If I say so with no humility at all, this information really is good if you want to do a low budget trip to London. Frankly even if you were to do a high budget trip to London, I doubt you could beat the information listed, for what to do and see in London.
Tips for things to do and see in London for free and
cheap.
The places we visited are in bold. The rest we will do next
time.
The Thames Walk. http://www.thames-path.org.uk/
I purposely put this item first, because it is not one that people think of when they think of London. This is a nature trail 180 miles long and it goes right through the center of London. So so cool.
In a city of millions, we often found ourselves on stretches of the walk totally alone. All free and up close and personal with the sights of London.
This is one of my favorite parts of the Thames Walk. It is not too far from St. Paul´s. This mosaic shows important parts of the history of London.
Here you see the first Roman invasions of 55-54 B.C.E.
In the section above, the mosaic recalls the great fire, Shakespare and the Grey Mullet a fish that swims the river Thames.
The story of this picture is far more exciting than you might think!
This is the last remaining part of the Thames in London that has a littoral zone. The remainder of the river in London is contained within man made banks.
See below the Wikipedia explantion of a littoral zone, a vital environmental feature of world waterways; certain little animals and fish live, feed and breed only in littoral zones.
The littoral zone is the part of a sea, lake or river that is close to the shore. In coastal environments the littoral zone extends from the high water mark, which is rarely inundated, to shoreline areas that are permanently submerged.
All Miss Marple fans will know Somerset House. Situated along the Thames Trail
Romeo H. on another stretch of the walk, with the London Eye visible in the background.
British
Museum.
Great,
but always crowded unfortunately.
Tube
Russell Square, Goodge Street.
V&
A Museum opening hours
http://www.vam.ac.uk/
10.00 to 17.45 daily
10.00 to 22.00 Fridays
Closed 24, 25 and 26 December decorative arts
10.00 to 22.00 Fridays
Closed 24, 25 and 26 December decorative arts
Tube: South Kensington stop on Piccadilly, Circle and
District line.
Tate Gallery
10.00–18.00, Sunday – Thursday
10.00–22.00, Friday – Saturday
Closed on
24, 25 and 26 December but opens on 1 January.
Nearest Tubes:
Southwark, Blackfriars, St. Pauls.
I suggest the latter and enjoy the nice walk over the bridge.
Cool view of St.Pauls and the Thames from Tate Cafe.
National Portrait Gallery.
The Gallery is closed 24-26
December 2014
10.00-21.00 Thursday- Fridays
10-18.00 other days
Any tube or bus that takes you
to the Trafalgar Square area.
National Art Gallery
What to say; great art displayed well.
10am to 6pm and open late on Friday to 9pm.
Closed: 24, 25, 26 December.
Any tube or bus that takes you to the Trafalgar Square
area.
The Wallace Collection http://www.wallacecollection.org/
Hertford House Town house with 18, 19 century paintings and sculputres
Manchester Square, London
Hertford House Town house with 18, 19 century paintings and sculputres
Manchester Square, London
Not many great masters, but some. If I lived in
London I would love to visit here and browse on a wet weekend winter
morning. (And, the stories of the lives of the Wallace family makes Coronation Street
look as pure as Wonderly Wagon!)
10-5 daily Closed: 24, 25, 26 December.
Nearest tube Bond, Baker, Oxford
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tate_Britain
Daily 10 – 6:00 Closed: 24, 25, 26 December. British art
Millbank.
Romeo H and I were both pleasantly surprised at how much we enjoyed the
Tate Britian. Albeit Romeo H focused on
the modern and I on the old masters.
(Finally found and answer to why there is no
great artist in England before the 1700´s or so. They were, but Cromwell et al destroyed their work. One forgets he, and a few others, did
terrible things ´at home´too !)
Buses: I recommend, much quicker
to get there than I imagined and things to see en-route. You can get a number 87 or 88 bus starting in Traflagar Square both drive by the Tate Britain This is an enjoyable route as it goes alongside the
River Thames, past 10 Downing Street (the Prime Minister's home), Houses of Parliament, and Westminster Abbey.
Open: 10am-6pm, 7 days a week,
last entry 5:30pm
Saatchi Gallery
Duke of York's HQ
King's Road
London
SW3 4RY
By Underground:
The gallery is 3-4 minutes walk from Sloane Square Underground (District and Circle lines) and 10-12 minutes' walk from Victoria (Victoria, District & Circle lines).
By Bus:
11,19,22,49,211,319 (King's Road), 11,137,211 (Lower Sloane Street).
Duke of York's HQ
King's Road
London
SW3 4RY
By Underground:
The gallery is 3-4 minutes walk from Sloane Square Underground (District and Circle lines) and 10-12 minutes' walk from Victoria (Victoria, District & Circle lines).
By Bus:
11,19,22,49,211,319 (King's Road), 11,137,211 (Lower Sloane Street).
Sir John
Soane Museum:
Nearest Tube Station: Holborn
Tuesday
to Saturday: 10am - 5pm
First
Tuesday evening of every month: 6-9pm candlelit opening.
The Savoy Museum The Strand, London WC2R 0EU nearest tube Covent Garden
is open to guests and visitors every day. It
has a collection of memorabilia and images showing the Savoy's history to date.
I'd also recommended visiting Savoy
Tea as it's next to the stunning Thames Foyer and you can watch the
chocolatiers at work. Everyone can afford something from the store - even if
it's only one or two chocolates.
Afternoon tea: 1:00 p.m. - 5:45
p.m.
Outside
of these hours, it is more likely to be able to have a cup of tea in the foyer.
Inner Space a quite spot. Open during shopping hours
36 Shorts Gardens
Tube Stations: Covent Garden, Holborn, Tottenham Court Road
All the auction houses were closed for Christmas, but galleries selling art were not. There were several along Bond Street and environs. Here are a few works tickeld my fancy. Note: Always go into such poshy places looking as if you belong. They have no idea there if you do or you don´t. I was treated most professionally as any potential customer should.
Gresham College has no students and does not teach courses but is an educational institution of higher learning that exists to provide free public lectures. The free public lectures have been running for over 400 years. Sir Thomas Gresham (1519-1579) stated in his will that Gresham College was to provide free public lectures in Divinity, Astronomy, Music, Geometry, Law, Physic and Rhetoric, endowed by revenue from the Royal Exchange, which he founded in 1570. Gresham College Barnard's Inn Hall HolbornEC1N 2HH
Kensington Roof
Garden
Located at 99 Kensington High
Street, London, W8 5SA. Access to the building is via Derry Street which
branches off Kensington High Street.
Regent's Canal Walk See some animals in London Zoo
Little Venice to Camden is a wonderful way to pass a few hours. The route passes beautiful houseboats at Little Venice, Nash Regency houses and London Zoo before reaching Camden Lock.
London Zoo is in Regent's Park
which means there are a few places you can see into the zoo for free. If you walk
along Regent's Canal you can see some of the Into Africa animals and the bird aviaries.
Cross over Primrose Hill Bridge (over Regent's Canal) to see Red River Hogs and
okapis
(Into Africa). And for my favourite, walk along the Regent's Park Outer Circle,
past the London Zoo entrance, opposite the West Service Gate, and see the giraffes
Kenwood House sits high on the northern edge of Hampstead
Heath and overlooks a lakeStreet Entertainment.
Like every
big city, the entertainment on the street is a delight. Our favorite were Chilli sin Carne check them out before they become big stars, and
they will.
St. Pauls Cathedral ( Central
Line St. Pauls stop).
Afternoon tea in St. Pauls 3:00/4:15 p.m.
One New Change
... is a shopping mall opposite St Paul's Cathedral that has a roof terrace offering stunning views. Just go up the elevator to the top floor. I took this great shot of St. Paul´s from here.
FYI: This is another little church, St. James´, Picadilly, designed by James Wren. But what a difference in style.
... is a shopping mall opposite St Paul's Cathedral that has a roof terrace offering stunning views. Just go up the elevator to the top floor. I took this great shot of St. Paul´s from here.
FYI: This is another little church, St. James´, Picadilly, designed by James Wren. But what a difference in style.
Free lunchtime music.
Café opened till 9.00 p.m. Dec. 22, 23.
I love love love St. Martin in the Fields.
Did I not say that before! Anyway, great
food, great music, great location, and btw from what I could see there is a
sense here of Christianity in action too; it may surprise many to know the
building next door is a drop-in center for the people who live on the streets.
One hardly notices unless one is nosey.
St. James Picadilly Church
Wednesday
24th December
5.00pm Carols for the Eve of Christmas
11.30pm Christmas Midnight Eucharist
5.00pm Carols for the Eve of Christmas
11.30pm Christmas Midnight Eucharist
Thursday
25th December
11.00am Christmas Eucharist
11.00am Christmas Eucharist
Westminster Cathedral Victoria Station
Vespers 17:00 Mass 17:30 Christmas
different.
Hampton Court for Midnight Mass
A lovely experience: History, Art and Holy all in one! But you need to have a nice cousin who has a
nice spouse who will drive you there as it is out from the city.
Cheap/Good Value.
Get on a bus and travel around.
That simple. Go to Trafalger Square and ask a bus employee for suggestions.
That simple. Go to Trafalger Square and ask a bus employee for suggestions.
A Cup of Tea at the Savoy - For less that £15.00 for two.
You can ´do´Savoy
Tea in the
stunning Thames Foyer and you can watch the chocolatiers at work. Afternoon tea: 1:00 p.m. - 5:45
p.m.
Outside
of these hours, it is more likely to be able to have just a cup of tea in the
foyer.
Self
and friend sat chatting undisturbed in great elegance with our pot of tea for
over two hours. - For less that £15.00
for two. That´s worth repeating.
Attend a Comedy Show
No need to plan, you see the vendors in the theatre district selling discount tickets, and they are genuine discount tickets as far as I could see. We visited the ´Top Secret Comedy Club´ The 5:00 p.m. Show for £5:00 each. GREAT Value and great fun.
See ´the guy´in action.
A Broadway Show.
While not cheap. Good value if you do it right.
Namely go to the theater about an
hour or two before show time, there may well be tickets to buy. And if not go
down to another show. If you are
flexible you will very likley get tickets to see a show.
We went to the Lion King £35:00 each, the lady beside me
paid £70.00 for
same seat.
This method is not recommended if you heart is set on a particular show.
We both really enjoyed the Lion King. And The
Jersey Boys about Frankie Valli and the Four Season. Romeo H. did not expect to enjoy the latter,
but he did because Frankie Valli´s life
story is interesting.
Go to the Opera.
This I did not do, but a ´fellow frugal friend´ said if done correctly, you can get tickets
for £10:00. Check out the Opera options
in http://www.roh.org.uk/visit/tickets
This is definitely on the to do list for the
next time.
Kensington Garden, not cheap and a bit out from the city, but should be
visited at least once I think.
Other
London is really tourist friendly. Both professionals and people on the street are ready to assit. I felt very safe there over Christmas, 2014.
One lovely thing to note. At just about every corner in the tourist areas, there are beautiful and easy to read maps that will help you get your barings. Have fun!
Other Photos of Interest.
You´ll never guess.
Victoria Seret´s had new ´daintes´.
I was so surprised I went up and asked people why on a lovely sunny day they just lined up. The did not like my asking but they said that the knickers were ´great´ .
I am mystified. I mean how ´great´can a pair of knickers be that one lines up for hours to buy them. Is there something I don´t know here? I mean do you put then on and suddenly look like Charlize Theron? - In which case, I would line up for hours too.
Mainly women lining up, but not only by the way. And these ´great´knickers are clearly enjoyed can I say, by veiled women too, you a can see a few in line here.
Mainly women lining up, but not only by the way. And these ´great´knickers are clearly enjoyed can I say, by veiled women too, you a can see a few in line here.
A local bar where we enjoyed great fare at a great price. And relaxing decor. Forget the name, sorry!
Christmas carol singing in Trafalger Squre. Great stuff!
Not too far down from the ladies lining up for their knickers, this lovely bronze of Winston Churchill and U.S. President Franlin D. Rossevelt. Unveiled in 1995 by local merchants to celebrate 50 years of peace in Europe.
Herman ze German- their Wurst are ze best!
A must for every German in London.
German Wurst imported to London from the Schwarzwald.
And even Santa(s) must sleep sometimes too
The following is a contribution from W.C. for the die hard London Buffs, who have been there and done that.
A fascinating tour of London's strangest and most intriguing locations. Ranging from architectural evidence of past incidents and stories of life beneath the city, to anecdotes of magic, mystery and murder, this is a perfect companion for the curious Londoner.
It includes:
A Museum of Magical Curiosities; The City's Lost Tunnels and Citadels; The Ghost of a "She-Wolf; The Bawdy House Riots; The Story of 'Jack the Stripper'; The Atmospheric Railway; The Thames Ringway Bicycle Race; A Banker Hanged at Newgate; The Crossdressing Highwayman; Bluebottles, Rozzers and Woodentops; The Hidden Statue of a Beaver; The 'Belgravia of Death'; Whitehall's Licensed Brothel; Pin-Makers, Mole-Takers and Rat Catchers; Drinking in 'The Bucket of Blood'; London's Most Haunted House.
