London is a massive city with impressive historic as well as modern attractions spread all over the metropolis. There is an incredible array of places to explore and visit. While it is okay to use public means of transport to travel to further locations, it is best to explore central London on foot. The good thing is that most of the prominent attractions in West London are within walking distance of each other.
One of the best ways to ensure you get to see the most on your trip, is to stay either in the centre of London or at any of the hotels near London city airport. This would make it convenient to see and explore the many tourist spots in the area.
One such hotel that offers a luxurious stay, with the finest in amenities and facilities at a reasonable price is the Montcalm Royal London City hotel. It is well connected to all the areas of the city and popular with business travellers and visitors to London.
One location to begin your walking tour is from St. Pancras International Station. Get aboard the Circle Line and travel to Liverpool Street where you can disembark. At this point you will be in the heart of the city. It is the oldest and one of the most captivating parts of the city where the modern and medieval both exist adjacent to each other. Travel around the area known as the Square Mile is best on foot, so ensure that you get yourself a comfortable pair of walking shoes. One way to help you navigate around the place is to keep the Gherkin as a visual landmark, while exploring the area around.
Just across you will find the massive Lloyd’s Insurance Building, which is both an admired and criticised landmark among Londoners. You will also find the stone Monument that was built to commemorate the Great Fire of London that scorched the area in 1666. You will find that there are still medieval era streets to be found that retain their medieval names. While some have vanished over the ages there is Sherborn Lane (formerly Shiteburn Lane). No prizes for guessing what it probably was in use for!! Nearby is Leadenhall Market an epitome of Victorian splendour at its best, where you will find dapper bankers seated in the trendy cafes and restaurants in the area.
Ask or look for signs to St Paul’s Cathedral an architectural masterpiece, created by Sir Christopher Wren in the Baroque architectural style. It also was the venue for the marriage of Prince Charles and Lady Diana Spencer in 1981. From there cross the Thames River to get to the Millennium Bridge from which you will get excellent views of the Tower Bridge to your left and with the imposing Tower of London beneath the Tower bridge. At the end of Millennium Bridge is the Tate Modern. It was also one of the many millennium projects that were opened to celebrate the dawn of the new millennium in 2000. The Tate Modern is housed in a building that formerly served as the Bank Power Station. The power station was decommissioned in 1981, after it became uneconomical to generate power.
If you glance towards the left at the end of Millennium Bridge you will see the replica of the famous Globe Theatre. The original was destroyed in 1613 by fire. Drop in at the Tate Modern for a short tour of the place. Once you are done take a stroll along the banks of the River Thames, walking past the infamous Blackfriars Bridge and head towards Waterloo Bridge. Close to the Waterloo Bridge is the South Bank complex that is both loved and loathed for its brutalist style of concrete architecture.
Once you are done exploring the many attractions at the South Bank Complex head towards the northern bank embankment from where you can move towards Westminster Bridge that passes the London Eye. Further along the route you will find the Houses of Parliament (that serve as home to the House of Commons and the House of Lords and is from where the government apparatus functions). Towards the left is iconic Westminster Abbey, where in 2011, Prince William and Kate Middleton were married. Westminster Abbey also serves as the coronation venue for most of the monarchs of England (later Great Britain) and is also where a number of them are buried. To the right you will find important government buildings including Whitehall, the Treasury, The Foreign Office and Downing Street (official residence of the British PM).
From there head along to St James’s Park. From which on the left you will see The Mall and in the distant background Buckingham Palace. Then travel in the direction of Trafalgar Square, where you will find Nelson’s Column. A little further is the famous National Gallery. If you want to watch some theatre and want low-priced tickets move towards Leicester Square. It is where you will get some of the best discounts on theatre tickets for performances at the West End. If you travel from Coventry Street towards Piccadilly Circus along the way you will see Eros, one of the most prominent landmarks of the city.
Once you move across Piccadilly Square and left past Piccadilly Theatre on the right, the area from Golden Square to Beak Street is the centre of Soho. To get there turn left from Beak Street or right from Carnaby Street. To shop at the high end section of London move in the direction of Argyll Street, where if you continue to the left you will find the intersection of the world famous Oxford and Regent Streets. These are home to some of the best shopping venues and flagship stores in the world.
