London Things to Do Tips by MichaelFalk1969

Kensal Green Cemetery - u/c Cemeteries Review

Address: Various

Traitor´s Gate Tower of London Review

This gate of the Tower of London is on the water level, so prisoners could only be brought inside the fortress by boat. Through the traitor`s gate mainly "political prisoners" entered the Tower, like Anne Boleyn or Sir Thomas More.

Address: Tower Hill, EC3

Directions: Tower Hill tube

Phone: 0 20 7709 0765

The Palace of Henry VIII Hampton Court Review

In Richmond, close to London, you will find the former residence of Tudor King Henry the VIII., an impressive red brick palace with magnificent interior, extensive gardens and a maze.

The maze is actually rather simple to master, if you always stay with the hedge on your right hand side (even if you happen to go into a dead end).

It is said that Hampton Court is a haunted place ... but then, do you know any English, Scottish, Welsh or Irish castle that is not haunted?

Address: East Molesey, KT8 9AU

Directions: Network Rail from Waterloo to Hampton Court

Phone: 0 20 8781 9500

Norman fortress & Tudor prison Tower of London Review

The Norman castle and Tudor prison with a long and interesting history.. Even if it is always crowded, you just have to see it when in London. The tour guides are good nonetheless and make the visit fun. "We`re not on holiday" one used to comment as he was rushing his tour group through his Tower tour!

Address: Tower Hill, EC3

Directions: Tower Hill tube

Phone: 0 20 7709 0765

The most haunted house in London Soho and the West End Review

Berkeley Square 50 -5 minutes north from tube "Green Park"- is or was supposedly the most haunted house in London. It is said that a girl who wanted to escape her abusive stepfather killed herself here. Since then, ghostly apparitions are documented, including two sailors who tried to stay there and ran panicking out of the house somewhere in the middle of the night.

Nowadays the house seems to be quiet according to the current inhabitant (an antiquary book trader). Or so they say ...

Address: Berkeley Square 50

Harry Potter`s London (V): Platform 9 3/4 Kings Cross / St. Pancras Review

In the Harry Potter books, the passengers of Hogwarts Express enter the platform 9 3/4 by running their trolley through a brick column in the middle of a train station platform. The good people of Kings Cross Station in London have placed a "Platform 9 3/4" sign to the left of platform 8 (!) with a trolley half sunk into the bricks. A very popular spot to take a photo of you and your owl on the way to Hogwarts Express ! I guess the actual filming was done between platform 3 and 4 in Kings Cross.

Address: Kings Cross Station

Directions: Kings Cross Station

Harry Potter`s London (II): Leadenhall Market Literary London Review

In the first Harry Potter movie "HP and the Philosopher´s stone", Hagrid takes Harry to London in order to buy some magical equipment in Diagon Alley, the wizard shopping street. Hagrid and Harry are shown walking through Leadenhall Market, a covered market gallery before entering the "Leaky Cauldron" The location that represented the entrance to the "Cauldron" is also situated there (see next tip).

Address: Leadenhall Market

Directions: Leadenhall Market

Harry Potter`s London (I): Reptile House/Zoo Literary London Review

In the first Harry Potter movie "Harry Potter and the Philosopher`s stone" Harry does first-time magic in the Reptile House of the London Zoo, when he frees a Burmese Python and traps his Dursley cousin within the abandoned cage. A plaque at the filming location reminds of the film, it is right after the main entrance. The inhabitant of the cage is no longer a Burmese Python but a highly poisonous Black Mamba.

Harry Potter`s London (III): The Leaky Cauldron Literary London Review

The entrance to the "Leaky Cauldron" (in the movie "Harry Potter and the Philosopher`s stone") is in Leadenhall Market, Bulls Head passage. At the time when the movie was filmed, the store was abandoned. Now it is used as an optician shop ("The Glass House").

Address: Leadenhall Market

Directions: Leadenhall Market

London Zoo London Zoo Review

For a city with the size of London, it has a remarkably small zoo. The zoo is not spectacular in my opinion - if you don`t have a lot of time, better skip it. There are some excellent enclosures (like the gorilla jungle, the rain forest enclosure, the butterfly house and the Snowdon aviary) and others that are in need of renovation. A scene of the movie "Harry Potter and the Philosopher`s stone" was filmed in the Reptile House of London Zoo.

The zoo is located in the northwest of Regents Park - basically you leave the tube, walk 15 minutes on the "Broad Walk" through Regent`s Park and turn left when leaving the park. It is a looooooooong walk, by the way.

Address: Regents Park, NW1

Directions: Camden Town or Regents Park tubes, then a longish walk

Phone: 0 20 7722 3333

Website: http://www.londonzoo.org/