London

My travel guide and places I enjoy in London

location Raleigh,  NC,  US

In my travels, I've visited London a few times now. Here is a list of recommendations on where to travel, what to see, and what you can do in London.

In terms of how to travel, I've found it best to find an area of the city, plan a few explicit places you want to go to, then explore inside that area.

In addition to what I'm writing below, here are a couple sites I usually do my research for interesting places and things to do while traveling:

Also, always look around for Free Walking Tours around the cities! There's loads that occur, and the tour-guides are paid through the tips at the end. Here are some for London:

Markets

Camden Market

This is a fun place, and one of London's first crafts and antiques markets in an old builders yard. You can explore a massive maze of food, shops, and flea market in general. Many different types of stalls—from steampunk to dapper clothes. The surrounding area has loads of street art, music venues, and places to visit too.

Brixton Village & Market

Brixton is one of the Bohemian places around London. The market itself is one of the most diverse markets with multiple arcades and places around. There's a big food and bar scene, daily markets with international traders, local crafts & events.

Leadenhall Market

If you want to visit a market that began life as a forum in Roman London, then a market since the 1300's this place is for you. It's also the place where they entered the Leaky Cauldron in the first Harry Potter movie. Small shops, nice old bar to visit called The Lamb Tavern—opened since 1780.

Greenwich Market

Another market in a different part of town, the Greenwich Market is another multiply-hundred year old market (established 1737). It offers a diverse array of things to do—antiques, art, books, crafts, fashion, jewelry shops, etc—with loads of food and drink places. There are also loads of interesting museums around, and it's just off the walk along the River Thames.

Old Spitalfields & Bricklane Markets

These two markets are similar to Camden Market but different in vibes, wares, and surroundings. There are loads of art galleries, street foods, fashion, crafts, etc. Just in Old Spitalfields: 43 places to eat and drink; 56 shops and stalls; 184 events through the year; and open seven days a week.

Food

Lanzhou Lamian Noodle Bar

This is one of the places I've been to many times, each trip to London. It's a delicious little dive of a noodle shop that has hand-pulled noodles. The broth is great, the noodles are great. It's a small shop but it's good for the price, filling, and good'n'warm for those cold days.

The Hawksmoor

If you're looking for a good Sunday Roast, a traditional English Sunday sorta meal, The Hawksmoor was one of the best I've ever had. They have loads of locations across London. Make sure to get a reservation, as a just in case. It's absolutely delicious. Kitchen hours can be slightly different than your individual dining hours, so make sure to check all's well.

The Chesterfield Mayfair

This was recommended for one of the best afternoon tea's. A British Afternoon Tea is kind of an important cultural moment of the area. The place looks beautiful, with loads of nice treats and teas. You need a reservation.

Goddards at Greenwich

For a very good British pie, Goddards was recommended to me by a friend. I haven't been, but a pie is one of those British foods that are very good and worth the a try. This one's been open since 1890, so should have a good atmosphere and all.

Attractions

Tower of London & London Wall

If you want to see a Medieval castle or Roman walls—while taking a step "back into Old London"—this could be a fun place to explore. The Tower of London has a rich history of political prisoners and such. It's also across the the river and a walk from the London Bridge and The Shard (if you want to have a high level view of London but don't want to go to the Eye, the Shard can be a potential alternative).

King's Cross

This is the central hub to a lot of travel by metro and in the center of London. It's also where you can find Platform 9 3/4 (and a shop). Don't be disappointed that it's not actually on the platforms. Line's are long.

London Zoo

It's fun. A good day out and walking around the area. Tons of interesting things. I traveled into the zoo by boat, and would highly recommend. You can pick up a ticket, see quite a bit of London from the view of the water, then walk right into the zoo without waiting in line.

The London Eye

This is a nice visit. See London from high in the sky on a ferris wheel. Buy tickets in advance that can help you skip the line. Before and after, walk around the area and explore. The area has life throughout the day, but at night fun things pop up. It is very much a tourist attraction, and priced so.

Kew Gardens, Richmond

The Kew Gardens are a Royal Botanical Gardens with loads to walk around and see. Tons of nice flora, outdoor artwork, and nature to see. Nearby is the Richmond Park, a royal park that also has fields and you can find deer. Really pretty to see. About thirty minutes to an hour's transit away from Central London. I really enjoyed the science and learning of it all. Beautiful greenhouses too.

Parks

If you want to chill a bit, or to get a good run in, there are many great parks around the city. You'll stumble across them, but you can also go more purposefully. I'm listing a few I've visited.

Hyde Park

Regent's Park

Opening hours:
Website: royalparks.org.uk/visit/parks/regents-park-primrose-hill
Address: Near Camden

Interesting Unique Places

God's Own Junkyard

This was recommended to me by a friend and a bit sad I've never visited. It's a 37-year grown collection of neon signs. It's only open on weekends, but it looks like a brilliant place to visit.

Catacombs and Crypts of London

London is a multi-thousand year-old city. It's continually been built on top of the previous city. As a part of that, there are quite a few interesting places to visit where you can explore. They're all over, and not all are generally accessible to the public, but here are some places to get you started:

Leake Street Arches

If you're looking for some fantastic street art, you can check out Leake Street. It's London's longest graffiti wall, made from connecting eight former railways beneath the Waterloo station. There're independent restaurants and bars to make an event of it.

Forbidden Planet

An absolute massive graphic novel and book store in Covent Garden. Since I found it, I plan ahead and pack fewer books to take with me whenever going to London...I tend to leave with four to ten books in hand. It's wonderful.

Free Museums

There are many, many museums around London. Luckily, quite a few of them are free to visit! They're concentrated in the area around the British Museum and Hyde Park. Just because they're free doesn't mean you don't need to book. Take a look at what they have around, then need to make a booking.