Your complete guide to places to go in London. Overview of London's top sightseeing tips, restaurants, pubs and bars, hints on shopping in the capital, London's attractions, sports, parks and more. Overview of attractions and things to do in London, England.
Top 10 Attractions in London, not to miss
London Walks Simple plain walking is hard to beat when it comes to exploring
Museums See finest collections of Ancient Egyptian artefacts;
Offbeat London Find new and out of the way places that most visitors don't visit
Underground Ghosts
The next time you're travelling on the London Underground bear in mind that, while you're looking at the destination board for the next train, you can't see who, or what is behind you. Mind the Ghosts...
Here are some of the ghosts that are reputed to haunt the London Underground.
Columbia Road Flower Market
Columbia Road Flower Market is a street market in East London. Columbia Road is a road of Victorian shops off Hackney Road in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. The market is open on Sundays only, from 8 am to 3 pm.
Street musicians and enterprising vendors selling coffee, cakes and samosas from the doorways add an entrepreneurial energy and there are plenty of quirky and one-off shops to explore with vintage furniture and clothes, customised maps, funky childrenswear, jewellery and old-school sweets.
Venue: Columbia Road, London E2 7RG Public transport: The market is some distance from Liverpool Street station and Bethnal Green and Old Street tube stations; but is well served by bus routes 26, 48 and 55, and 8 and 388 from Bethnal Green Road. Hoxton station, on Cremer St, is close. Parking: You can now park free for 2 hours in any pay and display or mixed use bay in the areas surrounding Columbia Road Flower Market. Please check signs.
Fish & Chips
Whether its the traditional takeaway, or the new bread of chippies, Fish 'n Chips are a must to have when in London. Here's a list of the capital's tastiest fish and chip eateries.
The British Museum
Established in 1753, housed in one of Britain's architectural landmarks, the museum spans two million years of human history. It has one of the most comprehensive collections of the world. The museum is based on the collections of the physician, scientist Sir Hans Sloane. The British Museum houses the world's most comprehensive collection of Egyptian antiquities.
The Department of Greek and Roman Antiquities has over 100,000 objects, ranging from about 3200BC to the reign of the Roman Emperor Constantine I in the 4th century AD.
Department of the Middle East has collections from the Islamic World and the Department of Asia has collections of over 75,000 objects of the Asian continent.
Admission: Free
Open every day 10.00 - 17.30
Open late Thursday, Fridays Nearest tube station: Holborn, Tottenham Court Road, Russell Square
Shopping in London
With 83 major street markets, selling everything from antiques to retro fashions and crafts, market shoppers are spoilt for choice in London.
London is the shopping capital of the world. From the boutiques of Bond Street to the teeming Oxford Street fashion stores and vibrant street markets there' something for everyone.
Casinos
Gambling in London casinos is legally allowed and regulated by the Gambling Commission. Casinos are spread all across London from St James's Street to Baker Street to Knightsbridge. You can play all your favorite games ranging from Poker, Blackjack, Bingo, Slots, and Roulette etc.
Poker games are their specialty and they offer a host of them.
London Eye
London Eye is the largest observation wheel is 135 m (443 ft) high and is situated on the Southbank opposite the Houses of Parliament. The 32 glass capsules, each carrying up to 25 people, take you for a smooth, 30 minute ride. On a clear day the views are a stunning 40km (25 miles) so you can see all of London at once! Jubilee Gardens, SE1 / Tel: 0870 500 0600 Nearest Tube: Waterloo, Westminster
London Gardens
A tourist guide to London Gardens. Information on parks and gardens in and around London.Battersea Park, Chelsea Physic Garden, Hyde Park, Kew Gardens, St James Park are some of London's historical parks which are definitely on the must-visit list of every one visiting London.
London Zoo
Opened in 1828, London Zoo is the world's oldest zoo. London Zoo offers the ultimate back to nature experience and supports the active conservation of many amazing species.
The Zoo receives no state funding and relies on 'Fellows', 'Friends', 'Members', entrance fees and sponsorship to generate income.
Admission: Adult £17.00.
Opening Times: Daily 10.00-16.00 Nearest bus station: Camden Town, Chalk Farm, 274 bus route.
Offbeat London
No matter how many times you've been to London, you can always find new and out of the way places that most visitors don't visit.
Here are some of London's less publicized gems. And the best part, some of them are FREE!
Prime Meridian Line at Greenwich
It's the classic photo opportunity: have your photo taken standing on the Prime Meridian Line at Greenwich. Head for The Royal Observatory and in the courtyard is a metal strip where you stand over the line and can be in the the eastern and western hemispheres at the same time.
The Greenwich Royal Observatory was established by King Charles II in 1675. Greenwich was chosen back in 1884 as the Prime Meridian of the world, Longitude Zero (0° 0' 0"). Every place on Earth is measured in terms of its angle east or west from this line (longitude).
Watch the red Time Ball on top of Flamsteed House drop at 1pm every day. At 12.55pm, the time ball rises half way up the mast reaching the top at 12.58pm. At 1pm exactly, the ball drops. As the ball can be seen from the passing ships very clearly, passing ships use this signal to check time.
Greenwich is in zone 2, only 20 minutes from central London.
From central London, you can reach Greenwich by train from:
Charing Cross
Waterloo East
and London Bridge
You can also travel by Docklands Light Railway from Bank or Tower Gateway. a travelcard can be used on the DLR network.
If you arrive by DLR, then turn left on the Greenwich High Road, move towards the Greenwich Park. The observatory is in the centre of the park on top of a hillock.
A more leisurely option is to walk in Greenwich.
Walks in and around London
Famous for its shopping and expensive living, London's is hard to beat when it comes to simple plain walking. Nearly every street in London is crowded with people of every nationality walking in every direction.
There a walk for every one - from the grizzly Jack the Ripper Walk to the Royal walk to following the foot steps of Harry Potter - it's there. London would just not be complete without going on a walk of your choice.
Buckingham Palace
Buckingham Palace is the Monarch`s permanent London residence since the accession of Queen Victoria. It began its days in 1702 as the Duke of Buckingham`s city residence, built on the site of a notorious brothel, and was sold by the Duke`s son to George III in 1762. The building was refurbished by Nash in the late 1820s for the Prince Regent, It is the largest private house in London- it has more than 660 rooms. The palace is actually back-to-front: the side you look at from the Mall is the back of the building.
During the summer, the Changing of the Guard takes place at the front of the Palace and is a popular event for visitors to the capital from 1st April to Early July and on alternate days at other times. The Changing of the Guard takes place in the forecourt of Buckingham Palace at 11.30 every day in summer, every other day in winter, and lasts about 45 minutes. The New Guard marches to the Palace from Wellington Barracks with a Guards band, the Old Guard hands over in a ceremony during which the sentries are changed and then returns to barracks. The New Guard then marches to St James's Palace leaving the detachment at Buckingham Palace.
Nearest tube station: Victoria or Green Park
Tower Bridge
Over a hundred years old, the Tower Bridge with its twin drawbridges, each weighing about 1,000 tons have been raised more then half a million times since it was built. It takes only 90 seconds for the bascules to be raised with electric motors which replaced the old steam engines. From Tower Bridge you can view HMS Belfast, an 11,500-ton cruiser that opened the bombardment of the Normandy coast on D-Day.
You also may Tour the Tower of London wtih a Yeoman Warder. Yeoman warders dressed in "Beefeater" costume give cool and free one-hour tours of the very old, interesting Tower of London, which leaves every 30 minutes from inside the gate.
Tel: 0207 403 3761
Nearest tube stations: Tower Hill and London Bridge.
Open : daily 10am-6:30pm; Nov-March 10am-5:15pm.
Tower of London and Crown Jewels
Built on the north bank of the Thames, near to Tower Bridge, the Tower of London evokes visions of imprisonment and torture through the ages of British Monarchy, being a place of execution of not a few kings and queens, along with other notable traitors or prisoners.Overlooking the river at the eastern boundary of the old city walls.
Chiefly famous as a place of imprisonment and execution, it has variously been used as a royal residence, an armoury, a mint, a menagerie, an observatory and - a function it still serves - a safe-deposit box for the Crown Jewels. The Crown Jewels are perhaps the major reason so many visitors flock to the Tower. At least some of the Crown Jewels have been kept in the Tower since 1327, on display since Charles II let the public have a look at them. The oldest piece of regalia is the twelfth-century `Anointing Spoon`; the most famous is the `Imperial State Crown`, sparkling with a 317-carat Indian diamond, called the ‘Kohinoor’, a sapphire from a ring said to have been buried with Edward the Confessor, and assorted emeralds, rubies and pearls. Although you can explore the Tower complex independently, it is a good ideato join with one of the guided tours, given every thirty minutes by one of the forty-odd eminently photographable Beefeaters. These ex-servicemen are best known for their scarlet-and-gold Tudor costumes.
Westminster Abbey in London
The Westminister Abbey is close to the Houses of Parliament, Big Ben and Westminster Cathedral (a Catholic Cathedral) and Westminster Central Hall (Methodist place of worship). Westminster Abbey is a huge construction with a long history.
The history of Westminster Abbey may date back to 616 when a shrine is supposed to have been built on what was then known as Thorn Island. By the mid 900s a community of Benedictine monks was established here by Saint Dunstan with the help of King Edgar. In the 11C Edward the Confessor built a stone abbey here, and it was consecrated in 1065 just before he died and was buried under the high altar. Harold was then crowned in the abbey, the (last) Anglo Saxon king of Britain, being killed by William in 1066.
The Abbey has been the location of almost every coronation since 1065, with the new monarch being crowned seated on King Edward’s Chair, which dates from 1296. (The chair also contained the Stone of Scone, upon which Scotish Monarch had been seated until it’s capture by the English in 1297, and finally returned to Scotland in 1996.). Westminster Abbey is also the location of Royal Funerals, and a great number of Kings and Queens of England lie buried within.
Photography and filming is not allowed within the Abbey or the adjoining St. Margaret’s Church. Equally, Westminster Abbey does not participate in London Pass offers.
