Meet London.
Something about the tea, the accents, the architectural mix of old and new. Whether you’re in London for a weekend or longer, compiled below are a few musts and faves from a collection of work weekends spent in London Town.
[And if you happen to be going during the holidays, markets galore and holiday cheer can be found here.]
Viewpoints
London Eye - riding the Eye is still one of my favorite viewpoints, plus you get to ride in a ferris wheel pod.
The Shard - went up for some yoga and was rewarded with beautiful (though cloudy at the time) views.
Primrose Hill - a lovely park with an overlook of the city.
One New Change - a little shopping center with a rooftop bar and view of St. Paul.
Sky Garden - haven’t had a chance to go yet but this skyscraper garden featuring two restaurants, a bar, along with panoramic views looks beautiful.
Main sites
I’m not usually one for these but if you’re tight on time and want something easy and budget friendly, the Hop On and Off Bus Tour is a great choice for an overview of the sites and history. For my very first time in London, we did this for a day and I still remember some of the facts shared (we went with the headphones version vs. an actual guide).
Big Ben, The Eye & Westminster Abbey - once you get off at the Westminster tube stop, follow the exit sign for Westminster Bridge and that was such a cool way to see The Eye and Big Ben for the first time. Love checking out these sites during the day and at night.
Tower Bridge - I remember thinking how mediocre London Bridge looked compared to Tower Bridge - this is definitely my favorite bridge in the city. If you have extra time to spare, you can do a quick tour and walk through the top of the bridge.
Millennium bridge + St Paul - that bridge from Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince scene and a nearby landmark that hosted the Royal Wedding of Prince Charles and Lady Diana and offers panoramic views over London (after a number of steps up to the dome of course).
Buckingham Palace - and of course, the official residence of the Royal Family.
Specific Areas & Spots
Piccadilly Circus - think the Times Square of London with no shortage of shopping and theaters nearby.
Harrods near Hyde Park - huge luxury department store (see it lit up at night!). They have a Food Hall, souvenir shop, and everything in between shops).
Trafalgar Square - public square featuring various galleries, historic buildings, statues and monuments.
If you’re looking to go out, last time I was there Fabric was a pretty big club. Very European and most people don’t get there until 2 ish (they’re open until 7am on Fridays and 8am on Saturdays).
If you have more time in the city…
Strolls around parks and various neighborhoods - I really enjoyed Regents Park and Notting Hill.
Tower of London and Crown Jewels - takes you back in time in your history books plus you get to see these beautiful jewels up close and personal.
If you have longer than a weekend...
Stonehenge - it’s beautiful to drive through the countryside to see this wonder of the world. From here, we also went to Bath which was a great addition to the side trip.
If you’re a Harry Potter fan...
Going to platform 9 3/4 at Kings Cross was great (Camden Market is also nearby). Hands down though, the Warner Brothers Studio Tour in Leavesden was amazing. The true Harry Potter geek comes out plus they’ve got butter beer! There's also Leadenhall Market, a Victorian retail center, parts of which were used to film Harry Potter scenes such as Diagon Alley and the Leaky Cauldron.
And because I’m a book nerd, I love checking out bookstores when I’m abroad. A few of my favorites…
Grub
Scones! Clotted cream! Cute baby sandwiches! And of course tea.
Loved the traditional high tea set up at The Orangery in Kensington Palace and had more casual versions at Harrods and The Tea Terrace.
They also have a lot of good healthy cafe options. I really like the fresh green juice at Pret and EAT has really good chia pods.
Food in general - I usually look things up depending on what I’m craving. For quintessential London consumables, get fish and chips (note - their style is much different than Ivars), eton mess and toffee pudding (dessert), and a Pimm’s cup (yummy drink). They do a lot of things with elderflower too and don’t forget to grab some beer and drink outside of a pub!
Areas where there’s a lot of food places that are yummy/central I’d say is around Covent Garden, Borough Market, and Shoreditch. If you’re really close to places like Piccadilly, they’ll have much higher prices and not as tasty food IMO since it’s near the theatre district.
Getting Around
Tube - one day unlimited pass around $12. These become way worth it when you’re trying to go everywhere. Your time will mostly be concentrated in Zone 1. It's also helpful if you plan your adventures going from east to west, vice versa, or concentrating on a certain area to avoid too much back and forth.
Stay
Lodging - main tourist areas range from Kensington/Knightsbridge in the west and Tower Hill in the east, but Piccadilly is a good center point. I’ve typically stayed in the Tower Hill area (Novotel and The Grange). Though if you’re looking for something more cost effective, I stayed in Earl’s Court which was convenient with an elevator/escalator at the tube and found a budget spot near the station.
Tips
Money - I typically use ATMs rather than exchanging money because the ATM fee tends to be lower than the exchange rate + fee when exchanging cash. That said, I’ll always have some USD on hand but will withdraw money at an airport ATM and any others in the city if I need more. And nowadays, most places take credit cards and many no longer have a foreign transaction fee.
Phone - Unless you’re with T-Mobile, you’ll either need to add on an international plan or play the budget friendly game as I typically do. I’d simply download offline maps (maps.me!) and star areas I’d like to check out along with where I’m staying. That would usually suffice with the supplement of the numerous free wifi hot spots which you’ll find in most restaurants and cafes.
Photos
Canon SL1, GoPro Hero 4, iPhone 7 Plus, and Sony Cyber-shot DSC-HX20V 18.2 MP Exmor R (thanks to my man for some of these pics before I even had my own cameras!)