Tower of London

The White Tower of London

The first and best of the stone Norman keeps; for a 900-year-old building, you can't help but be impressed by the quality of its construction; don't think the Empire State Building will last that long. An interesting point, though, is that even a tyrant like William the Conqueror built this intimidating building on the edge of the city of London, not in the center -- Londoners have never, since Roman days, put up with too much bull; likewise Parliament was built up the river in Westminster, not in the city itself. The famous Tower Bridge overwhelms the fortress, but is a very effective backdrop to it (as opposed to those stupid castellated bridges under the castle in Conway, Wales).