Eye on London - Your Ultimate Guide to 1, 3 or 7 Days in the Capital
- Monday May 22nd 2017
- Music
London from the inside Monday 22nd - Sunday 28th May 2017
THE BEST WAY TO SPEND ONE, THREE OR SEVEN DAYS IN LONDON
One Day
Make your way to the South Bank and have a leisurely morning walk. Pick up coffee and banana bread from Beany Green next to the Hungerford Bridge or a full English and Bloody Mary at The Riverfront Cafe at the BFI. Let your breakfast go down while you browse at the world famous second hand book stall under Waterloo Bridge.
Afterwards it’s a 5-minute stroll to the Coca-Cola London Eye - get there early to beat the queues and enjoy the amazing five-minute 4D London movie (the perfect build up and free with your ticket) and then step on for the best views of London and all the way out to Windsor Castle on a clear day!
After the London Eye, taxi, tube or ‘Boris Bike’ it to London Bridge and hit Borough Market for lunch. To the West End after lunch where essential stops are Soho and Covent Garden for shopping, strolling and street performances. Finish the day with a pre-theatre dinner offer in the same area then one of the hundreds of musicals, theatre or comedy shows.
Three Days
Another two days in the city will give you the chance to do and see so much more. Families or the young at heart must visit Madame Tussaud’s, Shrek’s Adventure, SEA LIFE London or the London Dungeon (scary fun) - you can save money buying multi-attraction tickets and use them anytime over a 90 day period.
Explore the East for a totally different feel - Brick Lane Flea Market and Columbia Road Flower Market on a Sunday, BOXPARK for lunch and shopping and Rinkoffs Bakery for crodoughs in the week, and super trendy Shoreditch for evening drinks. If you liked Shoreditch then leftfield Camden Lock Market and Brixton Village have similar vibes.
If you’re a culture vulture then visiting one or two of city’s galleries or museums is a must, as well as Shakespeare’s Globe.
Seven Days
A full week in London, lucky you! Get out and explore, and away from just the must-do tourist hotspots.
If you’re a beer lover, on Saturday make your way down the Bermondsey Beer Mile - now with six of London’s best micro breweries, where you can while the day away sitting outside and sampling all the brews.
If the weather’s good get to the park for a picnic - Hyde Park for boating, Regent’s Park with the zoo, further out west to see the nature and deer in Bushy or Richmond Park, or head up to Hampstead Heath for celeb spotting, views of the city and a nice pub lunch (try The Bull & Last).
Shopaholics can choose from super-posh Knightsbridge with Harrods, the huge high street shops and department stores of Oxford Street or the Westfield shopping malls in Stratford or Kensington.
If you’re in the capital for a whole week, make the effort to get out to Neasden Temple, one of the largest Hindu temples outside India.
AND IN TOWN THIS WEEK
- MERGE Bankside, until 4th June
Art, music and performance events in various places and venues across Bankside.
- RHS Chelsea Flower Show, 23rd-27th May
The world’s most prestigious flower show, showcasing the best in garden design.
- FA Cup Final, 27th May
Arsenal V Chelsea, kick off 5.30pm.
THE ‘LONDONER’
How the locals do it...
Who: Hilbre, 28.
Lives: Kennington.
Works: Media, West End.
How do you spend your commute: Sometimes I walk but mostly I get the tube.
Coffee: A soy latte or black filter coffee from the Costa below work or the work canteen - anything close to the office #lazy. I’m not a coffee snob but I used to live in Bermondsey and the Watch House on the corner by Bermondsey Square is cool.
After work drinks: Gordon’s Wine Bar, Wine in Soho or a local pub in Kennington (either The Dog House, White Bear, Prince Albert or Grand Union)
A seriously special dinner: Chiltern Firehouse or The Ned (only been once!) or Hakkasan.
Let your hair down: At a gig at the O2 Academy Brixton - I last saw the XX there which was awesome and hoping to see Solomun there in June.
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