Things to Do/See in London

Planning a trip to London sometime in Spring 2023, what's a good number of days to spend in London for someone that hasn't been (not counting countless layovers in Heathrow)? I'm thinking 3-5ish days. I have a friend in the Netherlands that might come too, but could end up being a solo trip.

Also, any UK and Continental monkeys got some recommendations for watering holes, unique things to do/see, places to eat? Generally prefer places that are transit-accessible.

I'm also interested in urban planning and architecture, so if anyone has recommendations for that, that'd be great.

I'm aware of all the history and general stuff (Buckingham, Tower of London, the Eye, stuff like that), and don't want any of that Harry Potter stuff. Any and all recommendations welcome.

 

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Stonehenge would be fantastic, completely forgot about that.

Yeah I'm considering doing a dual masters of urban planning and MBA, which is really niche. What I do is pretty specific so I don't want to dox myself, but I used to do medical and commercial RE acquisitions and portfolio mgmt. What I really want to do is infra PE with a focus on passenger and commercial transportation assets (rail, airports, transit, etc.). The urban planning masters won't really help that all that much, but it's something I'm passionate about and am interested in a possibly post-finance life.

Quant (ˈkwänt) n: An expert, someone who knows more and more about less and less until they know everything about nothing.
 

Depends on your view on Brutalism, but the Barbican is a pretty interesting example of urban architecture bang in the middle of the city.

Usually have some decent plays on in the theatre as well if you're into that.

 

Awesome thanks, I've read about the Barbican a bit in a Brutalism architecture group, interesting location in the heart of the city.

Plays didn't come to mind actually but London is famous for them, that's a great idea.

Quant (ˈkwänt) n: An expert, someone who knows more and more about less and less until they know everything about nothing.
 

Not a local but did 3 full days this spring and it wasn't enough so I'd say 5. So many things to do and see I didn't know where to start for a 3 day trip. Found this site - https://loveandlondon.com/london-101-guide-main/ and read the free guide, then ended up buying the 3 day Central London tour guide where we ended up staying and touring. It maps out a walking/tube path in google maps for 3 days. I customized the route in the 3 day package/map for other things I wanted to see. It was a great start and saved time. Watched several of her videos also and found things interesting to me - https://www.youtube.com/user/loveandlondon/videos. With the current exchange rate may want to book hotel now, get more for the money.

 

Assume you’re a finance guy. Visit the City (Bank tube station) and Canary Wharf. Both can be done in a day.

Otherwise I’d go to Regent’s Park, Mayfair, Buckingham Palace. They’re more west than the City and can be done in a day.

The Tower of London and Tower bridge are also cool to see.

Otherwise depends on what you’re into/like doing. Can recommend from there

 
HardestOfHardos

Assume you're a finance guy. Visit the City (Bank tube station) and Canary Wharf. Both can be done in a day.

This is going to sound really hardo, but it would be cool to see that and some specific things like the Bank of England, London Stock Exchange, Lloyd's, and the Baltic and Metal Exchanges. London from a historical perspective has so much financial history.

Thanks for the other recs.

Quant (ˈkwänt) n: An expert, someone who knows more and more about less and less until they know everything about nothing.
 

Just to look around - it’s a very modern and unique area of London. Plus, would only take 1 hour to visit. What’s to lose? OP is a finance guy, said he wants to see the areas relevant to that… it’s like if I go to NY, I enjoy going down Wall Street. Nothing really there but I enjoy seeing the buildings at the centre of global commerce

 

Interesting thing about architecture in London compared to most other Western European cities outside Germany like Paris are that there is a unique blend of old and new given how much destruction took place during World War II. Because of this, you don't see nearly as many old buildings in London as you would in Paris. Pretty much all of Paris outside of La Defense is old, while that's not so much the case in London where you will see far more modern buildings throughout the central portions of the city. 

 

That's a great point. Warsaw in Poland is sort of similar in a sense, but is mostly post-war since 95%+ was destroyed. London definitely has an amazing blend.

Quant (ˈkwänt) n: An expert, someone who knows more and more about less and less until they know everything about nothing.
 

This is actually something I can help with... If you like planning and architecture, I think it will be worth your time checking out the East End of London/City of London area. During WWI and WWII these areas were for peasants/Eastern Europeans immigrants, and the areas went through a lot with the bombings of London during the War. There's a lot of really cool history associated with the area/buildings: much of the architecture/features of the buildings are in tact (cool little things such as the old fashion Chimneys, metal shoe cleaners outside every door to clean off the dirt/horse poop from the era of dirt roads and horses used as transportation), phenomenal diversity/history of buildings (the same building could of one day been a Mosque, then a Temple, then a Church, and now be a place of worship for another religion -- very fascinating), and awesome stories about certain places (normal looking houses were ones that housed back-room conversations between Lenin and Stalin in the beginning of the 20th century). 

Now, the area is fairly upscale and flats go for north of 1M$ easy, but the history and awesomeness of the area remains. Also, you can easily get food after at Brick Lane - there are food stalls of every cuisine you can imagine that are all equally very good and affordable. You can get multiple different dishes for less than 10$ each there, so it's a fun food adventure. As well, the actual City of London (finance area) is a new, bustling area to walk around and explore which leads you right to Tower of London/Tower Bridge which is always a tourist spot but a must see. 

LMK if you have any questions! 

 
Most Helpful

I love architecture and used to do a few of these when I lived in London - was often the best date, when followed by a good meal

City of London 

Start at Farringdon Station

walk through Smithfield Market to Cloth Fair where William Wallace was drawn and quartered, walk on Long Lane to Great Saint Barts Church (one of the few that survived Henry VIII), stop for beer at Hand and Shears, go to the Barbican (modern brutalist) to the Barbican Centre, Exit south to the Bank of England and Royal Exchange, South to Monument, Northeast to Lloyds and Fenchurch Street Station, North to the Gherkin and Baltic Exchange, up Bishopsgate to Spitalfields Market and the old Huegenot Church. Get a curry on Brick Lane. This is my favourite part of London, if you can, try and get a tour of one of the livery halls.

Three Parks

start at Parliament Square with the statues, go into St James Park to Buckingham Palace, cross into Green Park to Hyde Park Corner and Apsley House, enter Hyde Park and follow the Serpentine up to the Italianate Gardens, finish near Notting Hill Gate, get beer at Ladbroke Arms

Other Things to See

Petersham Meadows in Rchmond and the deer in Richmond Park

Barnes Wetlands 

Greenwich and Canary Wharf

Hampstead, Keats House, Kenwood House and the Heath

i miss London!

 
mergersandacquisitions78

This is my favourite part of London, if you can, try and get a tour of one of the livery halls.

I've read about this, fascinating history. Is there a particular one you'd recommend I try to check out?

Quant (ˈkwänt) n: An expert, someone who knows more and more about less and less until they know everything about nothing.
 

An EPL game would be really badass.

EDIT: damn Chelsea vs ManU would be amazing but it's in Old Trafford when I'll be there. 

Thanks for the other recs.

Quant (ˈkwänt) n: An expert, someone who knows more and more about less and less until they know everything about nothing.
 

Its a really easy 2- 2 and a half hour train ride with maybe 3 stops in-between, just saying... 

But for games like those, be prepped to pay up, upper tiers would be hundreds of dollars. Also if you go to an away game supporting the other side, read up first and be careful... some stadiums are super restrictive so if you don't want to sit in the away supporter section, blend in

 

awesome that sounds great. On that topic, do you know if there's any medieval military museums, or other time periods?

Quant (ˈkwänt) n: An expert, someone who knows more and more about less and less until they know everything about nothing.
 

Been living in London for 3 years. 

Often spend my Sundays walking round different parts of the city.

Brick lane in Shoreditch is busy on Sundays - 20 minute walk from the city. Loads of vintage shops, food stalls. 10 minutes further on is Columbia Road Flower Market (only Sundays) - pop up flower market.

In the city, there is The Garden at 120, a free garden on the 27th floor. Great views & good perspective that is a bit different from The Skygarden & The Shard. Leadenhall market is a must-visit as well, popular with insurance brokers & is usually busy from 11am on a Monday morning with its first drinkers. The architecture is pretty cool as well and has been used in many films.  

Food-wise - there are loads of great restaurants on Charlotte Street in Fitzrovia. Norma, Bricco e Bacco, Lisboeta. (First 2 are Sicilian, last is Portuguese). 

Borough Market is also great. Probably 50 or so takeaway vendors. Highly recommend The Black Pig - they service pulled pork sandwiches. 

Notting Hill has Portobello Road which has colourful houses & markets on the weekends. 

Premier league football is great - recommend Tottenham, Chelsea, Arsenal, West Ham as they probably have the most impressive stadiums but tickets can be hard to come by. Fulham, Brentford, Queens Park Rangers should be easier to get. 

The Toucan in Soho Square is known for serving the best Guinness in London (nothing on Dublin but worth it). The Grendier in Belgravia is another good option. There are loads of small great pubs knocking around & will all be friendly if you rock up. 

 

my favourite place, and someone has just suggested this, is the British museum. it has the Rosetta Stone, 5000 year old mummys, egyptian/greek statues and obelisks from 2000 years before Jesus existed.  I just cycled past it about an hour ago so maybe its fresh in my mind.

other weird shit you could do - go to Karl Marx's grave In the north (then go and chill on primrose hill or something) or go to Westminster abbey to see Charles dickens Charles Darwin and Isaac newtons graves.

watering holes - depends on the vibe. i could give you suggestions all over the city depending on age and objectives.

 

definitely, read about that before and saw some in the US. Are there any particular ones you recommend? Looks like some are inner suburbs within London (e.g., Brentham and Hampstead).

Quant (ˈkwänt) n: An expert, someone who knows more and more about less and less until they know everything about nothing.
 

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Quant (ˈkwänt) n: An expert, someone who knows more and more about less and less until they know everything about nothing.

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