BEST PLACE TO TRAVEL IN EUROPE (London)
In this blog, I will discuss the second best place to travel in Europe which is London. In the previous blog, we discussed Paris also called the city of lights. I hope you will enjoy reading this blog.
if you want to read our other posts below are the links
Top 5 traveling places in the world
Most expensive hotels in the world
Bumping
LONDON
According to the World Report travel rankings, London is the second best place to travel in Europe. If you want to go with your family on vacation, it is the #1 place to visit in Europe. When it comes to the world’s best place to visit, it comes at #6. These rankings are made by experts on the basis of user experience.
London is the capital and largest city of the United Kingdom. More than 9 million people reside in it. There are many famous places which are worth visiting such as
- British Museum
- Tower of London
- Borough Market
- St. James’s Park
- Buckingham Palace
- Convent Garden
- Houses of Parliament
- Museum of London
- Westminster Abbey
- Portobello Road Market
I will discuss some of them below
British Museum
The British Museum is first place on the list concerning London. The museum is full of architectural beauty, history, and culture and is considered the best museum in London by tourists. There are 8 million collections of artwork from all over the world. You can visit the museum free of cost. If you want to visit it completely, you will need several days, but if you have only a few hours, then below are some of the important areas of the museum which will make your trip beautiful, and you will remember and cherish it for a long time.
As soon as you enter the museum you get in awe by looking at the glass roof of the museum. Below is a list of some of the important places in the museum.
- Egyptian Sculpture Gallery (Room 4)
- Rosetta Stone (Room 4)
- Assyrian Gallery (Rooms 6-10)
- Parthenon Sculptures (Room 18)
- Europe and Middle East 10,000-800 BC (Room 51)
- Egyptian Death and Afterlife: Mummies (Rooms 62–63)
- The Great Court
- Roman Britain (Room 49)
- Europe AD 300-1100 (Room 40)
- Mexico (Room 27)
Egyptian Sculpture Gallery (Room 4)
When you enter room 4, which is the Egyptian sculpture gallery you will notice antiques of Egyptian temples and tombs but most importantly you will see the sculptures of pharaohs in the center of the hall.
Rosetta Stone (Room 4)
Rosetta Stone is also present in room 4 of the Egyptian sculpture gallery. It is a symbol for different things and is a dark-colored granodiorite stela inscribed with the same text in three scripts – Demotic, hieroglyphic, and Greek. It was founded in 1799 by the French Army when Napoleon attacked Egypt. The Stone is a broken part of a bigger stone slab. It has a message written in three types of writing. It was an important clue that helped experts learn to read Egyptian hieroglyphs (a writing system that used pictures as signs).
TOWER OF LONDON
The Tower of London is one of London’s historic and iconic landmarks. It has a rich history of 1000 years. It is approximately 900 years old and listed as a heritage on the UNESCO World Heritage website. Its construction started in 1066, and it was completed in 1070. William the Conqueror started its construction, and the purpose of building it was to secure the position of William the Conqueror in London from Saxons. Nowadays, it is owned by Queen Elizabeth II.
Following are some of the key features worth watching in the tower of london
- White tower
- The Jewel house
- The royal mint
- The bloody tower
If you are planning to visit it, here are a few tips and advice that will help you. The timings of the visit are 9 am to 5:30 pm from Tuesday to Saturday, and 10 am to 5:30 pm on Monday and Sunday. The ticket prices for adults vary from 29 -30 pounds for children (aged 5-15) it is 14-15 pounds and for children below age five it is free. If you want to explore it completely, it may take up to 3 hours, but if you take a guide with you, it will take 45 minutes to explore it completely.
Borough Market
For all the food lovers, including me, if you are in London, you must visit the borough market. Borough market is the most popular food market in London. You can find all kinds of national and international foods in the market. There are many food stalls where you can find delicious food items like Italian black truffles, Spanish tapas and french pastries.
The borough market is situated at Southwark street (south-east of London). The timings of visiting the market when all the stalls are open vary. Monday to Thursday it is open from 10 am to 5 pm and on Saturday the opening and closing time is 8 am to 5 pm. Sunday is off except in December, which is the holiday season.
The best time to visit the market is early morning as it is a wholesale market. Many people visit it daily, so it is crowded at that time. Every market and stall has different things so you can visit all the stalls and enjoy anything you like. If you are fond of doughnuts, you can buy doughnuts from Bread Ahead Bakery. Similarly, if you like french sweets, you can buy them from Comptoir Gourmand. You can also buy groceries like meat, vegetables and fruits from the market.
St. James Park
St James park is the oldest and most beautiful royal park in London. It is not as big as Kensington Gardens, Hyde Park, etc. The size of the park is 58 acres. You can see many famous landmarks in this park such as Buckingham Palace, Big Ben and the London Eye. You can enjoy the greenery and nature. There are fountains, statues and memorials in the park as you move around and explore the park. Tiffany Fountain is also present at St James’ Park. Refreshment points and cafes are also present in the park.
Buckingham Palace
The palace is the residence of the queen. All the national celebrations, such as the Platinum jubilee, are held here. You can visit the palace and explore the state rooms during summer. The palace is open to visitors from 22 July to 2 October 2022. Visitors’ opening and closing times are 9:30 am and 7:30 pm, respectively. Below are the ticket prices.
Royal Day Out
- Ticket Price Adult £23.00
- Over 60/Student (with valid ID) £21.00
- Under 17/Disabled £13.00 Under 5 Free
- Family (2 adults, 3 under 17s) £59.00
The State Rooms, Buckingham Palace
- Ticket Price Adult £39.50
- Over 60/Student (with valid ID) £36.20
- Under 17/Disabled £22.00 Under 5 Free
- Family (2 adults, 3 under 17s) £100.00
The State Rooms and Garden Highlights Tour
- Ticket Price Adult £32.50
- Over 60/Student (with valid ID) £30.50
- Under 17/Disabled £19.50
- Family (2 adults, 3 under 17s) £84.50
Covent Garden
Covent Garden is famous for its street performers all around Covent Garden Square. They’re pretty good because they all have to audition for their timeslot they’re pretty strict and only the best ones get a slot, so you’ll always find people just sitting on the curbs and watching all the street performers.
Seven Dials is essentially a roundabout with seven streets coming off of it, makes sense it’s technically London’s only village and can be a bit quieter than Covent Garden Square. There’s a secret little alleyway that brings you to Neal’s Yard. It’s a little squirt you’re definitely going to want to visit. You’ve probably seen photos of its very colorful buildings. On the square, there are a few shops and food spots with healthy and organic-related products like meal yard remedies. This is also where you’re going to want to get an Instagram shot of those colorful buildings.
There are a few markets around Covent Garden where vendors sell all types of things. But then there’s also the Jubilee Market very close by. Both markets can be really good for souvenir hunting because they have little London tidbits. There’s also clothing, handmade crafts, food, things like that, and on Mondays, they have antiques so if that’s your thing, make sure you get there on a Monday.
