The City of Westminster is a London borough occupying much of the central area of London, England, including most of the West End. It is located to the west of and adjoining the ancient City of London, directly to the east of the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, and its southern boundary is the River Thames. It is an Inner London borough and was created in 1965 when Greater London was established. At its creation Westminster was awarded city status, which had been previously held by the smaller Metropolitan Borough of Westminster.
Aside from a number of large parks and open spaces, the density of the district is high. Many sites thought of as being in London are actually in Westminster, including Buckingham Palace, the Houses of Parliament, and 10 Downing Street. The city is divided into a number of localities including the ancient political district of Westminster around the Palace of Westminster; the shopping areas around Oxford Street, Regent Street, Piccadilly and Bond Street; and the night time entertainment district of Soho. Much of the city is residential, and in 2008 it was estimated to have a population of 236,000. The local authority is Westminster City Council. The City of Westminster is home to a large number of companies. Many leading global corporations have chosen to locate their global or European headquarters in the City of Westminster. Mayfair and St. James’s within the City of Westminster also have a large concentration of hedge fund and private equity funds. The West End is known as the Theatre District and is home to many of the leading performing arts businesses. Soho and its adjoining areas house a concentration of media and creative companies. Oxford Street is one of the leading shopping destinations in the world.
Westminster contains many of the most famous sites in London. Some of the popular tourist sites are Buckingham Palace, Palace of Westminster (Houses of Parliament) and Big Ben and nearby Westminster Abbey. Learn more about List of tourist sites in Westminster and Westminster parks and open spaces.
The London Library, an independent lending library, is located at 14 St. James Square in the City of Westminster. The city operates one reference library, the Westminster Reference Library. City-operated public lending libraries in Westminster include the Charing Cross Library, the Church Street Library, the Maida Vale Library, the Marylebone Library, the Mayfair Library, the Paddington Library, the Pimlico Library, the Queen’s Park Library, St. James’s Library, St. John’s Wood Library, and the Victoria Library. In addition the city has two specialist libraries, the Westminster Music Library, the largest music library in the United Kingdom, and the Westminster Chinese Library in the Charing Cross Library.
