Greater London covers an area of 1,584 sq km and is the smallest of the England 's nine regions (1.2% of the total land area of England ).
Source: ONS
Seven million people live in London . This is estimates to increase to over eight million by 2020.
Source: GLA
There are currently four World Heritage Sites - Palace of Westminster , Tower of London , Maritime Greenwich and Kew Gardens and 17 national museums across the capital.
Source: English Heritage
The number of passengers arriving and departing to or from London 's airports equaled over 120 million in 2004. Heathrow handled 67m passengers, making the airport the busiest and best connected in the world.
Source; CAA, BAA
There are eight royal parks in London : Bushy Park, Green Park , Greenwich Park , Hyde Park , Kensington Gardens , Regent's Park, Richmond Park , St. Jame's Park.
Source: Royal Parks
There are almost 21,000 licensed taxis in London . 'Black Cabs' come in 12 different colours: Black, City Blue, Diamond White, Sunburst Yellow, Sherwood Green, Atlantic Blue, Thistle Blue, British Racing Green, Nightfire Red, Oxford Blue, Storm Grey and Platinum Silver.
Source; Transport for London , Mann & Overton
London has thirteen underground tube lines: Bakerloo, Central, Circle, District, East London, Hammersmith & City, Jubilee, Metropolitan, Northern, Piccadilly, Victoria, Waterloo & City, and Docklands Light Railway.
Source: Tfl
There are seventeen national museums and galleries with free entrance. These include British Museum , National Gallery, Tate Modern and V&A Museum .
Source: DCMS
London has over 40,000 shops and some 80 individual markets, including Walthamstow Market, Europe 's longest daily street market. The capital is home to ten Farmer Markets.
Source : GLA Economics, Visit London , London Borough of Waltham Forest , London Farmers' Market
Twenty one miles per hour is the average train speed on the underground: This speed includes stops.
Source: Tfl
Leicester Square played host to 42 film premieres in 2004, including: 'The Incredibles', 'Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason' and 'The Aviator'.
Source; Westminster Events Team
There are twenty four universities and colleges in London :* Some 350,000 students study in London (* University of London consists of 18 individual colleges)
Source: London Higher
There are 6,128 licensed restaurants in London , a remarkable 22% of Britain 's restaurants. They include menus from more than 50 major country cuisines, and 36 Michelin star rated restaurants.
Source: GLA Economics, Time Out Guide to Eating & Drinking, Michelin Guide to Great Britain & Ireland
There are twenty nine panoramic panels on the Jubilee Walkway: The Jubilee Walkway is the capital's premier walking trail. It was developed for the Queen's Silver Jubilee in 1977 and connects key London attractions.
Source: Jubilee Walkway
Queen Elizabeth II is the 40th monarch since William the Conqueror.
Her Majesty has owned more than 30 corgis during her reign; the first, named Susan, was a present for her 18th birthday in 1944.
Source: British Monarchy
It has taken thirty five years to build St. Paul 's Cathedral: The current Cathedral (the fourth to occupy this site) was designed by Wren and built between 1675 and 1710.
Source: St. Paul 's Cathedral
Open space accounts for 30% of the London area including 147 registered parks and gardens and eight royal parks.
Source: English Heritage
London has 3800 pubs, 9% of those in Britain . There are 233 nightclubs,15% of the clubs in Britain . In Westminster alone there are 330 venues open after midnight .
Source: GLA Economics
Forty Eight Doughty Street is the only surviving London home of Charles Dickens. The author wrote many of his best known stories at this address.
Source: Dickens House Museum
It takes sixty one seconds to open Tower Bridge *: Tower Bridge opens about thousand times per year. (*average time)
Source: Tower Bridge
Seventy eight dongs of the Big Ben:* The main bell of the Big Ben rings 78 times during a 12 hour cycle. (* doesn't include quarter bells)
Source: Palace of Westminster
