I love to travel, I love sightseeing and I love visiting beautiful places and city's. One of my all time favorite places to go to is London. I've been there 3 times. Once with my parents and twice with school.
I thought, since I've been there a couple of times and been to a lot of places,parks,restaurants, hotels and streets, i could give you some tips, some do's and also some don'ts. I also like to tell you about different travel ways, like boat, plane and bus/car.
First some basic information about London, for people who never been there or haven't even heard of it.
As seen, London lies in the south east of England.Here is what Wikipedia sais about London:
London is the capital city of England and the United Kingdom. It is the most populous region, urban zone and metropolitan area in the United Kingdom. Standing on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its founding by the Romans, who named it Londinium.
London is a leading global city with strengths in the arts, commerce, education, entertainment, fashion, finance, healthcare, media, professional services, research and development, tourism and transport all contributing to its prominence. It is one of the world's leading financial centres and has the fifth-or sixth-largest metropolitan area GDP in the world depending on measurement. London is a world cultural capital. It is the world's most-visited city as measured by international arrivals and has the world's largest city airport system measured by passenger traffic. London's 43 universities form the largest concentration of higher education in Europe. In 2012, London became the first city to host the modern Summer Olympic Games three times.
Places to see in London:
If you are in London, there are a couple of places you must see, some stores you must visit and some buildings that will be needing your attention. In Londen, there are a lot of famous and well knows buildings, streets, names and stores. I will show you the one's I think you MUST see.
Buildings:
Big Ben:Also known as House of Parliament. Lies in Westminster. You just have to see it in person for once in your life, don't miss it.
Tube:
- Westminster Station, Circle, District and Jubilee Lines.
The London Eye:
The biggest in Europe. I would recommend a ride in the London Eye if your not afraid of high's. A ride takes around half an hour. The view is amazing, all around London. The London Eye lies also in Westminster on the other side of the Thames.
Tube:
- Westminster station, Circle,District and Jubilee Lines.
Tower Bridge
The famous bridge in London, not really special to see but a little sentimental for me. The first real time i went to London I stayed at the Tower Hotel across from the bridge. So it has a special place in my heart.
Tube:
- Tower Hill Station, Circle and District lines.
Streets and squares:
Oxford Street:
One of the famous shopping streets in London. Most of the stores i wanted to visit were on Oxford Street.
Tube:
- Oxford Circus Station, Central, Bakerloo and Victoria Lines.
- Bond Street Station, Central and Jubilee Lines.
- Marble Arch Station, Central Lines.
Regent Street:
This is the other well knows shopping street in London. Well knows for the expensive and large stores. But not only for stores, there are a lot of offices too.
Tube:
- Oxford Circus Station, Circle, Bakerloo and Victoria Lines.
- Piccadilly Circus Station, Bakerloo and Piccadilly Lines.
Trafalgar Square:
Well knows square, maybe for it's giant Lions or beautiful kind of pools. Or the gigantic pillar standing in the middle. It's not very spectacular but it's worth a visit. From the square you can see the London Eye and the Big Ben. Tube:
Charing Cross station, Bakerloo and Northern Lines.
There is no tube station on Trafalgar square.
Camden Town:
One of the most well known places of London. Sometimes it's even called, the ghetto of London. Not a really nice name though. But it's a very nice place to go. They have the well known Camden Market and a lot of food markets and other nice and cosy places.Tube:
Camden Town Station, Northern Lines.
Covent Garden:
My favorite place in London. It's like you are in a different town. Also here is a market, a indoor market. Honestly I don't know why i like it that much. Maybe it's the atmosphere there. Definitely worth visiting!Tube:
Covent Garden Station, Piccadilly Line
Restaurants and Hotels:
Tower Hotel:
in this hotel and i recommend it to
everyone who wants a good breakfast buffet,
a nice room, good view and a quick
and good connection to the city.
Tube:
Tower hill Station, Circle and District lines.
Maxwell's Restaurant Covent Garden:
In 2013 I stayed in London for 4 days. Two of those four days, i ate at Maxwell's. Also the last time i was in London, precisely one month ago, i ate there again. It's a very nice restaurant, very nice staff and a very good menu. If you go to Covent Garden, please take a look at the menu. They have a lot of discount stunt, like every Monday your meal is 50% off. Tube:
Covent Garden Station, Piccadilly Lines.
Umi Hotel London:
Last time i went to London, i stayed in the Umi hotel. I went on a school trip so the budget was low. The Umi hotel is a good place to go with a limited budget or low budget. It's not super deluxe or special, but you have a place to sleep and breakfast. I stayed on a four person room, we had our own bathroom and a real bath! Never expected that! The breakfast however isn't so good, bread is dry, coffee watery and staff a little unfriendly. However, for the cost it's quite good. A tip for student trips or if you just want a cheap stay in this amazing city.Umi hotel lays in a beautiful neighborhood with a lot of expensive houses.
Tube:
Queensway Station, Central Lines
Bayswater Station, Circle and District Lines
Things to do when you are on a trip to London:
London is an amazing city, as you may already know, and it had a lot of things to offer. I want to tell you a little about the things i did when i was in London. It's will be a lot of total different things, i may have different interests than you. I hope you can get some inspiration out of it!
Musical in London:
In my opinion a great thing. There are a lot of musicals running in London, and to be honest, there is no better place than London to go to a musical ( except for Broadway New York off course). I went to two musicals in London. I will tell a little about both of them.Jersey Boys in Piccadilly Theater:
The first one is Jersey Boys, running in the Piccadilly Theater. I won't tell to much about it, i was planning on doing a blog post on each individual musical. So more about the Jersey Boys later!
The Lion King in Lyceum Theater:
The second one is the Lion King, running in the Lyceum theater in Covent Garden.
Visit a park and relax:
One of my favorite things to do in a big city like London, visit one of the parks and relax. I like being busy, obviously, but being in an amazing park in one of the biggest city's in the world, sometimes that can be magic. I visited some parks but Hide Park is my favorite. The one thing i love the most about being in a park? Lie down, close your eyes and enjoy the noise of London. Just hearing the busses pass bye, planes fly over, sounds of other people, flashing camera's, laughing, birds and just all the other noises you can here in a city like London.
Shop till you drop:
One thing that is definitely possible in London, Shop Till You Drop. Everywhere are stores, and a lot of stores that are world famous, like Forever 21, Urban Outfitters and TopShop. But for me, as a beauty guru, there are stores like Superdrug and Boots. With brands as Collection, Sleek, Make Up Academy and so on. For me, as a beauty addict from the Netherlands, London is the place to be. Some of the makeup brands from superdrug and boots are not available here in The Netherlands. So everytime i go to London there are a few product i re buy, just to have them in stock.
There are a lot placed in Londen to shop. I know there are a few stores every shopping addict is looking for, so here are the adresses of the stores i was looking for on my first trip to London. I will also include populair stores which i have not visited myself.
Forever 21:360 Oxford St London W1C 1AB
Top Shop:400 Oxford St, West End, London W1A 1AB
Victoria's Secret:
111 New Bond Street, Mayfair, London W1S 1DP
Primark:14-28 Oxford Street, London W1D 1AU
Abercrombie & Fitch:7 Burlington Gardens, London W1S 3ES
Hollister:
83-97 Regent St, London W1B 4EW
Harrods:
87-135 Brompton Rd, London SW1X 7XL
Chanel:
158-159 New Bond St, London W1S 2UB
Superdrug:
508-520 Oxford St, London W1C 1NB
49-50 Strand, London WC2N 5LL
Unit 35, Victoria Railway Station, London SW1V 1JT
Boots:
40-42 Brunswick Centre, London WC1N 1AE
361 Oxford St, London W1C 2JL
Sidenote: There are more Superdrug and Boots stores than mentioned here. There are over 20 Boots Superdrug stores all over London.
I really hope you enjoyed this travel guide. If you want to know more about something or something isn't totally clear, please ask. Also feel free to use this guide on your next trip to London. It would be very nice if you'd let me know when you've used it and if it was usefull.
For the people who already been to London before, what are your 'places to go'? Maybe something that isn't includes in this travel guide? Please let me know! I love to hear your London stories!
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