Listen Here Americans In London Its Tower Bridge, Not London Bridge
Listen here all you American tourists in London I’m going to teach you something today. Tower Bridge is the famous and beautiful bridge you are looking for, not London Bridge, which is an ugly looking bridge.
It is a common misconception that London Bridge is the famous bridge over the River Thames, when it is in fact called Tower Bridge.
After my recent visit to the Monument, I was walking along the River Thames heading to Tower Bridge when I came across numerous dazed and confused American tourists. Who couldn’t quite understand why London Bridge, wasn’t the famous bridge they were expecting it to be. Well it is simple really because the bridge they were looking for is called Tower Bridge.
I was standing beside London Bridge, which is just a normal looking bridge, when I couldn’t help but over hear some of the USA’s brightest sparks debating what bridge they were looking at, “that cant be London Bridge, I have seen the pictures, it doesn’t look anything like that”. It didn’t matter that they could quite clearly see the name London Bridge carved into the bridge.
Mr USA asked me where London Bridge was, I told him your looking at it, “it cant be” he said, it can and it is! I explained to him that the famous bridge he was looking for was Tower Bridge, which I pointed out to him further along the river and he says to me that’s London Bridge, the one were looking for. TOWER BRIDGE!
Things got worse when I was standing beside Tower Bridge, when another American says to his wife, this bridge should be called London Bridge, he couldn’t understand why it had the wrong name. Give me a break, it has only been open since 1894 and has always been called Tower Bridge.
A bridge structure has existed on the present sight of London Bridge for over 2000 years, when the Romans built a wooden bridge. So its quite probable that London bridge has had its name for well over 2000 years. We all know how American movies makers love to change history, but this is real life and you aint changing the name of Tower Bridge.
After I had finished taking in the Tower Bridge Exhibition, I wandered along the south bank of the River Thames heading back to London Bridge. As I approached London Bridge, you guessed it, more dumbfounded American tourists. I don’t know what it is about these two bridges that confuses people so much.
Mr & Mrs America were again saying that this bridge shouldn’t be called London Bridge, why is it called London Bridge, they should change the names around. I guess London Bridge would seem more interesting if it was called Tower Bridge. I can just imagine all the American tourists standing looking it and saying why is it called Tower Bridge, it hasn’t even got a tower, its flat.
So remember American tourists that you are looking for Tower Bridge, not London Bridge. Tower Bridge is the cool looking bridge, London Bridge is the uncool looking bridge. Second thoughts I will email Mayor Boris Johnson and ask him if he can just change the names of the bridges around, so things are simpler for the Americans.
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Brilliant post! We have many of those tourists visiting the island I live on every day.. Oh the questions they ask! :p
Yes, sad to say but most Americans don’t know much about anything that isn’t in their own backyard (I can say that since I’m American). Did you know in Lake Havasu, Arizona there is a London Bridge which the Americans bought thinking it was Tower Bridge. It was brought over brick by brick and when they reconstructed it they were very disappointed….lol. Went there when I was a kid before I ever went to Tower Bridge but I have much fonder memories of Tower Bridge!
Well nothing surprises me, I am Canadian an live in the province of Saskatchewan and I AM ALWAYS asked if i know their cousin fred in Toronto which of course is 2000 kilometers away lol, so i just always nod and say yes….. hes a good man LOL
I like it when they call the Tower of London ‘London Tower’
On another note I wish when Hollywood makes a film with a London scene in it that they resist putting in a shot of Big Ben and the Houses of Parliament, it’s very lazy.
I want my money back.
To be honest… being an American I have to admit I had always thought that Tower Bridge was London Bridge (thank you for correcting me before you had an opportunity to ridicule me as a tourist in your lovely country). The real problem is if you show a picture of Tower Bridge to ANY tourist from around the world they’ll think it’s London Bridge. A Google or Yahoo image search for London Bridge will predominantly show images of Tower Bridge (go ahead, check). Maybe the Brits should try to correct all the mislabeling out there? This is my favorite example…
http://www.londontravelguide365.com/city-information/london-bridge.html
I think the problem is that there are too many idiots creating web sites or blogs with the sole purpose of making money and they haven’t got a clue as to what they are talking about. I would hazard a guess and say that anybody that is publishing misleading information such as what you highlighted in your link above, have never been to London in there life’s and they sure as hell have never visited Tower Bridge or I suppose if they would know what they were talking about.
My goal isn’t to ridicule Americans or any other lost tourists. My words of wisdom are meant to be taken tongue in cheek as the saying goes. I think that even Americans have got a sense of humour, and can see the funny side of my article.
Lets face facts I couldn’t have used the word Muslim in my article, I would have received a million death threats. That is the difference between most people form countries like the UK and America, we can have a wee laugh from time to time.
Ah yes. I know exactly the frustrating experience you describe, and I’m American. American’s don’t have a firm grasp on geography or history in general but I really think the nursey rhyme” London Bridges Falling Down” also contributes to this misconception.
I agree, it’s the nursery rhyme.
Great point – But I think most of the tourist inquire with Conceirge at the hotels they are staying in London about the london bridge, I believe the conceirge staff should also bring this to their attention.
For every American that thinks the Tower Bridge is London Bridge, there is an Englishman that that comes back from a two week holiday in Corfu not knowing which country he has visited
At least the English have an excuse they have been drinking the island dry and have been drunk non stop for 2 weeks. And they know what country they have been too, they just cant remember anything about it. What excuse do the Americans have…
Dumb Americans, and they want to rule the world. They should sitck to trying to put a McDonald’s on every street corner!
Not all Yanks are dumb, just 99% of them.
Mullins´s last [type] ..Deathwing wuz here
Just to refer to the comment above about correcting the misconception between the two bridges to the whole world, as a matter of fact it is only Americans who mix up the two bridges. The rest of the world is fully aware that Tower Bridge is in fact Tower Bridge (those that have heard of London bridge anyway), but as usual Americans believe the rest of the world follows their views and opinions where as they don’t have much in common with any other country.
Football for example (Sorry yanks, soccer). I am getting constantly critiscised by americans because we call it football. In reality our game of football has been around a hell of a lot longer and is referred to as football by the majority of the planet, yet again North America (South too in this case) being one of the few to call it something else.
Next you’ll be telling us that it’s not the Queen of The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland but instead she is named the Queen of England (a title which hasn’t existed in centuries) and she’s not the Canadian or Australian Monarch either.
London would be a better place if Americans didn’t bother visiting. Can’t stand them. If a bubble was put over USA (like the Simpson’s film) the world for sure would be a better place.
They make this stupid mistake in songs, film, TV programmes etc – and it just makes them look thicker than they already are !!
Listen up Yanks – you’re more than likely to stand on London Bridge to take that “ultimate” photo of TOWER BRIDGE including HMS Belfast.
Also, the clue is in the name, Tower Bridge is the closest bridge to Tower of London and duh, unless you are blind, it was also constructed with 2 towers !!!
I was told along time ago that the Americans bought London Bridge however on arrival they realised their mistake. They had purchased the wrong bridge. They had publicied their purchase to the Americans showing pictures of the wrong bridge thus the confussion!
Thinking that the .com weblink provided by Michael was American I chacked it out and found that it was actually registered in Sweden.
So take heart all you Americans who turn up to London Bridge expecting to see Tower Bridge. You will probably find a number of confused looking Scandinavians wandering around there too.
Ignore the harsh comments above. The majority of us here welcome your visits our country. Just don’t stay in London too long though as to most of us in the know it is the pits and there are far better places to see in the country
ICl, indeed there will be few confused Brits as well! But not so many!
Central London is most definitely not the pits, when you enter into some of the inner city areas there are a few dodgy areas, much like any city in the UK.