A Weekend in London
London is a great city, there are so many things to do and see, my to do list is forever growing and I have now lived here for 5 years!
Here is a great way to spend your weekend in London!
If you are arriving to London from an airport, look here for tips on getting to the city
Day 1 – Trip to Greenwich via the Thames Clipper/Uber Boat
This is a must do, we take all our out of town friends on this trip.
Start from the Waterloo or Westminster pier, you can get there by getting to Waterloo station (train) or Westminster (tube – circle, district and jubilee lines). This is a 40min ride through the heart of London! You will see Big Ben, the London Eye, St Pauls, Tower of London, then the business districts of, the City of London and Canary Wharf. Try guessing all the names of all the buildings, the Cheese grater always makes me laugh.
When you arrive in Greenwich you have many options to explore, you will pass the Cutty Sark first, then making your way into the town you can find food at a pub, or get a high tea. Then there is the university with well presented grounds. Then you have to walk up to the Prime Meridian, this is the spot that sets the earths western and eastern hemispheres, you know when you see GMT in the time, this is the place, Greenwich Mean Time!
The added bonus of this walk is the view, you get to see the whole city from up here, you can explore the park more and if you are lucky you can even see some deer, who would have thought London has deer!
As you depart Greenwich make sure you wander around the market, you can take the clipper back or get on the DLR, if you get to the front of the train this can be a cool experience where you feel like the driver as you make your way through Canary Wharf.
Day 2 – Exploring the City
Today you want to get your feet on the ground and look around the centre of the city.
You want to make your way to Victoria (tube and train), from Victoria you can walk up to Buckingham (11min walk), time this so you can see the Changing of the Guard (they are normally around 11am), this is a must see and bonus – it’s free!
After Buckingham Palace you want to walk towards the river, go either down the mall of through St James park (if you cut through the park you will have a shorted walk), making your way to Parliament Square (15min walk), this is where you can see Westminster Abbey, Big Ben and the Palace of Westminster. You can spot a few red telephone boxes for ‘that Instagram shot’ in this location too.
Next you need to grab some lunch, head over the river to Southbank where there are many food trucks and restaurants to grab a bite (16min walk).
After lunch you want to head back to the north side of the river, cross the bridge and head up to Trafalgar Square (14min walk). If you are visiting at Christmas time, there is a pretty Christmas market located here. You can keep making your way north and find a show to watch, this is something we do most weekends, there are always so many shows in London.
After your show grab dinner within China Town and get lost within the lantern decorated streets
Over things you could also do,
- Little Venice, a canal full of canal boats not far from Paddington you can walk to the Portobello Road Market afterwards, a street lined with Market stalls to die for
- St Pauls Cathedral, see the beautiful Paul, if you can do the tour too, then head across the river to the Tate Modern.
- Tower of London, plus walk over the Tower bridge, afterwards have lunch st Katherines dock
- Look at the Camden Market, you can be lost for hours here, plus there are always many good food options. If you want to get a view of the city it is not far to Primrose Hill.
- A walking tour will give you more details on the city, look at this post about walking tours
- Want to get out of London – check out this post
