By Sahaana Sankar
Concrete jungle where dreams are made of rightly said Alicia Keys in her song about New York. Repeat the same lyrics for London. Except, London is not New York. It has a charm of its own. A charm where you turn to one side of the street to see the gothic architecture of Royal Courts of Justice and turn to another to see the marvelous Shard. This city is definitely the best of both worlds with the perfect balance of history and modernity.
There is more to London than the traditional (and iconic) set of landmarks The London Eye, Westminster Abbey, Big Ben, Madame Tussauds, Buckingham Palace and Tower Bridge. One can spend days walking around cobbled streets, eating in the quaintest restaurants with cuisines from around the world and excitedly take the tube from one station to the next.
For the young and the restless Angel and Camden constitute the happening areas. Each of these places has a story to tell. Angel, (no, there are no fairies hovering around your heads) is the Spanish downtown region with much to explore. Try Desperados or Sangria for some authentic Spanish and Mexican cuisine. Camden has more of a Bohemian outlook. Spattered with stalls selling almost everything you can imagine, road side world food markets, shops with the wackiest logos and artwork and a manmade canal passing through the area (a Venice look alike) Camden transports you to another world!
Walk. The one thing you should do. The city has excellent, smooth and well-connected transport systems but taking a walk adds to your experience of literally living in the shoes of a Londoner! The most beautiful places to walk are around the river. Along Victoria Embankment, you see the Thames on one side and beautiful architecture of Victorian buildings on the other. Walking along Southbank, you see the OXO Tower, innovative trees dotted with twinkling lights, Southbank IMAX theatre and a load of restaurants. Each walk along the river connects you from one bridge to another and each of these bridges has spellbinding sights each different from the other. A day well spent is walking all the way from Waterloo Bridge to Tower Bridge you can see every tourist attraction and burn a ton of calories!
When the sun is shining and temperatures soaring two places to visit are Borough Market and Hyde Park. Just take a nice book, lay down on the sunny green manicured lawns of Hyde Park and spend a lazy Saturday afternoon. Top it off with fresh ice cream from the hundreds of ice cream trucks all over. Borough market is a food market. Locals sell ingredients of different cuisines in this open-air market where you can get to sample a plethora of cheeses, chocolates, spices and much more. There is even an Indian stall selling lip-smacking chaat and masalas!
The city transforms in winter. Every building is covered with spectacular lights and Christmas trees are everywhere! The mood is festive, the people relaxed and the city, stunning. Visit Winter Wonderland in December Hyde Park is transformed into a small amusement park with rides, carnival games (that you can never win in), mulled wine and hot French crepes. Theres a first time for everything, so if you havent before (or even if you have), try getting booked in for ice-skating at Somerset. An open-air ice skating rink set in the courtyard of Somerset House with jazz music in the background this is an experience on its own.
A characteristic of this city is its people. While walking down the road, you hear a myriad of languages. London is extremely international with a large number of tourists and foreign population living in the city. Everyone is ever so friendly, always smiling and willing to help. This adds to how welcoming the city is, you feel so at home.
London is breathtaking. Its like living in a dream. One cant help but to fall in love with this city, it just happens. This article covers only one-hundredth of the hundreds of things to do in London. Be it a day, a week or a month this city will have such a positive effect on you, that it will leave you energized and wanting more. After all, there is still so much to explore!
Sahaana Sankar is currently pursuing her Masters in Management from the London School of Economics and Political Science. She is an Electronics and Communications Engineer from Anna University with a passion for the environment, science and innovation. Her latest calling is economics and social entrepreneurship. She lives in London , where she is learning, exploring, spending hours in the library and soaking in every bit the city has to offer! Ping her at sahaana7@gmail.com