London is a city that has so much to offer and this is just a mere 50 things to see and do in London.

It by no means goes close to showing what this amazing city has on show, but it is a start.

 

1. The pomp and pageantry of the Changing of the Guard at Buckingham Palace should be on the agenda. It is colourful, vibrant and immersed in history. See it with a guide so that you can understand what it all means.

 

 

2.  Admire the flowers that are literally everywhere in London and wonder why your own Council or urban designers have not come up with something so simple yet so stunning.

 

 

3. Cycle around London, it is easy terrain and a popular means of getting around. These bike bays are found all over the city. Just hire a bike, ride it where you like, and return it to any docking station, ready for the next person.

 

 

4. Go to the pub – it is the London way and definitely with so many beautiful pubs around, it will not be difficult selecting one.

 

 

5.  While at the pub, you should have a pint ..or a half.

 

 

6. An easy to way to get around is by catching the Tube or the underground railway system. These trains are highly efficient and getting an Oyster Card makes your life very easy. As London is spread out, you will need to use the tube.

 

 

7. Visit Buckingham Palace and visit the Queen. You will know that she is actually in residence, when the Royal Standard flag flies. When the Queen is not present, the Union Flag flies instead.

 

 

8. Walk across Tower Bridge or just admire it from anywhere. This is the iconic bridge that everyone associates with London. The ‘London Bridge’ that is falling down is actually very plain and boring.

 

 

9.  Ride the London Eye and see a lot of London. The London Eye actually owes more to  Dutch, French and Italian than to the British, but after a faltering start, it is now accepted and one of the biggest tourist attraction in London. The red car is the ‘love’ car and can be booked for special occasions.

 

 

10. See the melting building or the walkie-talkie as Londoner’s call it. The building’s concave glass front, designed to give magnificent views, is actually such a heat trap that people began to notice that their Jaguars parked below were melting. This explained s many things that were melting both in and around the building. Currently it is draped in netting to attempt to alleviate this critical problem, but this has also failed. No one can come up with a solution to fix the melting building.

 

 

11. Admire what is parked in front of the exclusive Dorchester Hotel. Said to be owned by an Arab sheikh, though others have noted that US rap artist Flo Rida also owns one, this Bugatti Veyron  is just showing off next to the Rolls-Royce Phantom Coupes, Lamborghini, and a Ferrari.

 

 

12. Ride a red double decker bus in London because they are iconic and actually very efficient. Make sure you hail a bus from the bus stop as they do not stop unless you indicate that you want them to.

 

 

13. Walk through any of the stunning parks and gardens that are all over London and see squirrels. There are 2 types of squirrels in London – the red squirrels are native while the grey squirrels came from North America. A great place to see squirrels is St James Gardens.

 

 

14. Have an English breakfast to help you through the day. A full and traditional English breakfast has black pudding.

 

 

15. Stroll through the vast Hyde Park

 

 

16.  Test you oratorial skills at Poets Corner in Hyde Park. Be prepared for hecklers as this is a sport in London.

 

 

17. View The Shard from … everywhere. Londoners have a knack for re-naming their buildings. This is an 87 storey glass construction, which houses offices, shops, restaurants and accommodation. It does look like a shard of glass and is a great juxtaposition to the surrounding historic buildings.

 

 

18. Big Ben has actually been renamed Elizabeth Tower but even the locals, much as they love their Queen, cannot get their head around this. It will always be Big Ben.

 

 

19.  The magnificent St Paul’s Cathedral  was built by Christopher Wren. It sits on the highest hill in London .. which is not very high, and is stunning inside and out.

 

 

20. See London from the top of St Paul’s Cathedral. It is 528 steps, but then this is debated as most people lose count at about 250.

 

 

21. Eat fish and chips and preferably out of newspaper and feel like a local.

 

 

22. If you are into oddities and the bizarre, then Ripley’s Believe it or not .. the original is here in London.

 

 

 

23. See the Blue Cock on the plinth at Trafalgar Square. Many say that it is having a go at the many male statues that occupy this square.

 

 

24.  Have a real Cornish Ice Cream made with real Cornish cream.

 

 

25. Go to Shoreditch and see all of the fantastic street art adorning this once less than desirable neighbourhood.

 

 

26. Take a tour of the Tower of London and meet a real life Beefeater who actually live permanently on site and are locked in each night at 10pm.

 

 

27. The British are renowned for their cups of tea, but it is not as easy to find one made from fresh tea leaves.

 

28. Play Monopoly while you are going through London. On the tube stations you can see a few clues immediately.

 

 

29. The afternoon tea is synonymous with London so enjoy one .. even on a double decker red bus.

 

 

30. Go to the Sherlock Holmes pub and solve the crime

 

 

31. For a very large city, London has many parks all over. Some are just little ones but all are green and delightful finds in Lonodn

 

 

32.  Enjoy street performers all over London and particularly outside of The National Gallery, which is also worth having a look at.

 

 

33. Go to Harrods – “the” shop in London and head for the food court to see some of the most interesting things. Then, head outside and go towards the back of the store and you will see the private parking bay for the chauffeur driven elite customers. From here you can see a ‘who’s who’ of the customers at the store.

 

 

34.  Have a roast dinner with yorkshire pudding .. because .. it is British.

 

 

35.  Visit Canary Wharf – a business strict with some excellent public art as well as cute as bars and pubs and gardens

 

 

36. Discover right in the heart of the city, some amazing wooded forest trails.

 

 

37. See legacies all over London to the lady of mystery and intrigue, Agatha Christie

 

 

38.  Eat at the Greenwich village markets – and see time fly

 

 

39. Visit Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre and catch a performance.

 

 

40.  Buy cheap theatre tickets from many of the discounted bookings services, mostly located in Piccadilly Square.

 

 

41. Now see a show in the West End of London

 

 

42. Have a curry at Brick Lane

 

 

43. Queue for a bus just like the locals .. in a neat and orderly manner

 

 

44.  Explore London by its famous waterway, The Thames 

 

 

45.  Marvel at the Gherkin – its interesting shape has given rise to its name The Gherkin. Love it or hate it, you can’t help but notice this building

 

 

46. It is hard to miss the Houses of Parliament as they span the Thames River.

 

47. A red phone box is so iconic to London that a blue phone box is now just as iconic

 

 

48. Piccadilly Square is  .. well .. lively, full on and fun

 

 

49. The classic mini is a London and British stalwart.

 

50. Meet some of London’s finest – the bobby named after Robert Peel, founder of the constabulary.

 

 

London is a stunning city that is very interesting and exciting. These are just the tip of the iceberg but are 50 things to see and do in London. There are so more and this could have gone to hundreds easily.