Tell me what you love about London.
 

I have been to London 15 years ago. I made a day trip to Canterbury and to Bath.what I did in London, Churchill war Rooms, Westminster Abbey, Tower of London, KensingtonPalace and the London Eye.. Shopping at Herrods and Oxford street. Also , Greenwich was nice.

There is a lot of London I didn't see and did very little dining

Tell me what you love about London. Site, museum, church, shop, restaurant, food, street, neighborhood.

Recommendations on time of year to visit? Anything that you love and someone else might love....tell me about it.

Plays and concerts. We go every day, sometime twice a day when we are there. We never buy tickets ahead. We look at everything available when we get there and buy tickets the first day for the whole time.

Lunches and dinner meals served in some of the churches. Good, fresh food, interesting environment, good price.

Canal boat ride

Camden Market

Globe theatre

There's no time central London's not chockfull of people or when foreign languages don't dominate central London, though the overwhelming majority of their speakers aren't tourists.

But - though some bits of London's transport system are now getting air conditioning - London's weather in July and August can be ghastly, and London really doesn't handle hot weather well. And most things that matter in big cities - decent plays, interesting concerts and so on - generally tail off when most people are away.

So September to June's better, when London overall obviously gets more crowded: though naive tourists think London's fullest in July-Aug, the tube's at its least crowded and theatre and restaurant bookings easiest to make in midsummer.

Parks and garden squares are mostly green year-round, and the art of London gardening is keeping interest over the winter, though by North American standards, we don't really get winters. Snowdrop drifts in central London usually start being visible from about Candelmas (Feb 2), and the spring sequence of new blossoms goes on from there.

But mellowest from mid-Sep to late Oct, and most burgeoning from mid-April to mid-June.

I love London and this is why

https://m.flickr.com/#/photos/pug_gi...7636964726324/

Definitely plan half a day at the Tower.

Www.walks.com for some great walks.

Borough Market is fun for lunch during the week but I avoid it at all costs on the weekends due to over crowding.

Cocktails in Hoxton and Shoreditch.

Spitalfields area is fun, and close to Brick Lane and the cool east end graffiti.

Just a few ideas to get you going...

London is one of my favorite cities and I prefer visiting in either May or October - the former if possible since the days are much longer. Weather is usually pleasant and the tourist mobs are ot at their worst (although there are a ot of people always).

Some of my favorite place you did not list are:

Museum of London - great for a historic overview

British Museum and Library (magna carta)

V&A Museum

National Portrait Gallery (and of course, National Gallery)

Definitely make time to see at least one show

If only one day trip make it Hampton Court Palace which has incredible recreations of life in Tudor Times as well as a great building and a wonderful maze (Windsor Castle is very imposing but not nearly a lively)

London was made for autumn - misty mornings and evenings in the parks, falling leaves and red buses reflected in puddles.

This time round you need to do one of the foodie markets as suggested above, maybe some vietnamese grub in Hoxton if you are there anyway for Jamikins cocktails, V&A museum, St Dunstan in the East, shop in Liberty or Harvey Nics (maybe Regents Park road or Hampstead if you want somewhere a bit quieter to mooch). A play at the South Bank, exhibition at Somerset House (check to see what's on).

You could also checkout the new Sky Garden for a meal or just drinks

I love London and have been there 6 times, planning a 7th. Maybe because I read all the Agatha Christie books, but I just love all things British. I'm into theatre so of course I love that about London. The iconic sites (Tower Bridge, Big Ben, Parliment, Westminster Abbey). I love having tea - the ceremony of it although it is very overpriced- it is quite good at places like Fortnam and Mason Fountain restaurant and I got ncie scones at Muffin Man.

There are some very elegant hotels you would like - the Savoy, Hotel 41, St Pancras (and many more from very modern to very old British). Shopping is good.

I've taken the train to Bath and a one day bus trip to the Cotswolds, have been to Windsor. And of course some of the museums - V & A, British Museum.

I dont' think London is beautiful like Paris, but I keep returning...

One of my favorite cities. I have been there twice in March and once each in August and September. I know there are lots of things I have still not seen.
So easy to get around on the tube so you can just go anywhere and see anything.
I also took the boat to Greenwich and that was fun.
A day trip to Windsor castle is very interesting and I did a Stonehenge and Bath trip the second time I went.
The last time I spent a week solo and stayed in town. Did a couple of plays and waked around the antique stalls at Portobello market.

London is one of my favourite cities! Here are a few highlights from our last trip (Sept 2013) to this fantastic city:

> Staying in the neighbourhood of Belgravia
> Attending live theatre & concerts - a lunch-time concert at St Martin-in-the-Field Church
> National Portrait Gallery
> British Library
> Kew Royal Botanical Gardens

So much to see/do in & around London! We will be back for sure!

Some of my favorite things in London:

The British Museum - I've probably spent two or three whole days there over a number of trips, and there is always more to see.

The Tower of London - so much history!

Concerts in churches like St. Martin in the Fields

Theatre!

Kew Gardens

The Tate

There are many small museums that are real treasures.

Things I love about London:

The British Library's Treasures Room.

The Museum of London

The pubs

Parliament and Westminster Abbey

The weather when we went in September and being able to visit Buckingham Palace's State Rooms

The "free" museums--National Gallery, Portrait Gallery, British Museum, V & A, etc. You can go in for a few minutes or a lifetime...

I did not love July 2015 in London because it was very hot and crowded. I much preferred September, weather-wise.

Wonderful info. It has been abou 15 years since I was there but it sounds like Fall would be great time to go, so thanks for that.

I saw Janisj recommend Hampton Court palace and it sounds great. I am definitely interested in Borough Market and I know my last trip didn't even scratch the surface of what London has to offer. Will have to check out Sky Garden (would not even know about it without my Fodors friends)!

Great responses and suggestions everyone. I appreciate it and would love to see more

There are two cosmopolitan cities in Europe: London and Istanbul. London is more understated and they speak English, which makes it easier to explore.

Hi Denise!
.
The British Museum.

Food at Harrods.

Fresh dates from the street market in Notting Hill, the sweetest and biggest fresh dates we ever had!

I love seeing place names that I have read about all during my life starting with Winnie the Pooh as a young child.This is an everyday occurance when I'm there and I love that.
I love walking around the various neighborhoods too.

I just loved the vibe in central London - so young and electric. I loved getting sandwiches in Borough Market, and I loved the pubs. Have fun!

Everything mentioned above. I've made ten trips and still want more.

I love browsing in the bookstores and having afternoon tea at a Richoux tea shop (less expensive than the big hotels). If you want a lovely tea experience, try the Maids of Honour Tea Shop across the road from Kew Gardens. It's said to date from the time of Henry VIII.

I like walking in the parks, going to the theater, taking London Walks with the local guides, going to the Globe Theater, seeing the Dickens Museum (I'm an English major), the Cabinet War Rooms, the War Museum, and visiting the old churches such as St. Bartholomew the Great and St. Etheldreda’s. If you run out of things to do (joke), see the John Soames, the Geffrye, and the Sherlock Holmes Museums.

We have made day trips to Oxford, Cambridge, Stonehenge, Stratford-on-Avon, Warwick Castle, Hever Castle, Rye, Canterbury, and Salisbury.

I'm sure you have heard the famous Samuel Johnson quote, "When a man is tired of London, he is tired of life."

Sorry. I also love the obvious churches of Westminster Abbey and St. Paul's, and we have really liked an Indian restaurant on Cromwell Street called the Delhi Brasserie,which has good food and is less expensive than the better known ones.

Hi DENISEA,

So you are thinking about visiting London, eh? Good. Keep in mind, it is not Paris. I agree with VICKY who said:

"I dont' think London is beautiful like Paris, but I keep returning... " I have gone several times in the past few years and will return in June - my favorite month with beautiful gardens and longer daylight hours to explore. I have about three trip reports of my London jaunts if you are so inclined.

Keep in mind, I am traveling solo, not a shopper or into fine dining although those pleasures can certainly be indulged in London.

I am a history buff so I love those WWI and WWII commemorative sites, along with all the other statuary along Whitehall and the Strand.

Let me suggest a few venues which I think you would really enjoy:

THE WALLACE COLLECTION - free museum, fabulous house with 18 century French accents, great cafe and gift shop, and very near SELFRIDGES for more shopping :)

http://www.wallacecollection.org/

THE SILVER VAULTS
http://silvervaultslondon.com/

BOAT RIDE ON REGENT'S CANAL - Start in Toney Maida Vale and end at campy Camden Town
http://www.camdenguide.co.uk/visit/canalwalk.htm

PORTRAIT RESTAURANT atop the Portrait Gallery for a great view of London
http://www.npg.org.uk/visit/shop-eat...restaurant.php

TOUR OF THE BRITISH LIBRARY - in addition to the TREASURES ROOM, I found the escorted tour very informative
http://www.bl.uk/

I also try to catch free lectures at the LSE or similar sites. There are tons of talks in the city.

Also LONDONWALKS, especially the pub crawls, are fun too

There's so much more. I just can't stop going back. :)

Looking forward to your trip report from London....

Latedaytraveler....and Carolyn....wow what great info!

I do know what you mean about the difference between Paris and London. I remember thinking London was very urban, energetic, edgy and had this great fusion of modern and classic/traditional all side by side. Paris is quite different, and yes more beautiful but (to me) but I never meant for it to take so long to go back to London.

Jelopez33... Have always wanted to go back to Herrod's. That was the first massive good hall I had ever seen. I could see myself finding an excuse for a glass of Champage there.

All wonderful info....thanks for contributing.

denisea,
I'm presuming you've already seen this thread, which is our TR from three months in London.
http://www.fodors.com/community/euro...rip-report.cfm

I agree London is not as attractive a city as Paris but it is wonderfully interesting and there's something for all interests. I've written a lot about many of the smaller museums on my blog, there's lots on there

http://www.somuchmoretosee.com/search/label/London

For me London offers THEATRE, HISTORY and MUSEUMS.

1) For theatre I'd look at the National
http://www.somuchmoretosee.com/2015/...re-london.html

2) For history I'd consider a walk, there are lots of recommendations her or buy walking guidebook. There are so many interesting walks in London, Jewish walks, London Walks, street art walks Charles Booth Poverty map walks, Suffragette walks etc. You can find maritime history in Greenwich, Royal history at Hampton Court, military history at IWM. Literary history in Bloomsbury. legal History at the Inns of Court. Architectural history at the Soane Museum. Pick the history you're interested in and find it!

3) Museums - You've already got lots of great recommendations and the museums are incredible. Depending on how much time you have i'd consider adding some smaller places like Leighton House or 18 Stafford Terrace.
http://www.somuchmoretosee.com/2015/...sambourne.html

Get out of the West End, try heading east, Brick Lane, Colombia Rd Flower Market or Broadway market. I have lots of recommendations on the blog for restaurant and or places to visit from Shoreditch via Spitalfields to Bethnal Green.

PS I agree the NPG, the V&A, the Wallace and the Courtauld are lovely. We enjoyed the SkyGarden but you could also do breakfast at the Duck and Waffle - if you book in advance


http://www.somuchmoretosee.com/2015/...with-view.html

I have been to London in all seasons and over 36 years . I love the variety - always find a play or an exhibition that I want to see , revisit places like the V&A , find new ones courtesy of Fodorites , do more London walks, visit friends who take me to places like Brighton, Sissinghurst , St Albans. I have been to weddings , visited my daughter whilst she worked there, taken my son and DIL to London - they lived up in Yorkshire . I enjoy the markets eg Borough , Berwick Street.
Have done pub crawls - not recently !!
Discovered 20 Fenchruch Street walker talkie last visit and took Londoners there. Went to the Chelsea Garden show earlier this year .
Found churches and other venues that my family had lived in or worshipped in . Love the history from Roman to the present .
London has it all for me .

It still speaks some variant of English.

Thank you, Sir Winston.

It's not about what I love about London: I'm English, so I don't do "loving" inanimate objects.

But London's a very different city from 15 years ago. Its centre's far more affluent and more spruced up, at least for the next 2 years fuller of construction (mostly subterranean, but it plays havoc with the traffic), more crowded and more multilingual (we weren't just the only English speakers at a V&A exhibition on Sunday: we were the only English-speaking Europeans in a nearby Chinese. Once upon a time only English or Cantonese speakers ate Chinese: now in South Ken Cantonese is the local cuisine the French colonists take their weekending relatives to sample).

Its transport system has gone from being an embarrassment in Europe to demonstrating how properly-managed capitalism makes public-sector infrastructure work. Getting on a bus in Rome or Paris feels like going back a millennium.

And then there's the food. And the newly opened-up vistas and display spaces.

Post a separate question about what's changed.

denisea, I am looking forward to your report after your trip! We were in London three years ago for a couple of days on our way to Italy and liked it but did not love it. It is a nice "gateway" to Europe, being easy to navigate speaking English.

We did have a fantastic Chinese dinner though - I'll see if I can dig up the contact info!

Now back to researching for my Positano apartment rental ... :-)

London is not as beautiful as Paris? It's certainly a lot cleaner, on the streets and underground. It has better public transport and taxis, and better service. Generally I also much prefer London restaurants to those in Paris.

London theatre is the best in the world - only New York can equal it. Having lived in London in the 90s, I agree with Flanneruk that it has improved a lot - even though I loved living there 25 years ago as well.

January and February are probably the least favorite months; you have the cold, without the festive cheer of November and December.

Go see a musical or play. Have tea at the Wallace Collection (and see the paintings as well), and if you're there in summer, go to the Regents Park Open Air Theatre.

"But London's a very different city from 15 years ago. Its centre's far more affluent and more spruced up"

Every time I return I notice the increasing affluence. My first visit was in 1971.

When I lived in London, back in the late Eighties, I knew a French couple who had left Paris for London. They preferred it because of the parks. Paris, they thought, needed more green spaces.

I love London.
Some of the things I have enjoyed in London:

The V&A. And have lunch in their cafe.

The Physic Garden in Chelsea

Selfridges

Marylebone High Street

The StreetArt walk by Londonwalks

The transport system makes it easy to get around and when you are tired of that London cabs are the only ones worth saving from Uber (Sort of joking)

Lots of good places to eat. I will have to do some digging to come up with names.

Hi again DENISEA,

Another suggestion - while visiting Borough's Market area on the Southbank, consider taking in THE SHARD, highest structure in Europe I believe. Dusk on a clear day is an excellent time to visit.

http://www.the-shard.com/

For historical contrast, check out the nearby GEORGE INN, an original coaching inn on the Thames.

http://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/george-inn/

So much to do and see in London...

One outstanding restaurant was Lima, 31 Rathbone Place, Fitzrovia, London.
Delicious Peruvian food and the Pisco sours went down very well. It was two years ago but I just had a quick look on TA and still looks good.

I can also highly recommend doing a bespoke guided walk around the City of London with Emma Krais, we did one and it was one of the best things we did on that trip. She is very personable, full of knowledge and enthusiasm for the history of London and she will tailor it to your interests.

emmakraistours.co.uk

Loving all the suggestions. It's also interesting to read the comments regarding the changes in London. I liked London a lot when I was there (even though it's been a long time), so I am sure it is really top notch these days. Curious...Were the changes and improvements results of the Olympics and Royal Wedding?

Nope. The royal wedding wouldn't have made a blind bit of difference. The Olympics meant a massive amount of money spent on some things necessary purely for the Olympics, others for which the games were merely a peg, like tje massive new developments around the Olympic Park and the city-wide improvements to public transport.

But the main driver is the insane property market in London and a planning system which tends to land quite a lot of decisions on the desk of successive executive mayors of London who (whatever their politics) appear never to have seen a skyscraper they didn't like the look of.

Part of that is pure speculation, and investment by people from countries where they can (currently) acquire a lot of money and want to find somewhere else, more politically and legally stable, where they can park it. That accounts for much of the really high-end market. What pull effect that has on the rest of the market, I don't know, but there is also a push effect from lots of younger people moving in to jobs in finance and various sorts of creative (and not always fatuous) activities, who all need office and work space as well as somewhere to live: and then there's all the people their money attracts, to provide their support services. But by that level, you're getting down to people working all the hours god sends (if they can get them) to pay for a share of a rabbit hutch somewhere (if they can scrape up an exorbitant rent).

Don't get me started......

One place I've visited many times over the years, which I don't think has been mentioned, is Temple Church. It was badly damaged in the Blitz, but has been restored over the years. Look for the effigies of the knights in the floor. Apparently there's a scene in The Da Vinci Code set in the church, for which it was considerably spiffed up when the movie was filmed -- but don't let that discourage you!

The Tube...we never had to wait more than a few minutes to zip to our next destination. Of course, "Mind The Gap!"

((H))

<Don't get me started......> LOL!

No lets keep you going you're doing a great job of outlining what's happening.

We read that more than two hundred tower blocks have been approved, obviously not just in the city but east and south of the river too, in areas like Vauxhall which have changed considerably.
I think it's hard for visitors to fathom how the rising rents and the numbers of speculative/overseas buyers have transformed neighborhoods in London It's not just a Mayfair phenomena anymore!

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/04/02/wo...tors.html?_r=0.

By all means, Patrick continue if you can do so without a coronary event! It is interesting. And, the suggestions are awesome...wish I was going now!

IMO, London has changed for the better since my first visit back in 1970 and since I'll be there again this coming Sunday I cannot say enough good about the place. It is what it is and I agree about the theatre options, too.

http://searcys.co.uk/venues/st-pancr.../#.Vif-An6rS70 Just for you

Harrods

Borough Market

I have never had a proper tea so would love to do that.

Bookmarking for a possible trip in January.