Babiken
Located in the east of London, Barbican is a city within a city built after World War II. Considering that the original meaning of the word Barbican is "fortress", we can see how isolated this area is.
The smoke of war almost razed the area to the ground. It took about 60 years to design Barbican from the 1960s to the final completion.
Now, it is a residential area with more than 2000 rooms, two schools and a world-leading art center. It is the most special and unique area in London, a pilgrimage place for architectural lovers and a paradise to inspire photographers.
People who come to Barbican for the first time may have the impression that it is nothing like London! Because its architectural style is completely postmodern, it can be compared with the familiar Big Ben and Buckingham Palace. But when you listen to an architectural tour, you will find that such architecture exists in London, which is inclusive, avant-garde and so reasonable.
His three architects-Chamberlain, Powell and Bang-are absolutely rigorous, poetic and idealistic. Compared with their more practical functions, Barbican is more like a standard bearer who transcends the times, leaving more precious artistic wealth than "house" for future generations.
The original intention of Barbican architecture is to provide post-war Londoners with the perfect life closest to modern cities. Many ideas here are very advanced even from today's point of view.
There are several types of houses in the whole residential area of Barbican, including low-rise houses, three-story triangular towers and ultra-luxury single-family villas. When three of the towers were completed, they were the tallest residential buildings in Europe at that time.
We always hear the word "barbarism" mentioned by the tour guide when we participate in the architectural observation group. "Fauvism" refers to the "Fauvism" in architecture. Simply put, it is a huge architectural style with a rough concrete facade.
When Barbican was built, workers even used hammers to chisel out the concrete texture on the outside of the building. Now, imagine, it's still incredible.
The English name of this architectural tour is "architectural tour: savage or beautiful?" The translation is "rough or beautiful?"
I think, in the maze-like experience, tourists will gradually understand why this seemingly dull and gloomy area is also a utopian poetic ideal country. You will be immersed in a "London that does not belong to London" here, but it will bring you infinite inspiration and surprises.
1. The architectural observation tour needs to be booked in advance. Adult price 12.5. The whole journey takes about 90 minutes, and someone will explain it in English.
2. The architectural tour only takes place on weekends, usually in the afternoon.
Indoor botanical garden
There is an indoor botanical garden in the Barbican Center. Although it is the second largest indoor botanical garden in London, with more than 2,000 species of plants and fish, like a secret garden, it is only open for half a day on Sundays every month, giving people a chance to get close to the oasis in the city center.
There is another special thing about this botanical garden. It is in the botanical garden that there is a concrete wall exactly like Barbican's, which is dotted with green plants and has a particularly surreal feeling, like tenacious grass growing in cracks in rocks.
This concrete wall is only the backstage of the octagonal central theater. It becomes a part of the Botanical Garden, and also makes the different spaces in the Barbican Center become an organic whole.
In addition, in this "urban oasis", the British who love afternoon tea have prepared a date close to nature for you! Every Sunday afternoon, guests can enjoy a natural afternoon tea here.
1. Botanical Garden is free to visit, and no reservation is required in advance, but it is only open on limited weekends every month. The time is12: 00-17: 00 (16: 30 is the last admission time).
The opening dates now announced are February 1 1, February 25th and March 4th. More information can be found here.
2. The afternoon tea in the Botanical Garden must be booked in advance, and the earlier the better. The price of the ordinary set meal is 27.50 pounds per person. The specific time and booking method can be found here.
If you want to know more about the Botanical Garden, you can also book a tour led by an experienced gardener for 60 minutes.
Adult price 12.5, the specific time has not been announced. Interested friends, please pay attention to official website.
Babiken art center
Barbican Center is a famous art center in London. Its functions are very complicated, including not only exhibition halls, but also cinemas, concert halls, theaters, libraries and so on.
If you come here on weekends, you will find that there is always a long queue at the entrance of the exhibition hall. We have seen several exhibitions here and found that the themes and angles of the exhibitions here are very novel. There are many exhibits, and it will take a long time to look at them carefully, but you must have received a lot of goods after reading them.
In addition to exhibitions, it is also the venue of many international art festivals, such as the just-concluded London International Mime Festival, where many plays are staged.
This year's London International Mime Festival has a play called 300elX50elX30el. The story takes place in a remote village with fallen leaves all over the floor, describing an absurd night before the flood.
The picture comes from the network. The picture comes from the network.
The six small houses all turn their backs on the audience. The audience should watch the life in each room like peeping tom through the real-time video shot by the photographer on the stage.
The photographer rotates clockwise on the elliptical orbit, and the story of each room seems to turn to half a page, and he can't continue writing until the next page.
The picture comes from the network. The picture comes from the network.
This expression is really attractive. It combines drama and film, breaks the spatial dimension of the performance scene, challenges the traditional viewing experience, and even brings the audience into the drama at a certain moment.
There are many avant-garde art performances like this at the Barbican Center. Looking through its thick monthly activity introduction book, you will feel that there are too many things waiting for you to explore, and time is simply not enough!
In the Barbican Center, the most common photos are small groups of people. After they came out of the performance venue, they were discussing and admiring enthusiastically.
Good art is looking for its stage, and such a stage is art.
Tate Britain
In 20 16, there were as many as 250 museums registered in London. In addition to the most prestigious, in addition to the long history of the British Museum, the National Gallery, the Museum of Natural History. There is also tate modern, which opened in 2000 with a history of only 10, but attracts 5 million tourists every year.
Tate modern, located on the south bank of the Thames, used to be an old power plant. A 99-meter-high chimney stands on the south bank of the Thames. More than 4 million bricks make up the facade of the power plant, with rich details. When it was converted into an art gallery, the designer added a glass entrance on the first floor and a glass brick on the top to make this conservative and ancient building come alive.
June 20 16, a new space designed by architect HerzogdeMeuron-the newly expanded 10-storey tower switch building was also completed. This 65-meter-high tower not only expands the exhibition space in tate modern by 60%, but also provides visitors with a viewing platform overlooking London from the top floor.
Tate modern has collected modern works of art from 1500 to the present, both from Britain and from all over the world. But you don't have to worry that people will stay away when talking about modern art. tate modern is more like a "playground" than a serious visit.
It never lacks an audience, whether it is on weekdays or weekends, whether it is sunny or rainy. The children regard this place as a spacious and bright activity venue and are keen on somersaulting on the carpet of the turbine hall on the first floor; Adults will come to the museum after work and open it to 10 for a knowledgeable Friday night.
Tate modern is transformed from an industrial building, so the exhibition space is very high and wide, and the exhibition types are more abundant. The most noteworthy is the turbine hall with a length of 152m, a width of 24m and a height of 30m. Its huge volume gives artists ample and rare creative space.
Since 2000, many impressive and excellent works have been exhibited in this hall. We found some photos in official website, and you can feel the shock brought by this huge art exhibition.
TateLates
Besides excellent exhibits and unique exhibition space, tate modern also has an attractive activity called Tate Gallery. Tate Gallery is only held on the last Friday of every month from 6 pm to 10.
On this special night, visitors can not only work overtime to visit regular exhibitions, but also dance with live DJ. There are also some special lectures and film screenings.
TateLates admission is free, but the scene is very hot, and there may be a long queue at the door. It is recommended to arrive early.
Free observation deck
If you regret missing the special event of Tate Gallery, or if you don't have enough time to enjoy tate modern's collection, we still recommend you to come. In addition to the architecture itself in tate modern, the observation deck and observation building on the 10 floor are also good places to watch the London skyline for free.
From here, you can overlook St. Peter's Cathedral, Fragments Building, Financial District, Thames and so on. As far as you can see, they are all excellent scenery.
Here, you can see the past on the one hand and feel the future on the other.
In the neighborhood around tate modern, you will find it modern, fashionable, neat and full of design sense. It represents the creativity, vitality and revival of the south bank of Thames, with a strong literary flavor, and writes the unique culture and scenery belonging to the south bank. Jump over the Thames and look at St. Peter's Cathedral on the north bank, and you will feel solemn, sacred and magnificent again. It can be said to be the earliest regional center in London, witnessing the rise and fall of the city all the way.
The charm of tate modern also represents the vitality of London.
It planted cranes in ancient soil, creating the future glory of this city.
Tips:
1. The opening hours of tate modern are:
Until Sunday 10:00- 18:00, Friday and Saturday 10:00-22:00 (the observation deck is forbidden to enter half an hour in advance).
2. Before going to tate modern, you can download a Tate App. This software can be your portable voice guide, making your visit smoother.
Talking about a day at Greenwich Natural History School
Greenwich
If you take a boat directly from the pier in front of Westminster Abbey to the east, you can reach Greenwich in about half an hour.
On the way, we passed the London Eye, Millennium Bridge, City Hall and so on. Endless landmarks are overwhelming. However, after crossing the Tower Bridge in London, the famous scenery on both sides of the strait slowly receded, leaving only low-rise residential buildings and nameless buildings. This unique feeling makes people feel surprisingly calm, just like the silence before the storm, waiting for a more violent baptism.
It is with this mood that we came to Greenwich. It is a park, a palace and a witness to the epic voyage of England.
From 65438 to 0997, UNESCO listed the coastal area of Greenwich on the World Heritage List.
Now, in the center of the coastal area of Greenwich, there is the Royal Museum of Greenwich, which is a world-class museum and consists of four independent buildings. After visiting these four places carefully, you will know more than half of Greenwich.
"short shirt"
The Cutty Sark near Greenwich Harbor is not only the oldest sailing ship in existence, but also a maritime museum.
This sailboat was built in 1869 and is 64.7 meters long. It is very beautiful and spectacular.
19th century, mainly between China and Britain. As a means of sea transportation for tea trade, it is the first ship to transport fresh tea from China to London.
The appearance of the whole museum is blue glass, built on the "Cutty Sark", just like solidified waves, which keeps the ship moving forward forever. Visitors can walk on the deck and imagine the Cutty Sark sailing on the sea, or in the museum below the bottom, observe the perfect arc at the bottom of the sailboat closely and read the relevant materials carefully.
If you are tired of shopping, there is also a cafe on the Cutty Sark, where visitors can enjoy a special afternoon tea at the bottom of the boat. Very clever!
Font country maritime museum was founded in 1807, and 1937 was opened to the outside world. There are 3300 ship models, 4000 oil paintings and 5000 scientific navigation instruments and measuring tools on display here.
Here, you can see science and feel art, and the distant ocean age beckons us with its mystery and grandeur. Don't forget, always keep the courage and passion to explore.
National Ocean Museum
Before knowing the name Greenwich, I believe more people know it from the word Greenwich Time.
In the small courtyard of the Royal Observatory in Greenwich, there is a concave line made of copper. This line, that is, the legendary prime meridian, that is, the 0-degree meridian, passes through this line, that is, geographically across the eastern and western hemispheres.
1675, King charles ii of England established the Royal Observatory in Greenwich to meet the needs of navigation. It helps sailors to determine their direction with stars and plays an important role in the history of navigation.
Later, more and more advanced observation equipment was no longer suitable for the space of the Royal Observatory in Greenwich. 1998, the observatory moved. The old observatory in Greenwich is no longer used for astronomical observation, but a museum.
Now, when you come to this museum, visitors can not only take an interesting photo of the prime meridian at the Observatory to learn about astronomy, but also take part in a "starwalk" under the explanation of the staff of the Observatory to learn more about the starry sky above us.
There are planetarium exhibitions at Greenwich Observatory almost every day, which are divided into different themes. Interested friends can visit official website.
Royal Observatory Greenwich
The Queen's House, located in the east of maritime museum, is a two-story white building. It looks symmetrical, pocket size. Although it is not as famous as the other museums mentioned above, it can feel magnificent and full of aristocratic feeling of the British royal family.
From 16 16 to 1635, James I built the Bandie Palace for Queen Anne. This is the first completely classical building in British history. The magnificent hall, black and white floor tiles and open space make people involuntarily think of the scene of the royal family banquet in the movie.
Another famous place here is the tulip staircase. The fence of the stairs is sea blue, with the main color of white, it has a particularly clean and beautiful feeling. If you look under the stairs online, the blue glass on the roof looks like a blue eye, which makes the stairs more mysterious and profound.
Now, the Queen's palace mainly displays paintings related to navigation. There are not many exhibits, but they are all beautiful.
Queen palace
Covent Garden, located in West End of London, is one of the most prosperous areas in London. It is famous for the Royal Opera House and exquisite shops, and often meets many skilled street performers.
There is a warm-hearted movie based on a true story, AStreetCatNamedBob, which was shot in Covent Garden.
An interesting museum, London Traffic Museum, is hidden in this city. Founded in 1980, it is a museum with the theme of public transport development in London.
London Communications Museum, formerly known as Flower Market Building, was built in 1872, which belongs to the elegant industrial building of Victorian era. There is also a deep historical accumulation.
The correct route to visit the London Communications Museum is from the second floor.
As soon as the elevator door opens, you will see a picture with London landmarks printed on it. However, if you look closely, you will find that this picture is not London now. In the upper left corner is written "London 1800" in small print.
Back in time 200 years, there are early London carriage models in the exhibition hall. If you look closely, you can still hear the sound of horses and cars and the noise of urban roads.
At that time, people lived close to the workplace, and the development of the whole transportation system was the history of the city's outward expansion. From carriage to tram, ferry to ship, tram to train, train to subway.
Looking down time, we will find that London, as one of the most prosperous cities in the world today, has indeed experienced a process from scratch. The hardships and efforts in this process are very encouraging.
On the first floor of the museum, there are many London public transport vehicles in different periods. Including all kinds of buses, taxis, trolleybuses, trams and even train carriages. Visitors can not only approach, but also walk in and experience a ride through time and space.
In addition to the 1: 1 vehicle model, other exhibits in the Transportation Museum include posters, staff uniforms, tickets for different periods and so on. Some cold knowledge about the London underground is very interesting, so I won't say it here. Take a look when you have the chance!
In addition to visiting and studying in the traditional sense, London Communications Museum is also a good place for children to play and interact with adults. Children can become small "drivers", learn the appearance of bus drivers seriously and take a photo like adults; Adults can walk into the front and rear of the subway, or even try to drive the subway themselves, and feel how hard the heroes behind the scenes have made to keep the London subway running normally.
In addition to regular exhibitions, there are some special exhibitions at the London Communications Museum. The latest one is PosterGirls, which shows outstanding posters created by female painters for the London Underground in the early 20th century. They have different styles and novel angles, and they are all interesting without exception.
An excellent poster should be the art of combining poetry and painting. It can be so beautiful that people can't help laughing. These posters not only reflect the history, but also leave a wonderful enjoyment for future generations.
Tips:
1. This museum is located in Covent Garden, and it is the main hall of London Communications Museum. It also has some large-scale exhibits, which are collected in the Ecton garage branch west of central London. There are as many as 370,000 books in the branch library, but if people want to visit, they need to check the special opening hours in official website in advance.
You need to buy a ticket to visit the London Communications Museum, but this ticket can be visited unlimited times a year.
: London is short in summer and long in winter. As soon as the cold wind blew, it began to get dark.
The endless night gave the artist a clean background paper. From 65438+February, the long-awaited Christmas lighting ceremony, those fairy-tale romantic lights, sparkling lights dotted in Oxford Street and Regent Street, is full of festive atmosphere.
The 2008 London Lighting Festival was held from June 65438+ 10/8 to June 2 1 day. Artists from all over the world have designed more than 50 lighting works in London for tourists to visit and take photos for free.
These artistic lighting works have turned London into an open-air museum. Artists, like magicians, hide their works in familiar alleys, corners, air and even churches. Although the exhibition lasts only four days, it is enough to turn London into a fairyland in fairy tales, and adults and children enjoy it.
The whole Diwali is divided into six areas, located in the center of London. There are probably more than six lighting works in each area. Visitors only need to download an APP on their mobile phones to visit London. They can easily find exhibits along the map and read the text descriptions on the APP.
Among many lighting works, our favorite is The Light of the Holy Spirit (Chapter 2) by Westminster Abbey. Gorgeous lighting effect is like painting a golden church with "multicolored varnish". Its exquisiteness and color are really eye-opening.
Equally exciting is the "Aquarium" in Covent Garden. Clever artists BenedettoBufalino and BenoitDeseille turned the red telephone booth into an aquarium. In the alley under the night, this telephone booth lights up alone, and fish swim around in it. "Now that everyone has a mobile phone, there is no need for a telephone booth. Why don't we fill the telephone booth with water and turn it into an aquarium? " The artist explained.
In addition, we also saw white balloons dancing in the wind over Trafalgar Square. They are like the notes of a song, swinging freely with the music.
We saw a ladder made of pink neon lights on the towering tower of St. Martin's Church. The artist hopes to provide a shelter away from all interference in this busy city center.
We also saw a shiny triangular cube on the roof of Hayward Gallery on the south bank of the Thames. They are called "60-minute spectrum", just like an hourglass. Color represents the passage of time. Record the passage of time on the city skyline with the London Eye as the background.
On the last night of the Lantern Festival in London, it rained lightly as usual in London. But on such a rainy, windy and humid night, many people came from all directions to watch the Lantern Festival.
For this event, the most prosperous part of London was even closed for four days at night, just to let tourists enjoy the art feast more peacefully.