Hello again 🙂
I’ve already been writing a blogpost about the best sights in London. Now i want to share my best walking tours through the city of London.
The City of Westminster (~ 5 – 6 km)
St. James Park – Buckingham Palace – Changing of the guards – Trafalgar Square – 10 Downing Street – Houses of Parliament – Westminster Abbey – Big Ben – London Eye – Southbank
Best start here is the underground station St. James Park. The St. James Park is one of those beautiful british parks where you canjust relax and take a nice walk, watching all the swans and squirrels.
If you’re going left, you’ll get out at the Buckingham Palace.
From there you can either go on the street or in the park, ending up at the Horse Guards Parade. There you can see the changing of the guards at 11:00 am Monday-Saturday and at 10:00 am Sundays. Please check those times on the internet again, before you’re going there.
If you’re turning left from the Horse Guards Parade, you will end up at the Trafalgar Square.
From there you can already see a really broad street leading up to the Parliament Square. This street, named Parliament Street, is one of the most beautiful streets in London (well, at least i think it is) with many very important buildings. On the right handside, you will see the back side of the Guards building and the Downing Street, where some of the most important people of the british government are living and working. You cannot enter the Downing Street. Arriving at the Parliament Square you will find some of the most beautiful London buildings. The Houses of Parliament with the famous Big Ben, the Westminster Abbey and the most famous red phonebox in whole London 😀
If you’re turning to Big Ben, you will get to the Thames, where you will find a beautiful walk on the left handside. Most of the tourists are crossing the Thames, walking along the London Eye.
Not far from the London Eye you will find the underground station Waterloo. I would totally recommend going further to the Waterloo Bridge. You will find yourself on Southbank where you can find a lot of restaurants, bars, artists and people (specially in summer).
Map (Link)
Further options
If you’re not fully satisfied and want to see more, i can recommend crossing the Thames on the Hungerford or Waterloo bridge. On the other side of the Thames you can walk along the street “Strand”, where some beautiful british buildings are located.
From there it’s not far to Covent garden, Leicester square and Piccadilly circus. And there are many underground station on this side of the Thames.
Walking along the thames (~4km)
Tower of London – Tower Bridge – HMS Belfast – London Bridge – Southwark – Bankside – Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre – Tate Modern – Millennium Bridge – St. Paul’s Cathedral
You can either start at Tower Hill station or Aldgate. Aldgate station is around 700m from the Tower, the Tower Hill station is located directly next to the Tower. From the Tower of London you are going to the Tower bridge, walking to the other side of the thames.
From there on you can walk besides the thames (to the west, which means to the right when you’re leaving the bridge). On the way you will find some sights such as the HMS Belfast, some interesting buildings, an old ship and the Borough market (one of the oldest foodmarkets in London). You will also see the London bridge, which many people confound with the Tower bridge. Not far from the London bridge there’s an old pub called “The anchor”, which looks nice from the outside.
When you’re continuing your journey, you will get to the bankside, where the walkway gets a bit bigger again. You will find the Shakespeare’s globe theatre and the Tate modern gallery. From there you can already see the St. Paul’s cathedral. If you’re crossing the Millennium’s bridge you will get to the St. Paul’s cathedral, which is a beautiful building, also inside. In the shopping center next to it they’re having a bar on the rooftop, where you have a pretty nice view over London. If you want to go back by underground from here, you can walk to the underground stations St. Paul’s or Mansion House.
Map (Link)
Other things to do in this area
The museum of London, Duck&Waffle for a breakfast with a view, the Leadenhall market – you can find all those things not far from the St. Paul’s Cathedral. You can also walk back to the Tate modern, taking the Queen’s Walk on this side of the Thames until you’re ending up at the London Eye. As you can see, you can easily combine those tours.
