London Tips

OR another name for the post, so ..we have already been to Buckingham Palace , saw the Big Ben and went for a ride on London’s Eye. Now what?

After three days in the Cotswolds, we arrived to LONDON! (You can read about our adventures in the Cotswold here).

Holidays – Check out here whether there isn’t any public/ national holiday that will prevent you to peruse your itinerary.

Travel Insurance -Don’t forget to arrange health insurance before heading to London. Get it before your trip to avoid unnecessary troubles that might ruin your holidays!

Where to stay? We stayed at a private hotel nearby Oxford on our last 2 trips and the trip before at Premier Inn .

Make sure which room you’re booking at your hotel to avoid unpleasant surprises.

Read the reviews other customers gave the hotel/ apartment etc. The most important things that I check are –

• Is there a private bathroom?

• Is there an elevator (lift in British)?

• Is there a 24 hour reception available – since your flight might arrive late at night

• Is the hotel situated above a bar? (Bad choice!)

Transportation –If you’re planning on visiting many attractions, I suggest you read the info on this stte. Deciding how to get from one place to another depends on the length of your trip, the zones you plan on visiting, costs etc.  When we traveled with our girls, we used Uber but when we were just the two of us we used the red bus , sat on the upper level and enjoyed the view.

The moment you finalize the flights and the hotel I suggest you have a look at TIMEOUT to see which festivals are expected to occur while you are there , shows, museum exhibitions etc and get into the atmosphere .

Is London expensive? I always thought so and avoided to travel there ! But (!) I found out that your trip doesn’t have to be expensive, there are loads of things to do in London that are absolutely free!

1)Most museums are FREE in London! I like to have a look at the weather forecast a day before I go and then I squeeze a hotel when it’s expected to rain (yes, I know it rains a lot in UK) or just at the middle of the day so I can relax a bit. Museums are a great place to relax…you put your bag and shopping bags in the cloakroom….walk around in a quiet place, enjoy the exhibitions , sit on the bench when you’re tired. Maybe they should have an hourly basis hotel in the museum so people could have a nap in the middle of the day (Zzzz). BTW most of us don’t go to museums on a regular basis so why not now, when it’s raining and FREE? You don’t have to see EVERYTHING! Just one exhibition…

On our first day we went to see an exhibition at the National Art Gallery near Trafalgar Square. When you feel like you have had enough indoor culture, grab a coffee, eat a sandwich or just relax by sitting near the four lion statues of the Trafalgar square.

On our second day in London, we went to the Natural History museum.

2)    The Sky Garden in London is free of charge to visit and it’s a cool place located at the top of what is known as the Walkie Talkie Building. Make sure you book a slot in advance. They are very strict about the times and won’t let you in before your scheduled time.

3)   Well, this one is not exactly free….unless it’s just window shopping. Oxford Street= 2.5 kilometers long of Paradise! Here you will find  everything you need from Primark (there are 2 branches) to Debenhams, from Marks & Spencer’s to H&M, Uniqlo and HMV Music Shop and more!

4) On our last day we took the bus to Portobello Street and walked at Notting Hill . We stopped to grab a coffee  at the local Starbucks at found out that the famous door from the Richard Curtis movie ‘Notting Hill’ is still painted blue today.

The street is full with antique shops, second-hand goods , vintage clothing , flowers and more. It’s off the beaten path compared to the busy Oxford street.

5)    Little Venice is such a beautiful little place.  It’s a picturesque canal that is filled with boat cafes and  pubs. You can also find restaurants nearby. We came here after Notting Hill by bus but you  can also walk with the canal on the footpath, which leads to the center of London.

6) FREE walking tours – There are several ones , we had fun at the South London tour with  Strawberry Tours .

7) Discount prices for shows – search for coupons on Groupon or other web sites. I can tell you that we saw Aladdin which was FABULOUS and luckily I found cheap(er) tickets. Apparently,  each week, there is a limited number of lottery tickets that are available online. The lottery opens at 11am on Mondays and closes at 11am on Tuesdays. You can win up to 2 tickets (priced at £20 each) per draw.For a chance to have your wish granted in the ALADDIN ticket lottery click here.

8) Shoreditch street art– there is creative street art everywhere you turn from graffiti via statues, art galleries. Here as well, there are also several options for  Free Tours By Foot .

9) Hyde park – after shopping on Oxford street, you must rest! Hyde Park is the perfect place for a picnic all year round. Summer (of course), in the spring with the flowers blooming, and in the fall with the fantastic foliage colors. In the winter, it becomes even more magical when it hosts the Hyde Park Winter Wonderland fair.

10) Changing of the guards – Buckingham Palace is the official residence of the Queen, and it’s popular for the Changing the Guard ceremony. I think it’s too busy and crowded so we went to the Horse Guards Parade which is the ceremonial parade ground in St James’s Park. Check out times in their website as the schedule tends to change.

11) Eat?  Drink? The sky is the limit. It all depends what you like. I’m an Asian fan so that’s what we mainly ate. I can recommend Dumplings’ Legend .

What can I say……..London is so beautiful , especially at Christmas!  

Our flight back home was at 08:00 in the morning from Luton so we decided to take a late bus from Marble Arch to Luton and sleep at a nearby hotel the night before.