3 Days In London: What to Do, See, & Eat
Thursday, July 23, 2020
I had always dreampt of visiting England, and specifically visiting London and it did not disappoint (read my post "Love Letter to London"). While our time in London was short, we did manage to see a lot of places and get a good taste of all that London has to offer the "anglophile" traveler.
Day 1:
Day 1 in London consisted of us taking a bus from Oxford to London. The bust ride was about and 1.5 hours....but it was the worst 1.5 hours of my life because I very unluckily was nauseous the entire time (not a fun way to start off a day of travel).
We had tickets to Kensington Palace that we had bought the night before, so we had a specific time slot for entrance. Because we had luggage with us and were not checking into our air bnb until later in the day, we used "Nanny Bag" to store our luggage. I had previously used "Nanny Bag" when I was in Paris, but in London we had some issues finding the location, but were thankfully able to find another place around the corner, just in time to get to Kensington.
It also happened to be a very rainy day in London, which kind of put a damper in our plans to explore Hyde Park more in depth. However, we were able to walk to Kensington in plenty of time, grab Lattes and Scones to recharge (we seriously lived on lattes and scones in England) before we started exploring Kensington.
Kensington Palace: This was definitely high up on my list of places to visit because I ADORE Queen Victoria (I was kind of obsessed with her in high school), so seeing where she grew up was pretty amazing, not to mention that many other royals have lived there throughout the years.
Tea At The Palace - There is a lovely tea room at Kensington that we were planning to have lunch at, but they were closing early for a private event, so sadly we didn't get to have tea. Since we were famished and didn't get to have tea, we stopped off at Pret a Manger a block or so from Kensinton to grab sandwiches before we picked up our luggage.
Transportation - After we picked up our luggage we opted to take an Uber to our air bnb instead of maneuvering the trains with suitcases.
Groceries - after we checked into our Airbnb (see my post: How to Book an Airbnb) we walked to the Sainsbury grocery store a block from our apartment to grab food for meals. I made sure to book an Airbnb with a kitchen so we could save money by cooking a few meals. Sainsbury's is my favorite grocery store in the UK....if you are ever there you have to get their mini boxed chocolate cake...seriously sooooo good (checkout my Travel Vlog to see what I am talking about)
Would have Added - British museum
Day 2:
Our second day in London was definitely packed! We had a good idea of the places we wanted to visit on day two, but we figured out our official schedule and plan the night before.
Tower of London - An iconically historic tourist destination, but a foundation to British history nonetheless. The Tower of London is an incredible place to visit because it holds so many unique stories about British history, royal espionage, famous prisoners, etc. The crown jewels are also housed at the Tower.
Tower Bridge - Just across from the Tower of London is the Tower Bridge (often mistaken as the London Bridge)....this is the bridge that everyone takes pictures on (#instagram spot). There are walkways on either side of the bridge so you can walk across to get a view of the city as well as snap a few pictures.
Sky Garden (tickets online) - This was a cool place we found when researching places to visit in London. Sky Garden is essentially an indoor garden at the top of a sky scraper, there are tons of plants along with multiple bars and a restaurant. It is a great place to take pictures and also to get a view of the city. Sky Garden is free to visit, but you do have to sign up for a ticket slot online.
Covent Garden - An iconic shopping destination, Covent Garden is fun to wander around. This is where you will find street vendors, pastry shops, along with all of your designer store fronts....this is where you want to shop (or window shop)
London Eye viewing - If you want to get a good view of the London Eye, it is just a short walk from Covent Garden. The London eye is actually across the water from where we viewed it, but it was a great spot to take pictures of it along the river. You can book tickets to ride on the London Eye and get a view of the city, but the tickets are expensive and I have always heard that it is overrated.
Day 3:
This was our last day in London and we wanted to fit as much in as possible! Day 3 was definitely heavily focused on food and cool cafes/bakeries. Additionally, we spent a lot of time on the underground going back and forth around the city. London't underground is a great transportation system and something that we LOVED about it (compared to places like NY) is that once you hit $7 of fair you get to ride free for the rest of the day, so we definitely took advantage of this our last day!
Victoria and Albert Museum - Fun fact...all the museums in London are FREE!! Some of the museums have specific exhibits that you have to pay for, and many of them have a place for donations, but you don't have to pay an entry fee. The V&A museum is the world largest museum of applied and decorative arts and design, while also having sculptures and many unique objects on display (they even have Beatrix Potter illustrations). They also have a wonderful permanent fashion exhibit that goes through styles throughout history and I really enjoyed it.
Buckingham Palace - Buckingham Palace is one of the places you absolutely HAVE TO VISIT while in London! We quickly stopped by the palace to peak through the gates and get a few pictures before heading to our next stop. We didn't go at a time where there was a changing of the guards, so if you want to see that you would have to look up the times that happens.
Sketch / Egg Pods - One of the most #instagrammed spots in London (in my opinion)!! Sketch is a multifaceted restaurant with different types of dining including a bar/lounge, tearoom, and dinning room....however, it is well known for it's famous bathrooms known as the "Egg Pods" because they are quite literally eggs that have toilets.
We mainly went to Sketch because we wanted to see the bathrooms and take pictures of them, but you have to dine at one of their restaurants to gain access....we didn't really have a plan for how to get in (surprisingly) because we didn't want to pay 50 pounds per person at the Gallery (the pink tearoom) so we basically just told the hostess at the door that we wanted to take pictures in the bathroom (he wasn't even fazed) and he told us that we had to dine in to do that...all the dinning rooms require reservations (which we didn't have) but thankfully he was super kind and gave us a table in the lounge/bar where we ordered tea and juice (and were hard core judged)
Peggy Porchen - This is another one of the very Instagram worthy spots in London! It's a bit of a walk to get there at the closest underground station is a good five or so blocks away, but it's definitely worth it! Peggy Porchen is known for their baked goods, pastel colors, and season door decorations (which everyone takes pictures in front of). You will probably have to wait in line to order, but they do have seating outside.
Westminister Abbey / Parliament Buildings - You can't be in London and not make a stop to see Westminister Abbey and the Parliament Buildings (whose architecture is so beautiful). This is also where Big Ben (the iconic clock tower is), but it was sadly under construction and covered in scaffolding.
Would have added - Harry Potter Platform
I can't wait until I get to be in London again! There is definitely so much to see and do, everything from British History to Instagrammable Places. I was actually supposed to be in London for two days this summer back in June, but sadly that trip had to be rescheduled to next summer in 2021 (fingers crossed it works out).
If you haven't seen my England travel vlog, you can check it out on YouTube and see everything we did in Oxford and London!
Have you been to London? What was your favorite place to see?
- Madison
