Heading to England, are you? I’m bloody jealous and wish I could go back! If you’re like me and only have 48 hours, I am here to help ensure you use your time wisely and get to see and do everything you have your heart set on!
By far the most inexpensive and convenient way to get to London from Gatwick is taking the train, which leaves the South Terminal. My sister Allie and I were blessed in the sense that we rarely get jet lagged, so we were feeling wide awake and ready to explore when we landed at Gatwick. However, if this is not the case for you, make sure to pick up a coffee at Caffè Nero or a ginger shot at Joe & The Juice, both located in the South terminal.
How to Get To London via Airport (Gatwick):
The Gatwick Express runs every 15 minutes between the South Terminal and London Victoria Station. It takes approximately 30 minutes non-stop. Prices vary but we paid £17.80/person on a Sunday. Every penny was worth it to ride the infamous Underground!
How to spend your first 24 hours:
Visit the Buckingham Palace (aim for when the Changing of the Guards is taking place if you can)
We dropped off our belongings at our home for the next two days — the Victoria Apartments, which was a 5 minute walk from the Victoria Station and a 16 minute walk to Buckingham Palace. Honestly these apartments couldn’t have had a more perfect location for our time spent in London. The Palace was breathtakingly beautiful! We did miss the changing of the guards, unfortunately, as the ceremony occurs at different times each day. If you know what date you are going, you can always check here to see when they change that day. Regardless, it felt like a dream seeing the palace in real life.
We walked through St. James’ Park afterwards which was bustling with wildlife – lots of very friendly squirrels and weird looking ducks. We, of course, had to visit and get our photo by a red telephone booth before visiting Westminster Abbey. Big Ben, which is located nearby, was getting a major facelift but it was still super fun to see!
Watch the sunset over the London Eye (takes place around 4:30pm)!
After the sun set, we headed to arguably the coolest cocktail bar – Tonight Josephine for girly drinks. Their happy hour is daily from 5-7pm and they’re located at 111 Waterloo Rd. You truly feel like a badass woman dining there after hearing the story behind Josephine, seriously go read about it on their website. We indulged in Pornstar Martinis and drinks that were quite literally on fire. (You can get a free drink by signing up for their emails too!)
This cocktail bar was made to be documented on Instagram. If you ever see your feed being littered with girls standing in front of the “Well Behaved Women Don’t Make History” neon sign, you better believe they were at Tonight Josephine.
How to spend your last 24 hours:
Day 2 in London had us feeling so blessed, happy and in awe of this beautiful city (even after last night’s six drinks and two shots of Prosecco). We ate a delicious breakfast at Pimlico Fresh, which was walking distance from our apartment. Order the over easy eggs on sourdough with tomatoes, onions and pesto. You can thank me later. Afterwards, we took the Underground to Kensington & Chelsea to visit the colorful streets of Notting Hill. Seriously it is a MUST to see this artsy neighborhood. We took in the colors, perused bakeries and cake shops, and browsed through different street vendors. I can’t tell you the amount of times Allie got mistaken for Ellie Goulding, ha!
The weather wasn’t the greatest during our second day here, but a little rain never hurt anybody. We walked around Kensington Palace and the gardens, which was a little bit of a stretch from Nottinghill but do-able. We didn’t see any of the royals but it was still fun to dip inside the gift shop and grab a coffee before heading back into the downpour.
After Kensington, we hopped back on the underground and rode it to see the London Bridge and Tower Bridge. Walking along the Thames was beautiful but walking across the bridge was a dream come true. It reminded me a lot of Dumbo and Brooklyn, and thanks to the rain, wasn’t insanely crowded. We meant to wake up early and take a sunrise walk on the Thames but sometimes a girl just needs her sleep. Seeing the bridge and river during sunset was just as perfect.
People recommended that we go to Sky Garden for a good view of London at night. However, we stumbled upon Duck & Waffle (110 Bishopgate) which offered spectacular views of the night skyline. It’s located in the Heron Tower, but you just have to take the elevator up 40 stories and you will arrive at the restaurant. It serves cocktails, coffee, food, whatever your heart desires. Since the rain wasn’t letting up, we spent the night hopping in and out of shops as we walked through the city.
We didn’t end up eating at Duck & Waffle, instead we just took photos, so we were ravenous by the time we came across The Alchemist. It was the cutest chemistry-influenced restaurant. We had delicious appetizers, but the cocktails were the real winners! Of course, there were plenty of drinks that the waitresses started on fire. What is with the English and their fiery drinks?
After ingesting our hummus, we headed off to make our 8pm reservation at Ballie Ballerson, a ball pit bar. This was probably what I was most looking forward to after seeing this pop up on Pinterest over and over again. Hot tip: make sure to reserve your time slot beforehand! They only allow so many people in at a time and you get 2 hours to play and drink. We may have spent the entire night being pelted with balls, but we had a blast! Truly took me back to my childhood when ball pits were allowed at McDonalds 😉
Before heading back to our hotel, we decided to get off the tube at King’s Cross Station instead of Victoria. There we stumbled upon Platform 9 3/4 from Harry Potter! The props were put away since it was nighttime but if you visit during the day, you can really get into character. Our time in London was absolutely magical and I think we did the city right.
For those of you who have been to London, what did we miss out on? Is there anything I mentioned that you would skip? I would love to hear your thoughts and experiences on this wonderful city!
Things to do that we didn’t have time for:
- Kape Barako – a standalone refurnished telephone box that serves snacks and coffee. I couldn’t find updated information, so I’m unsure if it still exists.
- Borough Market – London’s largest and oldest retail and food market. It appears you could wander and get lost there for hours. Click here for a map of the market if you find you have time to browse!
- Mad Hatter’s Afternoon Tea – This was by far the most controversial thing on our itinerary. Some people said we absolutely HAD to do it, others said it was a complete waste of money. If you’re a fan of Alice in Wonderland, it may just be worth it for you. Be the judge for yourself!
- Royal Observatory, Greenwich- Astronomy lovers would especially enjoy this observatory that sits in Greenwich Park and overlooks the River Thames.
- Jack the Ripper Tour – This tour is by foot, and best part, its free! It takes place each day at 6pm and 8pm and dives into the unsolved Whitechapel Murders. (We were sad we missed out on this but the weather wasn’t cooperating and we were feeling sluggish by that time!)
- Tea Tour on a double-decker bus – There were several options. Most costs about 45€/ person and include sights like: Big Ben, Houses of Parliament, Westminster, etc.
——————
OTHER POSTS ABOUT LONDON:
