London is one of the world’s premier cities with just about every level of sophistication you could ask for. World famous sites such as the Houses of Parliament and the Tower of London; world-class restaurants, mix of high end and atmospheric shopping and entertainment venues; vast parks which give you the opportunity to break away from the mayhem; and, of course, the mania that surround the Royal Family and their residences.
Its right up there with the likes of Paris, Rome, New York, Beijing and Rio de Janeiro as giant cities with world-famous attractions, their own vibes that act like countries on their own, and thoroughly justifying a tourist visit from anywhere you travel in the world.
It does though have two main downsides. Firstly, just how intensely tourist conveyor-belt it can be across so many of the main sites and, with that, how hard it can be to escape this into a genuine London vibe. Secondly, unfortunately, the infamous UK weather which can warp an amazing experience into a bit of a damp squib. It’s for these reasons that London misses out on a top Wow score.
But, it’s still an incredible city to visit and I’ve listed below my advice on 2 main tips to maximise the chance of a great stay; a list of what I would see as 5 must-dos on a weekend visit and 5 great to sees for new visitors; and a few more quirky personal favourites outside of the main stuff.
Note – I’m English, so naturally can be a bit biased, but that is probably balanced out by coming from the North and being anti-London! But, also I don’t tend to take photos of tourist sites in London after living there for several years. So, very unusually, this travel entry does not include my own photos.