10 Things To See And Do In London

London is renowned for its world-famous attractions, poor weather and unbeatable afternoon tea. 

Visiting London is high up on many people's bucket-lists, as are sights like Hyde Park and London Zoo, but what are the top things to see and do in London? Read on to find out!

Iconic things to see and do in London
These spots in London are the ones we've all seen countless times in travel blogs, on Pinterest and on Doctor Who. These are the places where you are going to get your best shots of London for your Instagram:

• Big Ben
• Westminster Abbey
• Houses of Parliament
• London Eye
• Tower Bridge
• Tower of London
• The Shard
• The Gherkin
• Harrods
• Buckingham Palace 

But rather than giving you just a check-list, we're also going to be giving you some cool little facts about these top places to see in London: 

Big Ben

Big Ben is arguably London's most iconic attraction. It is actually free to go up Big Ben, but only if you are a UK resident who books at least 6 months in advance... Personally, we think seeing it from the outside is enough - it's 96 metres tall, 161 years old and like I keep saying, 100% iconic. 

To annoy and confuse everyone, Big Ben is actually the name of the big bell inside the tower, the tower itself is officially called 'Elizabeth Tower' after the Queen. 

This is actually a trending theme in London - almost all the top spots have a 'nickname' that everyone knows (e.g. Big Ben) and then also an official name that not many people know (e.g. Elizabeth Tower). 

The Houses of Parliament 
Latched onto Big Ben are the Houses of Parliament (officially the Palace of Westminster). This is where the Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland can be found. Most interestingly though, this is the building that Harry Potter and his pals flew past in the Order of the Phoenix. 

Photo credit: pixabay

You can attend a debate for free if you would like. We've been on a tour of the Houses of Parliament which was interesting, but so filled with facts and history that we were pretty tired afterwards. If history and politics are your thing, then this is a must do when you visit London, if it's not, then just stick to a photo of the outside. 

Westminster Abbey
Westminster Abbey is a one minute walk from the Houses of Parliament. Like Big Ben and the Houses of Parliament, it too has an official name no one uses (in this case, the Collegiate Church of St Peter at Westminster).

Westminster Abbey is a must for anyone who loves the TV show Friends (Chandler was Westminster Crabbey there), anyone who loves Kate and Wills (they were married here) and anyone who loves British history (since 1066, almost every Queen and King of England/Britain has been crowned here). 

Unlike most religious buildings in the UK, you do actually have to pay an entry fee (18 whole pounds)! It is probably the most famous religious building in Britain, but for £18 you may want to just settle for a photo of the outside: 

London Eye
You can see the London Eye from Big Ben and in this photo it looks like it's right next door: 

But it's actually a whole ten minute walk away. Luckily, it's a good walk, as you get to tick off two more things from your bucket-list: 
Walking over Westminster Bridge (which is a nice toothpaste green colour), and of course walking over the River Thames (which is not a nice green colour). 

Should you bother going on the London Eye? Some people don't enjoy it, saying that it's too expensive and you have to queue for ages, but with a bit of forward planning you can avoid both of those things - tickets booked online and in advance are cheaper, and there's the option of buying a queue skipping ticket. 

We've been on it, I'm secretly scared of heights and found it a bit much, it's up to you whether you have 'ride the London Eye' or just 'visit the London Eye' on your bucket-list. 

Tower Bridge
For most of my life I thought Tower Bridge was called London Bridge. London Bridge and Tower Bridge are neighbours with just a 15 minute walk between them, but Tower Bridge is the one that everyone knows when they see a photo of it:

Photo credit: pixabay

The Bridge opens up in the middle to allow boat traffic through (which has priority over car traffic). During the 2012 Olympics a set of Olympic Rings hung down from the top of the bridge - and would fold up every time a boat went through (despite weighing 13 tonnes). Most importantly though, in Spice World the Movie, Posh Spice is driving the Spice bus, they approach a bridge and the gap begins to open to let a boat through. Posh Spice jumps the gap and saves the day - Tower Bridge is that bridge!! 

Tower of London
As you'd expect, the Tower of London is very close to Tower Bridge (5 minute walk). In keeping with London's other iconic spots, this one also has a special official name that no one's heard of: Her Majesty's Royal Palace and Fortress. 

Parts of the Tower of London date back to as far as 1078. Among other things, it has been used as a prison (the most notably prisoner being Queen Elizabeth the First). 

We like the Tower of London, perhaps the best part of which is you can see the Crown Jewels there. Entry price is fairly steep (£21.45 for adults), but the Tower of London is almost always included in '2 for 1' deals or Tesco clubcard offers or any other London vouchers that you can get your hands on. 

The Shard

Photo credit: pixabay

The Shard is one of London's most recognisable sights. As the tallest building in the European Union it towers above London. Personally, we think it's a bit of an eyesore, though it is cool that it featured in a Doctor Who episode (albeit it one of the bad ones). Nevertheless, the good thing about tall eyesores is that when you go to the top of them, you a) get a perfect view of London and b) the eyesore itself is not in your picture. 

The Gherkin

Photo credit: pixabay

The Gherkin is also a relatively new addition to London, but that doesn't stop it from having a nickname (the Gherkin) and an official name not many people know (30 St Mary Axe). 

The Gherkin is the 10th tallest building in London, so whilst it's not as tall as the Shard, we definitely think it's better looking and more recognisable. 


Harrods
Harrods is a very upmarket shop which is definitely worth a look around - they don't mind you looking and not buying, but they can be a bit weird when it comes to what you wear in the shop. For example, when we went in they told Tanbay he'd have to wear his rucksack on the front (lol). However, they were very polite about it (unlike the rude Ritz employees). 

The two best things about Harrods are the food court and the kids section. They have impressive, delicious food and the kids section is straight out of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. 

Buckingham Palace

Buckingham Palace! A must see in London, even if it does look like a dodgy hospital. Be sure to be around for the Changing of the Guard, and fingers crossed you'll catch a glimpse of her Majesty herself! (Note: if the 'Royal Standard' is flying above Buckingham Palace - not the British Flag - you know Queenie is inside.) 

Other useful information:

Where to stay:
Those of you who are already familiar with our travel blog will know that we love to House Sit. The good news is that there are always lots and lots of new London House Sits advertised on our preferred House Sitting website: Trusted House Sitters. 

The bad news is that if you are new to House Sitting, you might not be able to get a London House Sit. House Sitting is competitive and *understandably* everyone wants to House Sit in London so competitive is even higher than usual. 

Don't despair though, another great option as to where to stay in London is to stay in a hotel. We highly recommend Expedia for a good place to stay in London. They are the world's largest travel company, they have a great choice and they have no change or cancel fees!


London will always hold a very special place in our hearts (Laura being British and Tanbay being in love with Britain). Whilst we can't say London is our favourite European city (that would be Rome or Berlin), we also can NOT allow you to skip London on your travels, it really is like nowhere else. 

If you enjoyed this post, you may like to read about our other European guides: 

How to Spend an Awesome First Day in Athens
10 Free things to Do in Rome!
10 Reasons You Have to Visit the Azores
14 Free Things to Do in Helsinki
24 Hours in Awesome Tallinn
Is One Day Enough For Sightseeing in Paris?
An Afternoon in Mijas, Spain
22 Fun (and Free) Things to do in Berlin

Connect with us on Instagram, Pinterest, Twitter and Facebook for more hot tips and useful guides!

This post is written in association with Expedia.ie. All opinions are our own, as always. 

How to Spend An Awesome First Day in Athens

Athens: Famous for its perfect weather, cheap local foods and ancient sites. 

Thanks to a House Sitting job, we lived in Athens rent free for five weeks in return for looking after a gorgeous dog and cat. 

With the sun almost always shining, and historical artefacts around every corner, it's hard not to have an awesome first day in Athens, but to make sure you definitely do, we've written a post on how to spend an awesome first day in Athens:

Visit the markets in Athens

First things first, get up early and head over to one of Athens' markets. This will immerse you almost immediately into a more 'foreign' culture and whet your wanderlust appetite. Be warned though, these markets are filled with fresh fish and meat - which means whole sharks, pigs' feet, skinned lambs and cows' heads which don't have skins but still have eyes and tongues. It is pretty overwhelming if you're not used to it, especially as the venders shout at you for your attention. Personally I found it exciting, but could imagine that this is one of those places that turns meat lovers into vegans. 

No matter if that's not your thing, they also have markets teeming with spices, nuts, fruits and all manner of exotic foods. The smells and the sounds are enchanting.

We visited a market that was on Athinas Street, just a 5 minute walk from Monastiraki Tube Station, and this is actually a great starting place to see the other main sights in Athens: 

Walk up to the Acropolis from Monastiraki

We approached the Acropolis from two directions - first we walked to it from Acropolis Tube Station (which takes about five minutes) and on another day from Monastiraki Tube Station. The second option takes about 30 minutes, but feels even longer as the sun is hot and the hill is steep, but it's still 100% the better option (in our opinion). Firstly, you get some awesome views on the way up, and secondly you have those 30 minutes to get truly excited to see Ancient Greece!!

If you are indeed approaching from Monastiraki, make sure you don't go straight into the Acropolis at the paying entrance, carry on a little further for epic views of Athens on one side and the Acropolis on the other:

I especially liked seeing the Stoa of Attalos from above. 

After you've enjoyed the view, double back on yourself and make your way to the top of the Acropolis: 

Visit the Parthenon

The Parthenon is the Eiffel Tower, or the Brandenburger Tor of Athens (i.e. the iconic piece). This is the one that you will see on all the postcards and struggle to get an original photo of for your Instagram:

This is our attempt

The slightly confusing thing is that the Parthenon is located on the Acropolis. Which is basically a hill filled with lots of ancientness. You have to pay to get into the Acropolis (and thus see Parthenon up close). We think this is definitely worth it, because you don't just get to see the Parthenon you also get to see:

• The Erechtheion
• The Herodeon
• The Theatre of Dionysus
• The Sanctuary of Zeus Polieus
• The Propylaea
• Ancient Agora
• Hadrian's Library
• Kerameikos Archaeological Site
• Temple of Olympian Zeus

Which isn't bad for €12. 


It was a shame that there was work being done on the Parthenon (which isn't scheduled to be finished any time soon apparently). However, it was still an incredible sight and it's amazing that it was completed in 432 BC!!! It has been used as a treasury, a Christian church and a mosque. Despite the heat and scaffolding there were plenty of tourists here: 

We were prepared for the Parthenon to impress us but we weren't prepared to:

Enjoy the view of Athens from the Acropolis

Having done very little research before we went to the Acropolis, you won't be surprised that we were surprised that it's on a hill. The Greeks definitely knew how to build when they built the Acropolis, because the view of Athens is incredible (though has obviously changed astronomically since they built it):

Here is a small rant about the employees of the Acropolis which you may or may not want to skip, depending on how you feel about petty rants: 

[In Athens we found almost every single Greek person that we met was welcoming, friendly and kind. Unfortunately, this was not the case for the two employees we came across in the Acropolis. They were pretty rude, here are the examples:

1. I was eating a sandwich. There are no signs that say you can't eat and, as I mentioned before, we'd done little to no research on the Acropolis.  An employee came over to me and said 
'You are NOT allowed to eat in here, this is a museum NOT a park'. And waited until I put my sandwich away, then stood near and glared at me. Fair enough it's not allowed, fair enough you're proud of the Acropolis, but he could have just politely said 'You're not allowed to eat in here'.  No need to bring the park into it. Also, a museum is defined as building which the Acropolis is not. Douche. 

2. I was sitting with my legs over the side of the wall where there was admittedly a 30 ft drop on the other side. Again though there were no signs that said I couldn't AND loads of other people were doing it too. A different employee charged over to me 'You are NOT allowed to do this, if you fell it would be really bad for publicity'.. Again, fair enough it's not allowed, but you could have politely said 'You're not allowed to do that'. No need to reveal the fact that for you the worst thing about me falling would be bad publicity, not my death itself.

HOWEVER, saying all this I'm sure if I had to work around annoying tourists all day every day who were trying to destroy the statues with sandwiches and fall off walls AND it was in the sun all day, I think I would be grumpy too. So no worries Acropolis employees I won't hold it against you. ]

Anyway, aside from the awesome Parthenon and the awesome view of Athens, there are still other parts of the Acropolis to enjoy:

The Erechtheion

The Erechtheion was dedicated to the two best Greek Gods - Athena and Poseidon. Athena is the Goddess of Wisdom and Poseidon is the God of the Sea. According to our good friend over at Aspect Of Style these two Gods fought to become the patron of Athens. The Athenians were allowed to decide: Poseidon gave them salt water and Athena gave them an olive tree. The Athenians went (correctly) for the olive tree and that's why Athens is called Athens :) 

After you've finished exploring the Parthenon, the Erechtheion and the Propylaea, head down the other side of the Acropolis to see: 

The Odeon of Herodes Atticus

The Odeon of Herodes Atticus dates back to 161AD (but was restored in 1950). It's incredible that something that old is around today, and not only around but still being used: it's the main venue of the Athen's Festival. 

After you've checked this out you can keep going down the hill, exiting the Acropolis by going past the Theatre of Dionysus. 

Next, you can walk down Dionysiou Areopagitou Lane towards Hadrian's Arch. If you do, you'll walk past Acropolis Museum (not included in your Acropolis ticket) and you'll also walk past the best Greek Yoghurt shop - Fresko Yogurt Bar. Yes it was touristy, but it was without a doubt the best Greek Yoghurt we had in Greece, and indeed in the whole world! 

Temple of Olympian Zeus

Next we'd recommend going to the Temple of Olympian Zeus, we found that this was a lot less crowded than the Acropolis, but no less impressive. 

Again we tried to get an original shot for our Instagram and these were our favourites:

It's also cool that you can see the Acropolis from here:

Now this was enough for us to fill up a whole awesome day in Athens, but if you're more active you might also fit in the Kerameikos Archaeological Site, Ancient Agora, Hellenic Parliament and so much more that Athens has to offer. 

Other important information:

Food and drink in Greece

There are some foods and drinks that you have to try out in Athens: Gyros, tatsiki, fresh fish, feta (φέτα), Greek yoghurt, moustalevria etc. The food in Greece truly is delicious, but we were pretty surprised to find that the food was not as cheap as we expected. The food definitely isn't as cheap as Italy or Portugal. Or at least that's what we found - maybe we were looking in the wrong places. 

We did find that it was impossible to find substandard food in Greece - no cheapy value products, everything tasted amazing.


In terms of drinks, we found the fresh orange juice to be some of the best we've ever had, and the coffee to be some of the worst. The orange juice is squeezed in front of you and is served with plenty of ice. The coffee is strangely thin until right at the bottom where it's weirdly thick (like the cheap hot chocolates you can get from a machine). Some people become addicted to Greek coffee when they come to Athens, we did not. 

As for alcohol, Greek beer is fine, Greek wine is not good and Greek Ouzo is the best! This is just our opinion of course, we didn't try every single Greek wine or beer and are of course biased towards German beer and Italian wine, but it might not just be us - there is a reason Greece is famous for its Ouzo, not for its wines and beers. Just saying. 

(Out of all the Greek wines, the one in the above photo is probably the worst, but has the coolest cover.)

Accommodation in Greece

We were lucky enough to be House Sitting in Greece, which meant that our accommodation was provided for us in return for looking after these two beauties:

We found our House Sit through Trusted House Sitters so do check them out. 

Alternately you might be interested in one or more Greece Holiday Packages in which case check out HolidayMe.com.  

Getting around Athens

The tube in Athens is one of our absolute most favourites in Europe. It is so clean and so well organised! We arrived to Greece in Athens airport where there are free (and awesome) guides and maps of Greece (brought to you by GreekGuide.com). We found these really useful, especially the tube map so definitely pick a couple of those bad boys up. 

All in all, Athens has already made it into our hearts as one of our favourite European cities, we honestly believe it would be near impossible to spend an un-awesome first day in Athens.

Athens, we love you thissssss much

If you enjoyed this post, you may enjoy our other posts about spending 24 hours in a European capital city:

How to spend 24 hours in AWESOME Tallinn
What to do if you're in Dublin for 24 hours
Is one day enough for sightseeing in Paris
How to spend a day in Amsterdam (on a budget)

Thank you for reading, we'd love to connect with you on Instagram, Twitter, Pinterest and Facebook! 

Have you been to Athens? Was your first day awesome? Let us know in the comments below! 


This post is written in association with HolidayMe.