Have you ever dreamed of visiting London off the beaten path while enjoying the classics that the UK capital has to offer? If you want to spend unforgettable moments during your stay, you are at the right place! What to see in the English capital? Our 10 tips will help you get to know London and leave it with great memories and incredible stories to tell.
1. Play street games
Fire Hazard is a small London-based company that organizes unusual gaming in the real world (from a warehouse robbery in Hackney to the zombie Apocalypse in Hampstead Heath). Enjoy a crazy day full of activities and adrenaline. Be your own hero, join one of Fire Hazard’s events and discover London under a different view!
2. Play Bowling in London
The Keel game mainly played in the hostels of England. Similar to bowling, players take turns throwing wooden balls (called cheese) down an alley where the wooden pins are exposed to make them fall. The main challenge of the game lies because the balls should not touch the ground before hitting the pins. Stop at Freemasons Arms in Hampstead to enjoy a night in the name of “beer and keel” as Dickens said in the Pickwick Papers!
3. Spend time with Knights Templar
Visit the Temple Church, between Fleet Street and the River Thames, and enjoy the mysteries of Knights Templar, such as the Holy Grail or the Ark of the Covenant. For fans of Da Vinci Code, this is the place to bring out the Tom Hanks in you trying to find clues to solve this famous puzzle.
4. Visit Platform 9¾
If you or your child are big fans of Harry Potter, you cannot miss the 9¾ platform at King’s Cross station! Magically concealed between platforms nine and ten, this is the platform students take to board the Hogwarts Express and take them to the wizard school on September 1st. Do not be shy and ask the station staff where the 9¾ platform is, everybody is a fan!
5. The Speakers’ Corner
Have you ever thought of giving a speech in front of a large audience? This is the place for you! The Speaker Corner located northeast of Hyde Park, proclaimed by Parliament as the place where people can claim their right to meet, discuss and appeal. Born of the civil rights struggle during the Victorian era in the United Kingdom, these established orders were a key factor of democratic institutions.
6. Take part in the Ceremony of Keys
The Key Ceremony is a 700-year-old tradition that takes place every night at the Tower of London. This Ceremony involves the official closing of doors and people may escort the guardian as far as they have applied. Closing the doors is very important because it protects the fortress where the Crown jewels are as well as many valuables! You are not allowed to take photos and the confidentiality of the ceremony makes the occasion even more remarkable!
7. Be in two terrestrial hemispheres at the same time
Have you always dreamed of being in two places at the same time? Well, now you can thank to the Prime Meridian of the World, at the Royal Observatory of Greenwich, London. The Prime Meridian is the 0 ° longitude line, splitting the earth into two hemispheres: the eastern hemispheres and the western hemisphere. Travelers come from all over the world to have one foot on each side of the line and be on two hemispheres at the same time!
8. Mind the Gap – Explore the Tube
The London Underground also known as Tube and the oldest underground railway line. The first line of the Tube opened in 1863, for over 150 years it dazzles us with its architecture. Do not miss the modern style of Southwark and Westminster, the old paved quay on Baker Street, as well as Southgate and Gants Hill station, whose Charles Holden design is a must-visit in London!
9. Direction the imaginary world of Neverland
Second star on your right and straight until morning? If your kids (or maybe you) are big fans of Peter Pan, you cannot miss the Peter Pan Statue at Kensington Gardens. The statue built in 1912 by its creator, Sir James Matthew Barrie, at the place where Peter Pan arrived after his first flight out of the manger (as written in “Peter Pan at Kensington Gardens”). What are you waiting for? Climb the statue and try to catch elf dust and do not forget to interact with Peter Pan!
10. Kingsland Road: A must-to-see in London
Full of life and colours, near to the hipster Shoreditch is the Kingsland Road with a range of standout bars, shops and restaurants, take a stroll and be surprised … Get out at the Dalston Kingsland station in the middle of this street, you can find the best spots in London. We have our favourites: The Shacklewell Arms, Alibi and Efes Poll Bar. The bars on Kingsland Road are excellent, just make your choice…