. Buckingham Palace is the official residence of the British Monarchs since the time of Queen Victoria. It has the biggest private garden in London and every summer 30,000 people from all walks of life are invited for garden parties. This is to recognise and reward their public service. And yes, if you get invited you do get to wear a hat!

Buckingham Palace. Photo Credit: © London & Partners.

These are just some of the landmarks and tourist attractions you can find in London starting with the Letter B.  My name is Themis Halvantzi-Stringer. You can find my profile and the tours I do at our website guidelondon.org.uk.

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