I had an opportunity to visit London for a few days so I planned out a few places to visit while I was there. This was my 2nd visit to London. I had previously visited London on a day-trip when Angie and I were on holiday in Paris in 2006. It was a very rushed visit back then and I was hoping to see more of London this time around.
Map
The Garmin Mapsource gdb file can be obtained here.
I was staying around Westminster this round so largely my trips were based around this area.
Westminster Bridge
Westminster bridge spans the Thames river and it's a good place to get a view of Big Ben and Parliament Hall. However, beware of the flower ladies here. They will come up to you and try to place a flower on your shirt or jacket and 'welcome you to London'. However, after you accept the flower, they will ask for compensation. If you take your wallet out, they are not shy about grabbing a 10-pound or even a 50-pound note from your wallet. Be warned.
Big Ben and Palace of Westminster
The iconic Big Ben clock tower and the Parliament, the seat of the British Empire, can be seen on the left.
It is also the site of the famous 1605 Gunpowder Plot by Guy Fawkes to blow up Parliament and since then that day has been designated a public holiday.
The tower is often incorrectly referred to as Big Ben. However, Big Ben really is the name of the bell located inside while the tower is known as Elizabeth Tower. The nickname for the bell is believe to be attributed to Sir Benjamin Hall who oversaw the installation of the bell.
From here, I walked over to Westminster Abbey but you can also take a walk down to the river pier and take a cruise on the Thames River.
Westminster Abbey
Westminster Abbey is located next to the Parliament and is the site where all monarchs are crowned when they ascend to the throne. It is also the traditional burial site for departed monarchs. It is open most days but on Sunday, it is open only for worshippers / services.
The abbey charges admission for tourists but you can enter for free on Sunday for services. The admission charges are about £12.
From here I took a walk up Whitehall St towards Trafalgar Square. On the way, I stopped by 10 Downing Street.
10 Downing Street
This is the official residence of the British Prime Minister. The street used to be open to the public but security gates were installed to block access after a terrorist attack.
You can still walk by and you might get lucky and catch a glimpse of the Prime Minister if you're lucky.
Horse Guards
Further up the road from Downing Street, you'll find the Horseguards Parade. You'll be able to take some photos with the mounted guards here.
However, beware... the horses can bite or kick.
Trafalgar Square
Trafalgar Square is a public square near Charing Cross station dedicated to Britain's greatest naval hero; Admiral Horatio Nelson, and his Battle of Trafalgar. The square is bordered by 4 plinths bearing statues but the 4th plinth (which was original meant for William IV) was left empty as they ran out of funds. It currently adorned with a blue rooster statue called HahnCock.
Nelson's Column located at Trafalgar Square and his statue adorns the top of the column. The column used to be a favourite haunt of pigeons with many of the birds leaving their 'offerings' (droppings) for the British hero. However, the authorities were not amused and outlawed the feeding of pigeons here and brought in birds-of-prey to hunt the pigeons down or drive them away.
Now, Trafalgar Square is very clean (much cleaner than when I last visited it in 2006.
The base of the column are ringed by 4 bronze lions which represent the 4 greatest victories of Admiral Nelson. The lions were made from French and Spanish bronze cannons captured at the Battle of Trafalgar.
Admiralty Arch
The Admiralty Arch is right next to Trafalgar Square. It used to house the Cabinet Office but was sold in 2012 for redevelopment into a hotel. The road under the arch leads right up to Buckingham Palace.
Cleopatra's Needle
Cleopatra's Needle is an Egyptian Obelisk that stands on the embankment of the Thames. I walked past it on my way back to the hotel from Trafalgar Square. It was originally presented to England in 1819 by the ruler of Egypt but was only transported to the UK in 1877.
At the base is a plaque dedicated to the sailors who died in the storm trying to ship the obelisk to UK.
On walking back to the hotel, I stopped by 'Enough To Feed An Elephant' restaurant at Waterloo station to have the traditional English fare of fish & chips.
The fish was fried to a very crispy golden crust and was good but not exceptional and the peas were really hard.
Her Majesty's Theatre
On the next night, I had booked tickets to watch the Phantom of The Opera at Her Majesty's Theatre (N51 30.505 W0 07.902) which is just a short walk from Trafalgar Square. While you're in London, you definitely should catch a theatre show while you're here.
You can get discounted tickets from TKTS (www.tkts.co.uk) or at their booth on Leicester Square. TKTS offers heavily discounted tickets for shows on the same day as they try to fill up the unsold seats.
At first I wasn't too keen to spend my free time watching a play but Angie had convinced me to take the time. I chose Phantom as I loved its songs and it was the play that shot Sarah Brightman to fame.
I thoroughly loved the play and bought some souvenirs in the theatre gift shop after that. After the play, I walked back to the hotel across the pedestrian bridge. Along the way, I passed by the London Eye.
London Eye
The London Eye is a Ferris wheel on the banks of the Thames. I saw it while walking back to the hotel but that night was my chance to snap a photo with it lighted up.
A typical round on the Eye will take around 30min and you can get a great view of London.
Sherlock Holmes' Pub
Next to Trafalgar Square, is the Sherlock Holmes Pub
(N51 30.425 W0 07.521). It's themed after the famous detective but is also known for good food and drinks. While in London, you really should visit a pub for pint of ale just to live the experience once (just like you should attend a play at least once while in London). I dropped by the pub with my colleagues for dinner after work on Fri night.
(N51 30.425 W0 07.521). It's themed after the famous detective but is also known for good food and drinks. While in London, you really should visit a pub for pint of ale just to live the experience once (just like you should attend a play at least once while in London). I dropped by the pub with my colleagues for dinner after work on Fri night.
They have a wide selection of drinks and ales. We naturally had to try out the Sherlock Holmes Ale. I'm not really a beer lover but I do enjoy ale more as it is smoother. The ale here was smooth but again not very exceptional. Also, I would have preferred it a much colder but it seems to be the norm here in UK to serve beer warm or only slightly chilled.
The pub walls are decorated with Sherlock Holmes memorabilia and really sets the theme. Many of the items on display have a link to one of the many cases in the books.
However, if you are looking for the real Sherlock Holmes experience, you should visit the museum on Baker St.
For dinner, I ordered their beef pie which was a beef stew covered with a fluffy pastry top. The crust was very fluffy and crispy yet light. It was a very nice pie and it came with a side of boiled broccoli and carrots.
My other colleague had a fish finger sandwich which looked quite large.
My 2nd colleague had the English staple of bangers & mash which is sausages with mashed potatoes in sauce.
Sherlock Holmes Museum
The official Sherlock Holmes museum is located at 221 Baker St (the flat that Sherlock lives in in the books). It's located at N51 31.398 W0 09.486. If you have time or are a Sherlock Holmes fan, it might be worth a visit. It's also very near Madame Tussaud's wax museum.
Piccadilly Circus
After dinner, my colleagues and I walked out to Piccadilly Circus (N51 30.592 W0 08.088) which is a huge meeting open area with the largest electronic display boards in Europe and a Ripley's Believe It or Not museum. It is said that you cannot stand for longer than 32 minutes at Piccadilly without bumping into someone you know... however, we did not stay long enough to find out. :p
Waterloo Station
The next day was my last day in London. I checked out and left my suitcase with the hotel concierge and then walked to Waterloo Station to catch the Underground to the British Museum. Waterloo station looks very grand and you can also catch trains to the other areas of UK. I caught the Underground to Tottenham Court Rd station and walked to the museum from there.
British Museum
Angie had persuaded me to visit the British Museum (N51 31.118 W0 07.514) due to their extensive collection of ancient Greek and Egyption artifacts.
The museum is free although they do suggest you donate £5 towards the upkeep of the museum but this is discretionary.
Their collection was very extensive and I spent almost 2 hours in the museum. They even have an entire tomb (The Nereid Monuments, left) on display there thus assuring the Brits' position amongst the world's greatest looters.... he-he-he... :p
Below, you'll be able to see the Parthenon Frieze, the collection of stone carvings from the Greek Parthenon temple that they extracted and brought to London. The collection is huge and takes up a whole section of the wing by itself.
Outside the museum, I bought a ticket for the hop-on-hop-off bus intending to visit several sites but unfortunately, there was a bicycle race that day through Trafalgar Square and the road closures caused massive jams. I ended up only able to visit St. Paul's and the Tower of London.
St Paul's Cathedral
St Paul's Cathedral (N51 30.806 W0 05.984) is a massive church and is definitely worth a visit but they do charge admissions. Like Westminster, they are open only for services on Sun.
Due to the huge traffic jams, I took an opportunity to grab a quick bite here.
Tower Bridge and London Bridge
I passed by both London Bridge and Tower Bridge (left) my way to the Tower of London. London Bridge is quite plain but the original London Bridge is actually in Arizona. Originally, a group of American businessmen offered to buy London Bridge but they thought they were buying Tower Bridge. The Brits happily sold them London Bridge and are still laughing over it to this day... :p
Tower of London
The Tower Of London (N51 30.585 W0 04.506) is where the Crown Jewels are stored. You are allowed to view the jewels but photography is strictly prohibited.
Along the grounds, you may see black crows hoping along. It is said that if the crows ever left the Tower, the British empire would fall. Hence, the Beefeaters clip the wings of the crows here.
On the grounds, they also had a show demonstrating the use of medieval weapons such as the spear, sword, and buckler. It was a very interesting and funny show with the actors all in character for the period. Definitely fun for the whole family.
I didn't get much time to walk around the Tower due to the traffic delays and the need to head back to the hotel to pick up my luggage before my flight so I had to leave without seeing more of the grounds than I would have liked. Luckily, the hop-on-hop-off bus ticket included a free cruise on the Thames back to Westminster so I wouldn't have to fight the traffic again.
Thames Cruise
The Thames Cruise starts just beside the Tower of London and you can see many of the riverside sights along the way. It's definitely worthwhile and you avoid most of the traffic-jams in the city. In the picture below, you'll be able to see the Tower of London including the Traitor's Gate where Guy Fawkes was brought in through to be tortured then executed.
Buckingham Palace
After picking up my luggage from my hotel, I caught a taxi to the airport. Along the way, I passed by Buckingham Palace (N51 30.095 W0 08.469). Angie and I had previously visited it in 2006. During May to July, the Changing Of The Guards ceremony happens daily at 11.30am but you should arrive 30min early to secure a place near the fence to view the procession.
Overall, I had a great time seeing the sights in London although there were so many more sights I missed out. It is definitely a city steeped in history and you need to do proper planning in order to maximise your visit if you ever are headed here.
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