Its been a few months since we got back from our 1 week Eurotrip to London and Paris. We only had 1 week and a choice to make: Should we spend the 8 days in one city or break down the trip and visit two cities instead? Guess what we decided to do?
Visit two cities instead of focusing in one. Should have we planned it better and stayed longer? One hundred percent. Should we get remote jobs and stayed even longer? I thought about that too.
London has always been magical for me. Not because of Harry Potter, but because of all the books I read in my teenage years like Bridget Jones Diary and other ChicLit books based in the city. Sophie Kinsella’s books are still my favorite London based genre. Movies like Notting Hill and Love Actually led the way on my formative years. I always loved movies based in London. So visiting the city made me feel like I was in my own ChicLit book, like I was in some type of Sophie Kinsella’s novel and I will tell you why.
London has its unique historical charm
It mixes the modern building with the old castles. Tower Bridge and the Tower of London dated from 1066, full of history and surrounded by its spooky tales, like the ghost of Anna Bolean roaming around the castle and the Ravens that meaning protection of the monarchy. Its a must visit to do for historian buffs, among other historic places.
London Public transit system
The biggest difference from the US is that Europeans heavily rely on their public system and bikes. In America, if you live in a city like Atlanta, Denver or Los Angeles, you are almost obligated to own a car. There is no way to move around in the city relaying only on buses and trains, because they are insufficient and almost inexistent. In London you can buy your Oyster card or pay with your credit/debit card at the train station without much hassle and roam around the city and its suburbs. A lot of people work in London and live in the nearby cities, because its relatively cheaper and the commute its part of their daily lives.
To visit the Warner Bros Harry Potter film Studio, in Watford, we got on a train at the Euston Station, and got there in about 25 minutes. Or if you prefer, you can buy a tours at Viator
Favorite London Neighborhoods
One of the things that I like more about airbnbs are the fact that you can feel like a local for a few days, if you choose your accommodation in a more cozy, farther away from the city buzz neighborhood. Its doesn’t mean they are cheaper, maybe a little less, but it gives you that expat feeling. You find a supermarket, a church, a local coffeeshop or a family owned restaurant, it gives you more perspective about their day to day life. That’s my favorite kind of travel. The one that you respect the place you visiting and gives it back to the community. Our airbnb was located in Earls Court, a very buzzling area with a lot of restaurants and pubs and the train station right at our doorstep.
Earl’s Court – About 20 minutes away from the city center, but still in Central London lays Earl’s Court. A very Londonian neighboordhood, with victorian flats and small boutique hotels. A lot of nice family owned restaurants, pubs and coffee shops, perfectly to experience the life in the city, without feeling like a tourist.
Camden Town- A more alternative part of town, with a lot of street vendors, restaurants, street perfomers and souvenirs galore. We visited on Saturday morning and it was full of people, walking around and eating on different food booth, at the Market. That is where Amy Whinehouse statue is located, since she was the most iconic person to live in the area.
Leicester Square – I would compare to a smaller Times Square part of town. It has big brand stores, like M&M’s, Lego and the famous statues with famouns english movie characters, like Paddington bear, Mr. Bean and Mary Poppins. Its a fun to spend the afternoon.
Covent Garden – just a few blocks walking distance away, Covent garden is a very vibrant neighboorhood with small streets, offering a lot of restaurants, acess to the theater district and street performers, is must check if you are in London
London is a Food Meca for foodies.
London its not only Fish and Chips. Every neighboorhood has some kind of special cuisine from different parts of the world. Thank godness for colonization, immigrants always make the food better. London has a big Chinatown neightboordhood, that includes all kinds of different asian cuisine, from pequin duck to chinese bakeries, Korean Karaoke and places to spend the day. The high end cuisine is also found, of course, but I would stick with the family owned restaurants for a more memorable experience.
When and why you should visit London
I have no explanation, you just have to go and see it for yourself. The history, the food, the theater district, the walking around town. I have created this curated guie from Viator if you are interested in checking out some of the experiences, that will be on your memories for a life time.
If you click on the link, and book some of the tours, I might bee entitled to a small commission to get me a coffee on our next trip!
You can also follow our adventures on Youtube at www.youtube.com/@TRVLS_COMIDA
We are a growing channel and we love for you to be part of our travel community, as we go around visiting new places, themes parks and eating local foods!
See you around!
Jo_travelsandcomida
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