London. The attractions you cannot miss during a short stay

London
London (source: www.visitlondon.com)

This is the simplest post about London, in the form of a summarised bullet point list. It is one of the greatest cities in the world and therefore deserves many posts, which I will add as soon as I can.
If you are planning a Eurotrip or you are going to spend just a few days in London, this may give some useful information.
I have been in London for more than 6 years, and this is a compilation of emails, tips, and tricks I have shared with many visitors/friends over this time.

Must Do’s

  1. Parliament (Big Ben) and London Eye
  2. Westminster Abbey, Buckingham Palace and Green Park (1 and 2 are really close)
  3. Tower Bridge, Tower of London (where the Queen’s jewellery is)
  4. Picadilly Circus (Chinatown), Regent Street, Oxford Street (shopping)
  5. Notting Hill (Portobello Road Market, better on Saturdays)
  6. Camden Town
    Alternative/Rock neighbourhood. You should visit Cyberdog and Hawley Arms.
  7. St Pauls Cathedral and Millenium Bridge
  8. Shoreditch
    Hipster/coolest/trendiest neighbourhood. Better to go on Sundays to the following markets: Brick Lane, Spitalfields and Columbia Road Flower. This is probably the best tour you will find on a Sunday, and it is free

Museums

(I recommend 1 and 2)

  1. Tate Modern (modern/contemporary) www.tate.org.uk/
  2. British Museum (most famous, and the biggest) www.britishmuseum.org/
  3. Natural History www.nhm.ac.uk/
  4. Science www.sciencemuseum.org.uk/
  5. Madame Tussauds (waxed celebrities) www.madametussauds.com/
  6. Imperial War www.iwm.org.uk/

Markets

  1. Borough Market. The most famous, largest and oldest street market. Next to London Bridge station, the variety and quality of food are superb. Plenty of stands with food from different parts of the world. Pastries, beer, vegetables, ham, cheese, sweets, chocolate, sandwiches, vegetables, coffee, beer and much more.
  2. Broadway market. Small but nice and without many tourists, quite a hipster as well. Only on Saturdays. You can also visit London Fields Park and Regents Canal. Find more markets in this post.
  3. Brick Lane Market. The trendiest (at least it used to be) and coolest. It is getting busier every year, but maintaining its special vibe. Second-hand clothes, antiques, food, street artists, graffiti.

Others

  1. Chelsea
    The most expensive and posh neighbourhood. Good for a walk on Kings Road (South Kensington or Sloane Square stations). Close by you can find Harrods.
  2. Hampstead Heath
    Beautiful and huge park. All the area around is very nice as well.
  3. Kew Gardens
    If you like gardening this is the place for you.
  4. Richmond
    Ideal for a walk by the river in good weather (crossing Richmond Bridge). You can also visit Richmond Park, which is massive and has deers.
  5. Greenwich
    You can visit the observatory (Meridian 0° longitude), and there is also a nice park and market and The Cutty Sark. (You can go back to the centre by a taxi-boat)

Outside the capital

  1. Windsor Castle
  2. Oxford
  3. Cambridge
  4. The Cotswolds
    Bath, Stratford Upon Evon (Shakespeare). My favourite town/village is Castle Combe.

The Beatles

  1. Abby Road (St Johns Wood Station, London)
  2. Liverpool

Tips

  1. Transport. The underground/tube/metro works by zone (1 to 9) and they have different prices. Normally it is enough with zones 1 and 2. The options are:
    1. A daily pass for the zones you need.
    2. Oyster card “pay as you go”. You top up as you need. They give you any money left back when you leave.
    3. Oyster travelcard. Weekly or monthly. The best option if you are going to stay that amount of time.
    4. Contactless card. If they accept your contact credit/debit card, you can simply use it and you will pay the same as with the Oyster.
  2. Accommodation. There are too many options, just try to find one that suits you. The closer to a good station de better (Kings Cross, Victoria are convenient). Booking.com, Trivago.com, Expedia and TripAdvisor have good options and B&B rankings. You can also go for Airbnb.
  3. Supermarkets have meal deals that are cheap and good. Sandwich or salad and snack and drink for £3. Among the high street chains, I strongly recommend Pret A Manger
  4. Install the app citymapper, it has maps and it will give you all you need, including the timetable for buses, trains, etc. It also provides all you need to find and use public bikes.
  5. It rains a lot. Do not forget your umbrella.
  6. A bus tour can be a good option as well. I recommend Big Bus Tours for this purpose.
  7. Check our FAQs about London for lots of extra tips and information.
  8. Keep your right in all the stairs! And mind the gap =)

This is just an overview. I will write a detailed post of every item soon.

1 thought on “London. The attractions you cannot miss during a short stay”

  1. Diana Iris Calleja Primavesi

    Muy buenas fotos y comentarios. Me encantaría enviarles material de mis viajes, cosa que haré a la brevedad.

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