10 Things I’ve Learned After Several Trips to London

Large but welcoming; noisy, but full of quiet places: ancient and modern at the same time, that’s London. In addition to the famous places, there are other things in the British capital that will draw you in or out, but which make the city on the Thames what it is. Oh, and there’s another thing, you don’t have to spend a lot to have fun.

An author of awesome.club visited London several times and offers you a story about the peculiarities of the city that will undoubtedly be useful for those who plan to visit it.

“In this city, modern skyscrapers do not disturb the peace of ancient buildings. Everything looks as if it had been thought of that way from the beginning, and no amount of technical progress will prevent London from respecting traditions. For example, keeping crows in The Tower of London, the Tower of London; it is believed that if they leave, Great Britain as a country will cease to exist. There are currently six crows, and they are distinguished by the color of a ribbon tied to one of their legs.

These highly intelligent birds feel comfortable being photographed all the time and people take selfies with them. Touching them is not a good idea. As docile as crows are, they are unlikely to enjoy being petted by strangers, and may peck at those who try. They are cared for by a crow keeper. as per your twitterhe is delighted with the birds and they have a lot of confidence in him.

Like many architectural monuments, the Tower Bridge, one of the symbols of the city and inaugurated in 1894, almost nothing has changed. But there is a novelty: it is now possible to do yoga on it. You may have already guessed, not at the bottom, because cars pass there. Not to mention the fact that it’s a drawbridge.

Yoga takes place on the upper pedestrian part of the bridge, on a glass floor 42 meters above the Thames. It’s scary, but there are many people willing to try. Lessons take place twice a month (you need to register in advance) and cost around £25, which is generally not a high price. It is best to bring your own exercise mat, as there is a risk that there will not be enough available.

On the streets of central London, especially at night, there are throngs of enthusiastic tourists who photograph everything and live stream it on Instagram. It is worth mentioning the long queues that form at the entrances to free museums (I’ll talk about them later), the London Eye and other places of cultural leisure. It turns out that British queues are very disciplined, as you can see from this photo. People don’t need barriers to respect order.

Still, if you plan to visit any tourist attraction, plan your visit in advance so you don’t have to wait in line. We have to give the British credit: they do everything possible to shorten the waiting time. For example, if you queue at the entrance to the London Aquarium, an employee will come, tell you how long to wait and advise a time that is most convenient, or there is also the option to buy tickets online in advance and skip the line to the cashier.

As in any capital city, London offers many opportunities for shopping. I’m not going to lie, it’s a very expensive city, but that doesn’t mean that a tourist will have money just to buy souvenirs. Boutique lovers should find their way on their own, I will tell you about the most budget options, which will also suit those who are not so fond of shopping, but love to take a bunch of pictures.

Even if you insist on expensive clothes, don’t forget to pay special attention to the Primark chain of stores, where for a hundred pounds you can literally dress from head to toe. I can’t claim that the quality of the products is ideal, but for jeans that cost eight pounds, or a bag for five, it’s more than acceptable. the fans of Harry Potter🇧🇷 Star WarsNickelodeon and Disney will certainly appreciate products with the symbols of their favorite movies and series at very attractive prices.

If you travel with kids or just love Lego, don’t miss their store in Leicester Square. Of course, it is possible to buy Lego figures anywhere, but it is not anywhere that you will be able to take a photo with the Elizabeth Tower, Big Ben, in the background, sit in the carriage of a toy train and admire the panel. more detailed with the view of London. All this beauty assembled in Lego pieces attracts more attention than the assortment of toys in the store itself.

When you leave the Lego store, right in front of you, you’ll see another one that also pleases adults and children alike: M&M’s World. It’s incredibly large, and not only does it sell sweets (they’ll certainly give you some goodies at the entrance), but also a huge variety of souvenirs and clothing. It is also possible to buy nothing and just take a picture with Red, Yellow and their friends, who parody the Beatles album cover Abbey Road🇧🇷

If you’re not interested in clothes, sweets and toys, but can’t live without good tea, visit the 300-year-old Twinings tea shop on Strand Street. Prices start at £8.50 per pack and for £30 you can buy a pack of delicious jasmine pearls. It is also possible to visit a small tea museum and taste various types of tea for free.

London Underground lines only look confusing at first glance. In reality, everything is very clear, quite convenient and the Metro will help you save money on travel. For example, instead of leaving a small fortune for a taxi driver at Heathrow Airport, it is possible to take the Piccadilly line without leaving the terminal.

It is true that black cab drivers take a long time to obtain a license, they must pass an exam to know every corner of the city and they must know the best route to take if a certain street is blocked. It would seem pointless to demand so much knowledge in the age of technology, but on the other hand, GPS can fail at the most inopportune moment.

The buses are also very comfortable, but don’t forget that in some areas the Hail and Ride Section operates, which only stops when the passenger asks for it. This means that you have to press a special button so that the conductor does not pass his point. Transport, both surface and underground, is paid for with an Oyster card. Traveling in London (as in all of Europe) is not cheap, but there is a rule that allows you to travel for free by bus or tram once, if by chance your card runs out of credit.

London pubs have curious names: The Blind Pig (The Blind Pig), The End of the World (The end of the world), The Carriage and the Horse (Carriage and Horses; the one in the photo), royal oak (Royal Oak), Old Cheshire Cheese (Old Cheshire Cheese). It’s not just places to drink; people go to pubs to chat, watch football or just read the paper and relax on the way home.

In some pubs it is also possible to have lunch, for example the traditional fish & chips, dish that is relatively inexpensive, and very tasty. Unlike in restaurants, it is not customary to tip, and you have to pay after ordering. Advice: the farther the pub is from the city center, the lower the price, and sometimes the atmosphere of the more budget places leaves nothing to be desired for the more expensive ones.

About a month and a half before Christmas, central London is transformed. Fantastic decorations appear on the streets and in shop windows: birds, flowers, glittering spheres, and everything that springs from the imagination of the organizers. The most beautiful places at this time of year are Carnaby Street (pictured), Oxford and Regent Street.

Illumination cheers visitors and residents alike until the first days of January, but if you didn’t have time and you arrived in London after this Christmas show, don’t be sad; in winter, in london, festivals of lights are traditionally celebrated, in which installations and light shows from all over the world are presented.

Probably nowhere else in the world will you see the same amount of works of art without paying a penny. Among the free museums in London are the British Museum, the National Gallery, the Natural History Museum (pictured), the Science Museum, the Tate and Tate Modern, the National Portrait Gallery, the Museum of London , the Wallace Collection and some others, for example, a small museum in Bruce Castle (I’ll talk a little more about this castle at the end of this post).

In all museums it is allowed to take pictures (with the exception of some rooms), but someone may ask you to turn off the flash. Drawing is also not prohibited, an excellent practice for artists. As I advised before, choose the days when there are fewer visitors, to avoid standing in line for a long time.

As in any major city, London has many musicians, acrobats, comedians, celebrity look-alikes (like this Mr. Bean from Chinatown), living statues, and other performers who have their ideal street scene. Some of them are so professional that you wonder why such talented people are forced to perform on the street when they should be performing to sold-out venues.

Fortunately, however, great talent simply cannot go unnoticed. One such artist is Rob Falsini, who is rightly called one of the best independent musicians in the UK. Since he was “discovered” by the composer of cirque du soleilBenoit Jutras, the singer released three albums and performed concerts in the United States and Canada.

I cannot fail to mention another street musician who, like Rob Falsini, was recently seen with a guitar in Covent Garden. James Bowen and his red-haired cat Bob became real stars after the release of their autobiography, and in 2016 they made a film in which Bob the cat played his own role. If you still don’t know the story of James and Bob, be sure to read it and you will have another proof that absolutely anyone can change your life for the better.

London is a green city, it has many large parks (Hyde Park in the photo), botanical gardens and countless parks and small squares. In many neighborhoods of the city (which are called “boro”) there are beautiful places known as Recintos de Recreação, a kind of parks with soccer fields, lakes, gym equipment and public centers. In each green zone, feathery and fluffy inhabitants will surely be found. I will talk about some of them.

In Hyde Park, in addition to geese, swans, ducks and other birds, live the South American Monk Parakeet. It’s still not clear how they got here. There is a version that the parrots were released during the filming of The African Queen, in 1951. As a result, the birds became established in London and some other regions of the country. Surprisingly, they acclimated…