The alarm clock rings at 6am and as we did yesterday before going to Camden Market in London, it's time to go down to reception for a couple of coffees that give us life, while we spend some time to work and get everything ready to start today's day that will take us among other places to Covent Garden Market and the London Eye, two of the most touristy places in London and known of the city and that as expected, we will not miss on this trip to London in 6 days.
At 8 o'clock in the morning we go down to breakfast in the lounge of the Garden Court Hotel and shortly before 9 o'clock we are already on the street ready to eat this second full day in London, which we can't wait to start.
Our first stop of the day will be the British Museum near brook green hotel in london, one of the visits we remember most from the times we have travelled to London and which, as on previous occasions, we do not want to miss on this trip.
Without taking time into account, today we left the brook green hotel in london early, arriving a little after 9 am at the underground stop that would take us to the British Museum, so when we arrived we saw that we still had almost 45 minutes until the museum opened, so we decided to go to the second place we had to visit today, Neal's Yard, which is very close to the museum, an alley in the centre of London full of charm in which the buildings and houses that surround it are painted in colour.
Route of the third day of the 6-day trip to London
Today's route will take us to the following points: British Museum, Neal's Yard, Covent Garden Market, Gabriel's Warf, London Eye, St James' Park and Buckingham Palace.
This is an easily covered walking route of less than 4 miles, which in total will take you no more than 1.5 hours, not counting stops.
A good way to learn more about the history of the city is to book this free guided tour of London.
Once in Neal's Yard we confirmed what we had read, it's not big at all, quite the opposite. It is a very small alley, even more than we imagined, but it is true that it has a lot of charm and it is worth coming here, especially if you are going to visit the British Museum, as it is very close on foot.
Neal's Yard
We had been recommended to go mid-morning or in the afternoon, as the shops are closed first thing in the morning. In our case, as we like to come to this type of places as early as possible, to be able to take photographs at our leisure, we have to say that this time of the day was perfect as it allowed us to enjoy the morning atmosphere, with the cafés already open and at full capacity, but without the hustle and bustle of other times of the day when the shops are already open and therefore there are many more people walking around.
Neal's Yard in London
Details in Neal's Yard
After almost half an hour walking up and down Neal's Yard, when it is 10am we arrive at the gates of the British Museum, free entry, although they ask for a donation of five pounds in case you want to give it, and after passing the security checks, we make a quick review of the map of the museum that they give us and decide to make a quick visit, which takes us to see the pieces that are of most interest to us and that are also the most interesting or the most touristy and the ones that most people usually come to see.
British MuseumWhat to see in the British Museum. Quick visit
The visit to the museum, if you want to do a quick tour, which is what we have done, can take about two hours to enjoy the best works to see in the British Museum. If you want to do a more extensive visit, you should book practically a whole morning, as the museum is very large and has a lot of very interesting pieces. That doesn't mean that if you are really interested, you can spend much more time there, which is what we are sure we will do when we come back to London to spend some time there.
Rosetta Stone
We could say that this is one of the most important pieces in the museum and one of the ones that any visitor looks for as soon as they enter.
This black granite stone was found in the Nile Delta in 1799 and dates from 196 BC. Its great value is the text we can see on it, which is in three scripts: hieroglyphic, demotic and Greek, so through the Rosetta Stone it has been possible to decipher the hieroglyphic writing.
Parthenon Marbles
A set of marble statues and reliefs, originally from the Parthenon of the Acropolis in Athens, which were donated to the museum. Today, as with many other pieces in this museum, there is much controversy as to whether or not they should be here.
Parthenon Marbles
A good option if you don't have much time or if you want to get to know the British Museum in the best way is to book a guided tour of the British Museum or this free tour with which you will be accompanied by an expert in art and history, who will take you through the most valuable and interesting works of the museum.
Monument of the Nereids
Originally from Turkey, found in Lycia of Khanthos, this Greek funerary monument combines Persian and Greek designs and can now be seen fully restored in this museum.
Monument of the Nereids
Easter Island Moai
This is another of the great treasures that the British Museum keeps within its walls. Besides being one of the few Moai that has come out of Rapa Nui, it is the only one with inscriptions that has been preserved to this day.
It is called Hoa Hakananaiʻa and was brought to the UK on an English ship in 1869.
Easter Island Moai
Ramses II
Among the incredible collection of Egyptian art held in the British Museum, we find this figure of Ramses II, which was brought from a temple in Thebes.
Ramses II
Winged Lion of Nimrud
In two rooms we can find the remains of the Assyrian city of Nimrud, among which we can see the Winged Lion, one of the two that were at the entrance to the throne room, as well as reliefs depicting hunting scenes.
Winged Lion of Nimrud
Lewis's chess set
This incredible, perfectly preserved chess set, carved from walrus ivory, has a total of 78 pieces and was discovered on the Isle of Lewis in Scotland.
Ur Banner
Found in Ur, this standard with two faces, one of them representing peace and the other war, is made with a technique that inlays stones and other elements in which we can see shells and lapis lazuli among others.
After a last tour of the rooms of the Rosetta Stone and the Easter Island Moai, two of the pieces that most attract our attention in the museum, we end our visit by leaving the museum at almost 12 noon, heading for our next stop today, London's Covent Garden Market.
With the time that it is and as it happened to us yesterday, now completely adapted to British time, first of all we decide to look for somewhere to have lunch before visiting Covent Garden, which we also hope will be much clearer once this midday hour has passed.
In the end we decided to go to Wagamama, an Asian food chain we went to quite a while ago at Amsterdam airport on our way to Peru, which we didn't really like, but today we intend to give it another chance as we know it is a well-known chain in several countries and can always be a good option when we don't want to spend a lot of time on food, as is the case today.
We ordered some gyosas as a starter plus a pad thai and some noodles with salmon, plus a natural milkshake, soft drink, dessert and two espressos for 42 pounds, a price that we think is quite good and that we can really say has reconciled us with the place, as we have eaten very well.
Pad Thai at Wagamama
It was a few minutes before 2pm when we left Wagamama with renewed energy and ready to visit the Covent Garden market in London, one of the best known, most touristic and most visited markets in the city.
Covent Garden in London
When we go inside, as it is a covered market, we can't help but think about how we had seen it almost 10 years ago, which was the last time we came to London, and at that time Covent Garden was a market where all you could find inside were small shops and stalls of local crafts, with a lot of charm, in which we could find jewellery, jewellery and souvenirs different from what we are used to seeing.
Covent Garden in London
Nowadays, all we find is an enclosure in which shops of more or less well-known brands have been built on either side, and in one part of the central part there are different restaurants where you can eat. No matter how hard we look, we see that there is no trace of all the craft shops, of which there are only 4 or 5 left in a small part of the market, which have little or nothing to do with what we remember.
Shops in Covent Garden in London
While it is true that it is a place that we believe should be visited, as it is beautiful as architecture and even for the atmosphere, if we want to be honest, we have been a little disappointed, as it has lost the charm it had and that we remember. From what we have perceived, it has now become too commercial and not very authentic, so we recommend in this case, if you can only choose between Camden Market and Covent Garden, although they have nothing to do with each other, we would definitely choose Camden, both for the atmosphere, the shops and the things you can find.
More practical information to prepare your trip to London
- The 10 best tours and excursions from London
- 32 must-see places to visit in London
- The best free tours in London
- Guide to London in 6 days
- The 5 best viewpoints in London
- The 5 best museums in London
After the experience, the truth is that it didn't take us long to take four photos and check that the craft shops and what we remembered no longer exists, to get on our way to the next place we had in the planning of today's route, which is none other than the London Eye, where we have entrance at 5 pm.
Being the time that it is and taking into account that we still have almost two and a half hours to go there, we decided to make a small change of plans, taking advantage of this time to take a walk around the neighbourhood of Covent Garden.
Streets of London
Covent Garden is currently one of the most touristic neighbourhoods in London, partly because of its market, but also because of its atmosphere, as it is a very lively neighbourhood at any time of the day. In addition to the shops you can find in the market, if you like shopping you can't miss the fashion shops located in Floral Street.
London
In addition, in this area of the city, you will find many places where you can eat or have a coffee to recharge your batteries after a day of walking and shopping.
The weather in London
One thing we want to talk about is the weather in London. Although we had always read and been told that during the summer months the temperatures in the city were quite high and the rain did not usually appear, in our case, the experience was not quite like that.
That's why we advise you to check the weather forecast before travelling, because as it happened to us, in the middle of July you can find temperatures that do not exceed 16 degrees Celsius, having to wear a jacket, closed shoes and even, sometimes, to be a bit cold.
Another recommendation is to bring an umbrella or buy one and always carry it in your bag, as many times, even if the sky is clear, suddenly and without warning, it changes, turns grey and starts raining. Normally, or at least in our experience, the rain is very concentrated in time and in less than 10 minutes it stops and even the sun comes out.
After this walk through Covent Garden we went to Gabriel's Warf, an area on the banks of the Thames full of charm, where we recommend you come without haste, as the walk from here to Westminster Bridge is full of charming places, including food trucks, terraces where you can stop to enjoy the atmosphere of the city and of course, the famous London Ferris wheel, a visit you can't miss.
We make a brief stop at Gabriel's Warf, a very charming place where we find lots of little local shops and small restaurants with terraces, which undoubtedly make it one of the most magical places in the area.
Gabriel's Warf
Gabriel's Warf
After this stop and taking into account that there are still about 30 minutes to five o'clock, which is the time we have our pass for the London Ferris Wheel, we continue the walk enjoying a wealth of stimuli that are coming to us from all corners and is that in this part of London is impossible not to be continuously pointing from one place to another, as it is full of places that catch our attention.
Details of London
On the way to the London Ferris Wheel
Once we are in the vicinity of the London Ferris wheel we go to the facilities just in front of it, which is where we have to pick up our fast pass and our ticket to the London Eye, from where we will enjoy one of the most incredible views of London.
With this pass we go straight through the fast-track queue and after the security check, we enter the London Ferris Wheel capsule, where for the next 30 minutes we will be treated to some of the most incredible views of London.
London Ferris wheel
London Ferris wheel
One thing we would like to point out about the London Eye is the possibility of buying afast pass. Although at first it may not seem essential, we can tell you that there are days, and there are many, when the queues are more than two hours long, so we can assure you that having a ticket to the London Eye without queues is a great idea, as well as saving time, which we are sure you will appreciate in a city like London.
You can find more information about the London Eye in this guide to visit the London Eye: tickets and prices.
Views from the London Eye
Another thing we want to tell you is that the London Ferris wheel, for people who have vertigo or don't like rides, doesn't cause any weird or uncomfortable sensation, quite the opposite. You only have to think that it takes 30 minutes to complete a full ride, so you can get an idea that the speed it has is minimal, so it seems that you are not even moving.
Views from the London Ferris wheel
And so, for 30 minutes we are treated to some incredible views that show us a slightly overcast London, so characteristic otherwise, that we are sure, we will not forget in a long time.
It is almost 6 pm when we leave the area of the London Eye to go to Westminster Bridge, from where we can see for the first time the Big Ben, which by the way is now being restored and where there is some scaffolding, but that does not prevent us from enjoying taking hundreds of pictures from all angles.
London Ferris wheel from Westminster Bridge
Big Ben and Palace of Westminster
From here we continue to Westminster Abbey, which we hope to visit another day, but which we can't miss photographing, as well as the views of Big Ben from here.
Views of Big Ben from Westminster Abbey
Westminster Abbey
And while we're here, we can't forget to cross the street to get close to one of the most famous London photo booths in the city, the ones near Big Ben and from which, we believe, all travellers end up having their photo taken, no matter how touristy it may be.
Typical London photo
We recommend that if you want to take a quiet photo in this area of the city, come early in the morning, something we will do tomorrow, so you can enjoy a quite atypical solitude in this city, but you will be very grateful, especially at the time of taking pictures, as this area is one of the most crowded and in some places there are even queues.
Another of the typical places to take photos in London.
We continue our walk through the area arriving at St James's Park, the oldest of the Royal Parks and also our favourite park in London, as at least for us it has always been one of the quietest, especially considering that it is surrounded by some of the most touristic places in London.
St James's Park
St James's Park
After a walk through St James's Park, of course, we went to Buckingham Palace, another of the places that no tourist can miss in the city and that at this time of the afternoon, there are still a lot of people, even though it is not the time of the changing of the guard.
Buckingham Palace
Details of Buckingham Palace
And so we end today's day, going to St James's Park tube station and returning to Bayswater, our neighbourhood, located between Notting Hill and Hyde Park, where before going to the Garden Court Hotel we stop at the Santorini Restaurant, located at 10 Moscow Rd, one of the most recommended Greek restaurants in London, where we order a chalk cheese as a starter, a moussaka and lamb as seconds, plus water and beer, all for 42 pounds, which we have to confess, are excellent.
And so, with totally renewed energy, we return to our hotel ready to rest for tomorrow, to continue with this incredible trip.