...d eastard to Stratford. The Docklands Light Railay connects the City of London ith Docklands and other east London destinations. Most travel is done by rail and Underground, although there is also considerable commuting by car, particularly in the outer boroughs. London has about 18,000 licensed taxis.Railay services from London to Paris or Brussels through the Channel Tunnel run from the terminal at aterloo station.London has three main airports. Heathro, about 25 km 15 mi est of London, is the orlds busiest airport for international passengers and is Britains most important airport for passengers and air freight handling about 55 million passengers and over 1 million tonnes of freight in 1996. Gatick south of London is Britains second-busiest airport in terms of passenger traffic, and Stansted to the north-east, in Essex is the sixth-busiest. London City Airport based in the rejuvenated Docklands area, links Docklands and the City to continental Europe.The Port of London, covering about 150 km 93 mi of ateray along the Thames to the east coast, is the largest port in Britain in terms of total tonnage of cargo handled and in terms of non-fuel traffic. The total tonnage handled in 1995 as about 52 million tonnes.Museums and Art Galleries Londons museums and art galleries contain some of the most comprehensive collections of objects of artistic, archaeological, scientific, historical, and general interest. The British Museum in Bloomsbury is one of the biggest and most famous museums in the orld. Its collections range from Egyptian and Classical antiquities through Saxon treasures to more recent artefacts.The Victoria and Albert Museum in South Kensington is an assembly of fine and decorative art collections from all over the orld. There are magnificent examples of porcelain, glass, sculpture, fabrics and costume, furniture, and musical instruments, all set in a building of Victorian grandeur. Nearby are the Museum of Natural History and the Science Museum. On the other side of London, in the City it is the Museum of London, hich has exhibits dealing ith the development of the capital from its origins to the present day.The National Gallery in Trafalgar Square contains one of the finest mixed collections of paintings in the orld. Next door is the National Portrait Gallery, hose collection includes more than 9,000 portraits. The Tate Gallery, situated on the Embankment beteen Chelsea and estminster, houses the largest collection of British painting from the 16th century to the present day. In 1987 an extension opened to house the paintings bequeathed to the nation by J. M. . Turner. There are plans to establish a ne Tate Gallery of Modern Art in Southark, near the reconstructed Shakespearean theatre, the Globe.Other important collections in the capital include the Imperial ar Museum, the National Army Museum, the Royal Air Force Museum, the National Maritime Museum, the allace Collection of paintings, furniture, arms and armour, and objects dart, Sir John Soanes Museum founded by the architect of the Bank of England in the City, and the London Transport Museum. The Queens Gallery in Buckingham Palace has exhibitions of pictures from the extensive royal collection. The Theatre Museum displays the history of the performing arts, hile the Museum of the Moving Image traces the history of film and television.The British Library, the national library of Britain, has a collection of more than 150 million separate items. Publishers must deposit in the Library a copy of everything they publish.Performing Arts London is one of the orlds leading centres for theatre, and there are about 100 theatres in the capital. These include the three auditoriums of the Royal National Theatre in the South Bank Centre the to auditoriums in the London base of the Royal Shakespeare Company at the Citys Barbican Centre and the Royal Court Theatre in Sloane Square, home of the English Stage Company, hich stages ork by ne playrights. The largest concentration of commercial theatres is in the est End, around Shaftsbury Avenue, Charing Cross Road, and the Strand.In 1989 the partial remains of the Globe Theatre, here Shakespeare acted, and the Rose Theatre, here his plays ere performed during his lifetime, ere excavated on the south bank of the Thames in central London a modern reconstruction of the Globe Theatre, near its original site, as unveiled in 1996.The principal concert halls in central London are the Royal Festival Hall in the South Bank Centre next to hich are the Queen Elizabeth Hall and the Purcell Room, hich accommodate smaller-scale performances, the Barbican Hall, the Royal Albert Hall in Kensington, the igmore Hall, behind Oxford Street and St Johns Church in Smith Square, estminster.The leading symphony orchestras in London include the London Symphony, the London Philharmonic, the Royal Philharmonic, the Philharmonia, and the BBC Symphony. There are also several London chamber orchestras and choirs. The Royal Opera and the Royal Ballet, hich rank among the orlds finest companies, perform at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden. Seasons of opera in English are given by the English National Opera at the London Coliseum. English Festival Ballet founded as London Festival Ballet performs at the Royal Festival Hall, and the Rambert Dance Company provides regular seasons of modern dance in the capital.There is a ide range of cinemas throughout London. The National Film Theatre on the South Bank, administered by the British Film Institute, annually mounts the London Film Festival.Highly respected music, dance, and drama colleges in London include the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, the Royal College of Music, the Royal Ballet School, and the London Contemporary Dance School.ParksTo thirds of London is intensively built up, yet the capital is ell endoed ith parks and open spaces. Hyde Park, adjoining Kensington Gardens, as formerly knon as the lung of London. Regents Park, to the north of the est End, is surrounded by elegant buildings designed by John Nash for the Prince Regent hence its name and contains the Zoological Gardens the London Zoo. Other important open spaces in London, some of them royal parks, include Green Park, St Jamess Park, Hampstead Heath, Holland Park, Battersea Park, Parliament Hill Fields, and Primrose Hill. In outer London there are some extended green areas such as Richmond Park, Bushey Park, Ke Gardens incorporating the famous Royal Botanic Gardens, and Greenich Park....
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