London is always a treat! I have enjoyed coming here several times over the years and my experience here has gotten better with maturity. I first visited England in college while backpacking and have returned on work travel several times since. Over the course of my visits, I’ve found the iconic tourist stops worthy of a visit and the culture of the city just different enough to be completely charming. I am going to build on this post from 2016 with a few additional thoughts from my 2017 visit as well. I will denote this with a slightly lighter type to indicate these updates are more recent. 

EXPERIENCE

This is a city with no shortage of things to do. While the options are endless walking the Thames River is a great place to start. Along the river you can see the Tower Bridge (incorrectly often called the London Bridge). Here too, is Westminster Abbey, the London Eye, Parliament and Big Ben. While hitting the icons, visit Buckingham Palace to witness the changing of the guard and take a walk around Hyde Park. The Shard building is supposed to have a great view of the city though I’ve never been. London Tower and Piccadilly Circus are other worthy Tube stops.

While in London make time to visit museums, many of which are free. On this recent trip, I stayed near the British Museum which houses the Rosetta Stone, Parthenon pieces, a great Egyptian collection and some of the most lovely Japanese prints. The Tate Modern is another personal favorite, with a spectacular modern art collection. It sounds like the Design Museum is in the process of relocating, but I hope to check this out on my next visit.

Soho is probably my favorite neighborhood in London. Walking the charming narrow streets and visiting shops is one of the best ways to spend time in the city. Crawling the local pubs and in Covent Garden is really worth an evening. From here check out the little Chinatown as well. I have not seen a show in London, but the theater district is substantial. On this trip we also made time to do a proper afternoon tea at Claridge’s Foyer and Reading Room. From here we checked out the famed Harrods Department store for a bit of shopping, Camden Stables Market is another great place for catching music, shopping and enjoying a unique venue. For a hipper, trendier shopping experience, check out Shoreditch and Hoxtan. The Old Spitafeld’s Market is a great place to find local crafts and hand made items. Angel Area shops and The Kings Road in Kensington  are also good choices.

This trip, I made my way back to the Tate Modern. I had not visited since college which meant it had been about ten years. While this space is huge and impressive, I was a little disappointed with what was accessible  for free, the paid exhibits were much more impressive. I also went back to Notting Hill this trip. I forgot what a lovely neighborhood this really is. I enjoyed the book stores, boutiques, and fabulous eateries behind beautiful storefronts. Churchill Arms might be one of the loveliest facades of all. This trip I also visited the Grant Zoological Museum for the first time which is part of London University. This is a free and quick stop that is pretty fascinating. Checking out the Micrarium which is a gorgeous display of thousands of miniature creatures in slide format. 

STAY

I have stayed at several hotels around London, but my favorite by far was my accommodations on this most recent trip. We stayed at the Montague on the Garden and it was lovely. The service was impeccable, the English Breakfast was not to be missed and their bar and tearoom were pretty delightful. The one disappointment with this place was the unimpressive gym, but we did enough walking while in town it was hardly a concern. 

This trip, I didn’t think I’d be able to top my last stay at Montague, but I got close. The Rosewood London is also in Holborn and absolutely sensational. I had a wonderful stay in this beautiful hotel, the restaurant and impressive gin bar is fantastic as well. This place even has a hotel dog that lives there!

EAT

Pretty sure I am leaving London at least five pounds larger than I found it. The main culprit is the amazing English Breakfasts of baked beans, tomatoes, bacon, eggs, fruit, yogurt, cheeses, toasts with marmalades. The other cause is Indian food which is outstanding here! My three favorite Indian establishments are Malabar Junction, Dishoom and Namaaste. Other recommendations in London include Italian at Bocca di Luppo, tapas at Brindisa, English small plates at Ember Yard, Spanish Tapas at Barrafina, Turkish small plates at Oklava and fish and chips at Poppies. Lantana Cafe is a great Australian coffee company. We had some incredible tacos and Mexican small plates at Wahaca in Covent Garden. I also hear Lupita East and Mestizo are doing a great job in this cuisine.

The primary pastime in London seems to be enjoying the pub. While the beers are light, they are plentiful. Favorite pubs include the Craft Beer Company, Holborn Whippet, The Perseverance and the Lamb. Gin is the drink of choice in London and there are some great experimental cocktails happening. We had a lovely experience in a speakeasy near the theater district. For cocktails check out Gernard Street, the Duck and Waffle for rooftop drinks, Opium and the Theater Arts Club for a 1920’s Soho feel.

On this most recent visit I enjoyed some new restaurants in addition to frequent pub stops and another visit back to the Leopard Bar at our favorite hotel, the Montague. New favorites included Ottolenghi, which is the home of my favorite vegetarian cookbook. L’Antica Pizzeria da Michele is a great import pizza joint from Naples. Breppo Tacos is great and worth a stop. Sketch is worth visiting just to enjoy the insanely beautiful decor. Holborn was my hotel restaurant and a perfect place to enjoy avocado toast and ginger tea every day. 

For me, a visit to London is much like a visit to New York. Some steady favorites, great walking and an expectation that things are always changing. Every visit there will be more to do than can ever be done and more wonderful new places to eat, drink and explore than before. London is a vibrant, local and diverse global city. One of the most livable and enjoyable in many ways.