Lots of barges used to travel on the river carrying goods like: fish, wood, tea and sugar for sale in the City. It was so busy that the ships would queue for days waiting to get a dock to unload. Today, the Thames is much quieter with just a few sailing boats on it carrying tourists.
Bridges crossing the river include: London Bridge (first built in 1176), Tower Bridge that can open up (built in 1894) and The Millennium Bridge (opened in 2000).
A special barrier has also been built with gates that can shut to stop the Thames flooding London.