The ZSL London Zoo, one of London’s most well-liked attractions and the oldest scientific zoo in the world, is home to 20,100 animals representing 700 different species, making it one of the largest collections in the UK. Visitors are welcome to get up close and personal with some of their favourite animals at this animal oasis in Regents Park, where they can also take in live feedings, displays, and more. Discover more about this magnificent historical site with our favourite London Zoo trivia that you probably didn’t know. The Zoological Society of London founded the London Zoo in 1826 with the intention of housing animals for scientific study. Sir Thomas Stamford Raffles, who is well known for building Singapore, was the one who came up with it (and the famous Raffles Hotel). Only colleagues from the Zoological Society were permitted entry to the Zoo for the first 20 years.
In order to aid the Society’s financial situation because even today, London Zoo does not truly get any public support, the Zoo was opened to the public in 1847. Admissions, fees, and contributions provide its funding. The Zoo is home to many stunning listed structures, including the amazing Reptile House, where Harry Potter conversed with a Burmese python in the Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone movie. However, there is one particular landmark that catches our attention. Be careful to look for the Grade I listed vintage telephone box while visiting Penguin Beach. One of just two remaining in Britain, the other one is in Scotland, and it is painted white with red windows. London Zoo occupies 36 acres of Regents Park and is home to 700 different species of animals. You must visit ZSL Whipsnade Zoo to see larger animals because it has 600 acres on which elephants, rhinos, and other animals can roam. Before the quagga species went extinct in the 1870s, the only surviving specimen ever captured on camera resided at the ZSL London Zoo. A handful of Tasmanian tigers were also housed at the zoo before they went extinct in the 20th century.
One of the biggest libraries in the world, The British Library is the national library of the United Kingdom. Between 170 to 200 million objects from many nations are thought to be present. The British Library receives copies of all books published in the United Kingdom and Ireland as a legal deposit library, including a sizable share of foreign publications sold in the UK. The Department for Digital, Culture, Media, and Sport is the sponsor of the Library, a non-departmental public organisation. A large research library, the British Library has materials in various languages and media, both print and digital, including books, manuscripts, journals, newspapers, magazines, sound and music recordings, films, playscripts, patents, databases, maps, stamps, prints, and drawings. Around 14 million volumes, as well as significant holdings of manuscripts and artefacts going as far back as 2000 BC, can be found in the library’s collections. Every year, the library adds about three million new items, taking up 9.6 kilometres (6 miles) of additional shelf space. The library maintains a programme for content acquisition.
The Library was was a component of the British Museum until 1973. The Library is now housed in a structure that was specially constructed on the abandoned site of the Midland Railway’s Somers Town Goods Yard and Potato Market in London’s Somers Town (between Euston and St. Pancras stations), and it also has a storage building and reading room at a branch library in West Yorkshire’s Leeds neighbourhood close to Boston Spa. The St. Pancras building, whose official dedication by Queen Elizabeth II took place on June 25, 1998, is recognised as a Grade I listed structure “of exceptional significance” for its design and background. This magnificent structure by Sir Colin St. John Wilson is available to all visitors seven days a week and has events, unique exhibitions, and a Treasures Gallery with over 200 items on display, including a copy of the Magna Carta, a Gutenberg Bible, and Beatles lyrics.
The Royal Academy of Arts (RA) is a London-based gallery with offices in Burlington House on Piccadilly. It was established in 1768 and occupies a distinctive position as an independent, privately funded institution run by renowned architects and painters. Through exhibitions, instruction, and discussion, it seeks to advance the creation, enjoyment, and appreciation of the visual arts. In addition to a great collection of ancient artworks from classical Greece, the RA’s gallery area frequently hosts exhibitions of work by up-and-coming artists. While the modern art displays are anything but traditional and have recently strayed into conceptual art installations rather than more traditional painting and sculpture, the permanent galleries have traditional works by past members like Gainsborough and Reynolds. The Draped Female Figure, attributed to Timotheus and produced between 375 and 350 BC, is the only authentic antique sculpture in the RA Collection. The Academy holds many plaster casts of older statues. The figure, who wears practically transparent clothing, is supposed to be a nymph. The sculpture might have been a component of the Greek temple of Asklepios. The main piece in the collection is a trio of murals by Sir James Thornhill (1675–1744) that he created after Raphael’s previous design. The remarkable ceiling in the Painted Hall at the Old Royal Naval College at Greenwich is possibly Thornhill’s most well-known creation.
Green Park is the closest underground station. Turn north-east along Piccadilly after leaving the station. Just past Burlington Arcade, there is a courtyard that leads to the Royal Academy. It only takes five minutes to easily walk from the station to the RA.
