- 1 day ago
Rick Steves' Europe - Season 13 Episode 11 -
London: Yesterday and Today
London: Yesterday and Today
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00:00Enjoying a King's Greatest Hits tour in one of the world's leading cities.
00:04We're in London.
00:06Thanks for joining us.
00:30This royal tour of a city I've been coming back to all my life
00:43features the capital of one of the greatest empires ever known.
00:47It's no wonder it's packed with sights that put the great in Britain.
00:51With a thousand-year heritage of kings and queens and nine million citizens today,
00:56it has a fascinating story to tell.
01:00On our Greatest Hits tour, we'll cheer on royal pageantry
01:03and celebrate the People's Parliament.
01:07We'll cruise the Thames, hop a double-decker bus,
01:11and summit an inspiring dome.
01:15After remembering Britain's heroes from the first Elizabeth to the last,
01:19we'll get greedy at the Bank of England,
01:22drink a pint with the locals,
01:25then storm a medieval tower to meet a genuine beef eater.
01:30London, the capital of England and straddling the River Thames, entertains.
01:35We'll start at Buckingham Palace and Westminster
01:38with its abbey, Houses of Parliament, and Big Ben.
01:42From Trafalgar Square with its great museums,
01:44we venture through the business district called the City
01:46with stops at St. Paul's Cathedral and the Tower of London.
01:50Then we hike from Tower Bridge along the South Bank
01:53back to the London Eye to complete our royal tour.
01:59We'll start with the traditional,
02:01the changing of the guard here at Buckingham Palace.
02:04It's the ultimate in royal pageantry,
02:06and a huge crowd is gathering to enjoy it.
02:08While no longer ruling a vast empire,
02:15London is still a capital of regal traditions.
02:19At the end of a long shift,
02:20fresh guards march out to relieve the exhausted ones.
02:24Three times a week,
02:25this ritual comes with marching bands
02:27and a public spectacle.
02:30This time-honored ceremony still stirs British hearts.
02:36And while you have to be very tall
02:38or very early to actually see the guards change,
02:41I get a kick out of watching
02:43what seems like every tourist in London
02:45gathered together in one place at the same time.
02:50Today, England's royal family
02:52calls Buckingham Palace home.
02:54But a thousand years ago,
02:56they lived on the River Thames
02:57in what was called the Palace of Westminster.
03:00Over the centuries,
03:02that palace of monarchs evolved to become this building
03:05and the center of modern Britain's democracy.
03:11It started when representatives of local communities,
03:14or commons, gathered here to be near their king.
03:18Eventually, they began meeting independently
03:20as the House of Commons, or Parliament.
03:23And to this day, Britain is ruled from right here,
03:27the Houses of Parliament.
03:29Visitors are welcome to queue up
03:31for a free look at today's democratic process in action.
03:35Your visit starts with a stroll
03:36through the majestic building itself.
03:39Westminster Hall, surviving for over 600 years,
03:42was at one time the grandest hall in all of Europe.
03:46At first, it was a glorious throne room,
03:49the heart of the palace.
03:51Imagine the king, ruling as a divine monarch,
03:54presiding from the far end,
03:56dispensing justice, welcoming ambassadors,
03:59and hosting boisterous banquets.
04:02The self-supporting oak hammer-beam construction,
04:06an ingenious network of braces and arches
04:08creating a longer span with shorter pieces of wood,
04:11survives from 1397.
04:16Just down the richly ornamented hall,
04:19the public is welcome to witness the Parliament in action.
04:22This is where the leading politicians of England,
04:25either in the uppity House of Lords
04:27or the rowdier House of Commons,
04:29have gathered for centuries.
04:34While Westminster Hall is original Gothic,
04:37like much of the most medieval-looking architecture in Europe,
04:41the exterior of the Houses of Parliament
04:42is actually over-the-top faux-medieval.
04:45It's neo-Gothic, from the 1800s,
04:48the age of Queen Victoria.
04:50With prickly spires, stained glass,
04:52and church-like pointed arches,
04:54Victorian England reaffirmed
04:56both its royal and Christian medieval roots.
05:00The famous bell tower is also neo-Gothic.
05:03People call it Big Ben,
05:04but it's actually the Queen Elizabeth Tower.
05:07Ben is the famous 13-ton bell behind the clock.
05:14Just across the street from Big Ben
05:16is Westminster Abbey.
05:19This most historic church in the English-speaking world
05:22is where kings and queens have been crowned,
05:25married, and buried since 1066.
05:29While it was first built in the 11th century,
05:31much of what we see today is 14th century.
05:35When there's a royal wedding, coronation, or funeral,
05:38the world looks on,
05:39as amid all this splendor,
05:41Britain's glitterati gather under graceful Gothic arches.
05:46The centerpiece is the tomb of Edward the Confessor,
05:49who founded the Abbey.
05:51And surrounding Edward
05:52are the tombs of 29 other kings and queens.
05:55This is the tomb of Queen Elizabeth I.
05:58Her royal orb symbolizes that she was queen of the entire globe.
06:04The Abbey is filled with the remains of people
06:07who put the great in Britain.
06:09Saints, musicians, scientists, and soldiers.
06:14For lovers of English literature,
06:16strolling through Poets' Corner
06:17can be a pilgrimage in itself.
06:20The Lady Chapel,
06:22with its colorful windows and fanciful banners,
06:24has the festive air of a medieval pageant.
06:27The elaborate ceiling is a fine example of fan vaulting,
06:31a style that capped the Gothic age.
06:33At the far end,
06:35a wall of modern stained glass
06:37marks the Royal Air Force Chapel.
06:40It honors the fighter pilots of all nations
06:42who died defending Britain in 1940.
06:46With saints in stained glass,
06:48heroes in carved stone,
06:50and the remains of England's greatest citizens
06:52under the floor stones,
06:54Westminster Abbey is the national church
06:57and the religious heart of England.
07:02In the 1500s,
07:03King Henry VIII moved to an enormous new royal palace
07:06that once stood here.
07:07The biggest palace in Europe in its day?
07:10It stretched all the way from Big Bend
07:11to Trafalgar Square at the end of this street.
07:14While that palace is long gone,
07:17its name survives, Whitehall.
07:19Today, Britain's most important street.
07:22The British Empire,
07:23which once ruled nearly a quarter of the world's population,
07:27was managed from here.
07:29A Whitehall walk,
07:31passing Britain's version of the Pentagon,
07:33is filled with reminders
07:34of Britain's proud and hard-fought history.
07:38Stately reliefs,
07:39war heroes on pedestals,
07:41and stern buildings
07:42seem to celebrate
07:44the empire upon which the sun never set.
07:47As it has for centuries,
07:51the Royal Horse Guard Cavalry
07:53still keeps the royal family safe.
07:55And if you're here at the right time,
07:57you'll enjoy the ritual changing of this guard as well.
08:03Britain's prime ministers
08:04have long lived and worked on Whitehall
08:06at the famous and carefully guarded address,
08:10Number 10 Downing Street.
08:11And one of the greatest was Winston Churchill,
08:14remembered here with the iconic trench coat he wore
08:17leading his country through the dark days of World War II.
08:22Deep under the halls of government,
08:24you can visit the Churchill War Rooms.
08:27This was the secret underground nerve center
08:30of the British government's fight against the Nazis,
08:32even as German bombs rained down on London during the Blitz.
08:36Shut down after victory in 1945
08:40and ignored for decades,
08:42these war rooms are open today
08:44as a fascinating time warp for visitors to explore.
08:48Audio guides give it meaning.
08:50On the morning of the 16th of August, 1945,
08:53the day after VJ Day,
08:55and the end of the war,
08:57the map officers tidied their desks,
08:59switched out the lights for the first time in six years,
09:02and went home.
09:04And that's the way the room stayed.
09:07You'll see the room where Churchill famously took his short naps.
09:11In this room,
09:12the progress of the entire war was followed
09:14as the day-by-day movement of troops and convoys was charted.
09:19And this room was the communication hub
09:22from where Churchill maneuvered Britain to ultimate victory.
09:26The adjacent museum introduces you to Churchill the man.
09:30It brings the colorful statesman to life,
09:34complete with his trademark cigar, bow tie,
09:37cognac, he loved his drink,
09:39and famous bowler hat.
09:42You'll get a taste of Winston's irascibility,
09:45wit, work ethic,
09:46even the industry of kitschy knick-knacks he inspired.
09:55Back out on Whitehall,
09:57there are more monuments,
09:58this one built to remember the fallen from World War I,
10:02and this one to honor the seven million women
10:05who volunteered in World War II.
10:08Whitehall spills into Trafalgar Square
10:10with its memorial to perhaps
10:12the greatest English war hero of all time,
10:16the one-armed, one-eyed,
10:17and one-minded Admiral Horatio Nelson,
10:21looking boldly out to sea.
10:22The year was 1805.
10:26Napoleon, with his grand French army,
10:29was poised just on the other side of the English Channel,
10:32preparing to invade.
10:33Meanwhile, a thousand miles to the south,
10:35off the coast of Spain,
10:37Admiral Nelson defeated the French fleet
10:39at the Battle of Trafalgar.
10:41Napoleon was stopped,
10:43and Britannia ruled the waves.
10:46Bronze battle reliefs,
10:48made of melted-down French cannon,
10:49decorate the column.
10:51And these huggable lions are a hit with kids.
10:55Trafalgar Square is a vibrant people's home.
10:58It's where Londoners gather to enjoy concerts,
11:01cheer their national team,
11:02to kick off a political demonstration,
11:05or just enjoy the fountains
11:08and a sunny day.
11:13Trafalgar Square marks the very center of London.
11:16Big Ben, just past Admiral Nelson.
11:18Buckingham Palace, straight shot that way.
11:20Soho, where all the nightlife is,
11:22it's about six blocks over there.
11:23The National Gallery has the greatest collection
11:26of European paintings in Britain,
11:27and St. Martin's in the Field
11:29is famous for its classical concerts
11:30and its charity work.
11:33Just around the corner,
11:35the National Portrait Gallery
11:36is the perfect place to look into the eyes
11:38of the dynamic cast of characters
11:40in Britain's compelling story
11:42as it grew from small island nation
11:44to global superpower.
11:47500 years ago,
11:49it was the formidable Henry VIII
11:51who first planted England on the world stage
11:53while navigating six waves.
11:56Henry's shrewd daughter,
11:58Queen Elizabeth I,
11:59ruled a prosperous age
12:01that fostered great minds.
12:03Minds like William Shakespeare,
12:05whose timeless plays explored
12:07the full range of human experience.
12:10As their empire grew,
12:12the energetic British reshaped the world
12:14in many fields.
12:16The curious scientist, Isaac Newton,
12:18noticed a falling apple and thought,
12:20hmm, gravity.
12:23Novelist Charles Dickens
12:25opened his fellow citizens' eyes
12:27to the inequalities
12:28that came with the Industrial Revolution,
12:30while mild-mannered Charles Darwin
12:33shocked everyone
12:34with his bold theory of evolution.
12:37In the turbulent 20th century,
12:40our old friend Winston Churchill
12:42would rally the nation to victory
12:43in World War II.
12:45And Queen Elizabeth II
12:47served dutifully
12:48through 70 years of unprecedented change
12:51before passing the crown to her son,
12:53Charles, with his queen,
12:55ensuring that Britain's long legacy
12:57of glorious traditions
12:58continues proudly into the 21st century.
13:03Britain's history continues to unfold,
13:05and the gallery works hard to keep up.
13:08With creative displays
13:09and a focus on including
13:10once-marginalized people,
13:12there's an ever-changing array
13:14of the latest cultural luminaries.
13:17From monarchs to war heroes,
13:18fashion icons to pop stars,
13:21the National Portrait Gallery
13:22puts a literal face
13:24on the fascinating story
13:26of Great Britain.
13:32Big as it is,
13:34London's easy to get around in,
13:36and its iconic double-decker buses
13:38can be both efficient and fun.
13:41Just joyriding,
13:43enjoying the view from the top deck,
13:45is one of the great treats of this city.
13:48While the tube goes underground
13:50and does the long trips quicker,
13:51buses can be handy for short hops.
13:54This one, like any bus going in this direction,
13:56is heading directly into
13:58the historic core of London,
13:59that one-square-mile district
14:01locals call the city.
14:05The city was the center of London
14:07back in the days of Shakespeare and Dickens.
14:10Its historic borders
14:11are marked by griffins like this.
14:14These days,
14:14fewer than 10,000 people
14:16actually live here,
14:17but its 9-to-5 crowd
14:18numbers half a million.
14:20Today, this is Britain's Wall Street,
14:23busy with bankers and lawyers,
14:25thriving with big-time commerce,
14:27and packed with heritage.
14:31Fleet Street was famous for publishing.
14:33Home of early printing presses
14:35and newspapers,
14:36this was a state-of-the-art center
14:38of the original information age.
14:41And the city has long been
14:42a global center of finance,
14:44hosting hundreds of banks,
14:46both international and English.
14:50This district helped create
14:51the first great capitalist economy.
14:54At London's original stock exchange,
14:56stock, yeah, actual livestock,
14:59like cattle and sheep,
15:00was exchanged right here.
15:02The Bank of England
15:04serves as this country's Fort Knox,
15:06guarding a national fortune of gold bars.
15:09Its free museum is fascinating
15:11and offers an unforgettable chance
15:14to actually hold on
15:15to a 28-pound gold bar
15:17at today's exchange rates
15:18worth well over a million dollars.
15:22Wow.
15:23Yeah, a million bucks.
15:25But these days,
15:26bank headquarters have moved out,
15:28and many of the elegant
15:29original bank buildings
15:30have morphed into fancy pubs,
15:33their vaults now filled
15:34with kegs of real English ale.
15:36In a British pub,
15:38you order at the bar.
15:40For a cold and carbonated
15:41American-style beer,
15:42you'd go for a lager.
15:43A bitter and an ale,
15:44that would be
15:45the traditional English beer.
15:47The lagers have short tabs,
15:49and the ales and bitters
15:51have the long handles,
15:52as they need to be physically drawn
15:54from kegs in the cellar.
15:57The default is a pint,
15:59like Josh is having.
16:00Or if you're a lightweight TV host
16:02trying to stay sober,
16:04you can always order a half a pint.
16:06Cheers.
16:06Refreshed and back out on the street,
16:10more history awaits.
16:12This Tudor-style building
16:13is one of the few
16:14that survived London's
16:16great fire of 1666.
16:19Before that,
16:20back in Shakespeare's day,
16:21the entire city was made of wood,
16:23half-timbered,
16:24and looked a lot like this.
16:27This monument commemorates
16:28that devastating fire
16:30that started here
16:31and burned down
16:32nearly all of London.
16:33These reliefs show,
16:35in heroic terms,
16:36how the king and city leaders
16:38came together
16:38determined to rebuild.
16:40A young, ambitious architect
16:42named Christopher Wren
16:43was chosen to spearhead the project.
16:46The city that rose from the ashes
16:48was rebuilt of stone,
16:50much safer.
16:51And that city was decorated
16:52by the Wren-designed spires
16:54of some 50 churches,
16:55featuring Wren's signature style,
16:58soaring spires,
16:59and geometrical simplicity outside,
17:02and under barrel-vaulted ceilings,
17:04practical, uncluttered interiors.
17:07Seating galleries overlooking the nave,
17:09clear windows enhancing
17:10the interplay of light and dark,
17:12and artfully carved woodwork throughout.
17:15Christopher Wren spent four decades,
17:18the rest of his life,
17:19working on his grand vision.
17:21The centerpiece?
17:22This mighty cathedral,
17:24St. Paul's.
17:26It's the symbol of London's resilience,
17:28its rise from the Great Fire,
17:30and how London survived
17:32the blitz of World War II.
17:37The church is one of the world's biggest.
17:40Wren accentuated its spaciousness
17:42by the lack of decoration.
17:44Notice the simple ceiling,
17:45and how the clear glass
17:47lights everything evenly.
17:49Today, only the west end of the church
17:51keeps Wren's original vision.
17:53In the 1800s,
17:54Queen Victoria called St. Paul's
17:56dim, dingy, and ungodly.
17:59So the simple beauty
18:00of the east end of the church
18:01was then slathered with Victorian bling.
18:04Beautiful Victorian bling.
18:08While the church's survival
18:09in World War II was almost miraculous,
18:12the apse of the church
18:13did take a direct hit.
18:15It was rebuilt
18:16as the American Memorial Chapel
18:18to honor our nation's contribution
18:20to the defense of Britain.
18:22We see Jesus, Mary,
18:24and George Washington.
18:26The American iconography
18:28includes stars, stripes, and eagles.
18:31And, hiding behind birds and plants
18:33native to the USA,
18:35it's a U.S. rocket,
18:37circa 1958,
18:38shooting up to the stars.
18:40The British are grateful
18:42to their World War II allies.
18:43The Role of Honor
18:45lists the 28,000 American servicemen
18:48based in Britain
18:49who gave their lives.
18:52The heart of the church
18:52is Wren's masterpiece,
18:54a majestic, light-filled dome
18:56that visitors can't help
18:58but gaze up into
18:59with a sense of awe.
19:03Climbing the dome
19:04is like climbing
19:05a 30-story building
19:06with no elevator.
19:08And the reward?
19:09A commanding view of London.
19:11Christopher Wren
19:16spent nearly half his life
19:17working on St. Paul's.
19:19At age 75,
19:21he got to see his son
19:22crown his masterpiece
19:23with this triumphant cross.
19:32London was born on the River Thames.
19:35Located near the mouth of the Thames,
19:37the city grew rich
19:38on trade between Britain's interior
19:40and the open sea.
19:42Once the sewer of the city,
19:44congested with cargo ships
19:45and routinely flooding,
19:47today the river's cleaned up
19:48and tamed by a massive flood barrier
19:50a few miles downstream.
19:53The River Thames is busy
19:54with passenger ferries.
19:56Uber boats are for commuting
19:57and quick trips,
19:59while the various sightseeing boats
20:00are there to make memories
20:01for tourists.
20:03We're sailing from the halls
20:04of Westminster under Big Ben,
20:06downstream,
20:07enjoying an informative narration
20:09with the views.
20:11On your right,
20:12the HMS Belfast,
20:15so I can do the Second World War.
20:17And our boat finishes
20:19under the Tower Bridge,
20:21dropping us at London's
20:22very first royal palace.
20:24The Tower of London
20:26goes back to the Norman Conquest.
20:29The year was 1066.
20:31Over in France,
20:32William, Duke of Normandy,
20:33gathered his troops.
20:35He crossed the English Channel,
20:36invaded and occupied England.
20:39Ultimately,
20:39taking the English throne,
20:41he became William the Conqueror.
20:43To consolidate his rule,
20:45he built this,
20:46the first stone fortress in Britain.
20:48Yes,
20:49the Tower of London.
20:51Its purpose?
20:52Put 15 feet of stone
20:54between him
20:55and his new subjects.
20:57This original tower,
20:58formidable like nothing
20:59locals had ever seen,
21:00gave the castle complex
21:02its name.
21:02The style of the age
21:03was Romanesque,
21:04which the English call Norman
21:06for the invaders
21:07who imported it.
21:09This stark yet serene
21:10Chapel of St. John,
21:12from 1080
21:12and one of the oldest
21:13in England,
21:14provides a rare look
21:15at pure Norman architecture,
21:18round Roman-style arches
21:19and thick walls.
21:22You'll see an intimidating collection
21:24of medieval weaponry
21:25and armor.
21:26Your entry includes
21:27a peek at the most dazzling
21:29crown jewels in Europe.
21:31Sorry,
21:31no cameras.
21:32And an entertaining tour
21:34with one of the historic
21:35tower guards,
21:37a yeoman warder
21:38or beef eater.
21:39The Wakefield Tower
21:41just down there
21:41is named the Wakefield Tower
21:43after the Battle of Wakefield
21:44which occurred during
21:45the Wars of the Roses.
21:46After that battle,
21:47hundreds of Yorkish prisoners
21:48were captured.
21:49They were crammed
21:50into the lower dungeon
21:51and just left there to die
21:52in appalling conditions.
21:53Some say it's the most haunted tower
21:56anywhere in the complex.
21:58In fact,
21:58people say to me all the time,
21:59Gary,
22:00have you seen any ghosts
22:01while you've lived here
22:02at the tower?
22:03What a great question.
22:04I've lived here now
22:05for 232 years
22:06and I've never seen a ghost.
22:08The Millennium Bridge
22:14connects the City of London
22:15with the South Bank
22:16of the Thames.
22:18Built to celebrate
22:19the new millennium,
22:20it's a suspension bridge
22:21but its pylons veer out
22:23in order not to obliterate
22:24the fine views.
22:26Nicknamed the Blade of Light
22:28for its sleek design,
22:29it connects old and new.
22:31St. Paul's Cathedral
22:32with the Tate Modern Art Gallery.
22:37The Tate Modern
22:38fills an old abandoned power station.
22:41A fine example of London's
22:42creative post-industrial regeneration,
22:44it's a high-voltage collection
22:46of modern art.
22:48Visitors enjoy
22:49an entertaining cocktail
22:50of Dali, Picasso, Stella,
22:53pop art, Dada
22:54and the work of artists
22:55who perhaps have yet
22:56to become household names.
22:59Simply wandering through
23:00its vast and entertaining halls,
23:02you can enjoy
23:03the refreshing juxtaposition
23:04of bizarre images,
23:06surreal fantasies
23:07and a vivid reminder
23:09that London still pulses
23:10with cultural energy.
23:15The South Bank of the Thames,
23:17yet another success story
23:19of a revitalized London,
23:20now thrives
23:21with trendy bars,
23:23condos
23:24and cultural centers
23:25like Shakespeare's Globe Theatre,
23:28all tied together
23:29by the Jubilee Walkway.
23:32This riverside promenade
23:34stretches from the Tower Bridge
23:36to just across from Big Ben.
23:39It comes with plenty of opportunities
23:42to relax along the way.
23:44It's a hit
23:45with strollers,
23:47friends enjoying a picnic dinner,
23:49hard-working bands busking,
23:52lovers
23:52and daydreamers.
23:53and daydreamers.
23:56Our riverside walk finishes
23:58with a classic view
23:59of a familiar sight,
24:01Big Ben
24:01and the Halls of Parliament.
24:03And for a quick
24:04and easy flight over London,
24:05we're riding the London Eye.
24:08This world's largest observation wheel
24:11is designed
24:12like a giant bicycle wheel.
24:14A pan-European undertaking,
24:16it's made with British steel,
24:19Dutch engineering
24:20and German, French
24:21and Italian parts.
24:23Visitors enjoy a smooth
24:25and silent
24:2530-minute once-around rotation.
24:29From the top
24:30of the 450-foot high wheel,
24:33Big Ben looks small
24:34and this commanding view
24:36caps our royal tour
24:37of one of the world's
24:39greatest cities.
24:40London.
24:45It's a city
24:45kings and queens
24:46call home
24:47and I can see why.
24:49Thanks for joining us.
24:50I'm Rick Steves.
24:51Until next time,
24:52keep on traveling.
24:54Cheerio.
24:56...gathered here
24:56to be near their cave.
24:58Boom.
25:00Boom.
25:01It's the one-square-mile district
25:03locals call
25:04the tube.
25:05The tube.
25:07And if you'd rather
25:08have a more traditional
25:09beer in Britain,
25:11bah.
25:12And Gary,
25:12why are you called
25:13a beef eater?
25:14Nobody knows.
25:15But it's the Roman wall,
25:17ancient Londinium.
25:19No?
25:20No.
25:21No.
25:21No.
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