London

London is one of my absolute favorite cities. We go to England every year so I am always learning new things about this wonderful city.


LENGTH OF STAY: London is a big city and has a bunch of other cool towns near by. Minimum of 3 days but you could spend up to a week (or more) in London and the surrounding areas.

ACCOMMODATION: London is full of hotels and hostels. The best I have found is St. Giles  It has a perfect location and many rooms have three single beds, perfect for traveling with friends. Another option is to stay a little ways out from the city. A much cheaper option if you are looking to save some money. I once stayed at the Palmers Lodge in Willesden Green. A little walk from the tube station but a very safe walk (I walked it alone at night and felt save). Another, more expensive option is DoubleTree- Chelsea, London. This hotel is nice because it was the only hotel we could find in London that offered two queen beds, rather than one queen bed or a couple of singles. It is a little farther out of the city than some other options but relatively easy to access when the DLR is running. Novotel Brentford is also an good option. When booking any accommodation remember to use hotels.com  or a hostel booking website to create your booking. This option offers great rewards and discounts. 

Ice Skating at Somerset House 

FOOD: Although some people make fun of the English for having bad food, I personally love the food in England. No trip is complete without ordering Fish and Chips or a Sunday Roast (Yorkshire Puddings included). Pretty much any London Pub will have these options as well as Hard Cider on tap (my favorite is Strong Bow). Also, no trip to the UK is complete without a trip to Nando's.  If you are looking for an option that is a more familiar cuisine visit any Pizza Express (equivalent to California Pizza Kitchen) or Ping Pong Dim Sum . There are also 3 Chipotle locations in London and 3 Five Guys Burger locations. PLANNING: The best way I have found to plan a trip is to use google maps. Search for all the attractions you want to visit and click the star that says 'save.'  Then you can view your map and visit all the stars that are close by at the same time. This prevents you from going back and forth and all around the city wasting precious travel time. If you are ready to go really hard in London, a great option is the London Pass. I would recommend making a list of the things you want to see and then compare it to the offers included on the London Pass. 

TRANSPORTATION: The best option for transportation (and arguably the only viable option) when visiting London is the famous Tube. The tube is relatively easy to navigate. Buying an oyster card is an effective way to pay for your fares. The card costs £3 in advance or £5 at a kiosk. You can load it with money in advance and use it to cover your fares on the tube, Docklands Light Rail (DLR) or overground and buses. You can trade your card back in at the end of you trip for a refund of the £5 deposit. Another benefit of the card is that it maxes you out after a certain amount of journeys per day and ends up being cheaper than the travel card tickets. Make sure to download the Tube App. You can click these links to access it from google play or the app store. This app is great because you can put in your starting station and your destination and it will give you the best route there. It also will work offline so no worries if you don't have mobile data while you are abroad. Another option if you want the tourist feel is a hop on hop off bus tour. I like Big Bus. These tours are nice because you get history and information about the city while you are riding. You also get a better understanding of the city then if you were underground. With your ticket you get walking tours and a river boat ride. 

CURRENCY:  The United Kingdom uses the British Pound. See exchange rates here. The UK uses a chip and pin system so make sure you either have cash or a credit card with a chip on the front. ATMs will still allow you to swipe your card but will often charge a fee. You are best off withdrawing a large sum of money so that you pay the fee less often. 

SITE SEEING: London has a bunch of amazing sites for you to visit. Below there is a short list of the obvious choices and a few less known spots. They are grouped together by tube station so that you don't have to run all around the city from spot to spot.
Westminster Abbey Area: Get off the tube at Westminster Abbey. There will be signs all around the station for Buckingham Palace. You can easily hit Buckingham Palace, Westminster Abbey, and Big Ben in a few hours.You can also get off the tube at St. James Park if you want to avoid tourist foot traffic. If you have the time I recommend the Parliament Tour. You can walk over the Westminster Bridge to visit Waterloo and the London Eye. You can also visit Tower of London which includes the crown jewels. This is an expensive tourist attraction but worth the money to do it once. 
Regent Street/Oxford Street: This is the area of London with all the upper end shopping. Department stores, Hamley's (the MASSIVE toy store) and many other small shops.
Leicester Square: One of my favorite areas in London is Leicester Square. Leicester Square is a spot to get your tourist shopping done. You can also visit China Town, and M&Ms World. This is also the best place to buy cheap theatre tickets. Everyone who visits London should absolutely see a show on the West End. Wicked is an obviously amazing choice (I have seen it three times). I would also recommend the Lion King, Mamma Mia or Spamalot. You can also order theatre tickets online with a dinner option included http://www.lovetheatre.com/feature/theatre-packages. 
Covent Garden: Covent Garden is a wonderful area for shopping, eating and viewing street performers. It is close to many of the West End theaters and is a nice option for dining before a show (reservations recommended).

Kensington: One of my favorite areas of London is South Kensington. A great option is to get off the tube at High Street Kensington. Visit the shops on the street, grab a coffee etc. Then walk to Kensington Palace, and make your way through the park to visit the Peter Pan Statue. You can walk back to the tube station you came from or head to Lancaster Gate.British Museum- Goodge Street, Holborn, Tottenham Court Road and Russell Square.Natural History Museum- South Kensington or Gloucester RoadNational Gallery- Charing Cross or Leicester Square.Imperial War Museum- Elephant & Castle or Lambeth North
Museums: There are loads of museum options in London and most of them are FREE! YAY! Below is a list of museums and their closest tube stations.
Harry Potter Attractions: See post dedicated to Harry Potter attractions here.
Hampton Court If you are looking for a dose of history a little ways out from the city check out Hampton Court Palace. They have a great audio tour with an interactive tablet option for children. They also have a beautiful garden area if you wanted to take a picnic. 

PENNY MACHINES: There are loads of penny machines in London, one even right in the lobby of the London Eye. Here is a list of all the machines in England.