One of the world's greatest cities, London is situated in south-eastern England at the head of the River Thames estuary. Cruise ships will moor in the river centre and landing will be by tender to the piers, either at London Tower right in the the city or at Greenwich, 5 miles from the centre.
It is a melting pot of centuries of cultures offering an endless collection of historical and modern sites. Tourist attractions include the many museums, art galleries, monuments, historic buildings, gardens, churches, and shopping facilities. The most popular attractions are the British Museum (with over 6 million visitors in 1994-1995), the National Gallery, Westminster Abbey (where the sovereign is crowned), Madame Tussaud's waxworks, the Tower of London, Buckingham Palace, Windsor Castle, Houses of Parliament, Kensington Palace, Hampton Court, St Paul's Cathedral, Greenwich and the Maritime Museum. London is also one of the world's leading centres for theatre, and there are about 100 theatres in the capital.
Man has been traced in the area as far back as the Bronze Age, and later was occupied by the Celtics. The written history of London began with Roman occupation under the rule of Emperor Claudius. By the first century AD, London was an established trading centre, providing the Romans with a central base from which to explore the remainder of Britain. In the centuries that followed, the city changed hands periodically and grew into a major world capital. One of the London's most noteworthy periods of history was when King Henry VIII ruled during the sixteenth century and disobeyed the church of Rome by marrying six times.