By Joe Hale
London is one of the most famous cities in the world, known for its architecture, art and culture. It’s also famous for the huge number of cars that is has on the road, which can make it a bit of a pain to drive to, even for people living near London. However, London has a great rail system with connections to most other parts of the country. By using the train it’s easy to travel to London and a lot less stressful than driving, making it is easier to enjoy your time seeing the sights of this iconic city this summer.
Part of the charm of London, is riding on one of the old double decker busses – CC iantherev
This summer in London, one of the ways you can really get to grip with the city is to take a tour
on an open top bus. With some tour companies, there is the option of up to three different routes, which, in all, take you to 80 iconic monuments and points of interest. The weather this summer hasn’t been ideal for open top transport however, so it’s important to take an umbrella, just in case.
Another way to get to know the city is to be your own tour guide. Just walking around London can be fascinating and the city has some really interesting places to visit like Hackney, Peckham and Brixton. These places have their own, unique characteristics; however, you’ll still be sure to find a classic London market, complete with incomprehensible stall owners.
To get around London, you can buy a day pass, which allows you access to the various forms of public transport, including the tube and the bus services. The local areas in London will be particularly alive and vibrant this year, thanks to the Olympics being held in the city.
Nottingham Carnival – CC Fractelznet
The Notting Hill Carnival is a spectacular summer event on the streets of London. Since it started in 1964, it has grown in popularity, and notoriety, and now attracts visitors from around the world. It takes place on the August bank holiday weekend, which this year is 26th-27th. There are steel bands, amazing costumes and delicious Caribbean food to be enjoyed. The parade itself goes past the Ladbroke Grove station; however, this is normally closed on both days of the festival, so it is important to find an alternative route to the celebrations.
One of the best ways to enjoy London is to attend one of the gigs and festivals that are held in the city. Every year, London attracts some of the biggest names in music to the city: at the BBC Hackney Weekend this year, top billing acts included Rihanna, Jay-Z and Dizzee Rascal. Kasabian, one of the best British bands of recent times, played at the event too. Kasabian will also be at the O2 Academy in Brixton on 20th August. The band are famous for their high energy live shows, so this chance to see them at one of London’s leading music venues shouldn’t be missed.
Even if you’ve managed to see everything there is to see in London, the fun doesn’t stop there. London has rail connections to lots of other parts of the country, including Bath and Birmingham. There is also an international station in St Pancras, where the Eurostar can take you to Paris in less than two and a half hours.
This post was made possible by our friends at Eurostar
OurOyster
The OurOyster project consists of Jade Johnston who writes about her adventures travelling the world. We also feature guests posts from other great writers and bloggers out there.
