Westminster Abbey

Hello again everyone!

I've written this new entry in Spanish, since Spanish is my mother tongue and I especially want to encourage people who read what I write and who are thinking about going to the United Kingdom to visit this incredible city that has stolen my heart.

We're going to start with a bit of its history and then I will give you some information about the entry prices, where to buy tickets and the queues.

Since the 6th century AD, there has always been a kind of ecclesiastical or religious building in the heart of London; which is now where you can find the parliament and Westminster Abbey. In fact, that is where the name "Westminster" came from, it means western minister, which, at that time, meant "western church".

This Abbey was originally much smaller than it is today. It's stunning to all and an obligatory tourist stop, it has some of the most central views of London. On one side you have the river Thames, to its front you have the Abbey, to the right is the parliament, with Big Ben alongside. It's the best place to see the panorama of the city or to get your selfie stick out and to take photos with all of these buildings.

It's a beautiful, grand, Gothic style church, which has been named as a UNESCO world heritage site.

It was built by the last Saxon King "Edward the Confessor", who died in 1066 and who promised the throne of England to three different men before he died. One of which was his brother-in-law "Harold Godwinson", another was his cousin "William the Conqueror" and the last was a Viking named "Harold Hardraade".

After two battles, William was finally crowned the first King of England at Westminster Abbey. (William was the King of Normandy, in the north of France)

Since then, the majority of the Kings and Queens that have occupied the English throne have been coronated in the Abbey.

Even some of the royal weddings have taken place here!

Did you know that it was here that the royal wedding of William of Wales (Prince William) and Kate Middleton took place? And it was here that the funeral of Princess Diana was held in 1997?

But, above all, the main tourist attraction of the Abbey are the numerous famous people that have been buried there. Around 3, 300 people, among them Charles Dickens, Isaac Newton, Elizabeth I, Charles Darwin and a tomb representing all of the unknown soldiers who fought in the First and Second World War.

I think it's a beautiful church, its interior has a certain charm and it's really worth visiting on the inside, but, during the tourist high season, the queue to get in can be long and we didn't have a lot of time to wait, as we wanted to see as much as we could in the least time possible. And so I would definitely recommend buying your tickets online, since that way you'll save yourself from queueing for ages with the priority pass and £2 on the ticket (the ticket normally costs around £20).

If you're going on a stricter budget and/or you don't have a lot of time to get in, you can just get near and have a look at the abbey. You can go in as far as the gardens and take photos from there and even get pretty close to it.

I'll also tell you about the London Pass sold there, you can use it to get into quite a few attractions. It'll save you time and money as you have priority access. I'll talk more about the London Pass in another post and I'll be able to tell you more about it then.

My opinion on Westminster Abbey? It's definitely worth going in, but if you're in a hurry or you're concerned about your budget, you should still make it a stop on your tour here regardless and see it from the outside. I promise it won't disappoint. Besides, Westminster Abbey has some beautiful view over its surroundings, as I mentioned before, which are incredible.

In this definitive guide you'll find everything you need to know about what you need to see in London in only four days.

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