An Insiders Guide to London

Tate Modern Museum
Borough Market
People-Watching at Covent Garden
The Porterhouse
Strand on the Green
La Perla Mexican Restaurant
Richmond Park
Going to Wimbledon to watch the tennis.

Quick Tips:

Take time to have a lazy walk along the Thames at some point during your trip. I would recommend walking from Westminster Bridge to Tower Bridge and then crossing over the river and walking along the other side of the River Thames. You won't believe how many things you get to see along the route. Plus, you get to see many of the famous London landmarks and you don't have to pay a penny!

Unfortunately there are many pick-pockets operating on the London Underground. I know it sounds obvious but never walk around looking at your feet, and always keep your money and wallet in your front pockets or in a money belt. And most importantly, when you see signs warning you of pick-pockets don't feel your pockets where your valuables are, as this is what a professional pick-pocket is looking for!

Best Way To Get Around:

Although the Underground is the best and usually quickest way of travelling around London, I would recommend buying an A-Z Atlas of London, and where possible walking from place to place. It's remarkable how little you need to use the Underground in Central London if you know how to get from place to place. By walking you also get to see many places, bars and restaurants that you would have missed if using the Underground.

An A-Z Atlas can be bought from most newsagents in London or from Amazon.com.

Considering the location of this guesthouses, I don't think you will find a better valued place to stay in the whole of London.

I have stayed here a number of times, and have always been impressed by the cleanliness of the place. Although the decorations are basic, you really cannot complain at the price of £25 per room per night, especially when some of the rooms have up to 3 beds. Breakfast is also included (between 7am and 9am), which consists of a traditional English breakfast with the choice of a number of cereals as well.

Each room has coffee and tea making facilities, TV, and alarm clock. The bathrooms and toilets are shared, but these are always clean and I have never had to wait to use them.

The guesthouse is located in the quiet suburb of Chiswick and only a 5 minute walk from the nearest tube station, Turnham Green. From here it is only a 20-25 minute journey by tube into Central London.

Chiswick High Street is only a 2 minute walk away, where you will find all the conveniences that you need including pubs, bars, shops, supermarkets and a wide variety of restaurants catering for every food style.

For the price and location, and with all amenities close by, this has to be one of the best kept accommodation secrets in London.

I was introduced to Mexican Food by my girlfriend, and was quite disappointed to fine that London lacks a wide variety of Mexican restaurants. Of the few that are on offer I would say that La Perla is by far the best, and I would say that it is up there with some of the traditional Mexican restaurants I have eaten at while in America.

 

They offer a full Mexican menu, from starters to dessert, and I would personally recommend the nachos for starters and the vegetarian Burrito for main, which is huge. For this meal you are looking at paying around £11, which considering the location and the quality and quantity of the food, is excellent value.

 

Along with a good food menu, there is also a good selection of drinks, cocktails and of course tequila, and if you have a little spare cash then you could try one of their 99 Pounds a shot tequila. It has to be high quality liquor at that price!

 

Opening hours are as follows:

 Mon-Sat 12.00-23.00

Sun 16.00-22.30

Although I have never had any need to reserve seating here, with a capacity of only 40 people it may be wise to do so if it is an important occasion.

Another good point about dining at La Perla, is the location. Almost directly over the road is my favourite bar in London, The Porterhouse, which has over 300 different beers on offer, as well as numerous clubs and other bars in Covent Garden.

The nearest tube stations are Goodge Street and Covent Garden, both of which are no more than 5 minutes walk away.

This has to be my favourite place in London and luckily, although it can get busy, it isn't one of the top tourist hot spots, which means it keeps its appeal as a typically English market atmosphere.

The best bit for me is the amount of free tasters on offer, so if you are short on cash and are feeling a little peckish, then you can easily feed your appetite on free tasters here. Another favourite that I would recommend people trying is the Somerset Cider Stall that is located near the restaurant. It's gorgeous stuff!

You can lose yourself here easily for a couple of hours looking at the wide array of fruit, vegetables, breads, cheeses, meats, fish and other speciality foods that you will find it hard to find anywhere else in London. Stalls and market operators include the Monmouth Coffee Company, de Gustibus, and the Fresh Olive Company.

This fruit and vegetable market is located almost opposite the London Bridge tube station, although I would recommend walking to it along the River Thames, as it's about a 30 minute walk from Leicester Square and Covent Garden, as this way you get to see so much more of the city.

The market itself spreads out in an L-shape and is the successor to a medieval market, held on London Bridge way back in 1276, so not only do you get free food, but also you get to take in a lot of nostalgia and history as well! The buildings of its present location date from 1851.

Surrounding the market there are even more shops offering fresh produce, cheeses and meats including 'Neal's Yard Dairy', selling British and Irish farmhouse cheeses, the acclaimed 'Fish', beside the restaurant of the same name, and Konditor & Cook, the bakers.

Opening hours for Borough Market are:
Fri: noon-6pm, Sat: 9am-4pm

If you require any further information then you can check out there website at: http://www.boroughmarket.org.uk

I can't recommend this market highly enough and it's an excellent attraction as part of a full day of entertainment along the River Thames, which can include The London Eye, Tate Modern and even better, the Vinnepolis Wine Tasting Museum!

London has many parks, but for me the best of the lot is a short trip outside of London to the suburb of Richmond, where you will find Richmond Park.

Richmond Park, is almost 1000 hectares in size, with a diameter of approximately 10 miles, making it ideal for those who like to run or cycle. It is the largest Royal Park in London and unlike any of the others, it has a population of approximately 650 deer which are free roaming. The deer are an ideal highlight if you have children, as not only are they easy to find but they are used to humans, so you can get very close to them.

Cars are allowed to drive through the roads in the park, meaning that it is easy to travel to which ever part of the park you like the most, with ample parking throughout.

Richmond Park is very easy to reach if you do not own a car. You can travel to Richmond Station via the District Line or overland via either Waterloo or Clapham Junction. From here you turn left out of the station and follow the directions up to Richmond Hill, where you will find the Richmond Gate entrance. Trains from Waterloo to Richmond leave approximately every 20 minutes.

You can also catch a train to Mortlake (via Waterloo and Clapham Junction). When leaving the station turn right and walk up the hill. When you come to Mortlake High Street, cross straight over this and carry on walking up the road for another 10 minutes and you will arrive at the Sheen Gate entrance of Richmond Park.

More information on the park can be found at:
http://www.royalparks.gov.uk/parks/richmond_park/

Richmond Park Phone Number: 020 8948 3209

Opening Hours: 5am - Sunset

In my view, this is the best park in London, with enough to keep the whole family happy.

Within Central London this is one of my favourite bars, not only for the relaxed and friendly atmosphere that you will find here, but also for the ridiculous amount of beers on offer, both on tap and in bottles. They have about 300 different beers on offer from throughout the world, so there is something for everyone so to speak.

The pub is large and has many seperate level floors (5 in total), but due to its popularity and closeness to Covent Gardens it is normally very busy especially on weekends, which can have a bit of a negative effect on the enjoyment you can have here.

The Porterhouse also has a large selction of pub food, which is very good quality and I would recommend a lunch time dinner here washed down by one of the hundreds of beers on offer. Eating in the evening or on weekends is hit or miss due to the fact that it can get so busy and tables are at a premium.

If you decide to try this pub out I would recommend trying one of the Belgian fruit beers or the Kenyan beer Tusker.

For more information their website is located at: http://www.porterhousebrewco.com

Phone Number: 020 7379 7917

Nearest Tube Station: Covent Gardens (5 minutes walk).

I am sure visiting Wimbledon is mentioned in every guide book, but I want to comment on my experience of visiting Wimbledon last year (2005) to show that you do not need money, nor a lot of time to enjoy one of the greatest tennis events on the planet.

Every year their are always stories in the newspapers at the ridiculous prices charged for strawberries and cream and a drink of Pimms, but don't let these stories have any influence on your decision, as a trip to Wimbledon can be as 'cheap as chips'!

I was working in London last year while Wimbledon was playing and decided to go along with my girlfriend, even though the earliest I could finish work was at 4:30pm. I managed to arrive at outside of Wimbledon at 5:15pm, and it took another 15 minutes to reach the end of the general admittance queue, which was over a mile long.

Morale was very low at this point as I thought it would be hours before we would actually enter into the grounds, but I couldn't believe how fast the queue moves, and we only had to queue for no more than 30 minutes before we were inside.

The cost for general admittance was £10. This allows you to see all tennis being played apart from Centre Court and Court Number 1. If you want to see tennis on these two courts, you can go to a special booth (signposted inside the ground) where you can buy tickets for as little as £5 from people who have left early. This money goes to charity.

People who are leaving also give away their tickets and my girlfriend and I were lucky enough to be given tickets to Court Number 1 as soon as we arrived managing to see the British 'sensation' Andy Murray power his way to a big upset.

There was also a women's double match on afterwards, which we watched for the entirety.

So for the sum of £10 and entering the grounds at 6pm (after queueing for 30 minutes), we got to watch tennis on Court Number 1 and the outside courts for almost 3 hours. Not bad for an evenings entertainment, seeing one of England's biggest sporting events.

The first week of Wimbledon is the best week for doing this, as during the 2nd week, less tennis is played on the outside courts meaning that you will get less tennis for your £10 entrance fee.

More information can be found on the website: http://www.wimbledon.org

Ticket Enquiries: +44 (0)20 8971 2473.

The nearest stations to Wimbledon are Wimbledon and Southfields, with shuttle buses going from each to the tennis.

There is no doubting that the British Airways London Eye is one of the biggest tourist attractions in London. On a good day you can see for 25 miles across the sprawling city of London, viewing other top tourist attractions such as Buckingham Palace, Covent Garden, Big Ben, and St. Pauls Cathedral, to name but a few.

Even though a ride on the London Eye is an unparalled experience, and the only way of seeing London from the air, for some reason the experience didn't live up to my expectations, and by the end I was left feeling a little disappointed.

A ride on the London Eye isn't that expensive (about £12.50 for adults) but I feel the time spent queueing to buy your tickets, then queueing to actually get on the London Eye, and then 30 minutes you spend on the London Eye could be time better used.

I think part of my let down was due to the 60+ minutes spent buying the tickets and queueing to ride the London Eye, so by the time I actually got on I was expecting something more than what was on offer. By the time you get to the highest point you have already viewed all of the sites and views that can be seen, so the ride back down was a little on the boring side.

If you are a tourist then you will have probably visited most of the attractions that can be seen from the air.

Don't get me wrong, the views you see are quite breathtaking (although I am sure these are lost slightly if the weather isn't very good) but if I was able to use the time again, I would much rather spend the 2 hours or so spent queueing and riding the London Eye on walking along the Thames, or through Soho and soaking up the culture and atmosphere that is on offer. This seems to be slightly lost when riding the London Eye.

If you are looking on getting good photo opportunities then the London Eye is for you, but if you are like me and expect a little more atmosphere and culture then I would think twice before riding it.

More information can be found at: http://www.londoneye.com/