London is an incredible city with lots of things to do, but visiting the city when you’re working to maintain your sobriety can be a challenge. After all, London is the city where Breakfast Martinis, the Black Velvet, and the Collins were invented. Simply put, it’s a city drinkers love and people in recovery love to hate.
By approaching your vacation with an itinerary of gentle activities before you, however, and with the support of family and friends, you can have an enjoyable trip taking in the culture of London. Here are 3 activities and landmarks you shouldn’t miss.
The High Tea Tradition
There are few more quintessentially London traditions than high tea, a wonderful midday sit down characterized by carefully brewed tea and an array of cakes and other sweets. There are plenty of different places where you can enjoy tea, including the Grosvenor House, Claridge’s, and Brown’s Hotel.
If you’re looking for an especially elegant experience, though, the place to go The Landmark London. This hotel serves tea in the Winter Garden, a sunlit space filled with palm trees. And if you have dietary restrictions, you can even get gluten free baked goods at The Landmark.
The Royal Collection At Kensington
For most people, a trip to London is incomplete without a stop at Buckingham Palace to see the changing of the guard, but if you’re going to spend time at a royal residence, we recommend Kensington instead. That’s because although Buckingham may be the primary home of the royal family, this makes the actual building inaccessible. Kensington, however, allows you to get inside.
Kensington Palace was Princess Diana’s preferred residence, but it’s also home to the impressive Royal Collection of art, as well as beautiful gardens that you can stroll through. Why stand outside a gate and watch the guards walk around when you can get inside a true royal residence during your trip?
The Tower Of Torture
There are countless museums in London, but one of the most compelling is the Tower of London, which puts a new twist on the more traditional form. And while you can see things such as the Crown Jewels here, if you have a little more of a secret evil streak what you’ll really want to see are the authentic torture devices housed here. Housed in the basement of the Tower, down here you’ll find everything from manacles to the rack dating back centuries. This exhibit is sure to entice and excite.
To successfully visit London while staying sober, it’s important to avoid the plentiful pubs and stick to major landmarks instead. But in such an historic, beautiful city, there are endless things to do while sober, so there’s no reason to worry. You’ll have so many destinations on your agenda that by the end of the day you’ll drop in the bed, never having thought of stopping for a drink.
