When I started listing down my London wish list, I think I had more than 20 items on my original list. How many did we end up visiting? Half of it - only 10! Haha....
Here's a snapshot of 10 Places to see/Things to do in London in one week - please note that this is in leisure pace. You could probably add 2 to 4 more items if you're the type who has a full-blown itinerary from early morning until late evening and if you follow a strict schedule. :)
Westminster Abbey was founded in the 10th century and is England's Coronation church. The first ever to be crowned here was William the Conqueror in 1066. The historical coronation chair is one of the main exhibits in the church. Too bad though that photography isn't allowed inside the church so all the photos I have here are from the outside and in selected cloisters where picture-taking is allowed.
What else is there to see inside the Westminster Abbey? The Shrine of St Edward the Confessor, tombs of monarchs (lots of King Henrys - I, III, V, King Edwards, Queens Elizabeths, Queen Annes - sorry, I couldn't distinguish them. It's all confusing to me who's who. Waaa....).
Who else is buried at Westminster Abbey? Among those I've recognized are Sir Isaac Newton, Charles Darwin, Robert Browning, Geoffrey Chaucer, Charles Dickens, Rudyard Kipling, Laurence Olivier...
BTW, Big Ben is a bell - not a clock. Big Ben is the largest bell in the Great Clock of Westminster. How big is Big Ben? The original bell was 16 tons! And why is it called Ben? Possibly in honor of Sir Benjamin Hall (a member of the Parliament) whose name is inscribed on the bell.
BTW, for discounted musical tickets, you can check out http://www.theatrepeople.com/.
While in the area, you can also head to Piccadilly Circus via train. This is London's version of Shibuya street crossing.
1. Walking City Tour. This would take about 3 hours. We joined a free walking tour around the Old City of London which gives an overview of London's history and famous landmarks such as the Tower Bridge, London Bridge, St. Paul's Cathedral, Millenium Bridge, The Shard, etc. After the tour, you can spend the rest of the day exploring the city by foot. For more info on what other interesting spots are there to see in the Old City of London, you can check out my blog on Exploring the Old City of London.
2. Westminster Abbey. There are a lot of beautiful and historical churches in London. But if you've only enough to visit just one, I recommend Westminster Abbey. You probably remember Westminster Abbey as the venue for Princess Diana's funeral and the wedding of Prince William and Kate. Yes, that's exactly the church I'm talking about.
2. Westminster Abbey. There are a lot of beautiful and historical churches in London. But if you've only enough to visit just one, I recommend Westminster Abbey. You probably remember Westminster Abbey as the venue for Princess Diana's funeral and the wedding of Prince William and Kate. Yes, that's exactly the church I'm talking about.
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| Westminster Abbey |
Westminster Abbey was founded in the 10th century and is England's Coronation church. The first ever to be crowned here was William the Conqueror in 1066. The historical coronation chair is one of the main exhibits in the church. Too bad though that photography isn't allowed inside the church so all the photos I have here are from the outside and in selected cloisters where picture-taking is allowed.
Check out the beautiful details of the doors of Westminster Abbey -
Who else is buried at Westminster Abbey? Among those I've recognized are Sir Isaac Newton, Charles Darwin, Robert Browning, Geoffrey Chaucer, Charles Dickens, Rudyard Kipling, Laurence Olivier...
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| Source |
Some tomb markers are just on the floor and people unconsciously walk over them but there's one special tomb inside Westminster Abbey which you can't accidentally walk over because it's in a prominent spot and it's considered really special. It's none other than the tomb of an Unknown Warrior who represents all the soldiers who died fighting for the country. I think that's a really great way to honor unsung heroes.
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| Tomb of the Unknown Warrior (Source) |
The tomb's inscription says - "A BRITISH WARRIOR WHO FELL IN THE GREAT WAR 1914-1918 FOR KING AND COUNTRY. GREATER LOVE HATH NO MAN THAN THIS."
When you exit the main church, you can go visit the cloisters and that's where photography is allowed. Here are some photos I took -
There are guided tours inside Westminster Abbey and I recommend that you join them so it's easier to find the most important sections of the church and the most popular tombs. Also, you might also get access to restricted sections like during our tour, they allowed us entry to the Shrine of St. Edward the Confessor and sit on the chairs at the Quire which are usually cordoned off to visitors.
BTW, within the Westminster area, is also where the Houses of the Parliament are. I think most tourists would know this place by another name - Big Ben.
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| Great Clock of Westminster in the Houses of the Parliament |
BTW, Big Ben is a bell - not a clock. Big Ben is the largest bell in the Great Clock of Westminster. How big is Big Ben? The original bell was 16 tons! And why is it called Ben? Possibly in honor of Sir Benjamin Hall (a member of the Parliament) whose name is inscribed on the bell.
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| Great Clock of Westminster. Its biggest bell is know as Big Ben. |
3. Watch a Musical in London's West End. I love musicals so this is a must-do activity. There are a lot of nice productions to choose from but Charlie and the Chocolate Factory at the Royal Drury Lane Theatre was my top choice. Incidentally, Royal Drury Lane Theatre has some historical significance - it's London's oldest theatre still in use. :)
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| Charlie and the Chocolate Factory The Musical |
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| The Royal Drury Lane Theatre was built in 1663 making it the oldest theatre site in London still in use. |
How was Charlie and the Chocolate Factory? The production was amazing. They were able to achieve special effects like one of the boys falling into a chocolate lake and one of the girls inflating then floating away. To complete the confectionary experience, vendors inside the theatre were selling cotton candy and ice cream! Haha... :)
Here are some photos I took in the West End area -
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| Royal Opera House |
While in the area, you can also head to Piccadilly Circus via train. This is London's version of Shibuya street crossing.
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| Piccadilly Circus |
Why is it called Piccadilly Circus? "Circus" comes from the Latin word meaning "circle" in the context of a round open space at a street junction. So the word "circus" in Piccadilly Circus is not the circus we know which involves performers. :)
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| Piccadilly Circus at night |
The Piccadilly Circus is a shopping and entertainment area. There are a lot of branded stores and souvenir stores here if you want to do some shopping.
4. Camden Market. London has a lot of popular markets - Borough Market, Greenwich Market, Portobello Road Maret, Convent Garden Market, etc. - but we picked Camden Market since it's nearest to where we were staying and there was a church nearby where we planned to hear Sunday mass. Perfect.
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| Shrine of Our Lady of Hal in Camden |
From the church, Camden Market is just walking distance - maybe 3 blocks away.
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| Street Art in the Camden Area |
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| Colorful stores at the Camden area |
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| Unique store facades at the Camden Market |
According to Wikipedia, Camden Market attracts an average of 100,000 visitors every weekend. Wow.
What we discovered while at Camden Market is that there isn't just one market but there are several markets in the Camden area like the Inverness Street Market -
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| Inverness Street Market |
We spotted this comicbook store along the Inverness Street market and got a handful of vintage comicbooks to give away as gifts. :) The place reminded me of Stuart's comicbook store in The Big Bang Theory. Haha...
We continued walking and spotted another market called CamdenLock Market.
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| Camdenlock Market |
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| CamdenLock Market |
It's in CamdenLock Market where we stopped by to grab some yummy lunch of Crispy Roast Duck! Yum, yum, yum!
We continued to walk and spotted another market called Stables Market. Why is it called Stables? The place was formerly a stables and horse hospital before being converted to a market.
You can buy all kinds of stuff from these markets - arts and crafts, shirts with pop culture prints, leather goods, customized items, fashion accessories, paintings, souvenirs, fresh produce and assorted culinary delights that smell so good! :)
5. Tower of London. There are a handful of palaces you can visit in London like Buckingham Palace, Kensington Palace, Windsor Castle, etc. but my personal choice is the Tower of London for its historical value and also to see the Crown Jewels.
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| Tower of London |
For more details on what to see at the Tower of London, you can check out this blogpost.
6. Harry Potter Studio Tours at the Warner Bros. Studios. Are you a Harry Potter fan? Then this is a must! It's actually one of my top reasons for wanting to visit London. Haha...
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| The Gryffindor Common Room |
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| Dumbledore's Office |
Please make sure to buy tickets online weeks in advance. For more useful tips and to get a sneak peek of what you'll see at the Harry Potter Studio Tours, check out this blogpost.
7. British Museum. Do you love going to museums? The British Museum contains artifacts from Ancient Egypt, Ancient Greece and Rome, Asia, Middle East, Medieval Europe, etc. And the best news? It's open 7 days a week and admission is free! :)
To check out some interesting artifacts you'll see at the British Museum, check out this blogpost.
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| British Museum |
8. National Gallery. Are you a fan of Van Gogh, Renoir, Monet or Leonardo Da Vinci? Then you have to include the National Gallery in your itinerary.
To check out some of the interesting paintings you'll see at the National Gallery, check out this blogpost.
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| Van Gogh paintings at the National Gallery |
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| Inside the National Gallery |
9. University of Cambridge. Former undergraduates of the University of Cambridge has won the most number of Nobel Prizes for any university, totaling 61 Nobel Prizes to-date. Established in 1209, it's also one of the top 5 oldest universities in the world. Its most popular alumni include brilliant minds like Sir Isaac Newton and Charles Darwin. And remember that story when an apple fell onto Newton's head? Legend has it that it happened in the grounds of Cambridge.
If you're planning to visit the University of Cambridge, you need to block off 1 full day since travel time is between 2-3 hours one-way.
For more tips when planning a visit there, please check out this blogpost.
10. 221b Baker Street. If you're a real fan, you know what this is. :)
But it's not in the real Baker Street where they shoot BBC's Sherlock TV series starring Benedict Cumberbatch. It's in another place - Speedy's Cafe is at 187 North Gower Street, near Euston Station. I would have loved to see Benedict though. Too bad, not a single sighting ... the only Benedict sightings I had were on mugs, bags and keychains. Hahaha....
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| Sherlock Holmes Museum |
We weren't able to go inside the Sherlock museum though because there was a long queue and we had a flight to catch.
Additional tips:
If you're booking via Airbnb, even if the description says it's walking distance from the train station, make sure to pick a place that's also near a bus station. Why? Coz walking distance is relative so if it isn't walking distance to you, you still have an alternative public transpo that would bring you nearer to the place. :) You can ask the owner for the estimated distance in meters to be more accurate; never ask in terms of minutes coz that's relative again.
Our airbnb unit was around 500m away from the nearest tube station but if we ride the bus from the tube station, it would bring us closer - just about 50m away. Very convenient especially when you're tired from walking the whole day plus if you don't want to walk in cold weather. <Ahem...>
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| Our airbnb unit is at the 3rd floor of this apartment |
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| View from our airbnb unit |
Choose a place where the nearest tube station is near main stations like King's Cross or Leicester Square so it's faster to get to your target destinations as you can easily shift trains. Ours was at Caledonian Road (Underground Station) and it was perfect because it was just 1 station away from King's Cross and it was a direct line to and from the Heathrow Airport. :)
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| Caledonian Road Underground Station |