Changing of the guard/the Four O’Clock Parade

A tourist favourite, the changing of the guard at Buckingham Palace takes place every day throughout the summer at 11.30am. The ceremony involves the changing of five regiments of foot guards and takes about 45 minutes. It also features a band playing popular classical music.

If getting up early in the morning is too much of a struggle, consider the Four O’Clock Parade (also known as the Dismounting) that takes place at the Horse Guards building. All of the guards line up in formation and are inspected, before taking the horses back to the stables for the night.

Changing of the Guards at Buckingham Palace, London / edwin.11

Street performers in Covent Garden and a walk through China Town

Covent Garden is a vibrant area with numerous bars and boutique stores. It’s great to wander around, but if you fancy some entertainment, the square is famed for its street performers and buskers. Covent Garden is centrally located and just a stroll from nearby China Town, which is worth exploring to take in the smells and vibrant atmosphere.

Art galleries

London features some of the world’s greatest art galleries and fortunately many of them are completely free. London’s best known gallery, the National Gallery in Trafalgar Square houses one of the finest collections in the world. The gallery’s permanent collection contains western European paintings from 1250 to 1900. It’s a vast building and takes at least a day to explore.

The Tate Modern, probably the second most famous gallery in London, is housed in a defunct power plant.  The gallery exhibits an expansive collection of modern art, the quirks of which are mirrored in the unusual building.

Museums

Dubbed ‘one of the world’s best museums of human history and culture’, the British Museum hosts some of the world’s most famous objects, such as the Rosetta Stone and the Parthenon sculptures – as well as Egyptian mummies and other fascinating artefacts. The museum is so large that it’s impossible to cover in one day, so it’s worthwhile picking up a map and planning what to see in advance.

South Bank

Home to the Tate Modern and the Southbank Centre, the South Bank has been regenerated into one of the most creative areas in London, hosting numerous festivals and events.  Most weekends the area is also home to very a popular street food market selling international cuisine.

There’s often live music being played outside of the Southbank Centre, as well as many buskers and street performers keeping crowds entertained. If you’re into photography, the underground skate park is a must-visit for some action shots.

There are many great things to do for free in London and the best way to find many of them is to explore the places you don’t know on foot. Summer is the best time to visit, with London serviced apartments available all season. If you don’t fancy any of the above, consider relaxing in one of the many parks London has to offer.

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London, England, UK by Tim Morris

The city of London is perhaps one of the most visited places in the whole of the UK. Each year millions of people make their way to this ancient city to see the sites and experience the culture.

Within the city of London, you will find several World Heritage Sites which includes the Tower of London, the Royal Botanic Gardens, Westminster Abbey, the Palace of Westminster, St. Margaret’s Church as well as the settlement of Greenwich which is home to the Royal Observatory.

There are more than 300 different languages commonly spoken within the city as it is home to more than seven and a half million residents; many of which come from ever corner of the globe. The metropolitan area that surrounds London is home to more than fourteen million residents.

Palace of Westminster, London, England, UK by Jim Trodel

The city of London is also home to the world’s oldest underground railway system, the London Underground. This rail system will get you all over the city. While not many tourists take the Underground, the experience is nonetheless an exciting one.

Countless people make their way to the Buckingham Palace in order to watch the Changing of the Guard. They also try their best to make the guard smile or make any kind of movements at all. There is so much to see in and around the Palace that many people spend a good portion of their day in the area.

Near by you will find the House of Parliament, Big Ben, the Tower Bridge as well as the Tower of London. Countless people make their way to the British Museum and spend the entire day looking through the collections housed within. Then there is the Princess Diana’s memorial that also gets many regular visitors.

Tower Bridge, London, England, UK by Robert Brown

One of the more recent attractions in the city is that of the London Eye. Built for the new millennium, the London Eye is an amazing ferris wheel that takes you up, higher than most of the buildings in the city. From the top you can see for kilometers in every direction.

There is literally so much to see and do in the city of London, that one could spend an entire month on vacation within the city and only see a small portion of what the largest city in the European Union has to offer.

How to get to London

England is one of the most visited European countries and so it is London. There are several major airports around the city, serviced by perhaps all airlines that can be seen in Europe, from the most luxury up to those low-cost airlines offering cheap flights to London.

A quick guide to London’s airports

Heathrow

London’s largest and most modern airport is London Heathrow, which is located in the south-western part of the city. It is one of the busiest airports in Europe in general. London Heathrow has five terminals and two runways. Among the most important advantages of this airport is its location – it is easily accessible from the city centre, by numerous public transport services:

You can find more about the London Heathrow on heathrowairport.com.

Gatwick

A few miles south of London, there is another large airport, Gatwick, which also provides flights to the whole world. Transport to central London is available in either a bus or train service. Of course it is possible to use the taxi as well.
Find more info on gatwickairport.com

London Stansted

London Stansted is currently London’s third busiest airport. It is located about 40 km north of London and is considered a base of low-cost airlines like Ryanair, Easyjet and others. Directly under the airport hall is the train station from where you can get to London, Cambridge and the Midlands. Stansted Express is the fasted way how to get to London and the price for return ticket is £32.80 (46 minutes), but you can use cheaper bus transport service from £6 for one way ticket.
Find more info on stanstedairport.com.

Luton

Luton is one of the smaller airports. Today it is already used by some cheaper airlines. Located about 50 kilometres south-east of London you can reach the city centre by regular bus or train services as well.
Find more info on london-luton.co.uk

London City Airport

Another airport in London is London City Airport. This is situated very close to the city centre. London City Airport, however, is the airport that is mainly used by private business clients. Regular flights are not arriving to this airport so you will probably never get there. Or… have you already been there?

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