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England

  • The Wild Voyage
  • Oct 9, 2022
  • 7 min read


Where to eat, nightlife, places to visit, activities and travel tips.

There are plenty of museums in London, but I wanted to show that the city has way much more to offer than spending hours lining up to get into a museum that is terribly crowded and is so hard to appreciate the art with so many people trying to see it and to take pictures. England has beautiful cathedrals, but also so many shops and stores, culturally diverse areas and food, live music, galleries, gardens, and emblematic buildings, a wonderful countryside. I want to offer a deeper experience.


Public transportation

The first thing to know about London is how the public transportation works. The area is divided in zones. Zone 1 (Z1) is Central London, Zone 2 is the suburbs and Zone 3 is where some of the most beautiful gardens are but is not close to the central part.

To travel through the city the OYSTER card is the best option, a flat rate with unlimited trips for 7 days can be purchased according to the zones, if most of te places you want to visit are in Zone 1, you only need to pay for the zone 1Oyster card.

The Oyster card can be purchased at almost every metro station (tube/subway) and at the airport. More info about the Oyster card at the end of the post.

Always check the official website for possible strikes.



Where to stay:

After seeing so much of the city I would recommend to find a hotel in Chelsea or close to Notting Hill. Those are good areas, very safe, no sketchy during the night, not noisy, and key location to go almost everywhere in Central London by walking, biking or a short metro/tube ride. Also not crazy expensive.


Borough Market (Z1)


Good to eat!!

10 am to 5 pm Mon-Friday

Sat 8 am to 5 pm Sunday 10 am to 3 pm

Borough Market consists of three main areas with larger producers, small produce, and restaurants, shops and bars around the Market.


A block away from the market:




My recommendations to eat:

The Black Pig Stall

ARABICA BAR & KITCHEN: https://www.arabicalondon.com

BRINDISA KITCHEN BAR -doesn’t take reservations, good to go for tapas and bites- https://www.brindisakitchens.com/kitchen-bar-borough/



Leadenhall Market (Z1)



Crossing the London Bridge from Borough Market.

Open 24 hours to pedestrians, but bars and restaurants start opening at 5/6/7 pm, closes at 11 pm and sometimes later. This is an after office spot, good for drinking. Good option for eating: The Lamb Tavern



Sain’t Pauls Cathedral (Z1)

Beautiful Cathedral, where some scenes of Harry Potter were filmed. They have tours on the website starting very early in the morning;

Monday to Saturday 8 am (10 am on WED) to 4 pm

Ticket $18 pounds


The typical atractions (Z1)


London Eye

36 pounds


Piccadilly Circus

For some shopping this is the best area, very crowded after 2 pm, best time to go is during the morning.


The Buckingham Palace

Hangout at the plaza and see it from the outside, or pay a ticket to tour some parts of the interior.



Tower Bridge

There are two beautiful restaurants by th River Thames and Tower Bridge, one if them is called Copa, ideal for sunset time.


Mercato Metropolitano

check for jazz nights, live music, and more.



Sky Garden (Z1)

Tickets to go to the rooftop and see the gardens and the fantastic view are for free on the website, recommend to get them with a month or more in advance. They accept walk-ins but the line is over an hour -or more. The perfect time to go is to see the sunset. They also have special events -jazz concerts, yoga classes in the mornings, festivals-, and accept reservations to eat at the restaurant.




Shakespeare globe (Z1)

The famous theater were Shakespeare had his most popular plays.

www.shakespearesglobe.com

You can visit the place to appreciate the facade o get ticket for a play and see the indoor part, there are tours available but this is not every day and the must be checked on the website.



SOHO (Z1):

Soho is a huge area that has not only incredible shops and restaurants during the day but also an interesting, crowded nightlife. I listed the spots in Soho -and around it-that I like the most. Except for coffee shops and some stores, restaurants and pubs open at 12 pm.

The Spice of Life corner: Restaurant

Carnaby Street: Restaurants, shops, pubs, stores.

Kingly Court: Food court

Kingly street: Pretty alley

Golden square: little park, perfect to grab lunch at a restaurant close by and it it on the bench.

Lina stores corner: Food store

The Three Greyhounds: Pub with live music after 7 pm.

Farrier’s Passage.

The House of Minalima: Harry Potter theme bookstore/giftshop.

Berenjack Borough: https://berenjaklondon.com

An incredible restaurant with two Michelin Stars

EL&N London: Perfect for pastries!

Cahoots: Soho underground bar during the night.

Minalima

EL&N




Cecil's Court (Z1)

(A FEW BLOCKS AWAY FROM SOHO)

Bookstores and shops

Is also Diagon Alley in Harry Potter




Goldwin’s court (Z1)

RIGHT AROUND THE CORNER FROM Cecil’c court

Also one of the settings in Harry Potter




Hyde Park (Z1)

Across the palace, there is a huge green area; Hyde Park. Is good to have a picnic, to ride bikes, walk and breath fresh air. Maybe to have a break after visiting so many places and sit on the grass.


Chelsea

One of my favorite neighborhoods, I went during the morning, grabbed a Pastry and a coffee at Maitre Choux and walk all over King's Road (main street). Got a coffee table book in one of the many bookstores, got into an outdoor foodcourt on the way, took so many photographs of adorable buildings and stores, and visited the Staachi Gallery for free.


Staachi Gallery : www.staachigallery.com

Sticks 'n' sushi for dinner : www.sticksnsushi.com

Maitre Choux for pastries: www.maitrechoux.com




Countryside

The countryside of England is gorgeous, probably even better than the city, every town has a unique charm, I visited the next three:

Oxford

Stratford

Cotswolds

I did a one day tour for 75 pounds, leaving central London at 7:45 am and coming back at 7 pm, in that way I didn't have to worry about transportation since the cover that, I brought a snack with me and then I bought a meal in on of the many places they take you.

Total 11 hours. Here is the website I used:


Oxford

Oxford is the biggest of all these three towns, famous for the university, and where part of Harry Potter was filmed.


Cotswolds


This was my favorite, incredibly charming, out of a movie. This little town was used to film part of Bridget Jones, and is were Bridet's parents house is, in the movie. There is a gift shop and a little coffee shop, is the smallest of the three towns mentioned on this post.

Stratford

This is where Shakespeare was born and where he lived part of his live along with his wife and children. It's a lovely small town that has outdoor markets and plenty of stores.


Kings Cross Station:

There is one reason why this is a popular spot, and is because the Platform 9 3/4 "is there". It is not very close to the center of the city, but if you want to detour to take a picture there be ready to make a long line and go early.


Notting Hill (zone 1/2)

I absolutely recommend to go during the morning (9 am), is less crowded and better for photography and to enjoy yourself. Listed spots close and in this area;

Churchil Arms corner

Lancaster road

Books For Cooks

Farm Girl coffee shop

The Tabernacle

Portobello Road Market!



London Kew Gardens (ZONE 3)

In Richmond,

Almost 50 min driving from central London

Over an hour in train

2 blocks away from the train station, the walk is very nice and right by the station there I a coffee shop, a bookstore, a gift shop, and a restaurant. Inside the gardens there is a wonderful gift shop where they have kitchen towels, mugs, planners, post cards, umbrellas, seeds, pots, plants, aprons, cookies, chocolates, even bottles of delicious home-made gin and other products. There is also a coffee shop. I recommend to get a bagel, sit on a bench and eat it by the pond.

10 am to 6 pm

$15

Discounts for students.






RHS Garden Wisley

In Surrey, outside the city

From Central London 50 min drive

or .25 min by public transport

Monday-Friday 10 am to 6 pm

Weekends 9 am to 6 pm

Denbies Vineyard (outside the city)

www.denbies.co.uk

Due to the strikes I missed my reservation, however I want to mention it because is one of the activities that would permit you to have a different perspective of England and have in mind that is not only a few museums and the palace. This is 1.30 from Central London. They offer different tours and reservations can be made to eat at the restaurant and enjoy the picturesque landscape. The most basic tour is 14 pounds, and for a few more pounds you can get a complimentary glass of wine. They also have a hotel.


Windsor castle (out of city, no zone, ticket apart):

From central London take the tube (pay with Oyster card in zone 1), and then the option of two rails, for which a ticket must be purchased, roundtrip: 16 pounds.

Besides the castle, visiting the surroundings is also fun;

Windsor town: Walk through the town and eat at Two Brewers and the Duchess of Cambridge Beer.

Windsor Royal Shopping, located inside a grade-II listed Victorian railway station.





Glamping in Sussex:

This countryside area offers vineyards, gardens, nature and tranquility, an hour and thirty minutes by driving from Central London. They accommodations go from lovely cottages to glamping. This place has the hobbit house of Lord of The Rings to stay in:

And if you go to Sussex take advantage and visit: Wakehurst, a beautiful estate with wonderful gardens.



Harry Potter stores:

There are two HP main stores in London, but Harry Potter is a big character and is everywhere.

The House of Minalima in Soho -mentioned above- is one of them, and then The House of Spells also in Soho is another one, The House of Spells is also in Stratford.




Oyster card


but can ONLY be shipped to a UK address (free shipping). Also in metro stations and airports.


Once you are processing the Oyster card into the machine, you can load a travel pass:

loading a 7-day London Travelcard onto a standard Oyster card for a flat rate to get unlimited rides for 7 days.




It is convenient to register the card as son as you get it in case of loss. Do that on the website.

Not accepted on East Midlands Trains, Grand Central, Hull Trains, Virgin Trains, or London North East Railway services

Tap a yellow reader with the card both when entering and exiting the station. But don't tap it when you get off a bus or tram, or you will be charged with an additional fare.


There are two types of Oyster Cards: visitor and standard.

If you are a traveler, don't get the visitors one because you won't be able to get the unlimited rides with a flat fare.

The blue standard Oyster card has a £5 deposit that will be returned when you return your Oyster card at the metro station/airport.



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