The city of London

I have lived in a London for a while and have been exploring it as a citizen, but now it seems like I might move on from here so I have been spending my days taking the most out of this city. What is great about London is that most of its cultural sights are free of admission. So it leaned on my good old friend, Google, and planned two perfect routes around London to see all the best galleries, museums and parks. Which are all plenty by the way. How I did it and some tips on how to get around.

Firstly, don’t be scared of the public transport! I know there are many lines but just hop on, the maps are easily available and there are signs pointing to all popular sights. I would recommend getting yourself an oyster card. If you stay in London for about a week you can directly get a week’s travels pass into it. For zones one and two, this costs about 32 pounds (most things you wish to see will be in these zones). The best tool for navigation around is an app called ”the Citymapper”. It is super useful and easy plus it works in other cities as well!

Route 1

I started my first adventure day from Camden Town. I love walking around Camden and the food market on the weekends is delicious. From there a short bus ride to the Regent’s Park. The English do love their parks, as do I. You will always see people napping, eating, reading and jogging around London’s massive city parks. I had my new book with me chilled in the early fall sun for some time.

Next stop; the British Museum. I got really lucky, they had an ancient Egypt and Africa exhibition. The Museum is huge, free of entry and definitely, has something for everyone. I wish I had some more time stroll around, but I will return in short time. The Egypt part was fascinating, I have visited Egypt before but never really seen a mummy collection this big.

From there I headed towards the Covent Gardens and Soho; a small area full of funky shops and nice cafes. All the street corners are covered in graffiti and flowers. Covent Gardens is also a lovely place to go sit outside in the evenings with some friends.

Somerset house is a beautiful place right by the Thames river. The Courtauld Galleries are right by the house and well worth a visit. The area is full of old Victorian buildings and statues, I believe that the courtyard used to be used for balls and other gatherings.

The final stop on my solo wander was the cathedral of St Paul’s. There are multiple buses to the cathedral right from the Somerset house. It is an Anglican cathedral built in the 17th century. For obvious reasons, you are not allowed to take pictures inside, but the building is impressive even from the outside. There are some lovely cafes and restaurants nearby where you can enjoy the tranquil atmosphere.

As a cherry on my very English cake, I met up with a friend at London Victoria from where we proceeded down south to Earlsfield to partake in a traditional pub quiz. I must say that I don’t know the area very well, but it seems like one of the fun places in London to live in. We gathered our troops and made some friends which successfully lead our placing as the third best team. Unfortunately, there is only a reward for the two best ones so we went home with empty hands.

Such a lush day in the sunshine !

Mira