Have you ever wanted to get up close and personal with Brad Pitt, Julia Roberts, Will Smith and Shakespeare? The Madame Tussauds wax museum would allow you to meet the likenesses of these as well as other famous historians, Hollywood stars, musicians, authors, sports stars, world leaders.

The wax museum is known for its ancient roots and modern connections to present day stars and people in the news. It has expanded with other locations in Amsterdam, Hong Kong, Las Vegas and New York City.

Madame Tussaud was a wax sculptor who learned her craft of modeling by creating masks of those killed in 19th century France. She was a housekeeper for a physician Dr. Curtius who taught her the craft. When he died, he left his collection to Marie. She then opened an exhibit of the works in London in 1835.

One of best known, grisly attractions is the Chamber of Horrors. It is not designed to horrify however, the wax figures include the likes of victims of the French Revolution, murderers, criminals, warlords and others.

Some of the original sculptors done by the artist herself are still standing. She did a likeness of herself which is on display at the entrance of the museum.

It is a popular London attraction with well over a million visitors a year. Whoever your favorite personality is, chances are that their likeness will be at Madame Tussaud’s. Many people want to have their picture taken with their favorite celebrity.

Some other famous wax figures include, Beyonce Knowles, george Clooney, George Bush, Madonna, Oprah Winfrey, Adolph Hitler, Ozzy Osbourne, Woody Allen, Andre Agassi, Arnold Palmer, Michael Jordan, Michelle Kwan, Tiger Woods, Luciano Pavarotti, Tina Turner, Sammy Davis Jr., Elvis Presley, Johnny Mathis,Blue Man Group, Bruce Springsteen, Charlie Chaplin, Robin Williams, Bob Hope, Princess Diana, George Burns, Nicolas Cage, Judy Garland, Jerry Springer, Joan Rivers, Yoko Ono and Shirley MacLaine.

The sculptors are fastidious in their craft to assure that the figures are true likenesses as well as a desire to have the image look alive.

The same building contains the London Planetarium which is located at the west wing of the building and is now called The Auditorium. Shows are scheduled throughout the day. You may want to call ahead to find out exact times the shows are open.

If you are interested in either one or both of these attractions, the best time to visit is early in the morning or later in the afternoon. Otherwise, you will need to wait in line for at least 30 minutes or so. Madame Tussaud’s is a very popular tourist attraction, as well as for natives who visit to see the latest additions of wax images.

The Jubilee Gardens is a public park in South Bank, London which was created in 1977 to mark the Silver Jubilee of Elizabeth II. The park is the site of a memorial to the casualties of the International Brigades of the Spanish Civil War, especially the British Battalion which took very heavy casualties. Its neighbours are the London Eye, The Shell Centre, County Hall and the River Thames.

The site of the Jubilee Gardens was formerly used for the Dome of Discovery and the adjacent Skylon Tower during the Festival of Britain in 1951.

The Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, usually referred to simply as Kew Gardens, are extensive gardens and botanical glasshouses between Richmond and Kew in southwest London.

The Royal Botanical Gardens, Kew is also the name of the organisation that runs Kew Gardens and Wakehurst Place gardens in Sussex. It is an internationally important botanical research and education institution with 700 staff.

Kew Gardens originated in the exotic garden at Kew Park formed by Lord Capel of Tewkesbury.
It was enlarged and extended by Princess Augusta, the widow of Frederick, Prince of Wales, for whom Sir William Chambers built several garden structures.
One of these, the lofty Chinese pagoda built in 1761 still remains.
George III enriched the gardens, aided by William Aiton and Sir Joseph Banks.
The old Kew Park (by then renamed the White House), was demolished in 1802.
The “Dutch House” adjoining was purchased by George III in 1781 as a nursery for the royal children.
It is a plain brick structure now known as Kew Palace.

In 1840 the gardens were adopted as a national botanical garden.
Under Kew’s director, William Hooker, the gardens were increased to 30 hectares (75 acres) and the pleasure grounds, or arboretum, extended to 109 hectares (270 acres), and later to its present size of 120 hectares (300 acres).

The Palm House was built by architect Decimus Burton and iron-maker Richard Turner between 1844 and 1848, and was the first large-scale structural use of wrought iron.
The structure’s panes of glass are all hand-blown.
The Temperate house, which is twice as large as the Palm House, followed later in the 19th century. It is now the largest Victorian glasshouse in existence.

Kew Gardens is a leading center of botanical research, a training ground for professional gardeners and a visitor attraction.
In 2005 Kew received 1.48 million visitors, which was the most since 1949 and is the largest number for any paid entry garden in the United Kingdom.
The gardens are mostly informal, with a few formal areas.
There are conservatories, a herbarium, a library and eating places.
In the winter months there is an ice rink.

Have you visited the Tower Of London? It is probably one of the the most famous prisons besides Sing Sing Prison in New York. It has been in existence for well over 800 years. It is twenty towers high and is filled with a mixture of ancient history, culture and jewels.

The initial structure was a fort used by William the Conqueror. It was completed in 1000 AD. It stands over a hundred feet high with walls as thick as sixteen feet thick. It was obviously built to be very sturdy and to withstand all weather conditions and it remains a fortress. Once completed, it was the tallest building in London. A king had it painted white in the 12th century and thereby named, White Tower.

It then became and is still a prison. It also houses a crown jewel collection Many former kings housed their collections here.

It has also been used throughout the years as a storage facility for records, the Royal Mint, the beginning of the Zoo, and an observatory. The observatory was built in the 1600’s.

Since the 1400’s the Tower has been guarded by wardens known as Beefeaters. They have bright red costumes on. Military personnel now provide this function.

The distinct spiral staircase runs through the Towers. There is also a national museum of arms, which is London’s oldest museum. The museum contains over 30,000 pieces of armor.

At one time there was a moat that was drained in the 1800’s. Other buildings have been added through the years to make it a complete complex housing a Middle Tower, Byward Tower, Garden Tower and a gate.

It is a study in history as there were at one time, famous tenants housed there such as Henry the VIII’s second wife, Little Princess and other victims of former Kings. There are torture devices on display and other items to view and other items to confirm that it was indeed used, such as particles of blood on stones.

Under King Henry’s orders, his wife Anne Boleyn was executed in the Tower. She had been accused of inappropriate acts. However, she was executed because she had a daughter and not a son. Her daughter became the future Queen Of England. There are rumors of Anne’s Boleyn’s ghost lingering, so if you go there, be careful!

The Crown Jewels is definitely worth seeing. There is an actual Jewel House that contains stunning necklaces, earrings, rings and other beautiful jewelry.

Former Queens have their jewelry stored here such as Queen Victoria and others. There is also the Star of Africa which is a large diamond which contains over 2,000 carats. This gem was found in an African mine in the 20th century.

Battersea Park is a 200 acre (0.83 km²) area in Battersea. It is situated on the south bank of the River Thames opposite Chelsea. It was opened in 1858.
The park occupies a mix of marshland reclaimed from the Thames, and land formerly used for market gardens serving the growing London population.

Battersea Park was once known as Battersea fields and was once a popular spot for duelling.
On March 21, 1829, the Duke of Wellington and the Earl of Winchilsea met on Battersea fields to settle a matter of honour.
When it came time to fire, the Duke deliberately aimed wide and Winchilsea fired into the air.
Winchilsea later wrote the Duke a groveling apology.

Original designs for the park were laid out by Sir James Pennethorne between 1846 and 1864, although the park as opened in 1858 varied somewhat from Pennethorne’s vision.

Battersea Park hosted the first exhibition of football played under the rules of the recently formed Football Association on 9 January 1864.
The members of the opposing teams were chosen by the President of the FA (A. Pember) and the Secretary (E.C. Morley) and included many well-known footballers of the day.

From the 1860s, Battersea Park was home to the leading amateur football team Wanderers F.C., winners of the first-ever FA Cup in 1872.
One team they are known to have played against at Battersea was Sheffield F.C. in the 1860s.
The Wanderers are planning to reform, although it is unknown whether Battersea Park will be used as their home ground again

In 1951 the park was transformed into the “Festival Gardens” as part of the Festival of Britain celebrations. As well as a new water-garden and fountains, new features included a “Tree-Walk” which consisted of a series of raised wooden walkways linked together by tree house-like platforms suspended amongst the branches of a number of trees.
A popular attraction was the Guinness Clock.

Another part of the transformation was the addition of Battersea Fun Fair: rollercoasters, swings, roundabouts and general fun for all the family.
The fun fair’s most spectacular ride, The Big Dipper, was permanently closed down in 1972 after five children were killed in an accident on 30 May 1972 when one of the cars broke loose and collided with another. The lack of a main attraction led to the decline in the popularity of the fun fair and its eventual closure in 1974.

The former site of the fair was levelled and became a site for travelling fairs and exhibitions, and is currently the site of Battersea Evolution, formerly known as the Battersea Park Events Arena.

The park is home to a small zoo, a boating lake, a bandstand, and several all-weather outdoor sporting facilities including tennis courts, a running track and football pitches.

The park is also the site of the London Peace Pagoda, erected amidst some controversy in 1985, during Ken Livingstone’s tenure as leader of the now abolished Greater London Council. Also in 1985, a replica of the bronze statue of a dog that was the focal point of the historic vivisection-related Brown Dog affair was erected in this park.

Over the course of 2002-4, the park underwent an £11m refurbishment funded in part by the Heritage Lottery Fund, and was re-opened on 4 June 2004 by Prince Phillip.

Alexandra Park is a large landscaped park in the London Borough of Haringey in Greater London.
On a hill, adjacent to Muswell Hill and north of Crouch End, it is dominated by Alexandra Palace.
From 1936 to 1981, the BBC transmitted TV progammes from a tall mast built onto one of the towers of the palace.
The vast tree lined sloping hill has spectacular views over London and a network of paths and walks.
Haringey council also puts on a spectacular firework and music display on the nearest Saturday to Guy Fawkes Night.
At the foot of Muswell Hill the park is host to a weekly farmers market selling fresh organic produce.
In 1980, most of the palace was gutted by a huge fire.
The building has since been restored and is now a conference and exhibition centre.

An Act of Parliament in 1900 created the Alexandra Palace and Park Trust.
The Act required the Trustees to maintain the Palace and Park and make them available for the free use and recreation of the public for ever.

A medium-sized lake attracts a variety of waterfowl in all seasons, and a large enclosure houses fallow deer.

Accessibility by public transport became well developed in the late nineteenth century, the park and its palace being well connected to both to the electric tram network and to London’s train network. Since the closure of both, the attraction has become much less accessible. Plans to link the park back into London’s public transport network have several times been proposed, but at present car access predominates.

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