Westminster Abbey, London

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Due to the fact that it was a beautiful sunny day and there were a lot of people going in, I did not actually see inside Westminster (also known as the 'House of Kings') but just walked around the outside admiring the architecture. It is a beautiful gothic building.

It was founded over a thousand years ago as a Benedictine monastery. Since then it has been rebuilt twice, once by Edward the Confessor and later by Henry III (in the 13th Century where it gets it's Gothic style from).

Since 1066, when William the Conqueror ruled, coronations for royalty have been held here. It has also been used for many royal weddings and funerals.

UPDATE: Unfortunately when I visited here again in August 2007, there was some kind of service on at the time and so my friends and I could not go in. Maybe next time I'm in London I will get to go inside :).

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Westminster Abbey has so many parts that you can go into and see but the places changes its regulations and stuff so much, the website is so precise when it comes to that stuff so you guys can view it for info, I place it here for everyone's comfort as I know websites can bring you up to date detail at all times (http://www.westminster-abbey.org)
But boy is it every amazing to see the history here and reading about it just gives me the chills, up and down my spine! There are events that occured here over 900 years ago! fantastic to read even most fantastic to visit.

Westminster Abbey should definitely be high on every visitor's must see list. I think is one of the two places in London where you get the greatest sense of the country's history (the Tower of London is the other). Here all British monarchs from 1066 onwards, with the exceptions only of Edward V and Edward VIII, have been crowned, many of them married and, until George II, buried. Its wealth of historic sights include the Coronation Chair, the Shrine of Edward the Confessor, the tomb of the Unknown Soldier, various Royal Tombs and the Royal Chapels.

So many of Britain's great men and women are buried here: Chaucer, Spenser, Kipling, Dickens & Tennyson with other writers in Poets' Corner; Handel, Vaughan Williams & Purcell; Charles Darwin, Isaac Newton & Robert Stephenson; Dame Peggy Ashcroft & Sir Henry Irving ...

Others are buried elsewhere but commemorated here: the Bronte sisters, Jane Austen, Shakespeare, Winston Churchill ...

The abbey is mainly Gothic in style, and its proper name is actually the Collegiate Church of St Peter, Westminster - but no one ever calls it that, and very few Londoners would even recognise the name! There has been a church on this site since 616AD but the present building was started in 1045 and much added too over the following centuries, being more or less finished in the 15th.

The Abbey is open to visitors on weekdays and Saturdays, but on Sunday only for those atending a service. Times vary a lot, so check the website below before you go - also if you'd like to attend a service. There is an entry charge of £10 (adults) and £7.00 (children & seniors).

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The Beatles. A trip to London without going to Abbey Road-sinful. An easy trip by the tube and an easy walk from the station. When you arrive you will find flowers and other trivia left by the fence in front of the studio. Take a picture walking across the street without your shoes on.

Westminster Abbey has a history dating back approximately 1000 years.sand years of history. Bedictine monks began a tradition of daily worship here in the tenth century, this continues today.

The Abbey has been the coronation church since 1066 and is the final resting place of seventeen monarchs.

It is one of the most important Gothic buildings in the country, with the medieval shrine of an Anglo-Saxon saint still at its heart.

Some very significant people are buried here, my favourite being Livingstone.

The gothic cathedral of Westminster Abbey is the coronation and burial place of many English monarchs, just next to the Houses of Parliament. Particularly interesting are the gargoyles at the main entrance - take your time to discover them all. Unfortunately the cathedral is almost always crowded and quite impossible to visit at a leisurely pace. No photography allowed inside the church.

Many wonderful things can be said about Westminster Abbey. It is truly stunning and one of the better places to visit in London. I am sure that prior to your visit, you will hear a lot about the Abbey so I don't need to mention all of that here. But I do want to mention that the Audio Tour is totally worth it. It was by far the best audio tour that I have ever had. I had copies of some self-guided tours from different guidebooks, but the audio tour was way better. It was very informative and fun. The abbey has so much in it that it is pretty overwhelming, but the audio tour helps to streamline and highlight the important and interesting things. I definitely think that it enhanced my visit. I was talking to another friend who did not get the audio tour when they visited and she said that she wishes she did because she missed out on so much while she was there, that I saw because the audio tour pointed it out. You will definitely go slower than most people who are there, just skimming and seeing what they can see...so plan to spend more time there if you are getting the audio tour.

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I love Westminster Abbey. I've never been inside it yet though, never seem to have the time when we're in London. But if you get charged big money to go in there, like you do with Winchester Cathedral, then I probably never will. The only time I've ever seen the inside of it is on TV, like the royal marriages & funerals etc, and in the film 'The Medusa touch' with Richard Burton.

Poor old lady Diana was married here and then had her funeral here some years later. I'm not a royalist of any kind, but I did watch the whole of lady Diana's funeral; a young and beautiful life taken so short.