Tuesday, 17 July 2012

Top 10 things to do in London - 6 to 10

This is the second part of this post. If you havent read parts 1 to 5 then check that out here (or scroll down to the next post - it was yesterdays post :P). As I have said these are all from my own personal experiences so I can give you my own proper experiences and not talk about things I havent done.


6. London Eye
Official Website: Here
The London eye is probably one of the most famous attractions in London. Its hard to miss it dominating the sky line by the Thames. It costs from £15 depending on the type of experience you are looking for. From a standard ride to a champagne ride. Check out the website for all the different ones available. I think now I have been on the eye, I am not sure I would do it again unless we did it at night. We used our Merlin Passes which included the eye. I would say if your going to do it then get there for when it first opens as it gets really busy. When we were on the eye we could see the crowd below building up and I would not want to have been in that queue.
7. Open top bus tour.  
  Official Website: Here or Here
If you dont fancy the hussle and bussle of the underground and fancy seeing London in a classic way then what better way than riding an open top bus. Its a great way to see the different sites and takes you to a lot of places you would perhaps not think of walking/taking the underground to such as the place where the fire of London started and as you are going round there is a tour guide talking you through all of the places you are going past which you learn some interesting things. However compared with underground travel they come at quite a hefty price tag at around £25-£30 depending which of the companies you choose to go for. We did the Original Bus tour which included a free river cruise. It is cheaper to book tickets online. Bare in mind these tours are not so fun in the rain or the cold. 

8. West End Live
 Official website: Here
West End Live is a free concert which takes place in June. It is a 2 day event which sees the best loved shows from the west end performing. I dont want to say too much as I am going to do a separate post about it. Its worth a look if you havent seen it before.

9. Christmas Market by the Thames
We came across this Christmas Market when we went to London in November 2010. It is pretty much like the Christmas Markets they hold in the other major citys (well I have been to the one in Manchester and it was like that and I know Birmingham and Leeds have them too) - If you have been to one of these its pretty much the same. Little wooden huts with rows and rows of lovely stalls which handmade gifts, clothing, jewellery, breads, cheeses, alcohol, meats, sweets and probably a million and one other things! It was lovely and christmassy! And who doesnt love a good christmas market???

10. Go on the Underground
Official Website: Here
The London underground is a great way to get around London. Its also relatively cheap compared with Buses or Open top bus tours. It costs around £2 a trip for a single journey. However if your there for the day its worth getting a day pass which is about £8 depending on the time of day (peak/off peak) and the Zones you want to go in. Its worth getting a 1-2 railcard if your planning on going to all the sites as some fall out of Zone 1 and you could be fined. Its also worth bearing in mind  that there are certain discounts available if you buy from the ticket booth at the station rather than the machines. After about our 4th or 5th trip to London we only discover this time we could get around £2 off a day pass with our 16-25 railcard and any pass up from Zone 1 to Zone 1 - 6 is just £5.60 off peak which is after 9.30 Monday to Friday and all day Saturday and Sunday!!! 


Hope that you have enjoyed my top 10 things to do in London feature and keep peeled for the next feature coming soon xxx