Return to London for us is always a good experience. Seriously, It always seems like touched down, and lo and behold, it’s time to come back. I guess it’s needless to say that we thoroughly enjoy ourselves. Federico and l would love to live in London.
[the_ad id=”13767″]
London is unfortunately, way too expensive, so it’s not realistic for us. I would have to be in Zone 1 or 2 in central London, which means big bucks for flats and everything else. We will just stick to visiting this amazing city.
Here are three of the reasons why we like to visit London and what is good about this capital city (everything but the weather 🙂 ). There are so many reasons to visit London of course, but we are narrowing it down to just three.
3 Reasons to Love London: Make that 4!
The Sights of London:
What’s not love? London is a beautiful city. There is so much history and beauty everywhere you look. Buckingham Palace, Piccadilly Circus, Hyde Park, Covent Gardens. The list of awesome places to visit in London goes on and on.
We visited Shoreditch and Brixton for the first time too, which was interesting. We got to see “Electric Avenue” that was made famous by Eddy Grant in the early eighties. I couldn’t get that song out of my head for ages! It was very cool to see. Quirky neighborhoods abound and each one with a different vibe. Expand your horizons and get out of the usual zones to glimpse how Londoners live their lives.
[the_ad id=”13783″]
[the_ad id=”13784″]
The Food in London is awesome:
Street food: We attempted to eat in the famous Brick Lane in East London, which was just a short walk from the Shoreditch tube station, but l wasn’t very fond of buying cheap food and eating whilst standing or sitting on the ground. The whole place just seemed a little bit too gritty for me. It has a very youngish vibe. I felt a bit too old to be doing that 🙂 but for the adventurous, it’s delightful.
We ended up at a really cool dim sum place called The Drunken Monkey which was recommended by a fellow blogger. Her review was spot on, we had amazing food in a funky and unique setting Everything was great, especially the shredded duck and pancakes. We attempted to take pictures, but ate most before remembering to. The prices were pretty reasonable too. If you find yourself in London, drop by for some good chow.
We visited Chinatown at least three times. We also discovered an amazing Indian restaurant called Lal Qila in Tottenham Court Road. I highly recommend it if you find yourself close to Oxford Street or the Euston station.
You are spoiled for choice in London. Whatever you desire, you can find. We went to Brixton for some Jamaican food, but you can find Korean, Spanish, Italian, etc. all coexisting in the same neighborhood.
Most are reasonably priced too. I had intended on also eating a lot of Mexican food , but only ended up eating it just once. I had a margarita that was just so so, and l think that turned me off. I have yet to have a good margarita in London, so I will save my cravings for U.S. trips.
The Shopping in London:
It’s quite easy to break the budget in London as there some really swanky stores like Harrods, and Selfridges. You also have your mid range stores like Marks and Spencer (M&S), Next and bhs. Mixing it up will help you do London cheaper.
You have your budget stores like my favorite Primark (a must visit for budget friendly hip clothes). You can find all these stores in Oxford Circus. For sports related stuff, there is Lillywhites at Piccadilly Circus. My husband gets to pick up his authentic soccer team jerseys at way better prices than on the internet.
Bonus reason to love London: Free museum entry
We also got our culture on by visiting the National Gallery museum . It was so nice to see amazing works by Monet (my favorite), Manet, Van Gogh, and Sisley among many other masters. If you love the Impressionists, l highly recommend checking it out. It’s free admission, as are plenty of other museums. I wish l could own all the impressionist art in the galleries 🙂 . How lucky that the museums in London are free to enter! It saves tons of money.
Related Reading: African wedding in London
Victoria and Albert Museum in London
Save this pin for future reference:
Should you visit London? Of course! You really don’t need any other reasons to visit London! Just do it! 🙂 . How about you? Have you been? What are some of your favorite things to do in London? Please share.
[the_ad id=”13768″]
That’s awesome you get to travel so much! I’ve never been to London. I’d like to, but it’s further down the list than some other places.
Really? What places could be ahead of London l wonder??? You’ll get there soon enough.. Oh right..forgot, it’s after Budapest for you !
We are going to London this November and I cannot wait! Great pics!
Thanks Holly, you will love it. I never get tired of going. You of course will be in a swanky hotel, so it will leave you with great memories! I’m hoping to do a post on a frugal visit..:0)
Really nice photos, like always! And you’re really killing me with all those food pics, lol. Those ribs… those hot dogs… everything else! And I just finished dinner! :))
Lol! Seriously, those ribs were the best thing, and l am not ashamed to say l wanted a second order. Glad you liked the pictures!
Yeah, those food pics are really getting to me. Were those steamed dumplings from the Drunken Monkey as well?
I’m thinking you guys really know how to do it up right!
You know we love food! Lol..none of this salad crap.. :0) on a holiday. Yes, the dumplings were from there…and they were delicious!!!
I haven’t been to London but my wife and I would both like to go someday. These pics definitely are tempting me to make plans for it in the near future!
Hah hah, glad to hear it! I hope your wife wins, and it’s sooner than later :0)
Looks like you are having fun. I was pleasantly surprised by Windsor if you can make a day trip, beautiful area. Thanks for the frugal tips
Thanks for stopping by! Yes, we had a lot fun. I could definitely live there :o)
What a lovely post kemkem. I like the fact that you travel a lot and are a person similar to myself. Very nice!
Yes, I used to live in London in the 90’s and I had a whale of a time and happily squandered all my money LOL! Wonderful Days. 🙂
My favourite things are going to my favourite markets: Camden Town and Convent Garden, going to all the free musems and galleries, and going to the weekday pay-what-ever-you-like fringe theatre productions on Mondays. And since I was much younger then: the club and music scene, as Brit Pop was all the rage then LOL!
I can see that you and your husband really had a great time and the East End is a part of London that everyone should visit, at least once. I also like the giant paella, the black taxi coffee stand, and the coffin outside the shop in Shoreditch. It’s so London, it could be Berlin! 🙂
Thanks Victoria! I would have squandered my money as well, and of course it’s so easy to do in London! Shoreditch sort of reminds me of Camden which l kind of like. I’ve bought knicknacks from the Lock. Yep..we love to travel. We moved this way so we could explore Europe, and so far,we are loving it.
P.s I love Covent Garden (there used to be an awesome Doc Marten’s store there years ago, and l think l was their best customer) I could also finish that giant paella all by my lonesome :o))
Me and you both LOL! By the way, I love all the photos of the food that you showed. they were so good that as I was reading. I stopped to get a sandwich as I couldn’t go on, because my mouth was drooling so much! Yum! Yum! Yum!
It was also nice to see a proper picture of you. Well, hello there! 🙂 🙂
Oh that’s too funny! I’m glad you got hungry from the pictures. It sucks because a lot of times, the food is 99% eaten before we realize we didn’t take a photo ;0) . I debated for the longest time about showing my face. I hate taking pictures..ironic isn’t it?? Lol!..hello!
Aw, this makes me so happy! I’m glad you enjoyed your time at The Drunken Monkey! This makes me miss London so much but thankfully I’ll be back in less than two months.
Happy travels 🙂
Oh, we totally loved that restaurant. It was exactly as you described. Thanks for turning us on to it. I just wished l could have talked him into the tea, but he said he’d rather get a soccer jersey (men!) Lol! Maybe next time. I’m glad you’ll be back there soon. I already miss it too.
There is so much in London to love and no matter how many times I’ve been to this amazing city I love it every time more. I know it’s a very expensive city but there are still things to do for free or at more affordable prices.
Thanks for stopping by. I couldn’t have put it better myself. “No matter how many times l’ve been to this amazing city, l love it even more every time”. My husband was born and bred in Rome, which is amazing all by itself, but his favorite city is London too and would move there in a heartbeat. I know we can not afford to live there, not by my standards..lol! So we will stick to visiting as often as we can. ;0))
What a great tour of London. We see why you love it so much. The pictures create a vibrant tapestry of life in the city, and the food looks amazingly delish. Thanks for sharing.
Thank you for reading. Yes, we really enjoy the city and always look forward to visiting. I just wish we could afford to live there :-).
My daughter worked in the UK for 4 years so I had a lot of London. But I guess not enough because I have not been to Shoreditch, Brixton, or Brick Lane. Neither have I shopped at Primark (budget-friendly, how did I miss that?). And, best of all, I didn’t know museums are free. I shouldn’t have avoided them. I love impressionist art. Gotta go back now!
I think London is like a onion, with so many layers. It makes sense that you didn’t get to see nearly enough. Now you have reason to go back, right? How lucky that your daughter got to live there for 4 years! I would have loved that. Primark is the motherlode of budget friendly shopping. It is insanely cheap and most women just come in with suitcases :-). All the museums are free..free! It’s amazing isn’t it? It saves a ton of money. Another impressionist lover! Fantastic, and yes..you really have to go back now.
I, too, love London and Covent Garden. The blue rooster is new since my last visit also. Would love to return and continue my exploration of this great city. On our first visit in ’96, I was really disappointed at the lack lustre cuisine. When I revisited in 2011, I saw a significant improvement in the culinary offerings. It looks like things have improved even more in the past 7 years.
That blue rooster was nice, but it has since gone. It wasn’t there the last time we visited. True, the culinary offerings have definitely changed..most definitely. I remember my mom and dad would pack their suitcases full of Nigerian food when they traveled :-). Now, there is no problems finding just about any food in London. Great! Thanks for reading Doreen :-).
London is also one of our favorite cities to visit. There’s always another neighborhood to check out. During our last visit, we stayed in Greenwich. My first visit to London was in 1969 when my father was an exchange teacher in Wiltshire. The food options for people on a budget as we were then were worse and worser because there was so much less food from other ethnic cuisines. What a positive difference 49 years has made in that regard!
I could so happily live there. There are always new places to check out for sure, even though l seem to stick to the same areas and then venture to one or two places. I haven’t been to Greenwich but l’ve seen pictures and it looks lovely. I was just mentioning how my parents would pack Nigerian food when they visited years ago. Now, there are quite a few as well as food from every part of the world. What a change! I absolutely love that. I just wish London wasn’t so damn expensive.. 🙂
You touched on all my favorite places to visit around London including all the amazing food you can fined especially love the Shoreditch area of East London!
It’s nice to be able to say good food and London in the same sentence isn’t it? :-). I never get tired of visiting that awesome city.
I’ve been to London so many times I’ve lost count, but probably about 12 times. And I’m way overdue for my next visit. Enjoyed your descriptions and photos and realize that it has changed a lot from my memory of about 10 years ago. Time to return.
It’s been really interesting to witness the evolution of London over the past years. It’s my favorite place to visit and l never get tired of it. It’s definitely time for you to return..haha..me too! It’s been about a year since our last visit and it’s calling me :-). Thanks for reading.
We also love London and never tire of returning to find new places and return to old favorites. It is a bit of sticker shock compared to Greece, but so very worth it for a week or so!
It is quite the sticker shock from Spain as well, but as you say, it is definitely worth it. I will keep harboring hopes of living there 🙂 as soon as l win the lottery.
I agree London is fun, diverse & chockful of activities free or otherwise. But don’t discount some other gorgeous places here. I went to Bath recently and it was so amazing. The UK is a visitors paradise as long as you ignore the weather 😉
Bath has been eluding me for a while. Something always comes up! We actually had free passes to some of the attractions and l was gutted that we ended up having to leave early last time and couldn’t make it. We’ll have to rectify that based on your recommendation. It sounds as good as l thought it would :-).