London

London(is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with its 9 002 488 inhabitants. Its territorial extension makes it the third largest city in Europe, preceded by Moscow and Istanbul and followed by St. Petersburg, Rome and Berlin. The metropolitan area has about 14 million residents and stretches several tens of kilometers along the Thames Valley, all the way to its huge estuary.

Many of the inhabitants, called Londoners, come from abroad or are of foreign origin, making it one of the most cosmopolitan and multiethnic cities in the world. London was the capital of the British Empire and therefore a destination for migratory flows during and especially after the end of the colonial era. It has the highest GDP among all European cities and the fifth in the world. Its nine airports, including five international, three general aviation and one business aviation, make it the largest hub of global air traffic; it is also home to the world’s oldest underground system, the London Underground (The Tube) which is also the largest in Europe. Home to the first Universal Exhibition in history (Expo 1851), it is the third most visited city in the world by international tourism, after Hong Kong and Bangkok in Asia and is considered one of the fashion capitals of the world. For all the features listed, London wins the title of global city, ranking as the only British city on the Alpha World Cities list Along with New York it is part of the Alfa++ category, the one that places them as the two most important cities for the global economy.

International institutions, organisations and companies are based in London. There are important museums and theaters; the city contains four World Heritage Sites. In addition, the monarch of the United Kingdom lives permanently at Buckingham Palace, and the Palace of Westminster houses Parliament; number 10 Downing Street is the residence of the Prime Minister and the seat of Government of the United Kingdom.