London is one of the world's leading tourism destinations, and the city is home to an array of famous tourist attractions. London attracted 15.3 million international visitors in 2011, making it one of the world's most visited in terms of international visits.
 In 2011 visitors to London spent £9.4 billion, which is a little more than half of the total amount international visitors spent in the whole of United Kingdom the same year .
The London Eye is a permanent ferris wheel-like structure located on the edge of the River Thames. It is 135 meters tall and has a diameter of 120 metres. A short walk away, the area boasts the London Aquarium, Big Ben and the Houses of Parliament. One of the most recent major attractions to open in London is the View from the Shard. Standing at a height of 309.7m, it is the tallest building in London. There are also a number of other major tourist attractions in London including Tower of London, Buckingham Palace (although this is only open to the public during a limited number of months in the summer), Tower Bridge Experience, Ripley's Believe It Or Not!, Madame Tussauds, ZSL London Zoo, London Dungeon and St Paul's Cathedral.