London
My bestfriend and I spent 5 days exploring London before heading off to Amsterdam. Read on to find great recommendations for shopping, afternoon teas, sight seeing, foods, and markets.
Day 1
We flew into the Heathrow airport and took an uber ($70) to our hotel, we stayed at the Thistle hotel on Park Lane. It was spacious, clean, modern, good price, and a great location. I highly recommend staying here. We freshened up in the hotel bathroom since our room wasn’t ready yet and went to grab brunch at Secret Garden, just a few minutes walk away. After brunch our room was ready so we relaxed before heading back out.
During the time we went April 16th - 20th, the wisteria was blooming in London and there’s a gorgeous white house that was covered in wisteria. We took the tube nearby and walked a few minutes to the house, by Holland Park. There was a few other people taking pictures but it was so stunning! You’ll get great photos, definitely recommend coming here if you’re in London during this time.
After we went to our dinner reservations at Jacuzzi, about a 10 minute walk away from the wisteria house. Jacuzzi was delicious and the decor was beautiful. We ordered the truffle pasta and it was the best truffle pasta I’ve ever had, but it is very cheesy, it may cause stomach problems, it did for my friend lol. Worth it in my opinion! Highly recommend coming here.
We went to Kensington Palace afterward which was a 10 minute walk from Jacuzzi, we walked around the park, saw the gorgeous palace, and then took the tube back to the hotel. It was nice because all of this was in walking distance. Also, for the tube, all you need to do is tap your credit card, no need to buy a ticket or buy a certain card. Every ride was usually a couple dollars.
Day 2
We had breakfast at EL&N Park Lane, there’s a few different locations across town so make sure you do your research on which one you want to visit. Most are really cute, we just chose this one because it made the most sense logistically for us. I was actually surprised at how good this place was. Sometimes if you go to touristy, really cute places the food isn’t as good but this really wasn’t my experience so much in London. I got the french toast and it was delicious. Highly recommend. Perfect girly place to have good food and get iconic pictures.
Buckingham Palace has changing of the guards Monday, Wednesday, and Friday I believe at 10:45am. So we walked less than 15 minutes to catch the changing of the guards (free) but it was pretty packed. We got here right at 10:45am which was our mistake, I recommend coming 15-30 minutes before to get up close to the gates. We were still able to see slightly but would have had a better experience if we were closer. It lasted about 45 minutes, we waited for some people to clear out so we could get photos but a little hard to do.
Then we took the tube to Harrods. Harrods is the high-end fashion mall with all the fancy brands, very expensive. They had everything from clothes, shoes, accessories, and home goods. I did splurge a bit and bought a tea set which was absolutely adorable, but it was something I was planning on buying while here.
After shopping, we walked less than 15 minutes to our afternoon tea reservations at Lanesborough. The afternoon tea was a Queen Charlotte theme, the space was very beautiful and elegant. The tea was great and the sandwiches and deserts were good. It cost us $115 dollars per person and they will serve you endless sandwiches and tea. It was a great experience but seemed a little pricey.
We came back to our hotel by bus and relaxed before heading out to our dinner reservations at Geode’s. The space was stunning and high class. One thing we didn’t know is they did have a spending minimum of 50 pounds per person, so note that if you do decide to come here. Overall the food was pretty good, I don’t think I’d come back here though for what we got for food and the price. In my opinion it’s not really worth the price.
Day 3
Peggy Porschen was on my 2023 vision board before I even knew I was going to London, I just loved the way it looks, I’m a pink girly if you can’t tell by my page lol. So this spot was a must go to for me and I’m sure it won’t disappoint you. When we got there they were painting the wall for a new flower arrangement the following day but thankfully we were still able to get some good pics. I got a rose latte and french toast, both very delicious. I highly recommend coming here!
The area is very nice around here and there’s lots of shops, all pretty expensive though. We took the bus up to Notting Hill and went to the Portobello market. They had lots of shops set up from clothes, jewelry, art, they really have it all as well as some vintage stores. Notting Hill is also the place where they have the colorful houses, great photo ops. We spent a few hours roaming around and shopping. We got fish and chips and the Duke of Wellington, very good. And then we headed back to our hotel.
We changed and went back out to do some site seeing, we went to London Eye and Big Ben and got great photos. If you get off the tube near the London Eye and walk to the left towards the bridge that takes you to Big Ben, then cross the bridge and turn right, walk a few minutes down and you can get iconic pics of both sites like these pictures.
We spent about an hour walking around and scouting out different picture spots then we took the tube to Circolo Populare. Another fantastic Italian restaurant with the same parent company as Jacuzzi. The interior was just as fabulous and the food was delicious. I got the crab linguine and it was amazing, also a must order is the tiramisu. I highly recommend, also make sure you get reservations in advance, these places, especially Circolo Populare book up quickly.
Day 4
We had breakfast at the Watchouse and then headed to Bond Street, walked around, did some shopping, and then went to our afternoon tea reservations at Sketch. Sketch is a very popular place to have afternoon tea. The atmosphere is very exotic, cool, unique. And their bathrooms are probably what they are most famous for. I’ll show you pictures below. Our experience here was overall very good. Most of the sandwiches were very good, especially the lobster roll, that was amazing. Deserts were decent, and of course the tea was good. You get endless tea and can keep ordering more sandwiches. It was about $120 per person, very pricey but it was worth it.
After Sketch we did more shopping on Oxford street and headed to Liberty which is a mall that has clothes, shoes, and home decor. Not as expensive as Harrods but still pricey. I really loved the architecture throughout this building.
We then headed back to our hotel to relax before heading to Covent Garden. When you go on very busy trips like these it’s essential to get at least 30 minutes of rest back at the hotel, or else you get burnt out really quick. Covent Garden is also a very popular place to go to in London. It’s very cute, hip, has lots of shops, vintage shops, restaurants, bars, and also has Seven Dials Market which is a bunch of different foods. We did not eat here but I’ve heard a lot of good things about it.
I stopped at Dean Street House to have a glass of wine before our dinner reservations, this was recommended to us by a local, the interior is very cozy but we had to sit outside since we didn’t have reservations. However I didn’t mind since it was just a last minute decision, but this could be a cute place for you to go to in London. Check out their space online.
We had the best dinner at Shack Fuyu. I found this place by a couple on youtube I follow, Juan and Rhylan. It’s a Japanese Restaurant in Soho and it was one of the best meals on this trip I had. You have to get the Korean fried wings and pork buns, I couldn’t recommend this place more. I loved it. All of what we did today was in walking distance within each other. The only time we needed the tube was to go back to our hotel and back to covent garden.
Day 5
My friend and I went our separate ways for the first half of today. She went to Camden market, a great market to check out if you have time, but I was pooped on shopping so I decided to go to the Natural History Museum. I took the bus to South Kensington and got breakfast at Gail’s, which was pretty good! I just got a croissant and coffee. Next door to Gail’s there’s a bakery that has croissants that are bigger than your head, so definitely stop by here if you want a picture with those croissants.
I walked a few minutes over to the museum, waited in line (about 15 minutes), this museum is free but if you want to skip the line you can pay but in my opinion, not worth it, the line moves fast. The Natural History Museum was awesome, you’ll see all different animals, dinosaurs, gems, minerals, etc. I spent about an hour roaming around. This is a great thing to do especially since it’s free. If you have enough time, head over to V&A, another free museum nearby.
If you are a Parent Trap movie lover like me, you have to see the Parent Trap House. After the museum, I walked about 10 minutes to where the house is. The area is also super beautiful. The house number is 23 Egerton Terrace, Knightsbridge, SW3. After checking this out, I took the tube all the way to Tower Bridge “London Bridge”. It was at least a 30 minute ride. This is where my friend and I were meeting up.
Over here you’ll find the Tower of London, a beautiful castle, which unfortunately I don’t know the history of but you can schedule a tour and walk the castle walls. I waited for my friend at a cafe nearby and then we took pictures in front of the bridge, if you go at the front of the Tower of London you’ll have great views of the bridge. After, we walked about 20 minutes to our late lunch reservations at Sky Garden.
Sky Garden has fabulous views of the whole city of London. You can get in for free but you have to get a ticket in advance, the tickets release every Monday for 3 weeks in advance you are trying to book for. This is info I missed before the trip so don’t make this mistake! However if you can’t get tickets, you can book a reservation at one of their restaurants and get access to the Sky Garden, which is what we did. We ate at Darwin Brasserie, they only offered course like reservations, so we paid almost 60 pounds for a 3 course meal, and the food was actually very good. So in my opinion it’s worth it, and after eating you can check out the gardens. Now we did pay an extra $15 each to get a table next to the window, and this in my opinion, is not worth it. Just get a normal table and take in your views and pics after.
I then headed back to our hotel, relaxed, and then we met one of my roommates from college for dinner at Rita’s in Soho, she moved here for work about a year ago. The dinner was good, it’s a tapas style restaurant, so we shared a handful of different plates and wine. This is a very chill and small restaurant. It was a great night and a great way to end our trip in London.
Summary
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Summary ~
London was awesome. If you enjoy big cities, I think you’ll like it. The people were kind, it was quite clean, lots to do, great food, and a big plus for me, English speaking city. It was very easy to navigate around the city as well. It was pretty pricey though, probably the only con I have, but it’s common among all cities to be expensive.
5 days was the perfect time too, any more and I would have been exhausted. However you can’t expect to tackle all of London in 5 days. The city is so big it’s just impossible to do everything, but very possible to experience a lot of the city and different neighborhoods. London will definitely be a place I come back to multiple times.
If you’re traveling to London for the first time especially, you have to experience an afternoon tea. They can be very pricey though. We went to two, and one was $115 per person and the other $120. It’s very expensive, maybe make room for one expensive one and one cheaper one, like Secret Garden, I believe this one is around 35 pounds.
If you check out a few markets like Portobello market and Camden market, eat at great places like Jacuzzi, Shack Fuyu, and Circolo Populare, experience an afternoon tea, shop on Oxford and Bond street or at Harrods or Liberty, check out the Buckingham Palace, Big Ben, London Eye, Tower Bridge, and wonder around a few cute neighborhoods like Covent Garden, Cheslea, and Kensington, you will experience a ton of London and have the best time!