Travel guide for planning a vacation or trip to London, including top tourist attractions and things to do.
Leave it to someone with a last name of "Hamlett" to put Shakespeare's Globe Theatre at the top of a London visitor's must-see list. Although the original playhouse in which the Bard's productions were staged is long gone, you can get the gist of what it was like in this thatched roof replica. During the daylight hours of summer months, performances are done just as they were in Shakespeare's time. The major difference, of course, is that during the 17th century you would likely have heard the members of the audience shouting the lines right along with the actors. Theater being one of the few diversions of the time that England's poor could enjoy, they were known to attend the same plays many times over. In addition, all of the female roles were played by males, the sentiment being that although ladies could attend theatrical performances as often as they wished, pursuing a career as an actress was entirely unseemly. Following the shows, you can catch lunch in the Globe Theatre's onsite café and go shopping for drama souvenirs and books at the gift shop.
When Eliza Doolittle in "My Fair Lady" sang of her longings for a place of her own far away from the cold night air, she was selling posies at London's Covent Garden. The city's oldest community square is still a thriving market for fresh flowers, fruits and vegetables but has been expanded to feature the works of local artists, jewelers, weavers, potters and musicians. Clothing boutiques, museums, galleries and upscale restaurants can easily let you fritter away an entire afternoon without even realizing it. Best bet for a midday snack: buy a stuffed baked potato with the works from a sidewalk vendor.
Buckingham Palace, located at Green Park and accessible via The Tube, has come a long way from its early reputation as a dwelling of ill repute. Today it is the largest private home in the city and one of several permanent residences of the royal family. Tour reservations are advised for both the Palace and the Royal Mews where the Queen's horses, carriages and automobiles for state processions are kept. What most people come to snap pictures of, however, is the Changing of the Guard. This takes place on a daily schedule from late April until July at 11:30. The rest of the year, this occurs on alternate days subject to local weather conditions.
No trip to this part of the world is complete without a tour of the Tower of London. Constructed in the 11th century by William of Normandy, this impregnable fortress surrounded by a deep moat was not only intended to be a community within itself but also a prison from which enemies of the court could never escape. While visitors are certainly free to wander this expansive castle at their leisure, why miss out on the entertainment provided by its colorfully costumed storytellers, the Beefeaters. The squeamish are forewarned, however! Your guides will mince no words when it comes to describing hideous tortures, royal scandals, bloodthirsty murders, and tales of ghosts who are said to still roam the halls searching for their lost heads. The Tower of London is also home to the royal ravens. Legend once had it that England would never fall so long as these black mascots remained within the Tower walls. Not wanting to leave anything to chance, of course, their keepers clipped the ravens' wings. The tradition of flightless birds continues to this day.
Want to take a peek into the Queen's jewelry box? The Crown Jewels are one of the most popular exhibits at the Tower of London that are breathtaking to behold"¦as well as heavily guarded. After viewing a short film on the Queen's coronation, visitors move into the gallery where the crowns, scepters, and anything else worth its weight in diamonds, emeralds, rubies and sapphires have been on display ever since Charles II decided to appease the public's curiosity about how members of the royal family accessorized themselves.
Even the name "Piccadilly Circus" conjures a place that is far from tame. Whether it's the pulsating beat of rock music blaring out the doors of its dance clubs, the crowds at the multi-story Segaworld indoor game arcade, the theater scene, the proliferation of noisy pubs, or just the sheer assault on your optic nerves from flashing neon lights and billboards, it has long been the address to be if you're young, hip and looking for a good time. Traffic is nothing less than a nightmare, as Piccadilly sits at the convergence of five major streets.
If you prefer a less harried venue and/or are of the age to remember the quartet of musicians that Sir Paul McCartney played with prior to "Wings," you'll enjoy a trek into the nostalgia of Abbey Road Studios at St. John's Wood. The Beatles recorded many of their record albums here. Fans of all ages can step back in time, purchase Beatles memorabilia, and even leave their own autographs for posterity on the studio's front wall. What many people don't realize, of course, is that the studio first opened its doors in 1931 for band and orchestral recordings. It took the Beatles, though, to turn its Studio 2 into the stuff of legends.
Kensington Palace, birthplace of Queen Victoria, is perhaps better known to contemporary visitors as the home of the late Princess Diana. Located near Knightsbridge and the tres chic shopping district of Kensington, the palace sits behind massive gates and amidst beautifully sculpted gardens. Guided tours every quarter hour take place between 10 and 5 during May and September. Palace officials are fond of pointing out that one of the advantages of the Queen having so many castles at her disposal is that a lot of the gifts of foreign dignitaries""especially paintings and statues""are parsed out to her different addresses. One has to wonder if she makes use of all that extra closet space, too.
Westminster Abbey, a cathedral subject only to the will and discretion of the ruling monarch, has been the site of all but two coronations and several thousand royal burials since the 11th century. The original chapel and monastery, of Norman origin, were rebuilt under King Henry III when a fondness for the Gothic style wasn't just sweeping England but the continent as well. The monk's original quarters now comprise Westminster Abbey's museum which relates the historical juxtaposition of church and state in addition to revealing insights on the monarchs and their significant others who are buried there.
Shopaholics will be in their element at Harrod's in Knightsbridge. If you can get past the heavy layers of perfume wafting around the entrance, you're in for seven floors and over three hundred departments of "stuff". As the story goes, if you can't find it at Harrod's, it probably doesn't exist. This is especially true of their enormous Food Hall. Even if one were allowed to take pictures of it, pictures wouldn't do it justice. Room after room of fresh produce, meat and seafood, bakery items, luscious sweets, an international selection of wine and spirits""a person can easily gain ten pounds just by standing around and inhaling. Insider tip: try not to go into Harrod's on a weekend or during what we know as the weekday "rush hour". Since entire entrees are available for purchase, you'll find a lot of Brits crowding their way to the counters to pick up a small feast for themselves. If you need to escape to some peace and quiet after your shopping excursion, you're right by Hyde Park""a great place for leisurely people-watching and breathtaking grounds.
