Places to visit in London
"For I know the plans I have for you, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Then you will call on me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart."
This entry journalises the places I visited in London, and also marks the end of my 2-month stay in London for my summer school program - one of the best choices I did for myself that I know my future self would thank me for.
Being quite a 'Chiong-ster' when it comes to travelling (especially exploring new grounds), I made quite the best use of time travelling around central London, but during the last 2 weeks, I got used to the country that I felt more like a citizen than a tourist and took things at my own pace. To my surprise, I actually had enough time to explore even the outskirts of central London! On a side note, in London, be prepared to WALK a lot! I remember walking so much but it was enjoyable as there were many things to see along the way. Sometimes, I purposely alight one stop before just to walk and cover more sights.
Anyways, since I managed to cover a variety of places, different types for different people's interests, I'll be segmenting them accordingly in this post!
The Touristy Places
London Eye
On my first week there, my hotel was 5 mins (walk) away from The London Eye, thus that makes it the first attraction to visit! It's a huge part of London's skyline, I'm sure you wouldn't miss it. I didn't ride on it because there was a long queue of tourists but it's okay cause I didn't want to anyways. I bet the view would be super awesome from above, recommended if you have the time to wait and ride on it. Evenings would be a great timing, hopefully you can get to see the sunset while on it!
Big Ben
Depending on which direction you walk from, London Eye is walking distance to Big Ben. They are basically a bridge across each other, so while walking across, do take some time to enjoy the scenic view of river thames. You could even take the Thames River Cruise. I didn't but I guess if you have lots of time to kill, the London waters could possibly be a good experience.
Tower Bridge
This is the "London Bridge" that you should be visiting! Yup, I got confused initially as well... because all I ever knew from my nursery rhymes was "LONDON BRIDGE is falling down, falling down". Yup, truth is there's a London bridge too, but it looks just like any bridge, never super amazing and probably not worth intentionally visiting in. Though I walked on the London Bridge as well while getting over to Borough Market. So yup anyways, this pretty instagram worthy bridge is the tower bridge, the one and only, that many people visit and take photos at! Likewise, we visited this place early in the morning when there were little people (but many cars zooming pass), so it was a great time for photo-taking!
Tower of London
Got to know of this place because we were done with Tower Bridge and wanted to walk to Borough Market. So we asked for directions to get there and a very kind lady told us to walk towards the direction where Tower of London was situated at, worth a visit, before continuing our journey to the market. So, we walked across the Tower Bridge and there we go, we ended up at the Tower of London. It looks just like any old castle from outside, but a rather pretty one with lots of history involved. I wasn't very interested in history so yeah, snapped some pictures before leaving that place. Btw, walking from Tower Bridge to Borough Market is quite a distance but we decided to walk since we had time and the weather was perfect that morning.
Got to know of this place because we were done with Tower Bridge and wanted to walk to Borough Market. So we asked for directions to get there and a very kind lady told us to walk towards the direction where Tower of London was situated at, worth a visit, before continuing our journey to the market. So, we walked across the Tower Bridge and there we go, we ended up at the Tower of London. It looks just like any old castle from outside, but a rather pretty one with lots of history involved. I wasn't very interested in history so yeah, snapped some pictures before leaving that place. Btw, walking from Tower Bridge to Borough Market is quite a distance but we decided to walk since we had time and the weather was perfect that morning.
Buckingham Palace
All I can say is that it's super huge and super crowded! Gosh, so hard trying to take a proper picture together without having accidental photo-bombers in the background. I missed the changing of guards parade that takes place at 11.30am daily, so do remember to check the timing if you really want to watch that. My friends who have seen it told me that it's a must-see, it's a pity I didn't get to, but it's okay, I'm sure I'll be back for London just before I know it.
All I can say is that it's super huge and super crowded! Gosh, so hard trying to take a proper picture together without having accidental photo-bombers in the background. I missed the changing of guards parade that takes place at 11.30am daily, so do remember to check the timing if you really want to watch that. My friends who have seen it told me that it's a must-see, it's a pity I didn't get to, but it's okay, I'm sure I'll be back for London just before I know it.
The Markets
Borough Market
I lived somewhat walking distance from Borough Market, so it's the place for me to head to for fruits and other groceries.
Portobello Road Market
Portobello Road Market
We went to Portobello Road Market in Notting Hill on Sunday – which in hindsight was a really good idea because there weren’t as many people there as there would be on a Saturday.
Prepare your camera for numerous photos of colourful houses!!!
Harrods, Liberty, Selfridges, Fordham & Mason!
Great place for a #ootd too!
The Museums
Museums are definitely not my cup of tea. Thus, I only visited one museum (for the sake of visiting cause I'm in London) and of course, I had to choose the best of the best right? As bimbotic as it sounds (please don't judge), I choose the one that allows me to take the nicest pictures, haha! But of course, it has got to be a famous one, so after much deliberation, I decided on...
Natural History Musuem
Natural History Musuem
I only knew of it through the movie 'Night at the Museum'. And of course, the fact that it has a iconic dinosaur exhibition at the entrance to take picture of, so I followed my mind and went forth with the visit. The place is pretty huge and one could spend at least half a day inside. Kids especially would love it as it has a section great for learning about living things etc yup I'm sure they would find it interesting! I didn't stay there for long but I'm glad at least I can say I've been there done that! Well, it's free entry, free wifi, free toilets anyway, so why not!
The Cathedrals
St Paul's Cathedral
It sits on Ludgate Hill at the highest point of the City of London.
It sits on Ludgate Hill at the highest point of the City of London.
The Fields
Mayfield Lavender Farm
Super duper pretty! It was my first time at a lavender field and I loved it! We literally followed the scent of lavender to know which bus stop to alight at HAHAHA!!! It was practically lavender everything! Very picturesque too!
Super duper pretty! It was my first time at a lavender field and I loved it! We literally followed the scent of lavender to know which bus stop to alight at HAHAHA!!! It was practically lavender everything! Very picturesque too!
Heweitts Strawberry Farm
Making sure you get enough fruit and veg in your diet can be dull, but not when you can get out in the sun and pluck some strawberries!
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