When you live in London, it’s really far too easy to get trapped into the everyday life and forget how much of a wonderfully fascinating city it is.

As a Londoner, you almost never get the time to actually see the city at day-time (because work and commute and burgers). And you’d rather die (or you know, spend an hour queuing for brunch) rather than doing some sort of touristy thing.

And being a tourist in London is a rather wonderful thing I indulge in once in a while (basically whenever I have people over).

And you should too. You deserve it. If only to take advantage of the gorgeous weather we’ve been having lately.

 

Whether it’s your first time in London or you’ve been living there for years, a walk along the Thames is one of the best things to do in London.

But then any day that starts with that view ought to be a winner!

Wrap up warm, leave Big Ben behind and march your way east, indulging in a bit of people watching and architecture-induced jaw dropping along the way…

From glorious residences to some of London’s most iconic buildings , walking the Thames banks is an architecture-nerd’s dream come true.

And one of the best ways to cover some of the city’s most iconic sight-seeing venues, especially if you’re only in town for a few days.

Before you realise it The City and its multitude of strangely-shaped skyscrapers appear in front of your eyes.

The perfect mix of old and new, it’s one of my favourite parts of London to explore (and very well worth the time if you have half a day to spare).

Walk a few more minutes and you’ll be greeted with some of the best views over St Paul’s cathedral.

And if you’re extra lucky, with a few soap bubbles as well.

From then on, follow your heart and venture into the small streets…

Before eventually making your way to the Borough Market for a (very much deserved) spot of lunch.

Wander among the stalls, pick up a bit of everything that looks good and settle in for an absolute feast of a picnic.

Ours included mountains of cheese in the form of toasties from Kappacassein.

Golden on the outside and so, so indulgent and cheesy, it’s basically a hug in sandwich form.

How anyone can resist getting one (or three) is simply beyond me.

But if you insist, I’ll let you get away with getting one of Brindisa’s famous chorizo rolls…

And make sure you pick up a few croissants as well.

I wouldn’t want you to get hangry as you march your way to Tower Bridge!

From then on, you have two options. You could walk down on the other side of the River and making your way to St Paul’s (before collapsing in front of a well deserved cup of tea and biscuits).

Or you could give in to your ‘love everything sparkly’ side and make a beeline for the Tower of London’s Crown Jewels exhibition.

Castle, fortress, prison, military GQ… The Tower has always played a predominant role in the history of London and the UK.

Walking up and down the cobbled streets feels like going back in time.

Each artefact will make you discover a new side of London’s rich (and sometimes tragic) history and make you loose track of time.

But looking through the windows will bring you back to nowadays with some of the best views over the city.

With just a few steps, you’ll go from long forgotten past to present, and everything inbetween.

A truly fascinating journey and one I highly recommend you take yourself.

Having had our share of glistening diamonds (the Crown Jewels are my fave, unfortunately no pictures allowed, so you’ll have to go check it out for yourself and let me know what you think!), we waved the Tower’s metal menagerie goodbye and made our way home with the head full of real-life fairy tales.