Top Things To Do In London England - Listings 6 to 10
6 (17) River Thames
Walk along it, over it or ride on it. The River Thames gave birth to
London so pay it its due and spend some quality time together.
A decent river cruise should give you Tower of London, Tower Bridge,
St. Pauls, the Globe Theatre, the London Eye, the Parliament Buildings
and Big Ben.
If you go on a River Thames cruise ask them, if you can, to point out
London Beach by Tower Bridge. This is where the locals used to go for
a holiday. Now many locals own properties in sunnier climes on the continent.
However, the River Thames Beach is still celebrated.
If walking I suggest you do so from the south side as most of what's
worth looking at is on the North bank. Pick your day and time.
7 (36) Big Ben
Big Ben – the world's greatest clock, (Big Bell actually, Big Ben
is the name of the greatest bell) has to be heard, seen, photographed
and remembered for you will probably see it many times again. Every time
you do see Big Ben on the media you will think back to standing there
waiting to hear the ‘dong’.
Big Ben is not the tallest clock in the empire but it’s the best,
the icon, probably the most televised clock in the world, even Londoners
love it. It could have had its own TV series but the government feared
it might move to Hollywood to pursue a film career.
London would not be London without Big Ben. From the pennies that it
uses to keep it on time to it's enlighten face smiling down on the cold
inhabitants as they struggle across the windy Westminster Bridge.
When parliament is in session a light emanates above Big
Ben's face.
8 (37) The National Gallery
Housed in a majestic building in front of Trafalgar Square the National
Gallery
is surprisingly unstuffy and relaxed. Get up close and personal to Monet's
Water lily pond, Van Gogh's Sunflowers, Rembrandt's portraits, and the
spectacular Da Vinci's 'Virgin of the Rocks' and Raphael's 'Madonna of
the Pinks' to name few of the masterpieces in the museum. The Van Gogh
room is a must.
The permanent collection costs nothing which is amazingly when you consider
the priceless nature of the art on display. Admission prices are applied
to special exhibitions. No pictures or video are allowed. But you can
always create your own masterpiece.
You'll recognise many of the works on display but there are guided and
audio tours. The gallery has invested in PCs to allow you to view the
artwork in case seeing the real thing is just too emotional.
9 Natural History Museum
Known for its underfed Dinosaur at its entrance the Natural History Museum
itself is large and quite impressive. Have a good look at the columns
and floors for the detail contained within their architecture.
Some of the exhibits may cost more, such as the Antarctic experience,
but it's worth it on a hot day :-)
You could easily spend more than a day in the Natural History Museum
(Antarctic is pretty big :-) ) but fear not, the museum is spilt into
different zones so you can focus on what you want to see most and come
back for anything you miss.
Costing zip to get in means you just have to value your time against
doing other stuff.
10 (44) St James Park
St James is a great park. You can almost imagine the Queen taking her
corgis for a walk, stopping to scoop up the dog poo into a plastic bag..well
maybe not but it is close enough to Buckingham Palace to see the Palace
Guards march down the Mall in order to get changed.
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One Hundred Things To Do In London, England
