"Tvor Loves London" a London Travel Page by tvor

I really love things British, especially history, and London is the nerve center of British History. Things that happened in London had an effect across the island. London is more than England, it's a living, breathing, independent city-state. Between 1993 and 2008, i have visited London 10 times, and always it was never enough time. Most of the visits only lasted from one to three days but a couple were a week long. I will never "know" London, but i will return many times and each time i try to visit something new and revisit areas i enjoy.

This London page will reflect some of my experiences, things i've discovered, things i've liked or disliked. I have a website for travelogues with far more detail than what will be here. My travelogues for London will probably just have exerpts since my full travelogues are on my website. That's at My Travelogue site and i have a lot of UK related links at My UK Links

London is big and noisy and crowded. The transportation system works fairly well, though often, underground delays can be frustrating and the trains over crowded and hot. There are far too many stairs for my liking but that's the way it goes. It's expensive, but there are lots of cheap or free things to do now that the major museums only charge for special exhibits. You can get travel cards and museum passes as well to offset the costs. There are always inexpensive places to eat; market stalls, pubs, buffet restaurants and you can always buy premade meals and sandwiches at cafes, corner shops, supermarkets (think Tesco Metro), Marks and Spencers or places like Boots the chemist and take it to a park bench and have a picnic!

In March 2008, I'm spent Easter week in London with my mother. We saw Phantom of the Opera and Lion King, we shopped, we took a couple of day trips, visited St. Paul's Cathedral and Kensington Palace and froze our buns! It was a chilly, damp week in London that week! If you include one night stays, this was my 10th visit to London.

Some of the big name tourist attractions that i really enjoyed (in no particular order) and felt were worth the price of admission where there was one are:

Tower of London
British Museum *free
National Gallery *free
National Portrait Gallery *free
Hampton Court
Windsor Castle
Westminster Abbey
London Eye
St. Paul's Cathedral
Victoria and Albert *free
Natural History and Science Museum *free

Some museums and galleries you may pay extra for special exhibitions.

Some interesting places that are not usually on the top of peoples' lists include:
Shakespeare's Globe and theatre museum
Kensington Palace
Museum of London *free
Wallace Collection *free
Sir John Soane's museum *free
Royal Academy of Art *free for regular exhibits
Westminster Cathedral *free, small charge for lift to bell tower

Oxford Street might be thought of as the "nirvana" of shopping but don't forget the Kings Road area in Chelsea, Piccadilly, Bond Street, Regent Street. Funkier and more independent shops can be found in Camden, Notting Hill and Covent Garden and along the South Bank of the Thames (Hays Galleria, Gabriel's Wharf).

I would recommend taking one of the many walking tours from London Walks and also i would recommend simply walking on your own or with a small guidebook. There are lots of little corners and neighbourhoods, hidden churches and interesting shops you might only discover on foot.

Also recommended for first time London visitors would be one of the open top hop on -hop off bus tours, although they are a little expensive. You can use the ticket for 24 hours (48 in winter) and it's great to use as transportation if you're going to stop off and see some of the major attractions. Some tours have taped commentary(Big Bus blue route and Original London tours, all routes) and some have guides (Big Bus red route). Most of them also allow you a free one-way cruise on the Thames between Westminster and the Tower of London. There are two or three companies and they're all similar in price and quality.

I love London for the history, for the architecture both new and old, for all it's hidden nooks and crannies, for the shopping, for the entertainment and the wide variety of choices available for food and theatre.

In London you have endless things to do and see and then, you can just *be*.

And I'm not finished with it yet!