Westminster Area Guide
The City of Westminster is at the heart of London and is situated north of the river above Lambeth. The name Westminster relates to the famous Abbey ‘Mynster’ being Old English for a church. The ‘West’ part denotes it as west of the ancient City, and its great church of St. Paul. Westminster is ultimately famous for the Buckingham Palace, the official London residence of the UK’s sovereigns since 1837, and now administrative headquarters for the monarch of the UK. This borough is famous for being connected to Westminster Bridge and the Lambeth Bridge. The economy in Westminster is driven by the service sector, and it has the highest GDP of any London borough.
The borough is an internationally known tourist area with 40 per cent of London’s hotel beds located in the borough. It is estimated that more than 95 per cent of visitors to London visit Westminster, representing approximately 28.5 million people per year. The borough facilitates all tube lines except for the Waterloo and City Line and is home to the second highest proportion of Buddhist residents in the UK.