The best places to go in London

The best places to go in London:

South Kensington tube stop:

- Harrod’s & Zara for shopping

- The Hummingbird Bakery (the best cupcake you’ll ever eat; 47 Old Brompton Road)

- Bliss Spa (60 Sloane Ave; blisslondon.co.uk)

- Chelsea Physic Garden (66 Royal Hospital Ln)

- Royal Hospital (There are about 300 men who fought in WW2 & are widowers that live here. You can look around, go to the shop, go to the cemetery, etc.)

Camden Town tube stop:

- Camden Road Markets

- Ice Wharf (cheap drinks)

- Club Vinyl (try the mojito)

- Hache (the absolute best burgers in London; it’s next door to Vinyl)

- Club: Barfly (49 Chalk Farm Rd)

- The End of the World pub

Trafalgar Square tube stop:

- St. Martin in the Fields (lunchtime recitals are free)

King’s Cross / St. Pancras tube stops:

- British Library & café (amazing reading rooms; 96 Euston Rd.)

- The Harrison Pub (28 Harrison St WC1)

- Many hostels are located near this tube stop

Holland Park tube stop:

- Kyoto Gardens in Hyde Park (beautiful waterfall at the foot of bridge)

Hyde Park Corner tube stop:

- Rent a row boat or paddleboat on the Serpentine in Hyde Park. Then eat gelato and lay around amongst the roses in one of the gardens.

- Wellington Arch, the original gate into the city of London

- Walk under the Arch down the Queen’s lane to Buckingham Palace.

Embankment tube stop:

- Gordon’s Wine Bar (really nice & romantic; 47 Villier’s St., WC2; phone for reservations 020 7930 1408)

Notting Hill Gate tube stop:

- Portobello Road Markets. They’re best on weekends because that’s when antique furniture and vintage clothes are brought out but it’s open during the week too, until 5pm.

- Awesome bar called Gate. Took a right out of the station and we ran into it down the street on our right. The inside is a beach with sand on the floor, lounge chairs, & umbrellas.)

- Park/ Ladbrooke Square Gardens (Some of these parks are secured with gates. Only the homeowners in the area have keys to get into the park.)

- Hummingbird Bakery- there is another location! Bliss! Try the lavender cupcake.

Westminster tube stop:

- Parliament

- Westminster Cathedral

- Westminster Abbey

- Big Ben (it’s literally the first thing you see when you exit the tube)

- Go to a bridge in St. James’ Park

- Ministry of Defense. James Bond’s office. Awesome.

- The London Eye is across the Westminster Bridge over the River Thames

- Dali Museum & the aquarium

- Yo!Sushi serves their food on conveyor belts that circle the restaurant.

Picadilly Circus tube stop:

- Burger King & the huge Sanyo sign

- Lillywhites for 6 floors of sporting goods (where we bought beer pong balls & tennis shoes)

- Pigalle club

- Club: TigerTiger on Haymarket Street was fun. Get there early to avoid paying cover.

- Sports Café on Haymarket Street was huge and very American! It’s half sports bar (billiards too) & half dance floor. Tuesday nights are 1 pound pints for students so that always attracted a good crowd. They also serve dinner.

- Bar Italia (This café is so famous and so good; 20 Frith Street. We ate outside and sat next to a gypsy who was sketching our faces with both of his hands. This is the SOHO area and there are plenty of weird people to watch.)

- The French patisserie next door to Bar Italia. It serves great pastries and hot drinks and even has a boutique in the basement floor. Its name escapes me.

- Ronnie Scott’s (Infamous jazz music venue; across the lane from Bar Italia)

- There’s also a Hookah bar directly across from Bar Italia & next door to Ronnie Scott’s

- Waxy O’Connor’s (The tree house pub! It’s so cool on the inside because there are cave like rooms throughout the place. It really resembles a tree house.)

Liverpool Street tube stop:

- Brick Lane Market

- Columbia Road Market

Holborn tube stop:

- LSE

- Fish and chips: Fryer’s Delight on 19 Theobald’s Rd, WC1

Charing Cross tube stop:

- this is the SOHO and Covent Garden area

- Trafalgar Square

Covent Garden tube stop:

- shops: Paul Smith (40 Floral St) & next door is Ted Baker shop

- Covent Garden has great market stalls (where I bought home made patchouli soap) & street performers in the plaza

- cute boutiques on Monmouth Street: Orla Kieley and Koh Samui

- Neal Street: Neal’s Yard is tucked away in Shorts Gardens

Leister Square:

- This tube stop is also near Bar Italia, which is open 24 hrs a day

- Patisserie Valerie (no cell phones allowed; 49 Old Compton Street)

- Bar: the Floridita is so beautiful

Oxford Circus tube stop:

- University of Westminster! Regent Street Campus

- For lunch: Melts & Make Mine serve paninis. Itsu has good sushi.

- Store called Habitat for home wares

- Burberry, H&M, Oasis,The biggest TopShop I’ve ever seen, a FCUK, and an Urban Outfitters

- Orange (Cell phone store; there’s also a Carphone Warehouse nearby. You can top-up any brand of cell phone there.)

- The Clachan pub & The George pub

Archway tube stop:

- Highgate Cemetary; home to Karl Marx’s grave

- Clive Owen lives here

- Furnival House!

- My Hair spa

Others:

- Absolut Ice Bar

- Spitalfield’s Market (best on Sundays)