Temple to History: Westminster Abbey

In all my travels around the globe, there is no place that intrigues me and begs more curiosity in me than Westminster Abbey. It's a place that sits at the heart of the English Monarchy and the English people. That's what makes it a place of obvious symbolism and importance. Not only is the very building at the center of culture for its ceremonial functions but also for the people buried there, including many of England's Kings and Queens. From the coronation of William the Conqueror to the funeral of Princess Diana, the building has served its national flock for over 1,000 years.

A walk through this place is like a walk through all the ages of England. The accessibility of the building is surprising. Considering the greatest treasures of one of the greatest empires ever to exist on Earth are kept there. Among those treasures are the Throne of Edward the Confessor, one of the earliest English kings.

Among the famous burials are the famed and abhorred (in the US) scientist Charles Darwin and another fellow named Sir Isaac Newton. Writers Charles Dickens and Geoffrey Chaucer and actor Laurence Olivier are interred there along with the famed explorer Dr. Livingstone, who is buried without his heart, which lies in Zambia. There are monuments to other great people, like Shakespeare, who aren't buried there. He's buried nearby in Stratford-Upon-Avon.

There is a charge to get in, but if an interest in history is driving a trip to London, this is a must see, THE must see. The cost is 15 Pounds to get in, or about $25.