It’s really easy to find useful information about London, especially if we take into account all the articles that have been written about this famous city. I must confess that I did some research before my trip to London because I traveled on my own and I wanted to make sure that I will have a perfect travel experience there.
This research really helped me to have a great time in London and this is why I would like to share a few useful tips with you:
1.London has a lot to offer when it comes to beautiful tourist attractions and there is a long list of places that can be visited for free. Even though there are a lot of places you can visit without paying a fee, my advice is not to limit yourself only to these ones. From all the places I have visited in London, the most beautiful ones were those I had to pay an entrance fee for. I understood once again that nothing is for free in life and that we have to pay for the most beautiful things and experiences.
In conclusion, no matter what you choose to visit from the list of free tourist attractions, there are some places you should definitely visit because they are worth every penny. In this regard, I advise you to buy a ticket which includes several tourist attractions because this way you will save some money. For example, I chose the ticket which included 5 tourist attractions: Madame Tussauds, the Sea Life London, Shrek’s Adventure, the London Dungeon and the Coca-Cola London Eye. I have paid only 55 pounds for this ticket, but I would have paid almost triple if I had bought five different ones. In addition, this ticket can be used for a period of 90 days. The amazing Shard is another place you should definitely visit even though you have to pay an entrance fee. The ticket is a little pricey, but it is worth paying for. In case you want to benefit from a discount and save some money, you should book your tickets in advance.
2.Taking into account the high number of tourist attractions which can be visited in London, you should spend at least a few days in this city, in case you want to have enough time to enjoy the most important ones. My advice is to plan each day very carefully and check the schedule of each tourist attraction you are going to visit.
Unfortunately, I missed the changing of the guards in front of Buckingham Palace because I didn’t pay attention to an important detail, the schedule. However, it was not a great loss for me because I have seen a lot of these types of ceremonies in other big cities in the world. In addition, looking on the bright side of things, I had more time to admire its beautiful architectural details and enjoy the atmosphere created by the crowd of people gathered in front of the palace.
3.You should stay in downtown London because the most important tourist attractions are situated in this part of the city. In case you don’t want to take my advice and you will stay on the outskirts of London, you will pay more money on public transportation and you will also lose precious time.
In order to go from one place to another, you should use the subway, which is the most comfortable and the fastest means of public transportation. I advise you to buy a tourist card which allows you to choose the number of trips. You can add trips to this card whenever you want and in case you will not use all of them you can get your money back.
4.It is true that London has a lot of beautiful tourist attractions, but you should allow yourself to also enjoy the authentic vibe of the city. In order to do this, you should take your time to walk in the beautiful streets of London. Baker Street, Oxford Street or Regent Street are just a few examples in this regard. Not to mention that this will be a great opportunity to admire a lot of famous red telephone boxes, which are a symbol of London. You will also have the chance to see how people live in London. It will be very interesting to see a lot of locals dressed in suits who sit on grass in the parks or who stand in front of the local pubs and drink beer.
5.During your stay in London, try to taste as many local dishes as you can. Even though Londoners don’t eat very healthy, it will be a real treat to taste their traditional fish & chips, hamburger & chips, meat pies and their different types of English sandwiches. All these dishes seasoned with their local beer will make you plunge into the authentic atmosphere of London. When it comes to food, I advise you to eat only in the best pubs and restaurants and also in the local markets. Besides the pubs and restaurants, I also ate in Borough Market and in Portobello Market and the food was simply delicious.
I hope these simple tips will be useful in case you plan a trip to London.