Plan the perfect long weekend in London with our four-day itinerary. Getty Images
London is where I grew up, where I became a travel writer, and where I completed my first 老澳门六合彩开奖记录 assignment. I love London and know it better than most. So, when you鈥檝e visited the "must-see" sights, here鈥檚 how to experience my London 鈦爐he way I do it.
For each day of this four-day itinerary, I鈥檒l take you to a different compass point of this truly global city. You鈥檒l taste delicious Afro-Caribbean delights in the south, be dazzled by the refined and classically English air in the West End, and find yourself in stitches at the South-Asian-meets-Cockney "banter" of the East End, before staring in awe at the Anatolian wonders of north London.
When to arrive: Ideally, you'll arrive in London on a Thursday evening 鈥 flights are cheaper than a Friday and you鈥檒l have four full days ahead of you.
How to get from the airports: All the major airports are connected by rail and bus transfers that take you straight into the center. Heathrow and London City Airport are on the city鈥檚 Underground system.
Getting around town: London has a vast and sprawling transport system that covers every corner of the city, so just download the free and let it plan all your routes. If you鈥檙e a confident cyclist, there are also numerous bike share schemes across the city.
Where to stay: Staying in London is not cheap, but avoiding the city center and leaning towards the south tends to be more reasonable.
What to pack: This is London, so you always need an umbrella or a lightweight raincoat in your bag. Grab your most comfortable walking shoes as this is a city best admired on foot.
Friday in South London
Morning: After grabbing a coffee made with beans roasted on-site at the , taste your way through one of the oldest foodie markets in London, at Borough Market, where you can also learn to bake artisan bread at or make your own sausages at the .
How to spend the day: Spend the rest of the day exploring the buzzing South Bank; start by taking in a play at Shakespeare鈥檚 delightful theater for as little as 拢5. Modeled on England鈥檚 great Bard鈥檚 Elizabethan-era round theater, you鈥檒l find yourself immersed in the raucous action with these standing tickets. Then head around the corner for the magnificent Tate Modern where you鈥檒l enjoy one of the world鈥檚 largest collections of free modern and contemporary art spread across almost 35,000 sq m (376,000 sq ft), including the cavernous Turbine Hall. After getting your fill of world-class art, be sure to take in the stunning views of St Paul鈥檚 Cathedral from its restaurant, maybe as you enjoy afternoon tea. Then take a stroll along the southern section of Jubilee Walk, a truly festive route lined with street entertainers, buskers, food trucks, skateboarders and one of the quaintest outdoor second-hand book markets, all in the shade of the iconic London Eye.
Dinner: For dinner head to the south鈥檚 hip and vibrant neighborhood of Brixton where the cozy serves up authentic Latin-American and Caribbean dishes like pumpkin and sweet potato curry, or for a more traditional African hit, May Foods on Market Row is where you can get banku and okra stew just the way a Ghanian grandmother cooks it.
After dark: Start your evening with rooftop cocktails at before heading to for a raucous night of house, garage or disco beats played by live, celebrity DJs.
Saturday in West London
Morning: Start with breakfast at sunrise atop 110 Bishopsgate, at the 24-hour , and as you tuck into the Victorian sausage in your full English breakfast watch the glitzy, glassy city, slowly awaken in the hazy, orange glow of a new dawn.
How to spend the day: There are more world-class free museums in London than in most countries, and South Kensington is its museum district. Say hello to Fern the diplodocus on your way into The Natural History Museum where you can take a virtual reality trip to see the future of our planet. From there, admire the largest Persian carpet at the V&A, before unleashing your inner child in the Science Museum鈥檚 retro gaming Power Up experience of Game Boy Marios and Sega Sonics. Then take a slow walk along Brompton Rd to the world-famous Harrods store, where after a dreamy window-shop across its seven, designer-laden floors, step into the uber-elegant to have avocado on toast served on designer crockery, eaten with designer cutlery as you sip coffee decorated with designer art.
Dinner: Continue the indulgence at the celebrity haunt, the Ivy Market Grill, where a three-course set menu might start with a sumptuous truffle pasta and end with cherry and pistachio nougat gl谩ce flamb茅, before enjoying laid-back after-dinner street entertainment in Covent Garden.
After dark: Soho鈥檚 club and bar scene is legendary. If you鈥檙e looking for gay Soho you have to start with the iconic G.A.Y. Bar, whilst those after a club night can let their hair down at .
Sunday in East London
Morning: Get your energy up with a modern, fusion East End breakfast at , where the owner鈥檚 British-Bangladeshi mother will personally cook your desi-style full English, complete with spiced sausages and parathas instead of toast.
How to spend the day: Sundays are all about markets in east London and you should start by hunting for vintage bargains and rare antiques along Brick Lane, stopping for either an Indian thali or slow-cooked beef kofta for lunch at London鈥檚 biggest halal food market inside the Truman Brewery鈥檚 Upmarket. After getting lost in the boutique stalls of the hidden Backyard Market and grabbing a chocolate treat at the cacao connoisseurs , make a beeline for Columbia Road Flower Market. Using your elbows to wade through the crowds, seek out late floral bargains from the ol鈥 East End stallholders who sell knockdown sunflowers and "cheap as chips" bouquets "for your mother-in-law" along this bustling and quaint street lined with boutique stores and delicious coffee joints, like Caf茅 Columbia.
Dinner: For the best Panjabi grilled lamb chops in east London, it has to be the iconic Tayyabs, but if it's authentic Bangladeshi curries you鈥檙e after, sit down with the locals at and ask for the bortha platter (spiced, lightly fried fish/vegetables) with your rice.
After dark: The Vortex Jazz Club is the best place to end a Sunday in east London. Tap your feet to the funky sound of some of London鈥檚 finest jazz musicians including Denys Baptiste and the Kezia Abouma Quartet, surrounded by regulars at this Dalston institute.
Monday in North London
Morning: Locals swear by the shakshuka (poached eggs in a tomato sauce) at West Hampstead鈥檚 and who are we to argue? Combine it with a delicious coffee and those weary legs will be ready to traipse through north London.
How to spend the day: The refined high street surrounding the marvelous Hampstead Heath will keep you busy hunting for expensive art, boutique gifts or maybe a literary treasure in Keith Fawkes along quaint, Flask Walk. Then take in the marvelous views from atop Parliament Hill before braving a wild swim in one of the Heath鈥檚 famous lakes. If cold-water wading isn鈥檛 your thing, spend a few hours on cultural visits to the former residences of either Sigmund Freud or the romantic poet, John Keats.
Dinner: For dinner head to Anatolian north London and its stunning neo-Ottoman monument, the, home to a restaurant where you can book a private booth decked out in soft padded cushioning, allowing you to recline like an imperial pasha as you tuck into the finest Adana kebabs this side of the Bosphorus.
After dark: Wander Regent鈥檚 Canal in Hackney Wick where the craft beer is brewed locally, and the sourdough pizzas are never in short supply. The twinkling fairy lights draped over the canal-side terraces of and those wrapped around the starboard of Barge East create the perfect atmosphere for your final farewell drinks.
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