Tourist Things In London

What the guide books don't tell you a local view

What should you do when you go to London?

Well let's be honest - there are hundreds of books out there so why an article? Well if you read these books you soon realise they are not written by locals and so can miss out lots of interesting things to do.

Sure there are the standard things which are outlined briefly below, but what about the other interesting places that these sort of guide books miss?

Tower Bridge / Tower of London

A classic and iconic location.

Parliament and Big Ben

Well worth the visit

The London Eye

Get there early on a sunny day to avoid massive queues; if the weather is bad or cloudy come back another day as it's not worth it if you don't get a great view.

But where else should you go?

Well for sure you should go around london aquarium if you are at all into fishy things. Madame Tussauds is over-rated unless you really like wax and you are going to have a long old wait.

Much better instead to go somewhere like the Monument, particularly if you want a really good view of London - there is a great view from the top of it and not that many people bother going up it.

As for Canary Wharf, well it is OK, but best seen from the river. Did I hear someone mention river? Yes, go on a boat tour of the river, it is a really good way to see the city and enjoyable too, so definitely worth taking a boat and seeing where everything is, also a good way to get a view of Canary Wharf too.

Do consider going to Greenwich, it is interesting and a fun place to go to, so add it into your trup.

What above Covent Garden and Leicester Square? It is definitely worth taking in a West End show and going around these areas for sure, there is lots of interesting stuff to do.

As for a nice walk, walk along the South Bank - it's really nice, and you can keep on walking up and up.

If you like museums and galleries, well there are loads for you to visit so you won't get bored of things to do in London! Shopping is covered in the classic areas, and if you want to check our Harrods or Hamleys they are all fairly central.

The top tip is to use a map to navigate and not just the Tube, this way you will learn how it all relates and come across all the gems and interesting bars and cafes in the side streets that are simply not there in the guide books and start to discover the real London.

Author: Stephen

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Last Updated: Feb 8th 2008

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