If You Go: London

Note: Updated after our December 2017 Trip 


After a round of trips to London...here is our rundown of our most favorite things to do!

Hotels 

• Apex City Centre.  This is our second stay at Apex hotels (our first was in Edinburgh).  Both hotels were fabulous.  The location in London was incredibly center (steps from the Tower of London) and the room was modern and comfortable.  I love the large walk-in shower and generous bathroom.  When we can, we'll try to stay at Apex hotels in the UK - it seems to be a great brand and for this trip was a good price (for London!!!) ($187/night)
• Apex London Wall: For our January 2017 trip, we switched it up to stay at Apex London Wall.  It was another great experience - the hotel is very central, but in the financial district so very quiet on the weekends.  It's only 2-3 tube stops to just about any of the main tourist sites and is close to a number of quick bites - Pret, Chipotle, Starbucks! As always, the rooms are modern, spacious, and immaculate ($180/night)

Restaurants

Note: these are in no particular order!

• Franco Manca: Best pizza in England!  Amazing sour dough crust in a wood fired oven...and like 5 pounds.  This is a small London chain. If you are in the area, you must eat here.  
• Sheba: We had heard of a "curry mile" in London.  The most famous is in Manchester, but this is a close second with ~10 blocks of Indian restaurants.  We made reservations at Sheba after reading recommendations.  We were not disappointed - great service and flavorful food.  If you want to try Indian in the city that created the Chicken Tikka Masala dish...get yourself to Brick Lane (aka Curry Mile London)
• Greek Larder: This was a great restaurant about 10 minutes from King's Cross train station.  We had a lovely meal there before catching the train.  Very authentic food, nice environment for a long lunch, and great service.  Highly recommend.
• Emilia's: Right near the Financial District, tucked away in St. Katharine's Docks is Emilia's - a tiny pasta bar. The ambiance is amazing, we sat at the bar and watched them make beautiful pastas, burrata, and a variety of beautiful salads.  This is a place we will go back to because it's so close to the Apex.  Highly Recommend. 

• JinJuu: This was an amazing Korean place.  Very hip, very trendy - house music, korean tapas, and trendy people.  Go here for a fancy-ish night out.  It's a litty spendy, but worth it for us since we don't have Korean food in Harrogate.  Reservations are a must. 

• Dark Sugar: We had the most amazing hot chocolate at Dark Sugar - it is also on Brick Lane with the Indian Restaurants.  It has all kinds of crazy gourmet chocolate, but the hot chocolate was incredible.  Porbably a 1/4 pound of freshly shaved chocolate mixed with milk.  Amazing. 
• Gourmet Burger Kitchen: This is a UK burger chain.  We always love a good gourmet burger and this spot did not disappoint.  We went to the restaurant close to London Tower and it was a great quick bite.  Recommend if you need a meal before / after the Tower 
• Il Portico: This is a fabulous little Italian restaurant in Kensington.  We had a reservation for three here...and each of our pastas were homemade and the starter was a delightful Italian cheese and Balsamic plate 

Tea 

• Fortnum and Mason: This is where the Queen orders her hampers, so it's a crazy fancy grocery / department store.  On their top floor, they have a beautiful, elegant tearoom.  The service is impeccable and amazingly, the tea food is bottomless.  We definitely enjoyed a few of our favorite finger sandwiches twice and also had an extra scone.  They also give you a take home bag with a slice of cake from their decadent cake cart.  Bookings here are a must and it's a little spendy, but totally worth it! 
• Harrod's Tea - the Georgian: On the 4th floor of Harrod's is their Georgian tea room (note there is a more casual tea room on their second floor, but I haven't tried it!).  My girlfriend Emily and I enjoyed their luxury tea complete with a glass of champagne, a few bites of cavier, and one of the most beautiful tea services I have witnessed.  It was iconic to enjoy tea in this beautiful, plus tearoom away from the chaos of the rest of Harrod's! 
• Liberty: Of the three fancy tea's I have enjoyed in London, this was the least special...but still fun.  This casual tea room is off the second floor of Liberty.  It's a little more funky and less formal.  The scones are good (but not warm the others!)...what's cool is that you could just stop in for a cuppa and scone (instead of a full afternoon tea).  No need to book in here from my experience. 

Drinks 

• Discount Suit Supply: When my friend Emily came into town, we visited this adorable speak easy.  It's everything it should be...the basement of a warehouse, convenient location, and amazing drinks.  Stop here for late night drinks for a great ambiance and even better drinks.  
• Gordon's: This is tucked right under Waterloo bridge - it's the oldest wine bar in London.  Lit mostly by candle light with low ceilings, and a great wine selection...come here on an afternoon before it gets too busy.  It's like a huge step back in time. 

Attractions 

• Tower of London: Wow!  This was such a great experience.  I knew the crown jewels were housed here, but always assumed it was a traditional musuem.  In reality, it was a neat castle-like experience that included a walk through the various royal quarters of 'yore as well as the prison and crown jewels (seperate spots).  We would recommend the audio guide - it provided great insight. 
• Guided Tour of Parliament: It was fascinating to hear how their system worked, get some colorful commentary about their democratic system, and see the beautiful spaces of the House of Commons and the House of Lords.  Highly Recommend!  Pre-book and book early - their opening times are dependent upon debate sessions 
• Westminster Abbey: Amazing to see in-person what I have seen so many times in television and movies - the coronations and the weddings!  What surprised us...most of the tour is focused on all of the people buried there.  From kings and queeens...to Poets Corner where many of the greatest English writers are memorialized.  Pre-book to avoid the crazy tourist lines. 
• Hampton Court: If you are going to leave London for the day and head to one of the palaces... Hampton Court is the best choice.  It's huge...with an incredibly detailed guided tour, beautiful gardens, and even a hedge maze.  At its height during the Tudor period, if you have time watch some episodes of the Tudors (great series) 
• National Gallery: A free museum in Trafalgar Square, the Gallery has room after room of famous paintings!  We prefer more modern painting, so loved the rooms with Picasso, Van Gogh, and Monets.  P also loved their collection of Vermeer paintings (which are always tough to find).  A great way to spend an afternoon 
• London Eye: My lovely girlfriend Christine gave us tickets to the London Eye for our anniversary.  It was so much fun!  We went at sunset and had just a stunnig view of Big Ben and the entire city.  So fun to play tourist.  What a perfect and amazing gift - thanks, Christine! 
• HMS Belfast: This was another "musuem" that was about 10 times better than what I expected.  The ship has been largely preserved from how it was used in the 1940's and 1950s' for World War II and the Korean War.  Amazing to see how the ship worked including the engine room and boiler room as well as how the sea men lived on board.  This really requires a lot of climbing steep ladders and portals - so not for anyone with mobility issues.  We loved this! 
• Banqueting Hall at White Hall: If you watch the television show The Tudors - you hear a lot about Whitehall Palace.  Most of the Palace burned down in the 1600s, but one hall remains - the beautiful banqueting hall.  It contains some stunning Rubens canvases on the ceiling and is filled with beanbags for comfortable view!  This takes under an hour, is near Big Ben, and doesn't require pre-booking. 
• Leadenhall Market: Originally, I wanted to come to this market for lunch. Sadly, it's closed on the weekend, but do stop by as the empty market was used for the Harry Potter movie for Diagon Alley.  I never saw the movies, but did read the books..empty, this market looks exact how I envisioned Diagon Alley to be.  Loved it!    
• Globe Theatre: On the South Bank of the Thames, this replica of the original theater used in the 1600's was re-built in 1993 using original construction techniques.  Visiting includes seeing a small exhibit and then an hour guided tour.  We had a fantastic guide.  Next summer, I would love to see a production here - they have both Shakespeare Plays as well as more modern plays. Also - do check the website - there are only certain times you an visit as it is a working theatre! 
• Tate Museum: We spent about 2 hours at the Tate Museum on our August trip.  The museum is organized chronologically (from the 1500's forward) - it's amazing to see how art has evolved.  All of the artists in the main exhibit were English, so that was really neat.  The architecture of this building was also quite stunning (hint: look up!)
• Windsor Castle: Always wonderful to see where current monarchs live!  We went on a cool late summer day and found dozens of artists around the grounds painting famous scenes.  It was fun to see how each portrayed the various spots.  We appreciated getting to see the cathedral where Harry and Megan will be married...and where so many monarchs are buried.  This was a cool trip, but Hampton Court was better (if you need to make a decision between the two). 
• Saatchi Gallery: This is a very modern museum near Sloan Square (bonus that it's just around the corner from the Boden store).  While we were there, we saw a fantastic exhibit called "Calder on Paper" that reminded me of Miro, but we also saw a number of anti-Russian exhibits which were...modern (read a lot of nudity and a little strange) 
• West End - Titanic: We saw Titanic on its closing night.  It was wonderful to see the production and I look forward to seeing a few more plays before we leave! 
• Liberty London: My favorite Department store in the world.  Such an incredible treat to spend time there - poking through their beautiful bags, stationary, and jewelry...not our first stop there and hopefully not our last!