Facts and figures
If you find a cab driver not carrying a bale of hay, he is breaking the law
The statue of Handel in Westminster Abbey has someone else's ear
Covent Garden is a spelling mistake
Scotland Yard is built on the site of an unsolved murder
Think you know London? In a city as sprawling and diverse as this there’s always something new to discover. Here’s a quick look at some impressive London stats, plus a few curveball facts that may take you by surprise.
The stats:
- 620 square miles
- 8 million inhabitants
- 250 museums
- 80,000 lost umbrellas on the underground every year
- 300 languages spoken
- 6,128 licensed restaurants
- 400,000 students
- 15 million visitors annually
- 500-plus cinema screens
- 32,000 music performances a year
- 775 rooms in Buckingham Palace
- 318 steps at Angel Underground Station
- 100+ theatres
- 76.5 million annual passengers at Victoria Station
- 5 international airports
- 800 passengers per revolution on the London Eye
