London Travel Guide: My Trip, Travel Tips & Favorite Places to Visit

Finally, I can say I’ve checked off a major item on my bucket list. I finally went to London! I’m not going to turn into one of those “Being abroad changed my LIFE! London has a piece of my heart!” people, but I will say it was a really cool place, I had a really fun time and I’d like to go back.

Through a school abroad program, I spent the past two weeks in London and other areas of the United Kingdom and they were absolutely amazing. Due to the terrible attacks in Borough Market and the London Bridge, my trip ended up not returning to London for the second week. Scarily, Borough Market and London Bridge were the two places I had been just a few hours before the attacks. What happened was awful and though myself and the other students on my trip wished to stay in London, our trip continued to Stratford-upon-Avon and was diverted to Stonehenge, Salisbury, and Portsmouth. All of these places were beautiful and I’m happy I got to experience them, and I hope to return to London someday. Even if I don’t, I still got to see and experience a lot of things. Here’s what I saw, did, loved and here are my tips for traveling to London (and other areas of the U.K.).

Favorite Places in London (and the U.K.):

1. Borough Market

This place is so full of amazing food and drinks. I had the most delicious cheesy olive breadstick, chocolate and vanilla donut and Prosecco spritzer during my trips here. It’s affordable and tasty, making it the perfect stop for lunch on a sunny day.

2. Hampton Court Palace

The rose gardens here are absolutely stunning. If you’re looking for some beautiful gardens to enjoy or take photos in, this is the place to be. Even the back garden is gorgeous with trees that look straight out of Alice in Wonderland and a beautiful fountain. This place was a tube and a train away, but it was definitely worth it. The surrounding area is also adorable, and there’s a great crepe place down the road.

Admittedly, there’s a lot of historical value and some tours throughout the inside of the palace, but the outside is what I really loved. This place was a tube and a train away, but it was definitely worth it. The surrounding area is also adorable, and there’s a great crepe place down the road.

3. Ben’s Cookies

The Milk Chocolate Chunk Cookie was delightful. We visited this popular cookie chain four times during our trip and I certainly don’t regret it. The dessert and snack game in London is so strong, so if you’re looking for sweets this is the perfect spot.

4. Tesco

Of course one of my favorite places is literally a chain of stores. Most of my money was spent in Tesco on snacks. Holy crap, guys. The snacks in the UK are unreal. Some of my favorite chocolates were Wispa bars and Twirl bites. Cadbury is delightful and the snacks are so affordable, it’s unreal. My favorite snack of all were Wagon Wheels, “mallow biscuits with a chocolate flavored coating.” They. Are. Addictive. You can also buy six of them for only one pound and I ate these more than I actually ate real food. Ooops. At least I walked a lot to potentially burn off the calories.

5. The Cornish Bakery*

*This bakery chain is not in London, I visited it in Stratford-upon-Avon, although it is a chain throughout the U.K.

The scones here changed my life. That’s so dramatic, I know, but they are seriously delicious. They were so fluffy and buttery and magical, I had these three different times on my trip and each time I could cry of happiness. I hate to throw out one of those “America sucks! The U.K. does it better!” but…scones in America are better off being used as doorstops. They’re hard and not fluffy and buttery and magical. We have nothing on the U.K.’s scones. I wish I had a picture of these but I ate them too fast to document.

6. Icebar

This year’s theme was something about the city and the jungle, I’m not sure. They give you this toasty cape with a cute furry hood and you and your friends head inside for alcoholic drinks out of ice cups while you stare at ridiculously impressive sculptures, take pictures, attempt to dance and try not to freeze your ass off.If you plan on going, book in advance!

This was really fun and it’s in Oxford Circus, a fun place to walk around. If you plan on going, book in advance!

7. Mary Arden’s Farm*

*This was not in London, rather I got here from Stratford-upon-Avon by bus.

I’ll be blunt–this isn’t my favorite for the historical value. It’s the farm of Shakespeare’s mom and blah,blah, if you like history you’ll be happy to learn, but I was happy to be in such a gorgeous place.  This is where I got to PET A SHEEP! I fell in love with sheep here. They are basically farm puppies with soft wool. There was a huge patch of wildflowers and other farm animals, plus swing sets for your inner child. Seriously, this place was so much fun and it was beautiful.

Tips:

1. Wear Comfortable Shoes!

Everyone says this but by comfortable shoes, I mean heavily supported workout sneakers or something you can confidently walk five miles in. Vans and Converse, as comfy as they are for walking a mile or so, aren’t the best choice. Wear your ugliest shoes so long as they are comfortable. I ended up walking eight (!!!) miles or more per day when I was in London, which is more than I collectively walk in a week.

2. Take the Tube

It’s a lot easier and cleaner than you probably think. Every place in London that I wanted to visit was reached using the tube and my own two feet. The maps and announcements are so clear. This is not the NYC subway and thank the Lord for that.

3. Leave Empty Space in your Suitcase

While I did have to re-wear some outfits (no big deal) to accomplish this, it paid off. I was able to bring home souveniers and newly purchased items without going over on my limit or worrying about fitting things. A lot of students on the trip were panicked about fitting their new purchases while my suitcase zipped with no problem. Huge win.

4. Wait to Buy the Outlet/Power Converter

So the outlets in the U.K. are different and most people suggest buying an outlet/power converter but I survived the entire trip without one. Some hotels had USB ports, which are fairly universal and can be used to charge one’s phone. Other hotels had plugs with USB cords plugged into them, so it was easy to unplug the USB and plug my phone charger in. Am I making sense? If you’re only really bringing a phone to charge, wait to buy the converter. You might not need it. Or, you can buy one and leave it in the package until you use it. It can always be returned.

What are some of your favorite places you’ve travelled to?