• Virtual Sightseeing
• Regent`s Canal
• Shoreditch
• Hampstead Heath
• Hyde Park and Kensington Gardens
• Pubs!
• Greenwich
• London Transport
• London Markets
• Shopping!
• London For 8 Year Olds

London holds a special place in our hearts. We met in London in 1995. We both worked for a tour operator, and Tanja was already working in the London office, and Ørjan got a surprise posting to London as a freshly trained tour guide. No freshly trained tour guides ever got posted in London as their first destination, so fate intervened, and we met in the offices of Star Tour in Bayswater, London, in January 1995. We had our first date in Aphrodite’s Taverna on Hereford Road in Bayswater, it is still there and still serving the best Greek Cypriot food in London. And almost every day after work we had beers and cider at the Prince Edward pub.

To live in London in the mid nineties was fantastic. London was a bit grittier back then, but not too gritty, it was the height of “Cool Britannia” the mid 1990s celebration of youth culture. It was the summer of Britpop with Blur and Oasis at their heights, it was house music at the Ministry of Sound and it was Sunday morning clubbing at The Church. We got to see many legendary concerts in venues that are now gone like the London Astoria, torn down to be replaced by the new Tottenham court road station. We went to Brixton Academy and saw one of the first Foo Fighters gigs in 1995, the Red Hot Chili Peppers with Moby as warm up, Radiohead with Flaming Lips as warm up, legendary. In the historic Royal Albert Hall we saw Eric Clapton in February 1996 start his set with The Badge and play classics like The White Room, Sunshine of Your Love and Tears In Heaven. We travelled up to the old Wembley Stadium (torn down to be rebuilt in the early 2000s) on a scorching warm summer day and with 70 000 other music fans we saw Bon Jovi play a legendary set, the audience sang so loud we could not hear the PA, it was epic. And perhaps the most epic concert of them all for us was Jimmi Page & Robert Plant at Wembley Arena on 26^th July 1995 where they played every legendary Led Zeppelin song from Ramble On, No Quarter, The Battle of Evermore, Whole Lotta Love, Black Dog and Kashmir backed with a full Egyptian orchestra. The day before Ørjan met Jimmi Page on the streets around Covent Garden and got a chat and an autograph, that was some concert and some meeting of a legend. Talking about meeting legends, we lived quite close to Kensington Palace where Lady Diana lived after leaving prince Charles in the dust. One day Tanja was getting her hair done at the local hair salon, she sat next to a small boy, in the corner sat a mum and another small boy. It was Lady Di and prince William, and Tanja sat next to a young prince Harry getting his hair cut!

On the weekend we used to visit one of the markets around London. Just down the road from our flat was Portobello Road in Notting Hill, a long street lined with every kind of vendor with bric a brac, vegetables, clothes, and other useful stuff, it has changed a bit with the upscaling of Notting Hill since the late 90s and is now more of a high-end market compared to when we frequented the stalls of Portobello Road on Saturdays in 1995. The other major market was, and still is, Camden Lock Market. Started in 1974 the market developed into London’s trendiest hangout on Sundays by the 80s. In the mid-90s there was drum n bass, the smell of weed in the air, and still a very bohemian maze of stalls and shops every Sunday. We bought second-hand clothes and incense, the food was legendary and under the railway arches there were some of the coolest interior shops we have ever visited. In 2008 a major fire ravaged the old market, and it was rebuilt in a more modern and stylish way the following years. Now there are around 1000+ shops and stalls and around 28 million people visiting the market every year, making it one of the most visited attractions in London. It still is very cool, slightly chaotic and an attack on the senses in every way.

We only lived in Bayswater a little under 2 years, but those formative years of our youth made great impressions on us both. When we decided to get married, the only real option was to do this in London we felt. It was not as easy as we had initially thought, no churches or Norwegian embassy could wed us in England. After looking some more, we found that there had been started a new project in preparing for the passing of the Civil Partnership Act (passed by law in 2005) that created civil partnerships to gay couples. It was not a marriage; this law was not passed until the Marriage Act of 2013 where same sex couples were given the right to marriage. We contacted one of the three councils in London that did the ceremonies and had a meeting where it was stressed that they “did 99% same sex commitment ceremonies, and we were that other 1%”, but they were more than happy to do a commitment ceremony for us. We were ecstatic. We invited friends and family to London for a 3-day celebration, and on the 27^th of March 2004 we were married in a beautiful ceremony in a grand suite at The Tower Hotel overlooking Tower Bridge, the Thames, and Tower of London. It was pure magic, the happiest day of our lives for sure. Our wedding dinner was of course at our favourite restaurant, The Aphrodite where we had our first date, and the party was just up the road in our local pub The Prince Albert. Happy days!

There is a saying “If you are tired of London, you are tired of life” and we could not agree more. Since we lived in London more than 25 years ago, we have been back at least once a year. We also decided to give our 3 nephews Jonas, Elias, Marcus, and niece Nora a trip to London as their 8-year birthday gift, and we hoped that they would feel the special atmosphere that you can only get in a city like London. They all enjoyed their visit immensely, and still talk about the stuff they saw.

It still feels a little bit like home, and the sights and the sounds are still familiar to us. Landing at Heathrow or Gatwick we are immediately transferred back to those halcyon days in the mid 90s. Falling in love in London is a fantastic thing, and we fall right back in love every time we go back. Having a pint of beer and cider at a pub is something we enjoy every time we visit. And we do of course go back to Aphrodite’s every time we visit; the food is still awesome!

The cool thing is that London is so vast, so big, that we never run out of areas to see and explore for the first time, even after 25 years of visits. London will for ever remain in our hearts and in our souls.

London Sightseeing

Our work was being tour guides for Star Tour 6 days a week for Scandinavian guests coming to London for a weekend or a weeks city break. This was in the days before internet and self-booking, so there were thousands of people coming every week to see London, go to musicals and football matches. Two days a week we did sightseeing around London, 5 hours of guiding around some of the biggest attractions and sights in London. We built up quite a knowledge of the known and the not so known sides of central London.

The tour started from Bayswater, and first on the programme was driving through the magnificent Hyde Park on Carriage drive across the Serpentine lake talking about how this used to be the hunting grounds for the kings and how it now is one of the greatest parks in the world. Exiting the park, we would take a right down Kensington Gore (which becomes Kensington High street further down the road) and we would pass The Albert Memorial. This is the memorial of Prince Albert who died in 1872 at the age of 42, beloved husband of Queen Victoria who wore black after this and until her death in 1901. The memorial is featuring a statue of the prince holding a catalogue of the Great Exhibition (held in Hyde Park in 1851, which he inspired and helped organize) surrounded by marble figures representing Europe, Asia, Africa, and America standing at each corner of the memorial. Immediately on the right-hand side would be the impressive rotunda of the Royal Albert Hall. A beautiful building, opened by Queen Victoria in 1871, it is one of the United Kingdoms most treasured and distinctive buildings. It is the venue for the Proms concerts, and it is host to more than 390 shows in the main auditorium annually, including classical, rock and pop concerts, ballet, opera, film screenings with live orchestral accompaniment, sports, awards ceremonies, school and community events, and charity performances and banquets.

The bus would take a left down Queens Gate, past embassies, and the Imperial College down towards the intersection with Cromwell road. On the right-hand corner was the headquarters of the international Scout movement, with a statue of founder and chief scout Baden Powell outside the entrance. The statue is still there today, but the headquarters is sadly a hotel, the only tell that the building once had Scout significance is the statue and a Fleur de Lise on the building’s façade.

Taking a left on Cromwell Road we get the imposing building of the Natural History Museum on our left side. This is a great museum for both young and old, containing mind boggling exhibits, full size skeletons of dinosaurs and a full size stuffed blue whale suspended from the rafters. The Science Museum is just as grand and lies just behind the Natural History Museum. The next grand building on this magnificent row of museums is the Victoria and Albert Museum, known for its revolving exhibitions through the years it is still a fantastic museum to visit. The V&A is the world’s leading museum of art and design, housing a permanent collection of over 2.3 million objects that span over 5,000 years of human creativity.

Just down the road on the right is a building that is undoubtedly one of the most well-known department stores in the world, Harrods. In the mid 80s there was a bit of controversy since an Egyptian businessman had purchased Harrods, it caused quite a stir, nowadays no one bats an eyelid when an Arabian prince or American investors buy a football club or two. Harrods is a very British institution in one of the most British of neighbourhoods, Knightsbridge. It is still a sight to see from the outside, especially at Christmas with thousands of lights twinkling on every surface of the building, and just to walk among the luxury and pomp inside is a treat for any visitor. Next corner on the right-hand side is the very chic department store Harvey Nichols, and the number of posh girls and boys meandering outside the shop is amazing to watch on a Saturday afternoon.

A few hundred metres down the road and we drive towards Hyde Park corner, on the left corner of Hyde Park is Apsley House, once the residence of the Duke of Wellington, father of the Wellington boot, and victor at the battle of Waterloo. In the middle of the roundabout is Wellington Arch, which was built as an original entrance to Buckingham Palace, later becoming a victory arch proclaiming Wellington’s defeat of Napoleon. Crowned by the largest bronze sculpture in Europe, it depicts the Angel of Peace descending on the ‘Quadriga’ – or four-horsed chariot of War. 

Piccadilly continues straight west past the first Hard Rock café, Green Park is next on our left with Constitution Hill and then we would go round the final part of the massive roundabout and go left down Grosvenor Place.

Next on our left is the Queen’s backyard, Buckingham Palace Garden. A quick glimpse of the entrance to one the finest working stables in the world – the Royal Mews. The museum here is a nice visit if you are interested in horses, stunning royal carriages and royal pomp in general. In the 90s you could drive around the grand statue of Queen Victoria in front of Buckingham Palace and we would be talking about the queen, the palace itself and maybe throw in the anecdote about Michael Fagan who broke into the Queen’s bedroom in 1982 – all those who followed the series The Crown in recent times will know this story. A quick left down Birdcage Walk along the magnificent St James’s Park (a must visit when in London) and then a right and suddenly the bus was at the start of the most exciting few hundred yards in the world. As a tour guide you had to compose yourself and concentrate and hope for a red light or two to talk about everything whizzing past the window (if you can say that anything can whiz by in London traffic, it moves at a snail’s pace on a good day).

First on your right is one of the most famous churches in the world, Westminster Abbey, where all kings and queens are crowned and buried. The abbey was consecrated in 1065 and Edward the Confessor was buried here in 1066. Other notable people who are buried here include Isaac Newton and Charles Dickens, and seventeen British monarchs including King Henry V and all the Tudors except for Henry VIII. If you visit London for the first time Westminster Abbey is a must see.  

Rounding the corner of the abbey, Big Ben and the Parliament building (officially known as the Palace of Westminster) loom in front of the bus – it is a huge building and Big Ben is one of those most iconic worldwide known things that have ever existed. At Parliament square we would take a right and drive down along the House of Commons and the House of Lords, and we would talk about how heads of traitors would be hung over the entrance of the palace. Outside the House of Lords is the statue of Oliver Cromwell, the only non-royal to lead the British Isles as Lord Protector and head of state and government after defeating (and later beheading) King Charles I during the English Civil War (1642-1651). When he died of natural causes in 1658 his son took over the rule but was soon overthrown and replaced by Prince Charles, son of Charles I, who was named King Charles II and thus bringing the royalists back to power. Wanting revenge for his father, King Charles II subsequently dug up the body of Cromwell and symbolically hung the corpse in chains and beheaded a very dead Cromwell for his crimes against the crown. Cromwell’s head was placed on a 20-foot spike above Westminster Hall. Many speculate that the statue of a king killer is still there so to remind the royals that their power is not a matter-of-fact thing. A quick left would take us over Lambeth Bridge, which has a paint scheme that is mainly red – the same colour as the leather benches of the House of Lords at the south end of the Palace of Westminster and closest to the bridge. If you look left up the river Thames you can see the Westminster bridge that is predominantly green, the same colour as the benches of The House of Commons at the northern end of Palace of Westminster and closest to that bridge. The British are very cunning indeed. London is full of those quirky and very British odd things like these.

Across Lambeth Bridge we would do a left past the residence of the Archbishop of Canterbury (the leader of the Church of England), Lambeth Palace, and drive along the embankment just across from the Palace of Westminster. Here we would stop for ten minutes, so that everyone could get off the bus and take some pictures across the Thames of the Palace of Westminster and Big Ben of course.

Continuing the tour, we would take a left again and go across Westminster Bridge. Since the 90s a few things have happened to the scenery and the bridge itself. Now on the southern side of the Thames there is the Millennium wheel or as it’s now known as, the London Eye. Opened in 1999 to celebrate the millennium, it was so popular that it still stands today, more than 20 years later. We highly recommend to prebook a ride at the London Eye, it is fun for both young and old, and to avoid the queues, book a set time for the experience, the views are awesome. If you’re a group of adults why not book an exclusive capsule ride with champagne – we loved it! And we should also mention how Westminster bridge has been used in movies like Harry Potter (when the bus goes skinny between two other buses) and it was used in James Bond film Spectre. Big Ben would be looming over the bus on our left side, an icon of Britain and the symbol of the city of London. Big Ben is probably the world’s most famous clock. The Clock Tower (as it was called in the 90s, it was renamed Elizabeth Tower in 2012 to mark the Queen’s diamond jubilee) is 96 metres high, and the dials of the clock is 6,9 metres in diameter. It is a fun fact to remember that it’s just the clock itself that is called Big Ben, but it has become a nickname for the whole tower with the clock. On the right-hand side of the bridge, opposite of Big Ben, is a rather cool statue of warrior queen Boudicca, who led a rebellion against the Romans in AD 60 or 61.

A quick glance to the left across Parliament Square once more and look at the statue of Winston Churchill on the corner, one of the great statesmen in British history. We would go right around the corner and head up Parliament Street, here on your left you will in short intervals get the entrance to The Imperial War museum Churchill War Rooms, a bunker you can still visit where Winton Churchill had his offices during the Blitz of London during WW2. A quick recommendation is the Imperial War Museum itself, one of the best in Europe, and a favourite visit of one of our nephews. Next street on the left is Downing Street were the Prime Minister lives at number 10.

Just a few metres more and we passed The Horse Guards, always a cool visit when in London. Stout men and women of the Queen’s Life Guard sit on big horses guarding the old entrance to St James’s Palace. The changing of the Horse Guards is at 11am every day with great pomp and circumstance. The whole area on the right is Whitehall with numerous ministries and secret James Bond lairs. The whole street ends in Trafalgar Square, with a short glimpse down the Mall on the left-hand side, and at the end of The Mall you can see the front of Buckingham Palace. In the mid-90s you could drive around Trafalgar Square and up in front of The National Portrait Gallery, this is now luckily a pedestrian street.

Trafalgar Square is filled with fountains, gigantic lions, and a dude on top of a tall pillar. This dude is admiral Nelson, hero of the battle of Trafalgar. He is a national hero, read more about this great admiral here. Round the square we drove past St Martin in the Fields, a church with a café and great free concerts in the crypt. Down the Strand we drove, past Charing Cross Station and The Savoy hotel (with the only right-hand drive street in Britain) and further past the Royal Courts of Justice and onto the old newspaper street of Fleet Street. The first (and only stop) we did with our bus group was at St Paul’s Cathedral.

There has been a church dedicated to St Paul on this site since AD 604, the cathedral we see today is the masterpiece of Sir Christopher Wren completed in 1710 as a part of the rebuilding of London after the great fire of 1666. One of the most recognisable buildings in London – the inside is just as spectacular as the outside. We took our guests on a small tour of the inside of the church, explaining the engineering of the vast dome and the spectacular artworks inside the church itself. We always ended the tour by standing in the middle of the room under the dome talking about the epitaph Sir Christopher Wren’s son, Christopher Wren Jr., made in the floor directly in the centre after his father’s death: “Reader, if you seek his monument look around you”. A powerful statement to honour the memory of a great man and the architect of London, he singlehandedly reimagined the streets and buildings of London after the great fire. The guests got some free time where we recommended to take the stairs to the middle gallery in the dome, or all the way to the top of the dome. Then and today the view from the top of St Paul’s cathedral is nothing short of spectacular, if you look towards the Thames, you will look straight across the Millennium Pedestrian Bridge and Tate Modern Museum.

Tate Modern is one of the world’s best modern art galleries with international works on display, plus a café with panoramic river views. St Paul’s is in City of London, a city within a city and the old financial centre of the world. City has its own mayor and is still a financial and business hub for England and London.

The number of new buildings that have popped up since we lived there is enormous. The two most famous and stand out buildings are probably 30 St Mary Axe or more popularly known as “the Gherkin” due to its shape and 20 Fenchurch Street also nicknamed “The Walkie Talkie” due to its similar shape. Inside this building is one of the more spectacular gardens in the world, the Sky Garden. A huge mezzanine space with plants, trees, restaurants, bars and a viewing deck that is just awesome. We have been here many times later years, having breakfast and lunches, and it is breath-taking.

Our bus did a right onto London bridge and past The Monument, a 61-metre-high column to commemorate the great fire of London in 1666. It is said that if you laid this monument down, the flaming top would reach Pudding Lane where the fire started in a bakery shortly after midnight on the 2^nd of September 1666. It raged for 4 days and gutted medieval London inside the old Roman city wall and threatened to destroy the city of Westminster (today’s West End). It burned for 4 days, destroying more than 13 000 houses, 87 churches including the old St Pauls cathedral and most of the buildings of the city’s authorities. The fire destroyed the homes of 70 000 of City of London’s 80 000 inhabitants. If you visit the Monument, you can climb the stairs all the way to the top for a great view over the Thames and surrounding areas.

London bridge has been the site of a bridge over the Thames since Roman times, they built the first bridge across the waters. It was also the only bridge across the river until Westminster Bridge opened in 1750. Several bridges have been built and rebuilt and torn down on this site. In the Tudor period there were over 200 houses and businesses on the bridge. The bridge that stood at this site from 1831 to 1967 was sold to an American businessman called Robert McCulloch. The story goes that he thought he bought Tower Bridge, but this is a mistake, he knew very well what he was buying. The bridge was meticulously torn apart and transported to Lake Havasu, Arizona, where it was rebuilt as part of a development of that area into a holiday destination. We rode across that bridge on motorbikes as part of our Phoenix to San Diego road trip. The current bridge was opened in 1973. Imagine we had to talk about all this while driving across the bridge that is only 269 metres long towards London Bridge station – a lot of facts, so we had to learn how to talk fast .

Later years this area has also been developed quite a lot, among many things the skyscraper The Shard popped up. At 310 metres it is the tallest building in London, containing a hotel, offices, and restaurants, plus the tallest viewing deck in London.

Down Tooley street we go, the street was named after St Olav’s church in that area, but the pronunciation was muddled, and became Tooley after St Olav – St Ole – Tooley, simple, right? The bus would make a sharp left and suddenly we were on the most iconic of bridges, Tower Bridge! The ooooos and the aaahs in the bus were always funny to listen to. Driving and indeed walking across Tower Bridge is something you just need to do while in London. And of course, across the bridge lies another icon of London, the Tower of London. Home to kings and queens of England since 1066, a fortress, infamous prison, and home to the Crown Jewels. We have visited a number of times with nephews and niece over the years and The Tower is a must on any London tourist’s itinerary, the exhibits of medieval armour and costume, and to walk among history is awesome. Throw in beheadings of queens and princes, a zoo, the ravens and the iconic Yeomen guards, you have a visit not easily forgotten.

Looking to your right when you drive past Tower is Tower Hill Station (Circle and District Lines), a probable point of entry to the area if you use the underground. Tower Hill was one of the many sites for executions in London. A thing worth noticing next to the station and continuing behind it, is the old Roman city wall still visible and standing proud. After all it was the Romans who gave name to the city when they founded Londinium in this area around AD 50. Roman London was the biggest city Britain would see for over a thousand years.
At its height, around AD 120, Londinium was home to about 45,000 people. It would not reach that size again until the 13th century. Speaking of Romans, another great museum is the Museum of London which has Roman ruins in its basement.

From Tower Hill the bus whizzed down the Embankment towards central London again. Passing Cleopatra’s Needle of the banks of the Thames, some found it surprising to find an Egyptian obelisk in London. It was made in Egypt for the Pharaoh Thotmes III in 1460 BC, making it almost 3,500 years old. It is known as Cleopatra’s Needle as it was brought to London from Alexandria, the royal city of Cleopatra.

A sharp right took us up Northumberland Avenue towards Trafalgar Square yet again. Keep your eyes peeled for another great pub on the right, the Sherlock Holmes. Across Trafalgar Square we went once more, and if we had forgotten or not had time to talk about some of the many things happening on the square, we could do it now. Each of the lions around Nelsons column weighs 7 tonnes, and the sculptor used a dead lion from the London zoo as a model, the lion decomposed quickly and that is why the paws of the lions resemble the paws of domestic cats more than lions. A few metres on Pall Mall and then right up Haymarket and within a few blocks the bus is hurled into the mayhem that is Piccadilly Circus.

A major traffic hub in old London, it was still congested and full of cars in the 90s, so the chance of getting stuck around it for a while was a weekly occurrence. Luckily, the square has plenty of things to talk about. The huge TV screens on the north east buildings were, and still are, blinding. The so-called Eros statue and fountain in the middle of the square where mods, punks and tourists have gathered for decades. The Criterion Theatre just behind the statue has a peculiar layout, as most of the theatre is underground, when you enter the lobby, you enter the top balcony level. Up towards the right runs Shaftesbury Avenue, the theatre street of London, packed with old theatres showing musicals and plays catering to very taste.

Immediately to the right of Piccadilly Circus is the “centre of London” Leicester Square throbbing with tourists and street entertainers. The area to the north of Shaftesbury Avenue is Soho, and it was the old “entertainment” district of London. Famously Ray Davies of The Kinks sang “I met her in a club down in old Soho, where you drink champagne and it tastes just like coca cola” about his first encounter with a woman of the night, who turned out not to be a woman. In the 90s it was still filled with certain houses of ill repute, but the clearing up of Soho had started, for good and for bad. Soho is a bit more gentrified now than it was back then, but still one of our favourite areas of central London.

Old Compton street was then, and is still, the gayest street in London packed with bars and restaurants. And just up Shaftesbury avenue on the right-hand side is London’s Chinatown, famous for its food buffets and still very Chinese streets, it is not a big area, but still worth a visit. The bus turned the corner of north west Piccadilly Circus and began the long and sometimes slow drive-up Regent Street, one of the grandest streets of London. It is lined with high end shopping from bottom to top. On the right side behind the grand facades was still Soho, with the dark pubs and seedy nightlife. Many an evening after work we ended up at the Intrepid Fox, one of the legendary rock pubs of London that is no more.

Also, on the right behind the big shops like the world’s biggest toy shop Hamleys lies the old mod and hippie street Carnaby street. It has remained a very cool street and area, a pedestrian street lined with shops. We still go there although it has become a bit less gritty, more touristy, but if you look in the smaller parallel streets to the east of Carnaby street, you will find many small and independent shops and cafes that are worth exploring.

The final stretch of the sightseeing is now within reach. The nexus of big brand shopping in London lies around Oxford Circus. The huge transport hub that is the crossing of Regent Street and Oxford Street. Below the street lies one of the busiest underground stations in London, and above on the street London buses, taxis and coaches struggle to pass the thousands of people trying to cross the road. It is a chaos that we try to avoid when we visit London, the only reason to go there is the Nike flagship store and Top Shop.

Our sightseeing would turn left here east down Oxford Street and let off those who wanted to go shopping here. The rest of us would sit and look at the shops and department stores outside the bus windows. At the end of Oxford street is Marble Arch, a triumphant arch celebrating victories in the Napoleonic wars that stood in front of Buckingham Palace until it was moved to its current location in 1851 when the palace was extended with a new front that is the one we see today with the balcony for royal waving. Entering Bayswater road, the whole sightseeing was more or less over, about 5 hours and a few thousand words after it had started. Ørjan had a bit of a morbid end to the whole sightseeing mentioning the small building in the entrance to Carriage drive and Hyde Park. In the garden of that building there is an original Victorian pet cemetery, where well to do women of the area buried their beloved pets. One of the gravestones supposedly said, “To my dear Fluffy, more intelligent and faithful than any of my husbands”.  

Regent`s Canal, Little Venice to Camden Lock

A great London walk is from Paddington to Camden Lock along the Regent`s Canal – a very cool walk along some of the many canals crisscrossing London, a relic of a bygone era when goods were transported by barge on canals around London and England in general. If you want to do this walk, start by either Paddington Station or from the Warwick Avenue Underground station on the Bakerloo line for a slightly easier access. If you look at a map you will see the canal behind Paddington station, and you just follow the canal up to the “crossroads” at Little Venice.

This little haven is where Grand Union Canal meets Regent’s Canal and forms a little lake with an island in the middle. It is hard to imagine that this haven of tranquility is just a stone’s throw from busy Paddington. Dozens of narrowboats, day trip boats and water cafes line this calm water oasis, together with majestic willow trees and the famous Little Venice mansions it makes for a stunning backdrop.

Start your walk with a coffee at the beautiful Waterside Café. After a well-deserved beverage, continue along Regent’s Canal to the east. The walkway along the canal is great for walking, the first “obstacle” you will encounter is the Maida Hill tunnel were the canal goes through Maida Hill, the tunnel is not to be entered by pedestrians, so you have to walk over it, but it is well signposted. On top of Maida Hill is a great pub if you already feel the need for some libations, the grand Crocker’s Folly pub from 1898.

After continuing along the canal for a few hundred metres you will suddenly have a change of scenery as the canal joins the northern end of Regent’s Park and Primrose Hill. Regent’s Park once formed the hunting grounds for Henry VIII and was landscaped by the great John Nash in 1646. It is also the home of London Zoo and while walking along the canal you will get a look into some of the exhibits with wild animals.

The park in Primrose Hill is also worth a small detour as it gives great views over central London from the small hills inside the park. After the park it is a slightly odd sight to see a Chinese style barge moored at the banks of the canal, this is the Feng Shang Princess restaurant.

The canal now takes a northern turn and you are closing in on Camden. Before Camden we would say that more drinks might be in order, and the fine Engineer pub on Primrose Hill is a well-deserved stop. Great food and great pub for a quick snack and energy refill. This pub is at the head of the 3^rd bridge after the Feng Shang Princess barge. By the next bridge there is an original Banksy, do not miss it.

And then very suddenly the mayhem of Camden Lock Market appears before you. On the left side of the canal the market spreads out and you will quickly use hours and hours here to explore and shop. And do not for one second think that the stalls by the river is the main hub of shops, continue backwards and towards the stalls under the railway arches at the back, it is less crowded here, and even more of the weird and the wonderful stalls and people that make up Camden Market. To get back to central London the easiest way is to walk along the plethora of shops in Camden High Street to the south and board a London Underground train to Tottenham Court Road in central London.

Shoreditch

The hipster’s paradise of Shoreditch has gone from somewhere we were not recommended to go in the 90s to something of a hub for street and hipster fashion and food. In the 16th century, Shoreditch was an important centre of the Elizabethan Theatre, and it has been an important entertainment centre since that time. Formerly a predominantly working-class area, since around 1996 Shoreditch has become a popular and fashionable part of London, particularly associated with the creative industries. Former industrial buildings have been converted to offices and flats, while Curtain Road and Old Street are notable for their clubs and pubs which offer a variety of venues to rival those of the West End.

The number of hotels, street food vendors, cafes, bars, pubs, pop up shops and other places to spend your money is simply staggering. We would like to especially mention a few places that we like, the first one is a biker’s heaven at The Bike Shed, motorcycles, clothes, and food here is epic. If you are a petrolhead, this is a must visit location.

The Cocktail Trading Co. at Bethnal Green road is award winning and we can understand why, the last time we visited we had a hard time finding our way home after tasting our way through the extensive and incredibly fun drinks menu. Pizza East on the corner of Bethnal Green road and Shoreditch High street is also one of those restaurants that is a must visit, very cool interior and very very tasty food.

Just up the high street is the very chic Ace Hotel with the very cool Hoi Polloi restaurant, both are worth the visit. And Sneakers n Stuff must be mentioned, if you need the most fashionable new kicks, this is the place to get them for sure.

The proximity to the old institution of Old Spitalfields Market and Brick Lane makes this area a perfect location for a full weekend of shopping and drinking (and eating of course).

You could spend an entire weekend in Shoreditch, and if you have seen London a few times, this is probably an option, everything you need is here in close proximity. Worth mentioning are the rooftop bars of Shoreditch and indeed London, the Rooftop Guide has a good list of notable bars with great al fresco drinking in London.

Hampstead Heath

A great little outing from central London is to take the tube to Hampstead (Northern line) and Hampstead Heath park, it is a great walk to one of the great viewpoints of London at Parliament Hill. The little hamlet of Hampstead has grown into Greater London but was once a small village on the edge of a forest. Now it is a charming little village with a high street filled with small independent shops, pubs and one of the best creperies in the UK.

From Hampstead High Street it is a 20-minute walk or so to the park itself, made easier by a few good and hidden very local pubs like the Duke of Hamilton and the Wells Tavern. The whole area oozes with charm, and you can see why the cost of houses in the area is astronomical.

Hampstead Heath, or the Heath as it is known to Londoners, is an ancient heath covering 320 hectares. This grassy public space is one of the highest points in London, and this can be easily seen on the south-eastern part of the park where the views from Parliament Hill over central London is so good it’s protected by law. The heath is rambling and hilly, encompassing new and ancient woodland, a lido to swim in, playgrounds and training tracks, and a dog walker’s haven (last time we visited we saw a pint-sized dog carrying a man-sized stick – it was both fierce and proud…).

It is great to escape the London hubbub and get to a very tranquil and green oasis like this. The view from Parliament Hill can be enjoyed from several benches, and has been used in films and series, last in the 80s London drama It’s a Sin. If you continue across the heath you will reach Highgate with its awesome haunted graveyard. Take the tube back to central London from Archway (Northern Line).

Hyde Park and Kensington Gardens

Set right in the heart of London is Hyde Park and its “sister” park Kensington Gardens. Hyde Park is one of eight royal parks in London and covers 350 acres. Kensington Gardens lies on the west side of the Serpentine lake that divides it from Hyde Park. Kensington Gardens is 265 acres, so combined with Hyde Park, there is a lot of green space in the middle of London.

To get to Kensington Gardens it is easiest to take the tube to Queensway, and then you are just metres from the park entrance by crossing over Bayswater Road. Kensington Gardens is home to Kensington Palace where Princess Diana lived after her divorce from Prince Charles, and where her son, Prince William, now lives with his family. It has a memorial playground that is a kid favourite. The Round Pond has deck chairs for lounging and relaxing, a great space to just sit down and look at people. We lived just up the road from Kensington Gardens and often went to the park after work to sit under the trees enjoying some take away food and wine with friends. We also used to go roller blading (it was all the rage in 1995, until it was banned in the park shortly after), or go for a nice stroll around the gardens, and we also went through the park via the Broad Walk down to Kensington and shopping at Kensington Church Street and Kensington High Street. And if we needed some time of peace and quiet from the hustle and bustle of London it was always possible to find a nice spot of tranquility here.

Hyde Park contains the Hyde Park Parade ground where the major concert events are held, bands like The Rolling Stones, The Cure and Foo Fighters have played here. On the north eastern side on Sunday mornings, you can watch and laugh at the rabulists at Speaker’s Corner, a free for all speak about what you want on a soapbox – an event that has long historical roots.

To see a good highlight of Hyde Park we would recommend taking the tube to Lancaster Gate (Central Line) and then walking via the Italian Gardens and the Princess Diana memorial fountain along the Serpentine to Hyde Park corner is a nice walk if you want a short introduction to Hyde Park. If you continue past Hyde Park corner with the former home of the Duke of Wellington, Apsley House, you will also see Wellington Arch (there is a visitor’s museum and a gallery at the top of it) in the middle of the roundabout. On your left side is another great royal park, Green Park, which is filled with deck chairs and offer a tranquil haven.

Next to it is Buckingham Palace Garden, basically the Queen’s backyard to Buckingham Palace. And why not end this park walk with a visit to another royal park? St. James`s Park is situated between Buckingham Palace and Whitehall. In the middle of the park is St. James`s Park Lake with an abundance of birdlife. It makes it a favourite among children for feeding said birdlife, and for adults to look at birds in all shapes and sizes. At the southern end of the lake is Duck Island with Duck Cottage that is home to the London Gardens Trust.

Here is a small selection of great concerts from Hyde Park, we wish we had attended Pearl Jam but we did see Foo Fighters in 2009 with Motorhead and Queens of the Stone Age as warm ups.

Pubs!

London is famous for its pubs. A pub is the hub in any local community in Britain. The nectar of life is served in a pint to locals and tourists alike. We had our “local” when we lived in Bayswater, and every day after work we would convene to have a pint or two before walking home to make dinner, more than once there was no dinner, only more pints and a packet of crisps.

The meaning of the pub in Britain can not be understated. Sadly, the number of “original” pubs is dwindling, and the pub culture of London has taken a bit of a nosedive later years.

The good news is that among the corporate brewery owned pubs, there are some gems left all around London, the trick is just to find them. The Telegraph has a great list of some of the more historic pubs around London and we have visited a few, and we make sure to seek out a few on every visit to London.

On the list we have been to the very hidden, but very cool Grenadier pub. The Cross Keys in Covent Garden we have mentioned before. The Seven Stars pub just behind the Royal Courts of justice survived the great fire of 1666 and is still going strong. In the same area is the historical Ye Olde Cheshire Cheese.

One of our absolute favourites, although it is a bit hard to get to, is the Prospect of Whitby, this pub lies on the Thames, and from the terrace on the backside of the pub you can sit and watch the boats go by on the Thames river while drinking a pint of the black stuff.

Our walk along Regent`s Canal also gave some good pub experiences, like the brilliant Engineer pub in Primrose Hill.

Greenwich

Greenwich is home to the National Maritime Museum and Old Royal Naval College, Cutty Sark and the Prime Meridian at the Royal Observatory. The National Maritime museum has free entry and covers much of the glorious history of the Royal Navy and beyond. The building of the museum and the Old Naval College was used and very destroyed in the movie Thor: The Dark World (don’t worry it was only destroyed in the movie, not for real).

To get to Greenwich in the 1990s when we lived in London there were no direct tube links, now the DLR (Docklands Light Railway) has been extended to Cutty Sark Station in Greenwich and beyond. The way we got there then, and a cool way to get there today is to take the DLR to Island Gardens on the opposite side of the Thames to Greenwich. After getting off the train walk up to the riverbank and look over to Greenwich. The surprise here is that one of two-foot tunnels under the Thames runs from this location. How cool is it to walk under the Thames? The Greenwich and Woolwich Foot Tunnels were originally built in 1902 and 1912 respectively. The purpose of the tunnels was to provide reliable all-weather access by local residents to the London shipyards and docks on the north side of the Thames. Take the elevator or stairs down into the tunnel and make the walk under the river to the other side and ride the elevator back up to ground level, a cool thing to do both for young and old.

You emerge right next to Cutty Sark, the fastest sailing ship of its time. And as luck would have it, the Gipsy Moth pub is right next to it, it has a great garden for beers and cider. Worth mentioning is also the Trafalgar Tavern just up the river to the east. Greenwich Market is a cool place to visit, an old market hall with all sorts to shop and look at on the way to the Prime Meridian.

Walk up King William’s Walk and you will be parallel to Greenwich Park where the Prime Meridian is located on top of the hill at the Royal Observatory (Greenwich is also the G in Greenwich Mean Time (GMT)). The Prime Meridian in Greenwich is the meridian that divides the eastern and western hemispheres of the earth. You can basically stand with one foot in the east and one foot in the west. Since 1884 the prime meridian at Greenwich has been used as the 0 meridian for navigating the earth. Read more about the why and the how here. Whilst on top of the hill we also recommend a visit to The Royal Observatory. If you feel thirsty after that long walk up the hill, take a well-deserved drink at the Kings Arms on the King William Walk. Board the DLR and head for central London with some fresh air and new knowledge in your bag.

London Transport

Airports

There are many airports surrounding London, but you will most likely fly into either Heathrow or Gatwick. Both are major hubs of air travel, Heathrow being one of the busiest in Europe. From Gatwick the only option for getting into central London is by train. The Gatwick Express service is the quickest way, around 40 minutes train ride to London Victoria station with underground and overground transportation to your final destination in London. If you want to save some money, and use double the time to get to Victoria, there are local trains you can catch into central London.

From Heathrow there are two main options to get into central London until 2023 (approx. year since the project keeps being delayed) when the new Crossrail train service opens. You can per now either take the quick and expensive route with Heathrow Express that will take you to Paddington in 18 minutes, or you can do the London Underground service that will take you all the way into central London underground stops on the Piccadilly Line. Visit London has a great page on travels to and from Heathrow. We have normally taken the Heathrow Express for the convenience of getting into central London fast, but the drawback is that you have to transfer either to a taxi (and that will cost you between 10-20 pounds to get to a central hotel) or to the underground with all that encompasses with stairs and luggage down and up to the station itself. So, if you are staying in a hotel that is close to any station on the Piccadilly line, we recommend to take the underground service from Heathrow. If you want to save money, and time, we recommend to purchase tickets in advance on the websites for the different express airport train services.

Central London Transport

There are 3 main ways of transport in central London: the underground or “the tube” in local lingo, taxis (cabs) or the famous London double decker buses.

TfL (Transport for London) or London Underground

The Underground has its origins in the Metropolitan Railway, the world’s first underground passenger railway which opened in 1863. Over the years several competing underground rail companies built their lines, and during the years they have merged and now make up the London Underground. It carries 5 million passengers per day on its 11 lines and it has 270 stations, and despite its name only 45% of the network is underground, much of the network outside central London is on the surface. We love the tube, it is by far the fastest and most efficient way to get around.

The underground is an experience in itself, and the sights and smells of the network of tunnels is like nothing else on the planet. It might seem intimidating at first, but after travels on many of the world’s underground services, we would claim that London has one of the most intuitive and simple setups anywhere. On the station get an Oyster Card, this is a refillable travelcard used on the underground and bus services in London and saves you a bit of money per travel compared to paying for single fares. Find out where you are going, you will see your line and the colour of the line you are going to travel with. Follow the signs for the escalators that bring you onto your line, there are signs all over, so just follow them and you are on your way. Let’s say you are going on the Central Line (red) to Queensway, just follow the red Central Line signs, when you are at platform level there will be two signs showing stations from top to bottom where the train on the track to your right or your left is going.

A tip is to have an idea whether you are going east or west for instance, since the two signs will say either eastbound or westbound. If you get a bit freaked out by the amount of people behind you on the stairs, just take a chance and step into one of the tunnels with the train tracks. On the tunnel wall is the same sign, just follow it from the top and downwards, if you cannot find your station on this map, you are in the wrong tunnel, just head 5 metres to the opposite tunnel and check the map there. Enter the train when it arrives, inside the carriages there are plenty of signs above the doors and windows showing where this train is going. Every station is announced, and the next station will be announced well in advance. Step off the train at your station, at Queensway take the lift to ground level, tap your Oyster card, and you are on the outside of the station on Queensway and the corner of Bayswater road. Just remember – mind the gap!

Buses

The bus service in London is also extremely easy to use. All stops have maps of where the buses go, and the route planner online is great. The best thing about the bus is that you can do a spot of sightseeing while riding around, getting the front seat at the top of the bus is a treat for young and old. And the views are spectacular. If we are visiting with newcomers to London, we tend to use the bus as much as possible, just because it gives great vistas of London daily life. And some of the routes are like sightseeing buses for real, especially the number 15 bus passes some of the great sights in London from Trafalgar Square (Charing Cross station), via St. Paul’s cathedral to Tower of London. Tap your Oyster card by the driver when you enter the bus, and away you go. A top tip is to avoid riding buses on peak rush hour, it will take too long because of traffic, so the underground is quicker in the morning and afternoon.

Taxis or cabs

Taxis are a good option, but they have become quite expensive later years. The classic London black cab is still an institution, and to ride one for a first-time visitor is still a treat. Just make sure you ride one outside rush hours in the morning and afternoon, waiting in a traffic jam is expensive. One cool thing about the London cabbies (drivers) are that they have years of schooling before they get their licence to drive black cabs. The examination or “the knowledge” to become a London cabby is possibly the most difficult test in the world — demanding years of study to memorize the labyrinthine city’s 25,000 streets and any business or landmark on them. It will take between 3-5 years and thousands of miles on a scooter or motorbike to study all the streets, if you see a person on a scooter with maps attached to the handlebars driving around central London, it is most likely a cabbie training for the knowledge. So, when you step into a London cab, you step into a vehicle with a human GPS driving you to your destination.

Greenwich

Greenwich is home to the National Maritime Museum and Old Royal Naval College, Cutty Sark and the Prime Meridian at the Royal Observatory. The National Maritime museum has free entry and covers much of the glorious history of the Royal Navy and beyond. The building of the museum and the Old Naval College was used and very destroyed in the movie Thor: The Dark World (don’t worry it was only destroyed in the movie, not for real).

To get to Greenwich in the 1990s when we lived in London there were no direct tube links, now the DLR (Docklands Light Railway) has been extended to Cutty Sark Station in Greenwich and beyond. The way we got there then, and a cool way to get there today is to take the DLR to Island Gardens on the opposite side of the Thames to Greenwich. After getting off the train walk up to the riverbank and look over to Greenwich. The surprise here is that one of two-foot tunnels under the Thames runs from this location. How cool is it to walk under the Thames? The Greenwich and Woolwich Foot Tunnels were originally built in 1902 and 1912 respectively. The purpose of the tunnels was to provide reliable all-weather access by local residents to the London shipyards and docks on the north side of the Thames. Take the elevator or stairs down into the tunnel and make the walk under the river to the other side and ride the elevator back up to ground level, a cool thing to do both for young and old.

You emerge right next to Cutty Sark, the fastest sailing ship of its time. And as luck would have it, the Gipsy Moth pub is right next to it, it has a great garden for beers and cider. Worth mentioning is also the Trafalgar Tavern just up the river to the east. Greenwich Market is a cool place to visit, an old market hall with all sorts to shop and look at on the way to the Prime Meridian.

Walk up King William’s Walk and you will be parallel to Greenwich Park where the Prime Meridian is located on top of the hill at the Royal Observatory (Greenwich is also the G in Greenwich Mean Time (GMT)). The Prime Meridian in Greenwich is the meridian that divides the eastern and western hemispheres of the earth. You can basically stand with one foot in the east and one foot in the west. Since 1884 the prime meridian at Greenwich has been used as the 0 meridian for navigating the earth. Read more about the why and the how here. Whilst on top of the hill we also recommend a visit to The Royal Observatory. If you feel thirsty after that long walk up the hill, take a well-deserved drink at the Kings Arms on the King William Walk. Board the DLR and head for central London with some fresh air and new knowledge in your bag.

London Markets

On a normal weekend thousands of locals and tourists decend on the many markets in central London. From the daddy of them all, Camden Market, to the antiques market of Portobello Road and the hipsters haven around Brick Lane and Old Spitalfields Market. To visit a market or two while in London is a rite of passage for any visitor.

• Camden Market
• Portobello Road
• Borough Market
• Brick Lane and Old Spitalfields Market
• Leadenhall Market

Camden Market

Taking the trip by tube and Northern Line to Camden was a regular Sunday thing when we lived in London in the mid-90s. It was the most exotic thing we had ever experienced, we had seen nothing like it in Norway, and it was like visiting another galaxy inhabited by punks, goths, noodle stalls and pvc fetish freaks shops. The claustrophobic underground stalls in what used to be old stables for horses underneath the railway lines and the smell of incense and hashish hung like fog in the air. It was gritty, fantastic, muddy and mysterious, and the people who ran the stalls and the shops were very much Londoners with attitude and sass in spades.

Since the start in 1974 Camden Market and Camden Lock have developed from a few stalls around famed music venue Dingwall’s to the fourth most popular tourist attraction in London, and on a normal week around 250 000 (!) people will visit the market. It is estimated that 28 million people visit in 1 year. These days the market is still slightly chaotic, slightly crazy and still the shops are quirky and strange, although the mud is gone, and the maze of shops is a bit more organized. If you are a goth or a cyberpunk, the market is a must. There are stalls that cater for most fetishes come to think about it, from vinyl freaks to second-hand clothes types and pvc fans. You will use at least a day to explore every nook and cranny of the market, the area is huge, and it will seem a bit overwhelming before you get your bearings about the place. If you arrive by tube to Camden Town station you might think that the mayhem of shops on Camden High street is the market, but this is only the beginning of the adventure down the rabbit hole! Continue past shops with giant dragons and shoes attached to their facades, you will see the Camden Lock mural on the railway bridge up the road. Cross the Regent’s Canal (fun fact, there is no Camden Lock, it does not exist) and you will have the site of the original market to your left, the buildings here are filled with vendors and food stalls in the backyard. If you continue straight towards the bridge you will get the Stables market on your left and it will continue back and under the railway line, with the most interesting bits (we think) at the Camden Market on the other side of the railway bridge.

You can also find the Amy Winehouse statue here, she was working in the stalls, and lived in Camden before she found fame and misfortune. Camden is still the daddy of all markets in the world, as a youth in London for the first time it is a must visit, and if you are an adult there is plenty to see and shop of course. The market is open all week, with the busiest and main days being Saturday and Sunday. Like always, we recommend getting there early and avoid the biggest crowds. To get there take the Northern Line (black) to Camden Town, if you feel like starting at the “quiet” end of the market take the tube one more stop to Chalk Farm and walk south on Chalk Farm Road (past legendary Roundhouse concert venue) to Camden Market entrance.

Portobello Road

Portobello Road was the closest market to our flat in London when we lived in Bayswater in the mid-90s.

Portobello Road is a street in the Noting Hill district in west London. It is home to Portobello Road Market, one of London’s most notable street markets, known for its second-hand clothes and antiques. In fact, it has developed to become the largest antique market in the UK. The main market day is Saturday, and it draws thousands of tourists and locals all year round. The market began as many other London markets and mainly sold fresh food in the 19th century; antiques and wares dealers arrived in the late 1940s and ’50s, and gradually antiques have become the main attraction of this market, having a substantial number of the dealers trading mainly on Saturday mornings.  

Portobello Road itself is “open” all week except Saturdays, there are plenty of shops, restaurants, pubs, bars, and small food trucks. Thanks to the movie Notting Hill the whole area is filled with tourists wanting that Notting Hill moment all week. Different sections of the market open on different days, check out the nifty calendar for when what is opened below.

On Saturdays, all five sections of the market are open: second-hand goods, clothing and fashion, household essentials, fruit, vegetables and other food and antiques. We would recommend getting there early, like any other attraction around the world, it gets very busy from noon and the number of people can be a bit daunting at times during Saturday rush hour. We think that Portobello Road is a cool and still quite genuine market in London, flowers and fruit vendors side by side with fresh juice and falafel joints, throw in lots of antiques and great second hand clothes shopping, and you have a full day of excellent retail therapy in Notting Hill.

The easiest way to get to the market is to take the tube to Notting Hill Gate station on Central Line (red) or Circle Line (Yellow) or District Line (green). When you exit the station walk west down Pembridge Road and you will see Portobello Road on your left after not more than a few hundred metres. If you want to avoid the biggest crowds a clever option is to start at the other end of the road and take the tube to Ladbroke Grove on Circle Line (yellow) or City and Hammersmith Line (pink). Thus, starting at the eastern end of the market and working your way west in the opposite direction of the crowds, this is a good option on Saturdays when the crowd at the western end of the market is at its peak.

Borough Market

Borough Market is one of the largest and oldest food markets in London, with a market site dating back to at least the 12th century. The present buildings date back to the 1850s and today the market sells yummy speciality food to the public like us! You should visit the market on an empty stomach, the amount of delish food and drinks on offer is just spectacular. It is no problem to get filled up with just taste samples from cheese makers, bakers, and honey producers. It is a total attack on the senses walking around the market, the smell and the colours of the produce is absolutely amazing. The market is great to combine with a visit to Tower of London and Tower Bridge that is only a short walk along the Thames to the east. Nearest tube station is London Bridge on the Jubilee Line (grey) and Northern Line (black). It is also a short walk across London Bridge from Monument Station that is on the Circle Line (yellow) and District Line (green).

Brick Lane and Old Spitalfields Market

If you travel to the hipster’s paradise of Shoreditch in east London, you should take the detour to nearby Brick Lane and Old Spitalfields Market. Brick Lane derives its name from the brick and tile manufacturers if the 15th century which used the local brick earth deposits. It is now the heart of London’s Bangladeshi community and is also known as Banglatown. This is THE place to go for a curry in London. More recently the area has also broadened to being a vibrant art and fashion student area, with considerable exhibition space. Each year most of the fine art and fashion courses exhibit their work near Brick Lane. There are also quite the number of graffiti pieces along the road, most famously pieces done by Banksy, Stik, ROA and Omar Hassan, go seek them out! Brick Lane Market (and Sunday Upmarket) is a Sunday market open from 9am to 5pm and is centred around Brick Lane and the old Truman Brewery buildings. A great Sunday outing, and a bit less crowded than Camden it is second-hand heaven and a foodie’s paradise to cure any hangover.

Old Spitalfields Market is west across Commercial Street from the Brick Lane area. It is the original east London market, and prides itself on that “old” market feeling. It is a covered market, so great to visit on those rainy cold London days when the great outdoors does not tempt in any way. There has been a market here for 350 years, and today there are around 60 vendors and 27 food and drinks stalls. It is open 7 days a week, so it makes for a great Sunday combo with Brick Lane or a Saturday in combo with the Shoreditch area.

Leadenhall Market

The stunning covered Leadenhall Market in the City of London dates to the 14th century and is situated in what was the centre of Roman London. Originally a meat, poultry, and game market, it is now home to several boutique retailers, restaurants, cafes, wine bars and an award-winning pub. The décor of the market is simply beautiful, and no wonder that it was used to represent the area of London near the Leaky Cauldron and Diagon Alley in the film Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone, and it was featured in the film the Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus. The ornate roof structure, painted green, maroon and cream, and cobbled floors of the current structure, designed in 1881 by Sir Horace Jones, make Leadenhall Market a tourist attraction. We would recommend visiting on a Friday afternoon when the financiers of the City enjoy their pre-weekend drinks at the pubs and bars in the area. The market is open weekdays from 10am to 6pm and you can find butchers, cheesemongers, and florists in addition to regular clothes shops. On weekends the City tends to be very empty, and Leadenhall Market is less vibrant than on weekdays. The nearest tube station is Bank (Central and Northern Line) or Monument Station (Circle and District Line).

Shopping!

There is no doubt that London is a shopper’s mecca. The amount of high street retailers, flagship stores and department stores are second to none in Europe. The main shopping streets Regent Street and Oxford Street offer a huge selection of goods, throw in the very posh shopping in Mayfair west of Regent’s street and the more bohemian shopping around Carnaby Street east of Regent’s street and you have days of shopping ahead of you.

We tend to avoid those areas, with the exception of the streets east of Carnaby street and the occasional dip into the Nike shop and Top Shop at Oxford Circus. We have our own favourites that are a bit more tranquil than the hubbub of Oxford Circus.

Carnaby Street

Situated in the backstreets east of Regent Street and just two minutes’ walk from Oxford Circus, Carnaby Street offers 150 shops and 50 independent restaurants and bars. We have always loved to stroll down Carnaby Street and the smaller alleys and streets in the area. Carnaby Street was the hub of The Swinging 60s London, and a stronghold for fashionistas, hippies and mods especially. Bands like Small Faces, The Who and The Rolling Stones trawled the designer shops for new threads before heading to nearby legendary Marquee club in Wardour Street to play a gig or sit in at a jam session. The street was satirised in the The Kinks song “Dedicated Follower of Fashion” and it was featured in the Simpsons episode “The Regina Monologues”.

In 1973 the street was pedestrianised and since the area has grown and developed into a shopping destination. The combination of independent smaller boutique shops with great pubs and restaurants makes Carnaby Street something for everyone. Dads can relax at the pub and read about the history of Carnaby Street while the youngsters roam the shops.

King’s Road

King’s Road is the major Chelsea street known for fashion and street wear from the 1960s and not least the punk movement of the 1970s with Vivienne Westwood’s SEX shop being the favourite hangout for the Sex Pistols and other punk wannabees in the late 70s.

The street is still a centre for fashion and fashionistas, and the top end towards Sloane street station has many upscale fashion shops and retailers. We like to walk King’s Road due to the high number of shops of course, especially some great independent shops the further west you get from Sloane Square, but also because it is filled with great cafes, restaurants and pubs along the way. The road is also great for people watching, looking at the Chelsea tractors (Range Rovers) and other expensive cars slowly rolling by is a treat. If you want to go full posh, grab lunch at The Ivy Chelsea. Sloane square station is easiest access by public transport and is on the Circle (yellow) and District Line (green).

Neal Street/Seven Dials

Perhaps our favourite in London is the area around Neal Street just north of Covent Garden. Covent Garden is a shopping haven, but for us it is a bit too crowded with tourists. Just head a few hundred metres north and enter Neal Street. The “secret” Neal’s Yard is a colour explosion and a cool collection of restaurants, bars, cafes and shops. We love to sit down with a coffee and people watch here.

Neal Street itself is packed with small independent shops, especially shoe shops. Seven Dials market has a good selection of shops and restaurants also. Seven Dials itself is just up the street to the west, named after the seven roads, that converge here, it is a great spot to sit at the Seven Dials monument in the middle and watch the world go by, or you could, and you should grab a pint of beer at The Crown pub in the square. Earlham street that runs from Seven Dials west towards Shaftesbury Avenue also has a great selection of independent shops. East of Neal Street is Endell street with the legendary fish and chips shop Rock and Sole Plaice and just down the road is the sublime Cross Keys pub. All the smaller streets to the east of Neal Street towards Drury Lane contain many small gems, not least the retro delight of Wow Retro in Drury Lane.

Shoreditch

The hipster’s paradise of Shoreditch has gone from somewhere we were not recommended to go in the 90s to something of a hub for street and hipster fashion and food. The number of hotels, street food vendors, cafes, bars, pubs, pop up shops and other places to spend your money is simply staggering. We would like to especially mention a few places that we like, the first one is a biker’s heaven at The Bike Shed, motorcycles, clothes, and food here is epic. If you are a petrolhead, this is a must visit location. The Cocktail Trading Co. at Bethnal Green road is award winning and we can understand why, the last time we visited we had a hard time finding our way home after tasting our way through the extensive and incredibly fun drinks menu. Pizza East on the corner of Bethnal Green road and Shoreditch High street is also one of those restaurants that is a must visit, very cool interior and very very tasty food. Just up the high street is the very chic Ace Hotel with the very cool Hoi Polloi restaurant, both are worth the visit. And Sneakers n Stuff must be mentioned, if you need the most fashionable new kicks, this is the place to get them for sure. The proximity to the old institution of Old Spitalfields Market and Brick Lane makes this area a perfect location for a full weekend of shopping and drinking (and eating of course). You could spend an entire weekend in Shoreditch, and if you have seen London a few times, this is probably an option, everything you need is here in close proximity. Worth mentioning are the rooftop bars of Shoreditch and indeed London, the Rooftop Guide has a good list of notable bars with great al fresco drinking in London.

London for 8 year old kids

We know this is a very specific age and topic, but we have only been with 8-year-old kids to London. Specifically our 3 nephews Jonas, Elias, Marcus, and our niece Nora. As a birthday present on their 8^th birthday we gave them a trip to London with us (and one parent just to be on the safe side), to see if we could inspire them and give them their first taste of the big world outside our small Norwegian city (with a population of 16 000 people compared to London’s 9,3 million). It was 4 different kids with different interests and needs, of course the boys had quite different wishes compared to the girl Nora. We tried to ask if there was anything they really wanted to see, but since they had little experience in what London could offer, we also made sure to visit some places and sights that we hoped would be of interest. In hindsight we were a bit ambitious on the number of things we did on a weekend trip, we had 3 nights in London, 2 full days, and that was more than enough for the small ones.

The most important lesson we learned was that you NEVER mention Hamleys toy shop until the last day if you can avoid it. If Hamleys is visited the first day, nothing else will be able to compete with it, and subsequently everything will now be about when we can go back to Hamleys again. Lesson number two was giving the little ones any kind of food they fancy at any given time, a kid low on energy is no fun, and a McDoodles burger will suffice even if the adults really want an artisan burger with kale and pickled daikon. Feed the Gremlin!

There are many great museums in London, and the best thing is that many are free to the public, and you can cater to almost any interest in kids and adults alike. Both Jonas and Marcus had a blast visiting The Imperial War museum on Lambeth Road. The museum is the world’s leading museum on war and conflict, the entrance is adorned with huge naval guns and inside the museum there are planes and tanks exhibited along with experiences of ordinary people forced to live their lives in a world torn apart by conflict, educational for any 8-year-old and adult. Jonas also visited the was ship HMS Belfast (a part of the Imperial War Museum) that is moored opposite Tower of London. Easiest way to get to the IWM is by bus 344 and 360 or the tube to Lambeth North with a 7-minute walk to the museum.

Elias wanted to see the Natural History Museum in Kensington. If your kid is interested in dinosaurs and animals in general, this is the place to visit. The Natural History Museum is iconic both on the exterior and the interior, used in many documentaries, not least by the great David Attenborough’s excellent Museum Alive shot inside the museum.

British Museum was visited by all the boys, and it is another one of the world’s greatest museums, and totally free. The amount of stuff inside the museum is mind-boggling, from the Elgin Marbles to original lyric sheets from the Beatles, the collection is huge. The best thing is to pick a subject or two, we chose Egypt and Greece with a wander in between, no problem using days and days here, so maybe important to narrow down the interests of whoever is visiting. It is hard to see 2 million years of human history in an hour.

All the kids enjoyed the London Eye immensely. It is a great start to the London adventure, and it is guaranteed something they would not have done before. A great recommendation is purchasing a timed ticket that gives you a shorter line to queue up in, the drawback is that you have to be there at a specific time, and it costs more, but we think the premium is worth it to avoid long lines and useless waiting in line. Nora was a bit nervous before entering the pod, but that nervousness gave way to giddiness and excitement once we had started our ascent to the top. The view from London Eye across London on a good day is fantastic, and you can point out areas of interest and places you will be visiting later to build up excitement.

Nora wanted to visit the Sea Life London Aquarium, so we bought combination tickets for the London Eye and the aquarium. Without her knowing we also bought a behind the scenes tour of the aquarium that was great fun, and the aquarium itself is huge with great tanks with fish and sharks in them.

When you are done with London Eye it is a short walk across Westminster Bridge and over to Parliament Square and Big Ben, all the kids knew Big Ben from pictures, so they were stoked to see it in real life. A great little walk when at Parliament Square is up Whitehall towards Trafalgar Square. The short walk will take you past 10 Downing Street (ooooo, the Prime Minister lives here) and further up to the Queen’s Life Guards who guard the old entrance to the palace on horseback.

Hugely popular with especially Nora, the dressed up guards on their huge horses were mesmerizing, and horses had to be petted (just beware that they might give the kids a head butt if they don’t like they way they stroke their mules). Continue up the road and Trafalgar Square with the huge lions around Nelson’s Column (they might ask who the dude on top of the column is, but most likely they will be more interested in the 7-ton lions) and of course the pigeons of the square, there are thousands!

An alternative is also to walk to Buckingham Palace from Parliament Square via St James’s Park. The lake in the park contains thousands of birds that are great for feeding from the bank, and Nora enjoyed this very much! The front of Buckingham Palace is very cool and the view down the Mall towards Trafalgar Square is great. Walking back along the northern bank of the lake in St James’s Park will bring you to the Horse guards Parade and the entrance to the Queen’s horse Guards. And when in the area of Buckingham Palace be sure to see the changing of the guards that takes place around 11am and check the days and exact times here.

We have mentioned Hamleys toy shop on Regent Street before, and it is a must visit with any kid. Just make sure everyone is filled up on energy before entering, it will drain you of every ounce of energy and patience once you have entered. And do NOT venture into Hamleys on a Saturday unless you have a wish for a mental breakdown. Hamleys is the world’s biggest toy shop, 7 stories of any toy from stuffed beard to Lego and Harry Potter paraphernalia. It is filled with everything a kid might need and caters to every need a kid did not know he had. Hundreds of employees on every floor will demonstrate, operate, and sell every ware under the sun for kids. It is heaven for the kids, and a tab more hell for the adults who must follow into the dungeon of toys. It can not be missed, but as we said, maybe the timing of the visit should be carefully considered.

Shopping is also something that is high on any kid’s agenda. We chose to visit the major brand stores of Oxford Street and Regent Street with Carnaby Street in the same area as a calmer option. Just walking around in Top Shop or Nike Town makes the eyes of any kid go wide with sensory overload. The area around Covent Garden, Neal Street, Neals Yard and Seven Dials is also a shopper’s haven and is a bit calmer than the major shopping streets around Oxford Circus.

Football with kids is a great outing. Two of the kids opted to see a football match, and we had a great time going to Crystal Palace to see them play West Ham. And we went to see Fulham play some team we cannot recall. Buying tickets to see a match in London can be an expensive affair for the more established teams like Arsenal and Tottenham, but if you go for the lower leagues or Premier League teams with older stadiums, it will be cheaper and maybe a more “authentic” experience. The most enjoyable was going to see Crystal Palace in south London at Selhurst Park in Croydon. It was very exotic to take the train to Croydon, and to be in a part of London that is more “London” than what central London is. This is where the normal Londoners live and work. We went into a small shop to get some water and suddenly Jonas shouts “Uncle! Uncle! Look! A Ninja!!” he had seen his first ever woman in a burka. We ate fish and chips at a very local chippie and had a great late summers afternoon watching the game with the crazy West Ham supporters chanting abuse at the Crystal Palace supporters. Epic.  

Tower of London was a great experience for the boys, Nora did not choose to go there, and I would say that the Tower is more a boy’s thing without being sexist. Beheadings and armour and fortresses are more boy’s day out than girls. The Tower is the most popular tourist destination in London, so getting there early to avoid the biggest crowds is a must. The yeoman wardens in their attire, the Crown Jewels, the ravens, and the Tower itself with exhibitions of armoury and weapons are all a must visit.

A trip to the dungeons to see the torture devices always makes an impression on kids. If you want some extra adventure getting there take the number 15 bus from Charing Cross/Trafalgar Square and ride the front seat on the top floor, it will take you past St Paul’s Cathedral, Bank of England, and other great buildings on the way to Tower Hill. When you have finished with the Tower, walk across Tower Bridge to the other side of the Thames and visit HMS Belfast.

Across the river from Tower of London is The Shard, at 309 metres it is the tallest building in the UK and the 7^th tallest building in Europe. The viewing platform was visited by Elias, and he was overwhelmed by the view from the viewing gallery and open-air observation deck on the 72nd floor, at a height of 244 metres. If London Eye was too low, get a ticket to the View from the Shard.

Food wise it is never wise to upset a small Wookie! Feed the gremlins when they ask for food, not when you think it is time for food, we found this out the hard way. So, we ended up at some emergency MacDoodles menus and we ended up at a favourite diner we have been visiting for years and that the kids dug: Ed’s Easy Diner! What a find for the kids. American style diner with burgers, fries, and milkshake. What joy! We ended up here maybe more times than the adults wanted, but the kids loved the menu and the food, so we kept going there and every kid was happy. We also ate an overpriced meal at the first Hard Rock Café in the world by Hyde Park Corner with one of the kids. Most evenings the kids were so nackered after a long day with sensory overload and lots of walking, dinner was a takeaway in the room, and that was ok for the kids. Nora took to the big city living and fell in love with large decaf mochas in takeaway cups. The boys sucked on Red Bulls and Ribena. We had a candy shop just around the corner from our hotel, and that turned out to be one of the bigger attractions of London for at least two of the boys. On all occasions we stayed in the middle of central London at St Giles Hotel, affordable and great location.

We think that with great planning together with the kids London is a grand first visit to a metropolis. It is important to suss out the interests and expectations of the small ones, just to see what is a must and what is of no interest. To be overly ambitious is just to make the small ones tired and sick of wandering around, so plan carefully, and leave time to feed the ducks and the squirrels in the park, and do not forget to sit down and have a beer and a soft drink when possible. London is a great adventure!

And thank you to Jonas, Elias, Marcus and Nora for giving uncle and auntie memories to cherish for the rest of our lives. We love you!