Being the capital of my home country and given how much I love cities and city breaks, it stands to reason I have been to London more times than I could every count. Every time I go, I try and do at least one thing, one new experience, that I have never done before.
I have a number of friends (and family) who live in London, and they never seem to do any of the touristy things, it’s seeming that I’ve done more in London than a lot of people who live there!
I feel very lucky to have London as our capital city. It’s good for shopping, good for strolling around and finding nice places to eat and drink, good for finding new adventures and fantastic for finding some great Instagram opportunities!
Probably not so much over the last couple of years, but I used to love Kings Cross station because it used to be the start of a great weekend or few days in the big smoke. Now I think I associate it more with the journey home, being tired and exhausted waiting for my return journey time to show up on screen! Its also the home of the famous Platform 9 ¾, even if you are not a Harry Potter fan (like myself) you’ll have heard of this.
Coal Drops Yard is a smart new development, just a 5 minute walk being Kings cross Station. There is lots of new developments taking place around this area. Coal Drops Yard is a mix of cafes, smart restaurants, and artisan shops. Worth a visit if you have an hour whilst waiting for a train, as I have done a couple of times, headed there for a quick glass of wine.
The problem with Camden (if you are on a quick visit to London) is that its not very central, and generally you don't pass it on the way to anywhere so you have to want to go there. That said it is an amazing market, and I would probably say the best place for street food in London.
There is also London’s answer to Reykjavik’s Penis museum, The Vagina museum located right under the arches. I think I will give that one a miss, as it might put me off my food! Haha.
Covent Garden is one of the most sought-after places on London. Continuously throughout the day performers are located between the market and St Paul’s church in 40-minute blocks. A mix of musicians, magicians and dancers and if you’re brave you can always opt to get involved, save a few pennies to give the performers at the end of their block. Around the Covent Garden area you’ll also find lots of street performers, the London Transport Museum is also located here and some amazing places to eat, personal favourite is the Crusting Pipe Wine Bar.
London transport museum is right in Covent Garden. It’s a nice way to spend an hour after lunch, if not a tad expensive though at around £17 for an adult ticket. But you get to see old forms of transport, trains, busses and tubes and learn about the future developments too.
The Thames River is 215 miles long, the longest river in England. Up until 1729 London Bridge was the only bridge that spanned the Thames river. Not recommended if you are afraid of water or get sea sick. This experience lasts around an hour. You start at the pier off the London eye and take a slow ride past Tower Bridge where the skipper will tell you some interesting facts about London. Then they’ll crank up the speed and you’ll have a very bumpy ride all the way to Canary Wharf!
Originally opened in January 2000, the structure is 135 meters tall, it rotates the distance of 2300 miles during one year. One of the best views in the city for the west side of London, overlooking Big Ben and Westminster.
Note to self: need some new pictures of Big Ben and Westminster. For the past 4 years this has been under renovation and has had scaffolding around the clock tower. My older pictures do not do this iconic building justice.
Westminster Abbey has seen the coronation of all Kings and Queens in England since 1066 and some royal weddings. It’s a royal church offering daily services for the public to attend.
If you’re looking to see the changing of the guard ceremony, you’ll need to check the official website to check what days and times it’s on. But it usually happens 3 times a week and late morning just before lunch. Be warned though if you want to get a good view of the guards on the palace forecourt you need to get there early! Like an hour before. The ceremony lasts for around an hour.
Piccadilly Circus is a road junction and public space of London's West End in the City of Westminster. It was built in 1819 to connect Regent Street with Piccadilly. Piccadilly Circus is probably the tube station you’ll want to head for if you’re going to Regent Street for some shopping, China Town or Leicester Square. This is where you’ll see the big neon advertising screens, perfect Instagram opportunity.
Regent Street is a major shopping street in the West End of London, its where you can find some of the biggest brand names and flagship stores. Makes a change from large multi-storey shopping centres!
Not much to be said other than if you like M&M’s, this is a must visit! Displays, the largest wall of M&M chocolates, merchandise and much more! MMmmmmm…
I had tried to get into this bar on a few previous visits but had never managed to, it’s a pretty small bar and it gets booked up far in advance. So book far in advance because it is worth the wait!
The bar is 1940’s themed and set in what makes it look like an old underground station. Cocktails are amazing and the atmosphere buzzing!
This is an old Victorian public toilet that has recently been converted into a small coffee shop. All the old urinals are still in place (a little cleaner hopefully!) and all the old tiles on the wall. A unique experience if you're near Oxford Circus.
Probably not something you’ll want to go out your way for, but if you are in the Shoreditch area, make sure you visit the box park, it’s basically shipping containers stacked on top of each other and made into small shops. There is some great street food and bars inside!
Old Spitalfields Market is a covered market in Spitalfields, London. There has been a market on the site for over 350 years. Located on the north of London (about 20 minutes walk north from Tower Bridge), Spitalfields market is somewhere you can easily spend a couple of hours. The market sells many things from clothes to old bric-a-brac. The entire market smells of amazing street food. A great tip is to go during lunch hour, and order small portions to share from various stalls, and make a good couple of hours just sampling food!
The Tower of London, officially Her Majesty's Royal Palace and Fortress of the Tower of London, is a historic castle located on the north bank of the River Thames in central London. On one visit I took my mum here (for part of a belated birthday present), she had seen the documentaries and had wanted to do a tour. We ended up breaking away from the tour about a third of the way in, as it was the same information given as on TV, so we wondered the grounds and got a drink at our own pace.
This is Tower Bridge, not London Bridge!! Still, it is the most magnificent bridge in London. Best part is to do an inside tour, you’ll get to see a short 5 minute video when you get up there about the history of the bridge and how it was built. But then you’ll walk across the top and the best bit is the glass floor/walkway. From the foot of the bridge you get amazing views of London Tower and Queens Walkway. Admission is fairly cheap and includes admission up The Monument.
Queens Walk in London is located right along the Southbank at the edge of the Thames, from Tower Bridge right up to Westminster Bridge. Great strip to walk down after visiting Tower Bridge. Great views of London, you’ll get to see the Town Hall (the place where those Apprentice candidates present their businesses in each year’s final) and here you’ll get the best Instagram photos of The Shard from the ground!
So as you know I love street food, this place did not disappoint. It had all types of food from all corners of the globe and I purposely went on an empty stomach at lunch time!
If you walk along the south bank or queen’s walkway, hays galleria is a great place to grab a bite to eat. Its basically a small street that’s covered over, with shops and café bars.
Not a bad museum for its £7.50 admission fee (which is cheap for London). Probably spent around half an hour in there learning about prison life in London 200 years ago and the torture methods.
Opened in 2014, 96 story’s high and took 5 years to build. It cost £435 million to build and was commissioned by the then prime minister, John Prescott. If you’re into city views at height, the shard offers the best and highest view point over London. Sunset is always the best time to see city views at height, and this one has a champagne bar! If you go in winter time though you’ll need to wrap up because it’s open at the top. You can also opt to go to the Aqua Shard Bar (go up for free, although drinks are expensive) which is located on the 31st floor.
The structure stands 61 meters high and there are 311 steps to the top (the Leaning Tower of Pisa is slightly smaller at 58 meters tall with 284 steps to the top). Costs around £4 to go up, or free if purchased with a ticket for a tour of Tower Bridge. It stands between The Shard and The Sky Garden so you get good views of both, that said as sky scrapers seem to be going up at lightning speed in London, the view from the top will slowly disappear.
The sky garden is a nice way to spend an hour having a cocktail or two with a view. In the day you’ll need to book a slot in advance. It’s free, and slots are released on each Monday a week in advance. From the sky garden you’ll get a fantastic view over London, and as it’s right opposite The Shard it’s a true instagramable spot!
Tate Modern is a modern art gallery located in London. It is Britain's national gallery of international modern art and forms part of the Tate group (together with Tate Britain, Tate Liverpool, Tate St Ives and Tate Online). Several the exhibitions are free, with some paid ones. Well worth a visit if your on the south bank.
The best place to start on the south bank is at Westminster (Big Ben) and walk all the way up to The Shard (or as far as you get). Many things to see and do along the way, the tourist attractions such as The London Eye, The Sea Life Aquarium and the London Dungeons. Along the way you’ll see a lot of street performers, street art and street food. The best thing though is those views over London. Every time I go the skyline is always different.
If you make your way to the 02, you must climb it! You’ll need to book and it’s around £30 for a 90 minutes experience. It takes around 30 mins to climb and 30 mins to descend. It’s very steep though, and you’ll be climbing at some awkward angles. But it’s well worth it and the views are pretty awesome. If climbing isn't your thing, you can opt to take a ride on the Emirates Air Line (Cable Car) which leaves from just outside the 02, you’ll get similar views for far less effort!
The cable car gives you great views over Canary Wharf and the o2, goes from one side of the water to the other and lasts around 30 minutes in total.
Being a designer, this museum is right up my street! When you go inside to walk through the galleries from the Victorian age right up to the present day. All the packaging ranges from Chocolate wrappers to washing up power boxes, and also has many artifacts such as old TV’s and radios!
Its lovely to see things of the past before I was born, but also pushes that nostalgia button for things which I remember growing up as a child in the 80’s.
This was somewhere I took my mum as she wanted to go and see it for the first time. I sort of expected a traditional (but upmarket) department store, and it absolutely isn’t like that. Much of it is like a high street in itself with marble front entrances to individual stores. We sat down and had lunch, I had a tuna sandwich which was very nice, if not over priced.
The Postal Museum isn’t far from Kings Cross station, it’s walking distance. There are two parts to this, there is the museum itself where you can easily spend a couple of hours discovering the history of Royal Mail, how it started through to the present day. There are old adverts, stamps and uniforms for you to touch and try on. The second part is the mail rail, where you get to go underground in one of the old disused rail tunnels. Highly recommended if you have a couple of hours to kill in the King’s Cross area.
As this is a free museum, you’ll expect big queues especially at the weekend. The place is vast with everything split into sections. I only did a small section of it and opted to see an exhibit on space. The dinosaur skeleton in the main entrance area is great to see.
