London Guide

When I was home last month I managed to squeeze in a quick trip to London to see my sister. It ended up being super last minute (thanks my own stupidity!) so I really didn’t have any plans for what I wanted to do or see. I’ve lost count of how many times I’ve been to London, so I had already done most of the usual things. In the end we kind of just went with the flow and ended up doing a lot of things I’d never done before.

When it came to packing, I packed light. One jacket, scarf, bag, some jeans, a few tops and I was good to go (you can shop my looks at the bottom of this post)! I still packed too much… but always better to be safe than sorry. Anywho… here’s a little round up of what I got up to and tips for spending a weekend in London.

Day 1 – Friday

I arrived midday Friday and after a quick trip around the shops in Westfield in Stratford I went to my ultimate happy place – Oxford Street. I was trying (damn hard!) to be on my best behaviour and not shop, so I just strolled around (Oxford Street, Carnaby Street, SoHo, and Regent Street), finally checked out Liberty London (that Tudor Building with the most gorgeous flowers outside) and indulged in my true London must – Ben’s Cookies!! If you are gonna be in London soon… go here!

After killing a few hours, I met up with London based blogger Monica, who I met in New York right after I moved here. We grabbed some food in Carnaby Burger Co. (it was AMAZING!!) in Carnaby and then I headed off to meet my sister after she finished work.

Day 2 – Saturday

Like I said, we didn’t really have a plan but I did know one thing I definitely wanted to do – have brunch at The Breakfast Club. I’d heard a lot about The Breakfast Club (mainly from my sister) and as I live in the land of the brunch, I couldn’t wait to see what all the hype was about. The Breakfast Club is the kinda place that’s guaranteed to have a queue (always a good sign!), but it’s worth the wait!!

There’s a few Breakfast Clubs around London. We went to the one near Borough Market (did you see this deliciousness on my Instagram?) and it was a great base to kick off the day. After brunch we strolled around Borough Market (a must visit for any foodies), walked over London bridge to get a good view of Tower Bridge and continued on to St. Pauls Cathedral.

Next it was on to Trafalgar Square, Covent Garden (I love this place – great shopping and fab places to discover) and we finished up our little walking tour in Primark (or course) on Tottenham Court Road.

Day 3 – Sunday

On Sunday we started off with coffee and brunch at Pavilion Cafe in Victoria Park. This was a new park for me and the Pavilion is one of those little gems that only a true Londoner would know about. It’s on the edge of a lake with amazing views of the park. After the park we got some Boris Bikes and set off for Columbia Road Flower Market. This place was so cool and I honestly felt like I’d stepped into an episode of Eastenders (well the flower version!).

At that stage we’d worked up quite an appetite, so after a walk through Shoreditch we took our (slightly hungover selves) to Kingly Court in Carnaby for dinner at Whyte & Brown.

All in all, it was a seriously fun few days and I loved having the chance to catch up with my sister! Like I said, I’ve lost count of how many times I’ve been to London. The build up to Christmas is probably my favourite time (it’s magical), but I do love summer too. Based on my past experiences, here are some more things to do in London…

Markets

London has the best markets and over the years I’ve bought some of my favourite pieces here. Some of my favs are:

Borough Market – for the foodies out here.
Camden Market – you never know what little gems you’ll find.
Columbia Road Flower Market – so pretty and definitely an experience.
Portobello Road Market – same as Camden, there’s always a new up and coming brand to discover.
Spitalfields Market – again, you never know what you’ll find. This is where I discovered and fell in love with Never Fully Dressed.

Parks

Hyde Park
Kensington Gardens 
St James Park
Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park
Victoria Park

Tourist Stuff

I am such a tourist and no matter how times I’ve been somewhere, I’ll happily do the touristy stuff over and over again.

Big Ben
Carnaby Street
Houses of Parliament
Leicester Square
Notting Hill
Oxford Circus
Oxford Street
Piccadilly Circus
Regent Street
St. Paul’s Cathedral
The London Eye
The Mall
The Palaces – Buckingham Palace, Kensington Palace, St. James Palace
The Shard
Tower Bridge
Tower of London
Trafalgar Square
Westminster Abbey

Shopping

Oxford Street – my fav! The biggest Topshop in the world (literally my favourite place to be in the world!) two of the biggest Primark’s, Selfridges and everything in between!
Harrods – For the experience! The food court is amazing.
Westfield Shopping Centres – Shepard’s Bush & Stratford.
Kensington High St.
Covent Garden – This is such a fab area! Shops, food and loads of cool stuff!
The Markets mentioned above!

Food

Ben’s Cookies – If there is one thing you do when you’re in London, go to Ben’s Cookies (warning – you’re gonna want them all). Seriously, these cookies are life changing!!
Borough Market
Carnaby Burger Co.
Harrods Food Court
Kingly Court – In Carnaby, which is really central. Loads of fab restaurants! You’ll be spoilt for choice. We went to Whyte & Brown and it was delish!
Pizza Express
The Breakfast Club – Fab for brunch. There’s a few around London. Be prepared to queue, but that’s a good sign.
The Pavilion – Victoria Park for brunch too. It’s fab and a place tourists wouldn’t know about.
Nando’s – Ok, so I know this isn’t exclusive to London but it’s always a must. Their peri peri chicken… YUM!!!

Going Out In London

Stick to SoHo and Shoreditch.

Christmas In London

Oxford Street, Oxford Circus and Regent Street – The decorations are amazing!
Winter Wonderland in Hyde Park – A MUST see for all the Christmas lovers (like me!) out there! The hot chocolates you get here are the best in the world. Not even exaggerating.
Harrods – Those windows!
Covent Garden
Ice skating at Somerset House

If any of you are heading to London soon, let me know if you try any of these places,

Lorna x

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