Royal Pavilion, Brighton, UK by Xgkkp

The Royal Pavilion is not like Taj Mahal inscribed on UNESCO’s List of Heritage Sites but it is still very interesting and magnificent attraction in the southern England, which you should not miss once you are around London. It is very nice especially in the evenings when it is richly illuminated.

The Royal Pavilion is open daily except for few national holidays or regular annual maintenance. If you would like to organize some group trip here, it is recommended to book in advance during the summer, as the Royal Pavilion used to be quite busy.

Basic admission is £10 for adults and £5,70 for kids, but there are a number of special offers for families, students, or seniors… The best way how you can get there is by train, Pavilion is located just 15 minutes walking from Brighton Rail Station.

During your tour around the Royal Pavilion you will visit such great places as The Music Room, The Banqueting Room, Royal bedrooms, The Great Kitchen, Royal reception rooms and Indian Military Hospital gallery. You can also take Audio Guides which are already included in the price. And if you prefer being in the nature rather than moving from one room to another one, Royal Pavilion is still good option for you. There are gardens where you can expect different species of plants in the different season.

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Tower of London, UK by Fernando Nunes

The Hour Before Midnight

It is the ghost of Henry VI that haunts the Wakefield Tower. Henry met his death on the 21st May 1471, murdered ‘in the hour before midnight’ as he knelt in prayer. This quite tragic and ineffectual monarch is believed to have met his death at the hands of the sinister Duke of Gloucester, being stabbed repeatedly in what was by all accounts of the time, a frenzied and brutal attack, with his body being describes as being ‘full of deadly holes’. It’s on the hour before midnight, every year, on the anniversary of his death that he reappears, his spectre is said to pace around the inside of the Wakefield Tower until, when midnight finally strikes he fades away.

The White Lady

The cold stones of the narrow and winding corridors of the great tower are the haunt of the White Lady. She has been seen waving to visiting children from a window in the tower, who eagerly waved back at her from an opposite building. Most haunted residences seem to have a white or grey lady but this one is different. With the white lady of the tower you smell her approach, as the air is said to fill with the pungent aroma of cheap perfume, which is especially noticeable around the area of the entrance of St John’s Chapel, the scent is so strong that it has been known to make staff and guards retch.

Tower of London – St. John’s Chapel, UK by Nick Mehlert

The Screaming Countess

Out of all of the men, women and children that met their death here, either through murder or execution, one of the most alarming ghostly visitations is that of the Countess of Salisbury, Margaret Pole. Sentenced to death at the respectful age of seventy two by Henry VIII, as an act of vengeance towards Cardinal Pole, her son, she was sentenced to be executed on May 27th 1541. The Countess refused to kneel at the block, stating that to kneel would be to assume the role of a traitor, which she was not. The executioner unfazed by her refusal wielded his axe at her where she stood; she tried to flee for her life but was literally hacked down as she ran. This incredible scene is not replayed every year but it has been seen, and heard on many occasions by the guards and staff that work in the vicinity of where the scaffold and block once stood.

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National History Museum, London, UK by Ben Fredericson

The first full day is almost always the most important, as it is the time when you’ll want to see all the places that are on top of your list of priorities. Therefore, having a good idea of where you want to visit will come in handy.

Ideally, you’ll want to have something to do in the day, somewhere to go for dinner in the evening and then an activity for the night if you’ve still got the energy.

Day-Tripping

London is full of attractions that will be able to fill your day, give you something to do for an hour or is just something that you need to see, even if it’s just in passing.

Museums seem to be London’s trump card and there’s plenty to choose from. The British Museum is one of the best and has been running for over 350 years, but that’s nothing on the age of its content. Some of the exhibitions within the museum go back two million years and span over numerous different cultures from all over the world.

The National History Museum is another option that will have you going back and forth as to whether you should go there or the British Museum if you only have time for one. If you need convincing, the National History Museum is a more versatile attraction thanks to the choice of exhibits that range from their iconic Diplodocus skeleton to the Darwin Centre’s high-tech Attenborough Studio.

Another staple of the London attraction route is Madame Tussauds. The centre features 14 unique interactive zones, featuring of course the countless wax models of your favourite celebrities, sports stars and even fictional characters.

Photo of Lady Diana in Madame Tussauds Wax Museum, London, UK by Cristian Bortes

Settling down for the evening

With this being London, picking a restaurant is possibly one of the hardest thing to do, so here’s just the odd example of the best of British.

The Hawksmoor Seven Dials is a fantastic bar and grill and the redesigned branch is even better. The restaurant is located in a basement building in Covent Garden and although it only opened at the end of 2010, it looks like it’s been there forever, which is a good thing.

Hix is the restaurant of Mark Hix and is a name that carries quite a bit status among the fashionable folk and is located deep in Soho. The atmosphere is always at its best and the food is just as incredible, with some of the best British recipes available.

Located in the more suburby area of Dartmouth Park is the Bull and Last, a fabulous gastropub and it’s worth the trip into North London just for its delightful food on offer. The pub style service and the classic ales make it a great palace for both families and a bunch of mates.

Going the whole hog

Just like eating out in London, going into the city for some loud music and few drinks offers equally as many choices, if not more. There are all sorts of bars in England’s capital and you could find yourself doing something you’d never dream of on a night out.

There are a couple of bars in London where you might fancy a bit of karaoke called Lucky Voice Soho and Lucky Voice Islington, places where you can get your own karaoke booth and get table service when it comes to drink and food. The Soho bar is one of the best Soho London bars about.

The Piccadilly Institute is also something that’s a bit different, with its eclectic décor and themed bars offering something that can be great for private parties or just a great night out.

If you don’t want to move too far away from the heart of London, then Abacus is possibly a bar you’ll like to visit and is a multi-faceted venue comprising as a bar, restaurant and lounge, then after dark, turns into a great club venue.

About the author: Sam writes for Lucky Voice Karaoke who have venues all over the UK in towns and cities such as Soho, Islington, Manchester, Glasgow and Brighton. You can look at the website for more information on Islington Bars and the others.

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St Ermin’s lobby

While it is strikingly apparent that the history of the hotel has really been embraced, its also notable that the hotel has been recently restored and has an unusually pleasant ‘contemporary sheen’ after a £30 million refurbishment that was undertaken through 2010 which has really added to the grandeur and luxury of the establishment.

Just outside the hotel’s grand cast iron gates is the quintessential London – St James’s park, Buckingham Palace, Big Ben and the Houses of Parliament are literally a stone’s throw away from the hotel which made this hotel the ideal spot for a first timer tourist in England’s capital.

As a famous saying goes ‘when a man is bored of London, he is bored of life,’ and I can now vouch for this. After spending a mere two days at this hotel (and frankly, saw what I thought was a lot of London) I gained a further appreciation and lust for exploring more of London. I think its only once you’ve had a small taste of the fascinating capital that you can really appreciate the magnitude of the place and the amount of exploring that is open to any tourist or traveller.

Caxton Grill Beef

For those that perhaps plan to stay a little longer in London than I did you’ll be pleased to hear (but likley unsurprised) that the hotel is in the perfect spot for exploring a little further too as there is an underground station just a five minute walk away. Or alternatively, there’s the low cost rental bicycles (otherwise known as ‘Boris bikes’ after the cities eccentric mayor) nearby if you fancy taking a more scene route!

Oh, and before I forget – if you’re a fan of steak don’t forget to check out the St Ermin’s on-site restaurant the Caxton Grill if you’re a steak fan, their Josper Grill (one of only 3 in the country) is sure to give you a steak experience you are unlikely to forget!

Written by Alex of The Luxury Holiday Blog.

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