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Trafalgar Square is a square in central London, England. With its position in the heart of London, it is a tourist attraction; and one of the most famous squares in the United Kingdom and the world. At its centre is Nelson's Column, which is guarded by four lion statues at its base. Statues and sculptures are on display in the square, including a fourth plinth displaying changing pieces of contemporary art, and it is a site of political demonstrations.

The name commemorates the Battle of Trafalgar (1805), a British naval victory of the Napoleonic Wars. The original name was to have been "King William the Fourth's Square", but George Ledwell Taylor suggested the name "Trafalgar Square".
Trafalgar Square is owned by the Queen in Right of the Crown, and managed by the Greater London Authority.[1]

Each year in December, the people of Norway send a gift of an enormous Christmas Tree to Britain, which is erected in Trafalgar Square. This is in thanks for Britain's part in their liberation during the second world war. One of the unforgettable sights of London is to see the giant tree after dark, when it is lit by hundreds of twinkling fairy lights, carol singers grouped around, while floodlights illuminate the sparkling water in the fountains of the square. This picture is depicted on many Christmas cards, sent all over the world each year.

Trafalgar Square ranks as the fourth most popular tourist attraction on Earth with more than fifteen million visitors a year.[citation needed]

Marble Arch is a white Carrara-marble monument at the junction of Oxford Street, Park Lane, and Edgware Road, almost directly opposite Speakers' Corner in Hyde Park in London, England. The arch is on a large traffic island, which also includes a very small park, in the midst of swirling traffic. The traffic island is directly across from the Marble Arch tube station.

The name "Marble Arch" also refers to the locality in west London where the arch is situated, particularly, the southern portion of Edgware Road. Historically, only members of the royal family and the King's Troop, Royal Horse Artillery, have been allowed to pass through the arch in ceremonial procession.

In 1828, John Nash designed the arch based on the triumphal arch of Constantine in Rome. It was originally erected on The Mall as a gateway to the new Buckingham Palace, which was rebuilt by Nash from the former Buckingham House. At that time, Buckingham Palace did not yet have its present flat east front, which meant that the inner courtyard, flanked by two wings, was still open on one side. The Marble Arch was placed at the entrance to this open side of the courtyard.

In 1851, the arch was moved to its present location during the building of the east front of the palace. (A popular story says that the arch was moved because it was too narrow for the Queen's state coach to pass through, but, in fact, the gold state coach passed under it during Elizabeth II's coronation in 1953).

It has been speculated that the arch might be moved across the street to Hyde Park, or to some other more-accessible location, instead of its current position on a large traffic island.

http://londonanditsplacesofinterest.blogspot.com/

Big Ben is the nickname for the great bell of the clock at the north end of the Palace of Westminster in London, and is often extended to refer to the clock or the clock tower as well. Big Ben is the largest four-faced chiming clock and the third-tallest free-standing clock tower in the world. It celebrated its 150th anniversary in May 2009 (the clock itself first ticking on 31 May 1859), during which celebratory events took place.
The nearest London Underground station is Westminster on the Circle, District and Jubilee lines.
The clock is famous for its reliability. The designers were the lawyer and amateur horologist Edmund Beckett Denison, and George Airy, the Astronomer Royal. Construction was entrusted to clockmaker Edward John Dent; after his death in 1853 his stepson Frederick Dent completed the work, in 1854. As the Tower was not complete until 1859, Denison had time to experiment: Instead of using the deadbeat escapement and remontoire as originally designed, Denison invented the double three-legged gravity escapement. This escapement provides the best separation between pendulum and clock mechanism. The pendulum is installed within an enclosed windproof box sunk beneath the clockroom. It is 3.9m long, weighs 300 kg and beats every 2 seconds. The clockwork mechanism in a room below weighs 5 tons.
The nickname Big Ben is the subject of some debate. The nickname was applied first to the Great Bell; it may have been named after Sir Benjamin Hall, who oversaw the installation of the Great Bell, or after boxing's English Heavyweight Champion Benjamin Caunt. Big Ben is used to refer to the clock, the tower and the bell collectively, although the nickname is not universally accepted as referring to the clock and tower. Some authors of works about the tower, clock and bell sidestep the issue by using the words Big Ben first in the title, then going on to clarify that the subject of the book is the clock and tower as well as the bell.