London
London’s roots go back to Roman times and the city seems to reinvent itself regularly. It has swung, but it’s also been the home of bowlers, stiff upper lips, and over-cooked vegetables. Today’s loosened-up London is a cultural center with some of the best theater, shopping, and yes, even dining in Europe. Good times to visit are July, when the Wimbledon tennis tournament takes place, and August and September, when Buckingham palace is often open to the public.
Activities and Attractions:
In London, it’s not a bad idea to pick a hotel close to the popular attractions, because London is the sort of city where the popular attractions really are worth seeing. Sure, everyone tries to make the guards giggle at Buckingham Palace, hopes to spot the ghost of a former prisoner at the Tower of London, and climbs the 334 steps to the belfry of Big Ben. That’s because these are genuinely fascinating places to visit. Consider staying in the Mayfair or St. James neighborhoods, which are both convenient west-end enclaves.
London is one of the best cities in the world for shopping. There’s always Harrods and the Seville Row shops if you’re in the market for a bespoke suit. Harvey Nichols also offers the best names in clothing and house wares under one (slightly less staid) roof.
Newer shopping hotspots include cutting-edge fashion on Mayfair’s Conduit Street, and the boutiques on Chelsea’s King’s Road. Also consider a visit to Covent Garden. The cockney vendors who once inspired George Bernard Shaw to write Pygmalion are long gone, and today the district houses hip clothing stores and antique emporiums. London also offers one of the headiest shopping experiences possible: a live auction at Sotheby’s. Register and pick up a paddle before the auction starts and you could go home with a Matisse.
London is also synonymous with theater. If you get the chance to see the likes of Kevin Spacey or Dame Helen Mirrin onstage in the West End (both have trod the boards in recent years), jump at the chance, but keep in mind that London also has an equivalent to the concept of off-Broadway, called “fringe” theater. One of the best-known fringe establishments is the new Globe Theater, a re-creation of Shakespeare’s original on the south bank of the Thames. It’s far from avant-garde; in fact the Globe is devoted to preserving the Bard’s canon.
If theater is one pillar of London’s culture scene, then world-class art is the other. You could easily spend a whole vacation among the antiquities in the 2.5 miles of gallery space that make up the British Museum. An interesting complement to that experience is the decorative arts collections of the Victoria and Albert Museum. For contemporary art, the Tate Modern, which opened in 2000, contains one of the best collections of 20th and 21st century art in the world. It’s enough to shake up anyone’s vision of London as a stodgy place.
Insider Tip:
Perhaps surprisingly in a city that likes its lager, London pubs close at 11pm—10:30 on Sundays. Restaurants stop serving alcohol at that hour, too. What to do if you fancy an after hours pint? Nightclubs (defined as any place that charges admission) serve until 3am. And hotel bars are allowed to serve alcohol past 11pm to guests of the establishment--another reason it pays to choose your property well.
-Exclusively for Perfect Escapes by Nicole Clausing |
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