Day 3: London: British Museum, Neal's Yard, Covent Garden Market, Gabriel's Warf, London Ferris Wheel - London Eye, St James' Park and Buckingham Palace
The alarm sounds at 6 in the morning and as we did yesterday before going to the 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 leave everything ready To start today that will take us, among other places, to the Covent Garden Market and the London Ferris Wheel or London Eye, two of the most popular and popular places in London and that, as expected, we will not get lost in this Trip to London in 6 days.
At 8 in the morning we went down to breakfast at the Garden Court Hotel lounge and shortly before 9 we are already on the street ready to eat this second full day in London, which we are looking forward to.
Our first stop of the day will be the British Museum, one of the visits we remember most of the times we have traveled to London and that, as on previous occasions, we do not want to miss on this trip.
Without taking into account the times, today we have left before the hotel, arriving a little more than 9 in the morning to the metro stop that would take us to the British Museum, so when we have arrived we have seen that we still have practically 45 minutes left until we open the museum, so we decided to approach the second point we had to visit today that is Neal's Yard, and that is very close to the museum, an alley in the center of London full of charm in which buildings and small houses surrounding it are painted colors.
Route of the third day on the trip to London in 6 days
Today's route will take us to the following points: British Museum, Neal's Yard, Covent Garden Market, Gabriel's Warf, London Ferris Wheel - London Eye, St James' Park and Buckingham Palace.
This is a route easily covered on foot, less than 4 miles, which in total will not take you more than 1 hour and a half, not counting the stops.
A good option to learn more about the city's history is to book this free tour of London with a guide in Spanish. Free!
Once at Neal's Yard we confirmed what we had read, it is nothing big, but 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 is worth getting 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 in the middle of the morning or in the afternoon, since the stores are closed first thing in the morning. In our case, that we like to come to this type of places as soon as possible, to be able to take pictures with peace of mind, we have to say that this moment of the day has been perfect since it has allowed us to enjoy the morning atmosphere, with coffee shops already open and at full capacity, but without the burden of other times of the day when shops are already open and therefore there are many more people walking.
Neal's Yard in London
Details in Neal's Yard
After almost half an hour touring up and down Neal's Yard, when it's 10 in the morning we arrive at the doors of the British Museum, free admission, although they ask for a donation of five pounds in case you want to give it, and after passing the security controls, we make a quick review of the museum plan that they give us and we decided to make a quick visit, that will take us to see the pieces that have more interest for us and that in addition, are also the ones of more interest or the most tourist and the ones that most people usually come to see.
British museum
What to see in the British Museum. Quick visit
The visit to the museum, if you want to take a quick tour, which is what we have done, can take you about two hours to enjoy the best works to see in the British Museum. In case you want to make a slightly wider visit you should book almost a full morning since the museum is very large and has many pieces that are very interesting. That does not mean that if you have a lot of interest, you spend much more time, which is what we are sure we will do when we return to London to spend a season.
Rosetta Stone
We could say that this is one of the most important pieces of the museum and one of which any of the visitors looks for as soon as they enter.
This black granite stone was found in the Nile Delta in 1799 and is from 196 BC. Its great value is the text that we can see in it, which is in three writings: hieroglyphic, demotic and Greek, so that through the Rosetta Stone it has been possible to decipher the hieroglyphic writing.
Marbles of the Parthenon
Set of statues and marble reliefs, originally from the Parthenon of the Acropolis of Athens, which were donated to the museum. Today, as with many other pieces of this museum, there is great controversy as to whether they should be here or not.
Marbles of the Parthenon
A good option, if you do not have much time or if you want 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, which will take you through of the most valuable and interesting works of the museum.
A good option, if you do not have much time or if you want 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, which will take you through of the most valuable and interesting works of the museum.Monument of the Nereids
Originally from Turkey, found in Lycian of Janto, that Greek funerary monument combines Persian and Greek designs and can now be seen fully restored in this museum.
Monument of the Nereids
Moi from Easter Island
This is another of the great treasures that the British Museum keeps within its walls and it is that in addition to being one of the few movements that has left Rapa Nui, it is the only one with inscriptions that is preserved today.
Is named Hoa Hakananaiʻa and they brought it to the United Kingdom in an English ship in 1869.
Moi from Easter Island
Ramses II
Among the incredible collection of Egyptian art that remains 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 of the throne room, in addition to the reliefs that represent hunting scenes.
Winged Lion of Nimrud
Lewis Chess
This incredible chess, perfectly preserved, is carved in walrus ivory, has a total of 78 pieces and was discovered on the Isle of Lewis of Scotland.
Ur banner
Found in Ur, this banner with two faces, one of them representing peace and contrary to war, is elaborated with a technique that embeds stones and other elements in which we can see shells and lapis lazuli among others.
After taking a final tour of the rooms of the Rosetta Stone and the Moi of Easter Island, two of the pieces that most attract the attention of the museum, we conclude the visit leaving the museum when it is practically 12 in the morning , heading to what is the next stop today, the London Covent Garden market.
With what time it is and as it happened yesterday, already fully adapted to British time, first of all we decided to look for somewhere to eat before visiting Covent Garden, which we also hope will be much clearer once it passes This noon time.
In the end we decided on Wagamama, an Asian food chain where we went a long time ago at the airport in Amsterdam, on the way to Peru, which we really did not like too much, but today we intend to give it a new opportunity since we know it is a chain well known in several countries and can always be a good option when we do not want to devote much time to food, as is the case today.
We ordered some gyosas as an entree plus a thai pad and some noodles with salmon, more natural shake, soda, dessert and two express for 42 pounds, a price that we believe is quite good and that we can really say that it has reconciled us with the site, since We have eaten very well.
Pad Thai in Wagamama
There are a few minutes to 2 in the afternoon when we leave Wagamama with energies already completely renewed and willing to visit the market Covent Garden in London, one of the best known, most tourist and also most visited markets in the city.
Covent Garden in London
When we access the interior, since it is a market that is covered, we cannot stop thinking about how we had seen it practically 10 years ago, which was the last time we came to London, and that is that at that time Covent Garden was a market in which everything you could find inside were small shops and stalls of local crafts, with a lot of charm, in which those of jewelry, jewelry and souvenirs stood out different what we are used to seeing.
Covent Garden in London
Nowadays, the only thing we find is an enclosure where on the sides stores have been built, of more or less known brands and in one part the central part of different restaurants in which to eat. As much as we look we see that there is no trace of all the craft stores, of which only 4 or 5 remain in a small market location, which has little or nothing to do with what we remembered.
Shops in Covent Garden in London
While it is true that it is a place that we believe, it must be visited, since it is beautiful as architecture and even for the environment, if we want to be honest, we have been somewhat disappointed, since it has lost that charm that it had and that we remember. From what we have perceived, it has now become too commercial and not very authentic, so we recommend you in this case, if you can only choose between Camden Market and Covent Garden, even if they have nothing to do with each other Without a doubt, we stay with Camden, both for the environment, the shops and also the things you can find.
More practical information to prepare your trip to London
- 100 things to see and do in London
- The 10 best tours and excursions in London
- 20 essential places to visit in London
- The best free tours in London for free
- London guide in 6 days
- The 5 best viewpoints in London
- The 5 best museums in London
After the experience, the truth is that it did not take long to take four photos and check that the craft shops and what we remembered no longer exist, to get us on our way to the next place we had in the route planning of today that is none other than the London Ferris Wheel or London Eye, where we have entrance at 5 in the afternoon.
Being the time it is and considering that we still have almost two and a half hours left to have to go there, we decided to make a small change of plans, taking advantage of this time to take a walk around the Covent Garden Neighborhood.
London streets
Covent Garden is currently one of the most touristic neighborhoods in London, partly because of its market, but also because of its atmosphere, since it is a lively neighborhood at any time of the day. In addition to the stores that you can find in the market, if you like shopping you cannot miss the fashion stores located on Floral Street.
London
In addition, in this area of the city, you will find many places where you can eat or drink coffee to load energy after a day of walking and shopping.
The weather in London
Something we want to talk about is the London weather. Although we had always read and we were 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 has not been totally like that.
That is why we advise you before traveling, look at a weather history or check the expected temperatures, since as has happened to us, in the middle of July you can find temperatures that do not exceed 16 degrees, having to wear a jacket , closed shoe and even on occasion, spend some cold.
Another recommendation is to bring an umbrella or buy one and always carry it in your bag, since many times, even if the sky is clear, from good to first and without warning, it changes, it turns gray and it starts to rain. Normally, or at least according to our experience the rains with very concentrated in time and in less than 10 minutes for and even, the sun rises.
After this walk through Covent Garden we approach Gabriel's Warf, an area on the banks of the Thames full of charm, to which we recommend you to hurry, since the walk from here to the 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 that you can not miss.
- Full London tour with tickets
- Route of Jack the Ripper
- Guided tour of the essential London
- Harry Potter tour at Warner Studios
- Excursion to Stonehenge
- More excursions and tours here
We make a brief stop at Gabriel's Warf, a place with a lot of charm in which we find many small shops of local items and small restaurants with terrace, which undoubtedly make one of the most magical corners of the area.
Gabriel's Warf
Gabriel's Warf
After this stop and considering that there are still about 30 minutes to five, which is the time we have our pass for the London Ferris Wheel, we continue the walk enjoying a cluster of stimuli that are reaching us from all corners and it is that in this part of London it is impossible not to be continuously pointing from one place to another, since it is full of places that attract our attention.
London details
Road to the London Ferris Wheel
Once we are in the vicinity of the london ferris wheel we approach the facilities that are right in front of us, which is where we have to pick up our fast pass and our entrance to the London Eye, from where we will enjoy one of the most amazing views of London.
With this pass directly we go through the fast queue and after the security check, we access what is the capsule of the london ferris wheel, where during the next 30 minutes he will give us some of the most incredible views of London.
London Ferris Wheel
London Ferris Wheel
Something we want to highlight from the London ferris wheel or London Eye is the possibility of acquiring the "fast pass"Although in principle it may seem to you that it is not something essential, we will tell you that there are days, and they are not few, in which the queues exceed two hours, so having the skip-the-line entrance to the London Eye assures you that it is a success, in addition to saving time, which we are sure, in a city like London, you will appreciate.
You can find more information about this ferris wheel in this guide to visit the London Eye: tickets and prices.
Views from the London Ferris Wheel
Another thing we want to tell you is that the London ferris wheel, for people who have vertigo or do not like attractions, does not cause any strange or uncomfortable sensation, quite the opposite. You just have to think that it takes a full turn in 30 minutes, so it could give you an idea that the speed it has is minimal, so it seems that you don't even move.
Views from the London Ferris Wheel
And so, for 30 minutes we delight in incredible views that show us a somewhat cloudy London, so characteristic on the other hand, that we are sure, we will not forget in a long time.
It's practically 6 pm when we leave the area of the London ferris wheel or London Eye to go to him westminster bridge, from where we can see Big Ben for the first time, which by the way they are restoring right now and where there are some scaffolding, but that do not prevent us from enjoying making hundreds of photographs 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 how could it be otherwise, we can not stop photographing, in addition to the views of Big Ben that are from here.
Views of Big Ben from Westminster Abbey
Westminster Abbey
And being here we can not forget to cross the street to approach one of the most famous London cabins in the city, those that are close to Big Ben and from which we believe, all travelers end up taking a photo, however tourist it may be .
Typical London photo
Of course, we recommend that if you want to take a quiet picture in this area of the city, come early in the morning, something we will do tomorrow, and thus be able to enjoy a fairly atypical loneliness in this city, but that you will greatly appreciate , especially at the time of taking photos, since this area is one of the busiest and even in some places queues are formed.
Another typical place to take pictures in London
We continue the walk through the area arriving at St James's Park, the oldest of the royal parks and also our favorite park in London, since at least for us it has always been one of the quietest, especially considering that it is surrounded from some of the most tourist places in London.
St James's Park
St James's Park
After a walk through St James's Park, how could it be otherwise, we approached Buckingham Palace, another place that no tourist can miss in the city and that at this time of the afternoon, there are still many people, despite not to be far from the schedule of the changing of the guard.
Buckingham Palace
Buckingham Palace details
And so we end the day today, approaching the St James's Park subway station and returning to Bayswater, our neighborhood, located between Notting Hill and Hyde Park, where before going to the Garden Court Hotel we stop at Santorini Restaurant , located at 10 Moscow Rd, one of the London's most recommended Greek restaurants, where we ordered a creta cheese as an entree, a mousaka and a lamb as seconds, more water and beer, all for 42 pounds, which we have to confess, are excellent.
And so, with totally renewed energies, we return to our hotel ready to rest for tomorrow, continue with this incredible journey.
A good option at night to see the best illuminated places in the city while telling you anecdotes is to book this night walk with a guide in Spanish.
** On this day of the trip to London in 6 days we have maintained a collaboration with the London ferris wheel or London Eye, without this having influenced our experience or comments, which are all based on our personal experience.
Day 4: London: Westminster (Big Ben), Notting Hill neighborhood in London, Leicester Square, Trafalgar Square, National Gallery
