London Travel Guide

SUMMARY

RESTAURANTS

Sketch

The Square Pig

The Old Swan

Pataka

SIGHTS/PLACES

St. James’s Palace

St. James’s Park

Big Ben

Westminster Abbey

Buckingham Palace

Hyde Park

Kensington Palace

Embassy Row

Notting Hill

Elgin Crescent

The Battle of Britain Memorial

Sir Winston Churchill Statue

Westminster Chapel

King’s Cross

ACTIVITIES

London Eye

Tower of London

BARS/CLUBS/PUBS

PS Tattershall Castle

Ministry of Sound

Churchill Arms

Keepers Lounge Bar and Kitchen

COFFEES/SNACKS

Starbucks

Pret A Manger

HOSTEL

The Generator 

COMMENTS

RESTAURANTS

Sketch

·      Iconic London spot, you’ve probably seen it on Instagram hahaha

·      The interior is SO SO beautiful; wonderfully decorated

o   (also the bathroom is very cool)

·      Very expensive, but you’re kind of paying for the atmosphere, which is so worth it

·      Worth it for a splurge meal; the food actually is amazing and the service is incredible

·      We split a bottle of champagne, it was delicious

·      They brought us cute little appetizers that were super good, and bread; the butter that they brough with the bread was the best butter I have ever had

·      I got the summer salad, not amazing but still pretty good, I honestly think I didn’t mix it around enough

·      I also got the truffle gnocchi and oh my god, one of the best things I’ve eaten abroad

·      Dress: I wore (non-ripped) jeans, a nice blouse, a belt, and my black booties and felt appropriately dressed

The Square Pig

·      LOVED the food here

·      Would define this as a nicer bar + a restaurant

·      Could just do drinks but the menu is great

·      I got my first fish and chips ever here and it was DELICIOUS

o   I don’t even really like white fish BUT it was incredible here

·      Drinks aren’t too expensive

·      Younger vibe, like people around our age to probably 30-35

The Old Swan

·      Great lunch place in Notting Hill

·      You order on your phone when you’re seated in the restaurant so it’s pretty quick

·      Pretty typical bar food but up a notch

·      I got the blackcurrant soda and would definitely recommend, it was so good and is a typical flavor in the UK

·      I got some chicken ranch burger I think..? it was SO NICE to have ranch and it was very good

Pataka

·      GREAT Indian place, we loved it

·      The inside is perfect, SO cute and well-decorated

·      The food is upscale Indian I’d say; website says “modern and updated Indian”

·      I got butter chicken and a garlicky bread (not naan) that I would 100% recommend

o   The cauliflower is also very good

o   We tried the street corn but it was too spicy for me HA so I gave it to everyone else

·      Not too expensive; definitely reasonable

o   Would recommend splitting a bottle of wine if you want because they’re pretty reasonably priced

SIGHTS/PLACES

St. James’s Palace

·      Just walked by, might as well if it’s on the way

·      It was on our way to Buckingham Palace

St. James’s Park

·      Omg LOVED this park, it was so pretty!

·      Even in early-mid March it was so beautiful and well-manicured

·      Absolutely would recommend walking through!

·      Very central location, we walked through several times

Big Ben

·      Obviously a must-see!

·      It admittedly is smaller in person than you’d think

·      BUT pay attention to the beautiful gold detail at the top: you NEVER see it in famous photos but it’s stunning

·      I loved Big Ben far more than I thought I would

·      Close to Westminster Abbey and London Eye, easy to hit those as well; Buckingham Palace and St. James’s Park are also close by

Westminster Abbey

·      Also a must-see!

·      The inside was closed when we went (I believe it’s only open on weekdays), so that was a bummer

·      BUT the outside was still beautiful and you can go to Big Ben at like the same time

Buckingham Palace

·      Definitely a must-see, especially if you’re obsessed with The Crown like me

·      It was so cool to actually see the place where so many important events/convos have gone on with so many important people!

·      Admittedly though besides the history factor, it was a bit underwhelming; smaller than you’d think and the outside is a bit plain

·      Walk down the road leading to the palace; I had a starstruck moment when I realized we were in THE spot of all those processions (Princess Diana’s funeral stuck in my head)

·      TIP: the changing of the guard does NOT happen on the weekends (we made this mistake haha)

Hyde Park

·      We loved walking through here! Definitely take a stroll

·      The park is HUGE

·      Just let yourself wander

·      You can walk through on your way from the sites like Westminster Abbey etc to Notting Hill, which is what we did

o   A little bit farther but super cool and you’ll see Kensington Palace on the way

Kensington Palace

·      SO cool to see given its famous residents

·      Easy to see when going from Hyde Park to Notting Hill

·      Gates are beautiful, take some time to take in the detail

Embassy Row

·      Really really beautiful street

·      We walked through here on our way from Hyde Park to Notting Hill

·      The houses are just so elegant and I loved the style and classiness of the street

Notting Hill

·      Loved this area!

·      We walked around, got lunch, and took some cute pictures

·      Absolutely would recommend a visit

·      Give yourself more time than you’d think

Elgin Crescent

·      This is the street where we took our cool Notting-Hill-colorful-building pictures

·      Very pretty!

·      Pink, blue, purple etc townhouses

The Battle of Britain Memorial

·      Right along the Thames between the London Eye and Westminster Bridge

·      Really cool to see

·      It’s a lovely small monument and the coloring of the wreaths/flowers they have there is pretty

Sir Winston Churchill Statue

·      Right by Westminster

·      Quick stop, cool to see

Westminster Chapel

·      Again, quick stop and we enjoyed seeing it

King’s Cross

·      I just took a train into here so didn’t get the full Harry Potter-esque experience but it was cool, honestly cooler from the outside!

·      Would recommend spending a bit of time because they have some Harry Potter vibe spots

ACTIVITIES

London Eye

·      Absolute MUST

·      Just a really cool view of London, and you get to see so many different areas

·      It’s a bit expensive but it’s worth it and one of those things you just gotta do in London

·      Try to go on a clear day if possible

·      BUT we did go when it was cloudy and raining a bit and it was still awesome, so don’t let that stop you

o   The sky actually started clearing during our ride so that was amazing to see with all of the sun’s rays peeking through

Tower of London

·      My favorite thing we did (mainly because you get to see the CROWN JEWELS)

·      Besides seeing the typical tourist sites, if I could only pick one thing to recommend doing, it’s this

·      I got the audioguide and would definitely recommend it; very interesting and informational and helps just really draw you into the world of the Tower

·      This is where you see the Crown Jewels but there’s so much more!

o   Plan accordingly, allow yourself a while here

BARS/CLUBS/PUBS

PS Tattershall Castle

·      This is a converted ship on the Thames that’s been turned into a bar; view of the London Eye, you’re right across from it

·      We just stopped for coffee and beer (different people got these separately, don’t worry, hahahaha)

o   I really enjoyed my cappuccino

o   Apparently the beer was good

·      Super cool to sit on the Thames; you can definitely feel the water a bit hahaha

Ministry of Sound

·      Went to this club with all the BC kids and had an awesome time

·      Would definitely recommend!

·      Buy your tickers online AHEAD OF TIME

·      Couple bar areas and a couple different rooms

·      They have food outside if you want drunk food

Churchill Arms

·      The outside of this place is SO adorable

o   Flowers everywhere

o   Good spot for pictures!

·      We didn’t actually eat or drink in here

o   Just went because it’s a place Madeleine’s dad went to a lot when he studied abroad

·      It’s a Thai restaurant and was pretty busy at lunchtime so I’m guessing it was at least decent

o   Seems a bit more upscale Thai but still bar environment

Keepers Lounge Bar and Kitchen

·      Just went here for tea but it was very good! And of course quintessentially London 

·      We went at 6 PM after Tower of London so it’s a good option if you want to go later in the day to somewhere that’s not expensive but is actually very nice

·      I’m pretty sure it was the bottom floor of a hotel

COFFEES/SNACKS

Starbucks

·      The Starbucks in London was FIRE

o   They had my ~brown sugar oat milk shaken iced espresso~ and let me tell you it was a wonderful reunion

·      Pastries were good too! I had a muffin that I loved

·      Great option if you miss home and want some more American-ized Starbucks hahaha

Pret A Manger

·      I got an iced latte (..? I think) with coconut milk and it was delicious

·      Also got a croissant and chocolate cookie and they were also delicious!

·      Would recommend for a quick coffee and pastries or small breakfast

HOSTEL

The Generator 

·      Like 5 of us BC people stayed here and it was fine

·      The bedrooms were very clean but it was definitely the most hostel experience I’ve had

·      Madeleine and I shared a double and it was good; bunk beds but they were pretty comfy and lots of space in the room

·      Bathrooms weren’t the cleanest but they were fine

o   Showers are communal by gender for the floor but have curtains obviously

o   You get a sink in your room

·      Decent location for sightseeing etc; we were still able to walk a lot!

OVERALL ADVICE

Transportation

·      We took the train into the city and it was very easy

o   Plugged it into apple maps and it was simple

o   Bought tickets there

·      They are BIG on no-contact payment

o   If you can’t do contactless payment with your card or your phone you’ll have to buy physical tickets and/or an oyster pass

o   This might make getting on the buses tricky because I didn’t see anywhere to buy physical ones

o   I bought physical tickets at first, bought an Oyster Pass (still has about 10 pounds on it if anyone wants it hahaha), and then just did Apple Pay

·      The tube is super convenient and very easy to figure out as long as you put directions in

·      Take the buses at least once! The double deckers are classic and a great way to see the city

City Itself

·      I LOVED London

o   I didn’t really think I was going to, but I absolutely loved the city

·      It’s a BIG city; be prepared to walk, go lots of places, etc

·      London is expensive so prepare yourself

o   A lot of the sightseeing things that require tickets are more expensive comparatively than all the other cities I've been to

o   BUT there are ways to find restaurants etc that aren’t horrible

·      You HAVE to get fish and chips!

Go for tea if you can!