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Welcome to the River Thames boat trip. Today we're going to see some of the most famous places in London. So sit down and enjoy the journey. On your left you can see the Houses of Parliament. The British parliament meets here. They have met here since 1295. There used to be a palace here. In 1834, a big fire destroyed the old palace. The new Houses of Parliament were built between 1840 and 1870. It has more than 1000 rooms. Every November, the Queen comes here to open parliament. the right you can see The London Eye. It was opened in 2000. It is 135 metres tall and it is the tallest Ferris wheel in Europe. You can see the whole of London from the top. Every year, 3.5 million people go on the London Eye. On your left you can see Cleopatra's Needle. It comes from Ancient Egypt. It is about 3500 years old. It came to London from Egypt in 1878. We're coming up to the Millennium Bridge. On your right is the Tate Modern and on your left, between the buildings, you can see St Paul's Cathedral. Now we are going under the Millennium Bridge. On your right is The Globe Theatre. This is similar to the Globe Theatre used by William Shakespeare. The first Globe Theatre was pulled down in 1644. The new theatre was opened in 1997. Every Summer, you can watch Shakespeare's plays here.

The most famous part of the Houses of Parliament is the clock tower, Big Ben. Actually, Big Ben is the name of the bell inside the clock tower. Some people say it was named after a famous Victorian boxer, Benjamin Caunt. Caunt was a big man and so people called him Big Ben. The clock tower is called Elizabeth Tower. It was built in 1858. Elizabeth Tower leans to one side. Every year it leans almost another centimetre. We might soon call it the Leaning Tower of London! We're now going under Westminster Bridge. On

On your left is the Tower of London. The Tower of London is more than 900 years old. It was built by William The Conqueror in 1066. The Tower of London is also known as the Bloody Tower because many people were killed here. Big, black birds called ravens live at the Tower. People say that if the ravens leave the Tower of London, terrible things will happen to England. Now we're going under Tower Bridge. It's one of the most famous bridges in the world. It was opened on 30th June 1894. It took eight years to build. The bridge opens so that large boats can go up and down the river. Thats the end of our Thames trip. I hope you enjoyed your journey!

CLIL360 2014 All rights reserved. May be photocopied for use in the classroom. Images from Wikimedia Commons and are in public domain unless stated. Image of London Eye by Kham Tran.