Holidays in London, England
Everyone wants to visit London and England for a holiday. London is renowned for its cultural heritage, its magnificent buildings, trend setting shops and vibrant nightlife.
London
London is an enormous city that encompasses a variety of areas that differ culturally and architecturally. Kensington in west London is a supremely elegant part of London that many tourists visit because of its intellectual, musical and artistic attractions. The Science and Natural History Museums have queues of people waiting to enter their amazing halls and view a vast collection of exhibits. The Victoria and Albert Museum holds a collection of precious artefacts on behalf of the people. The domed Royal Albert Hall is a much loved historic place where tourists and Londoners vie for seats for musical performances such as ballets, orchestral delights and that very British series of uplifting ‘Last Night of the Proms’ concerts.
Across from the Royal Albert Hall in London is Kensington Gardens where tourists can find a memorial to Princess Diana. The road leading east from the Albert Hall takes tourists to posh Knightsbridge where they can admire and shop at prestigious Harrods and perhaps make a diversion down Sloane Street take in a classical concert at Cadogan Hall. Returning to Knightsbridge High Street, travel further east still along the Knightsbridge Road to reach Hyde Park Corner and the Wellington Arch that divides Green Park from Buckingham Palace Gardens. Buckingham Palace is near the top of most tourists ‘must see’ list and it also possible to view a few rooms inside this historic palace at certain times of year.
Buckingham Palace
Pass round Buckingham Palace and on to Birdcage Walk which runs down the southern side of St. James Park. Keep following the road until you get to the green lawns of Parliament Square. To your right is Westminster Abbey, the church used for royal and state occasions and across the green bordering the River Thames are the ‘Houses of Parliament’ where the Prime Minister presides over running the UK. Standing stolidly by its side marking the hours is Big Ben. It is possible to arrange a tour of the Houses or Parliament and Big Ben is organised far in advance, all information is on the web.
Palace of Westminster and Big Ben in London
Sandwiched between the law makers of Parliament and the hallowed Inns of Court, home to the legal profession along the river at Temple, is the artistic heart of London which offers pure pleasure to tourists and Londoners alike. This area includes theatreland where famous plays and musicals entertain their audiences, Covent Garden where the Royal Opera House is found and amateur street performers astound and delight the crowds. Trafalgar Square’s fountains is another focus on art and history in its monuments and adjacent national art galleries. Leicester Square and Picadilly Circus provide light relief and entertainment with a myriad of eateries.
Trafalgar Square
This part of the city may be concerned about implementing laws and the next section overlooking the river is all about making money. The business centres of London of London are worth visiting on holiday for a look at impressive buildings that fill with business suited people in the morning and empty at night. The original business centre of London is based in ‘The City’ an area north of the Thames between Temple and Tower Hill that includes St. Paul’s Cathedral , Mansion House, The Barbican and Liverpool Street.
The City of London and City Hall
A new financial centre of skyscrapers housing international banks, insurance companies and financial institutions was built further east beside the River Thames at Canary Wharf. The iconic pyramid shaped roof of Canary Wharf is visible for miles on the eastern side of the city. An underground shopping centre thrives under Canary Wharf and a network of eateries provides welcome places for a quick breakfast or lunch.
Canary Wharf
One of the easy methods of touring some of the main London attractions is by a Thames river boat. Various operators sail past the attractions on the river and provide commentary as they pass. The boat tour gives some sense of the scale of London and an overview of places to tour around individually on another day of your holiday.
Such a large metropolis inevitably has many more tourist attractions such as the wonderful London parks including Regents Park where London Zoo is located, the various markets, Waxworks, night clubs, theme parks, historic palaces such as the Tower of London and Hampton Court, Greenwich for the maritime museum and GMT. A week or even several weeks in London would not be enough time to see the main points of interest. Tourists inevitably have to make a short list.
Tower of London
The world wants to come and stay in London and indeed there are numerous hotels dotted around the capital that offer holiday accommodation. There are also apartments both self-catering and serviced. Self-catering apartments are brilliant because they provide cooking facilities which save a lot of money in London. It is also very nice to have a personal stock of drinks and snacks and to be able to make up a packed lunch to take out when sightseeing.
This brief introduction that might give you a taste of London. Foreign visitors may wish to read more general information about visiting London and England.
The best time to book a holiday in London and England is when English weather is pleasant and sunny with fewest rainy spells. There is this myth about England always being a grey and drizzly place and that is true on occasional days but generally, summer is bright and dry with plenty of warm spells. The south east of England tends to be fairly dry and the buildings of the capital city absorb that warmth to raise the temperature a couple of degrees higher.
Category: Holidays in England, Holidays in London
