In 2006, the stage of the Old Globe Theatre was named the Donald and Darlene Shiley Stage, in honor of a $20 million capital and endowment campaign commitment from the Shileys, who have been friends and supporters of The Old Globe for more than three decades.
Modeled after Shakespeare’s Old Globe in London, the Old Globe Theatre was built in 1935 to present abridged versions of Shakespeare’s plays as part of the California Pacific International Exposition. At the conclusion of the exposition in 1937, a non-profit production corporation, the San Diego Community Theatre, leased the theatre and adjacent building from the City of San Diego (an arrangement that continues today) and renovated the theatre for ongoing use.
On December 2, 1937, the remodeled Old Globe Theatre opened with a production of John Van Druten’s The Distaff Side. In the cast was a young actor named Craig Noel, whose presence as an actor, director, and artistic leader would guide the theatre’s growth through more than five decades of continuous productions, and whose role as Artistic Director continues to this day.
On March 8, 1978, an arson fire destroyed the landmark theatre. Fortunately, the administrative offices, rehearsal hall, dressing rooms, scenery and costume shops, and the Cassius Carter Centre Stage were spared from the flames. In 1982, the new 580 seat in The Old Globe opened with a production of Shakespeare’s As You Like It.
Today, the Old Globe Theatre is the flagship venue for the organization, where several world premieres, such as Into the Woods, Play On!, The Full Monty and Imaginary Friends have been staged, and have then gone on to enjoy successful runs on Broadway.
The Old Globe's Artistic Director Emeritus Jack O’Brien says of the Old Globe Theatre, "I love the generosity of this theatre space, its fluid design, its perfect sight-lines, its great acoustics. If theatre in San Diego has a cradle, The Old Globe is it."

London Bridge, granite, five-arched bridge formerly over the Thames, in London, England. It is 928 ft (283 m) long and was designed by John Rennie and built between 1824 and 1831. The early wooden bridge (963–75) was replaced (1176–1209) by a stone bridge with houses and a chapel. The buildings were removed from 1756 to 1762. The bridge was many times damaged by fire and was finally removed in 1832 after the opening of a new bridge in 1831. In 1968, London Bridge was dismantled and purchased by Lake Havasu City, Ariz. In 1973 a new concrete bridge replaced the old one. London Bridge was the only bridge over the Thames in London until the construction (1739–50) of Westminster Bridge.

The Royal Albert Hall is one of the world’s most famous stages. Opened by Queen Victoria in 1871, the Hall hosts over 360 events which include classical music, jazz, world music, circus, rock, pop, opera, dance, comedy and tennis.
Enjoy daytime tours, a shop, café, lunchtime jazz and world music in the Café Consort and a free exhibition series.

The SEA LIFE London Aquarium is home to one of Europe’s largest collections of global marine life and the jewel in the crown of the 28 SEA LIFE attractions in the UK and Europe. Situated in the heart of London, the experience takes visitors on an immersive and interactive journey along the Great Oceanic Conveyor.
Along the journey, a stunning glass tunnel walkway offers guests an unforgettable experience by strolling underneath a Tropical Ocean. There is plenty of interaction along the way, from feeding the stingrays and watching diving displays to touch pools and discovery zones. Other stars of the show include seahorses, octopus, zebra sharks and the ever popular clown fish.

As well as allowing millions of people to discover the marvels of the marine world, the SEA LIFE network has an important role to play in helping safeguard our seas and their inhabitants for the future. The SEA LIFE London Aquarium provides the UK with a leading centre of excellence on marine management, conservation, preservation and education in the heart of the capital.

Kensington Palace, a palace of secret stories and public lives has been influenced by generations of royal woman. Experience life as a 17th and 18th century royal courtier whilst making your way through the magnificent King’s and Queen’s State Apartments adorned with remarkable paintings from the Royal Collection. Victoria Revealed, set within the rooms Victoria lived as a child, this exhibition explores her life and reign as wife, mother, Queen and Empress. New in 2013, Modern Royals, the story of the 20th century young royals that have set the spotlight on the palace.

The London Dungeon may be described as a museum of simulated horror from history, recalling events of atrocities from the past. You can journey back to the darker side of European history. With over forty exhibits it is not recommended for those of a nervous disposition or unaccompanied children. The museum has a wide variety of attractions including up to date multi media displays. You can experience walking down a Victorian street to unravel the terrible truth about Jack the Ripper or see how terrible punishments were carried out such as beheading, boiling or drowning. Contact the attraction direct for details.

The Museum of London, which tackles the social history of the city, opened up in 1976. It was touted as part of the Barbican Estate, which it does feel like it belongs to. The collection is quite massive, including the collections that were previously displayed in the Guildhall Museum and the London Museum.
Touring the museum is all about discovering the story of the people of London from Prehistoric times to the present. There are nine permanent galleries that you can explore to your heart’s content as they can be visited for free. You may also want to schedule a free gallery tour with friends or even with strangers. The museum is ready to accommodate you every day, mornings and afternoons from Sundays to Fridays and afternoons only on Saturdays.

A great nineteenth century London park, designed by John Nash with help from Repton's son. The park was designed in the Serpentine Style but has since migrated towards the Mixed Style which Repton senior would surely have used. It has a lake, a bandstand and a circular rose garden. The chief glory of the park is the palatial scenery provided by the encircling Nash Terraces.

The Science Museum is the most visited science and technology museum in Europe. There are over 15,000 objects on display, including world-famous objects such as the Apollo 10 command capsule and Stephenson’s Rocket.
Established in 1857, the Science Museum is one of the three major museums in South Kensington attracting 2.7 million visitors annually. Science Museum does not impose any admission charge.

It has seven floors of interactive and edifying exhibits which will definitely mesmerize anyone. The Museum now holds an assortment of over 300,000 items, including Stephenson’s Rocket, the first jet engine and citations of the first typewriter.
Science Museum also organizes “Science Night”, all night extravaganza with a scientific twist inviting children aged between 8 -11 accompanied with adults.

The Clock Tower of the Palace of Westminster - officially named Saint Stephen's Tower - is commonly known as the Big Ben. The tower is one of London's most famous landmarks.
The clock inside the tower was the world's largest when it was installed in the middle of the nineteenth century. The name Big Ben actually refers to the clock's hour bell, the largest of the clock's five bells. The other four are used as quarter bells.
There were two bells cast as the clock tower's hour bell. A first, sixteen ton weighing bell was cast by John Warner and Sons in 1856. Since the Clock Tower was not yet completed, the bell was hung temporarily in the Palace Yard. The bell soon cracked so it was recast in 1858 in the Whitechapel Bell Foundry as a 13.5 ton bell. Unfortunately soon after this bell was placed in the belfry in July 1859, it cracked as well. This time, instead of yet again recasting the bell, the crack was repaired and a lighter hammer was used to prevent any more cracks. 

The hour bell was probably named after Benjamin Hall, the First Commissioner of Works. Some sources however claim the bell was named after Benjamin Caunt, a British heavyweight boxing champion.

The National Gallery is an art gallery on Trafalgar Square, London, United Kingdom. Founded in 1824, it houses a collection of over 2,300 paintings dating from the mid-13th century to 1900. The gallery is an exempt charity, and a non-departmental public body of the Department for Culture, Media and Sport. Its collection belongs to the public of the United Kingdom and entry to the main collection (though not some special exhibitions) is free of charge.

Unlike comparable art museums in continental Europe, the National Gallery was not formed by nationalising an existing royal or princely art collection. It came into being when the British government bought 38 paintings from the heirs of John Julius Angerstein, an insurance broker and patron of the arts, in 1824. After that initial purchase the Gallery was shaped mainly by its early directors, notably Sir Charles Lock Eastlake, and by private donations, which comprise two thirds of the collection. 

London's Tower Bridge is one of the most recognizable bridges in the world. Its Victorian Gothic style stems from a law that forced the designers to create a structure that would be in harmony with the nearby Tower of London.
Plans for the Tower Bridge were devised around 1876 when the east of London became extremely crowded and a bridge across the Thames in that area of the city seemed a necessity. It would take another eight years - and lots of discussions about the design - before construction of the bridge started. 

The bridge, designed by city architect Horace Jones in collaboration with John Wolfe Barry, would eventually be completed in 1894. Five contractors and nearly 450 workers were involved in the construction of the 265 meter long bridge. It took 11,000 tons of steel to build the framework. At the time many people disliked its Victorian Gothic design, but over time the bridge became one of London's most famous symbols.

St Paul's is London's Cathedral and embodies the spiritual life and heritage of the British people.  Cathedrals serve a wide community. A Cathedral houses the seat - or in Latin, cathedra - of the bishop, making it a centre for Christian worship and teaching, and the Christian mission. 

St Paul's Cathedral acts as an important meeting place for people and ideas, as a centre for the arts, learning and public debate. 

St Paul’s is the Cathedral of the Diocese of London. The Diocese is made up of five episcopal areas: Willesden, Edmonton, Stepney, London and Kensington. Four of these have an Area Bishop, to whom the Bishop of London, The Right Reverend and Right Honourable Richard Chartres, delegates certain responsibilities. The Bishops are assisted by Archdeacons. Archdeaconries are further divided into deaneries which are groups of parishes. 

 

Trafalgar Square is located in the heart of London. It has become a major tourist attraction because of its rich history. It is not wrong in saying that a visit to London is incomplete without exploring Trafalgar Square.

The square is home to several important statues and historic features including Nelson’s column. Nelson’s column stands in the center with four lion statues guarding it. The Square's statues and sculptures are mainly featured with a fourth plinth displaying contemporary art pieces which are inter-changeable. Trafalgar Square is also a common site for political demonstrations.

Trafalgar Square is a huge circular plaza surrounded by roadways on three sides and the National Gallery. Initially it was a one way traffic system so that traffic was avoided by pedestrians through underpasses attached to Charing Cross tube station. Now a new traffic system has been introduced.

The British Museum was founded in 1753, the first national public museum in the world. From the beginning it granted free admission to all 'studious and curious persons'. Visitor numbers have grown from around 5,000 a year in the eighteenth century to nearly 6 million today.

The origins of the British Museum lie in the will of the physician, naturalist and collector, Sir Hans Sloane (1660–1753).

Over his lifetime, Sloane collected more than 71,000 objects which he wanted to be preserved intact after his death. So he bequeathed the whole collection to King George II for the nation in return for a payment of £20,000 to his heirs.

The gift was accepted and on 7 June 1753, an Act of Parliament established the British Museum.

The founding collections largely consisted of books, manuscripts and natural specimens with some antiquities (including coins and medals, prints and drawings) and ethnographic material. In 1757 King George II donated the 'Old Royal Library' of the sovereigns of England and with it the privilege of copyright receipt.

The British Museum opened to the public on 15 January 1759 . It was first housed in a seventeenth-century mansion, Montagu House, in Bloomsbury on the site of today's building. Entry was free and given to ‘all studious and curious Persons’.

With the exception of two World Wars, the Museum has remained open ever since, gradually increasing its opening hours and moving from an attendance of 5,000 per year to today's 6 million.

The Palace of Westminster – which includes the Houses of Parliament (House of Lords and House of Commons) and Big Ben – is a wonderful mish-mash of styles, dominated by neo-Gothic buttresses, towers and arches. It looks much older than it is: the Parliament buildings were designed by Charles Barry and created in 1860 to replace the original Houses of Parliament, destroyed by fire in 1834. The compound contains 1,000 rooms, 11 courtyards, eight bars and six restaurants (for use by staff, MPs, Lords and their guests), plus a small cafeteria for visitors. Of the original medieval palace, only the Jewel Tower (open by separate admission) and the ancient Westminster Hall remain.

One of just four UNESCO World Heritage Sites in the city, the Tower of London is one of the city’s most popular attractions.
Used variously throughout its history as a royal palace, an armoury, a prison, an execution chamber, a zoo, a barracks and a jewel house, this working royal castle offers a stunning insight into 1,000 years of history.

• See the magnificent Crown Jewels on display, made up of nearly 24,000 gems
• Enjoy special exhibitions, guided tours from the famous Beefeaters, and live re-enactments of historic moments
• Explore the towers to discover what imprisonment was like for the ‘upper classes’ of previous centuries
• Special tours and activities available for children and families
• Flexibility - Tower of London tickets are open dated and can be used any time on any day

The Natural History Museum is home to one of the largest natural history collections in the world from microscopic slides to mammoth skeletons. The building itself is impressive with cathedral like structure, frescoes and sculptures and the central hall is home to an astounding Diplodocus skeleton.

The museum is divided into four coloured zones. The green zone concentrates on facts about life, the planet, environment and evolution. The red zone explores our ever changing planet, how it was shaped and its place within the universe. In the blue zone you can marvel at the diversity of life on our planet from blue whales to the smallest invertebrates. Finally the orange zone takes you into the Wildlife garden (open between April and October) and to the Darwin centre although you need to book an explore tours to do this.

Most young boys make a pilgrimage to the museum just to see the dinosaur exhibits but there are numerous daily activities, behind-the scenes tours and you can borrow an explorer backpack complete with binoculars and hat!

Plenty of places to eat, and you can take your own picnic. Best advised to plan your visit in advance and the website can help you do this.

In March 2000 the London Eye opened its doors to the public for the first time & has since welcomed 50 million visitors!
In the past 13 years, the London Eye has become the symbol of modern London, hosting the New Years Eve fireworks each year since 2001, being the centrepiece for the Olympics closing ceremony & turning red, white & blue for the birthday of HRH Prince George, positioned proudly at the heart of everything happening in the city
Originally only due to open for 5 years, people the world over have taken the London Eye into their hearts & the great wheel has now been granted lifelong permission in its position on the South Bank of the River Thames.