|
|
|
|
|
|
Table of Contents - London[click the links below to see photographs of these places] |
|
|
Page 1 - Intoduction London is, without a doubt, one of the most impressive cities in the world. It has an almost infinite collection of diverse attractions, and there isn't a dull moment in it. We toured it for six days, which of-course was hardly enough to cover even one-eighth of what the city has to offer. This route elaborates on the places we found interesting and appealing. Page 2 - Pollock's Toy Museum & Piccadilly Circus We began our tour at a small and magical toy museum, called Pollock's Toy Museum. It is small, and it seems to be located inside a private residence. The place is hardly toured, which makes the visit so much more pleasant. It holds an impressive collection of toys from different periods of time, interesting paper doll houses, and of-course a small souvenir shop, filled with toys. We recommend visiting it. The museum is on 1 Scala Street. Admission fees are charged. Opening hours: Monday - Saturday: 10:00 - 17:00. From there, we proceeded toward the Piccadilly Circus - the famous square. Page 3 - Buckingham Palace & Green Park From Piccadilly Circus, we proceeded to The Buckingham Palace. From the palace, we went on to Green Park, a vast park with enormous lawns, columns of poplars, and many squirrels. A green spot in the heart of the city. Page 4 - Little Venice From Green Park, we went on to a magical place called Little Venice; a tiny pond, in a green corner of London, teeming with flowers and vegetation. From there, you are able (and recommended) to take a cruise to the London Zoo. You can take a two-way cruise, or just one-way. We took the one-way cruise, in a sweet boat. It is a twenty-minute cruise, in small picturesque canals, all the way to the London Zoo, which is recommended for all animal-lovers. Page 5 - London Zoo London Zoo is an impressively large zoo. It should take a few hours of your time. In it, you'll find restaurants, lawns, benches, and of-course - animals. Page 6 - Regent's Park From the London Zoo, we proceeded to a beautiful park called Regent's Park, which is highly recommended. It is a large park, with a wide variety of flowers, fountains, statues, ponds, and impressive willows. A calm one to two-hour walk through it seems to be enough to absorb its pastoral atmosphere. Entrance is free of charge. Page 7 - Madame Tussauds museum From Regent's Park, we proceeded to the famous wax museum: Madame Tussauds. It is one of the most famous museums in London, and it holds an impressive collection of wax statues of famous persons. Among them are painters, politicians, movie stars, and more. Keep in mind that nearly always you can find there several thousand tourists from all over the world wishing to get in, and you will probably have to wait about an hour to get in yourself, so it is recommended to come early in the morning. Admission is charged. Opening hours: 10:00 - 17:30, daily. Page 8 - The Tower of London Our next destination was The Tower of London. An impressive castle in the middle of London. Page 9 - The Tower of London The Tower of London is probably the most famous castle in Britain. Inside the vast area of the Tower of London, you will find several halls and an impressive jewelry museum called Crowns and Diamonds. Page 10 - The Tower of London The Tower of London is open on Mondays through Saturdays, between 10:00 and 18:00, and on Sundays between 10:00 and 17:00. Admission fees are charged. You can spend several hours inside. Page 11 - Tower Bridge From the Tower of London we went to the famous Tower Bridge (a short walk from there).You can visit the engine room of the Tower Bridge if you like (and get there on time). We didn't. Page 12 - The Big Ben Other stuff to see the area: The Big Ben, the St. John's Chapel, and other Churches, gates and monuments. Page 13 - The Rainforest Cafe An attractive place in the field of Gastronomy is an amusing cafe named Rainforest. It is a restaurant designed as if it were in the middle of the jungle. The diners sit in the midst of trees, flowers ,elephants, waterfalls, snakes, birds, fog - all combined with impressive sound and visual effects. The waiters are dressed accordingly. The food is nice, but is without a doubt not the main attraction. In the entrance, you'll receive a "passport", with which you will be able to enter. Open daily, from 11:00 to midnight. It is on Shaftesbury Avenue, Piccadilly Circus. Telephone number: 0171-4343111. Web site: www.rainforestcafe.com Very recommended, an unusual experience! Page 14 - Marble Arch Our trip continued through the Marble Arch, which is on the eastern end of Hyde Park. It is a wide and impressive arch. Page 15 - Sherlock Holmes Museum From Hyde Part, we went to the Sherlock Holmes Museum. It is a lovely museum, for all those fond of the famous author Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. It is a house, a few stories high, which is the embodiment of the home of the famous detective, Sherlock Holmes, to the finest of details: from the famous pipe and hat, to "evidence" maintained in large aquariums, furniture, pictures, etc... Very impressive. The museum is on Baker Street. Admission fees are charged. Open daily between 10:00 and 18:00. In the vicinity of the museum you'll find Oxford Street, the most famous shopping street in London. Keep in mind that it is a very expensive shopping street. If you are looking for inexpensive shopping, you will be able to find plenty of stores which offer clothing, footwear, house utensils and so on, in the northern outskirts of London. If you want to "feel" the real London, pay at least one visit to Oxford Street, regardless if you intend on buying something or not. You'll find everything there, including every thinkable famous store. Another cheap place to do your shopping, other than the one mentioned above, is the Petticoat Lane market, which is on Middlesex Street, and is open to the public on Sundays, from 9:00 to 14:00, and is highly recommended. Page 16 - The National Gallery From there, we headed to the National Gallery, which contains a large collection of paintings from the Renaissance up until modern art. Among the paintings are works of Rembrandt, Van Dike, Rubens, Leonardo De Vinci, Michaelangelo, and others. Entrance is free of charge, but if you wish to enter the temporary displays admission fees will be charged. Opening hours: Monday - Saturday: 10:00 - 18:00. Sunday: 14:00 - 18:00. Page 17 - Trafalgar Square From the National Gallery we proceeded to Trafalgar Square, where the main attraction is undoubtedly the millions of pigeons which attend the square daily, just looking to be fed. Around the square you'll find peddlers which will provide you with grain in cellophane bags or cans, for the pigeons, of-course. Page 18 - Trafalgar Square Feeding the pigeons in Trafalgar Square is an amusing and entertaining experience (for the braves among you...) - the pigeons peck, as they sit on all parts of your body. Further more, they have the tendency to do their needs in every possible place. We recommend you equip yourselves with handkerchiefs to clean the "damage". Anyhow, despite of everything - highly recommended. Page 19 - The Parliament Houses From Trafalgar Square we proceeded to the famous Parliament Houses (which are located next to the Big Ben). Page 20 - Westminster Abbey From the Parliament Houses, we went on to visit the impressive Church: The Westminster Abbey. Entrance is free of charge. Opening hours: Monday - Friday: 9:00 - 16:30. Saturday: 9:00 - 14:30. Page 21 - Segaworld Video games fans will probably enjoy Segaworld very much; It is an enormous building, with many floors, teeming with gaming devices and machines, of every possible kind. Entrance fees are charged, and you also pay per game. It is located in Piccadilly Circus. An attraction that you must not miss if you are in London, is the theater. No matter which musical or play you decide to go to, your enjoyment is guaranteed. We went to the musical "Oliver", and we enjoyed it very much. We also got high recommendations for "Phantom of the Opera", "Les Miserables" and "Miss Saigon". It is highly recommended to go to at least one play. Here ends our tour of London. From it, we traveled further north in England, toward Scotland (see course: England, Sotland & Wales). | |
 |
|
| Help us make this site better! Take our quick survey. Click here! | |
|
|
|
|
|
|
