On this post I will highlight our visit to London and the best places to see and best things to do in one day visiting London.
We have a group of friends that we always plan trips together, it is either a trip abroad, in the UK or days out in London or somewhere else.
This time we booked a weekend in London to visit some markets and attractions and to see a bit of London at Christmas time. See also my post London at Christmas Time Day 2.
We were four couples and we all met at a café near Marylebone Station on Saturday morning and from there we started our explorations of London.
Below is a map showing the places we visited on Day 1 in London:
If you are planning a trip to England and prefer to have everything organised by a tour, you should check the tours at Tourradar, which offers various tours to many places in England.
Tourradar has tours that suits every length of time and budgets and if you use my links to book your trip and enter code RoseG50 you will get a discount on your booking.
VISITING LONDON AT CHRISTMAS TIME
Our first visit was to the “Outernet” (The Now Building), to see the beautiful animation “The Butterfly Trail”. This is a new, free attraction that opened in London at Tottenham Court Road Tube Station.
The Butterfly Trail is a breathtaking, immersive experience that transports the visitors to Professor Peter Pelgrin’s Botanical Workshop and his glasshouse.
They say you can hold the butterflies on your hand via your mobile phone, but to be honest, I didn’t even try. The place was very busy, full of people and you get quite hypnotised by the images only. It was very nice, and I really enjoyed it.
Have a look at The Travelling Surveyor Instagram post of some of the “Butterfly Trail” animation below.
London was already decorated with Christmas trees and decorations everywhere.
We walked in the direction of Covent Garden, passing through the charming Neal’s Yard and the Seven Dials Market, which was already buzzing with people having lunch in the inviting little restaurants of the Cucumber Alley.
We passed the Crown & Anchor Pub, (in business since 1904), a traditional style pub serving traditional food and an exciting mix of craft British and international beers as well as a good choice for London gins. If this is up your street, you must stop there for a drink or two.
We arrived at Covent Garden and explored the stalls of the market for a while, admiring the arts and crafts available. My friend bought the below apron to wear at Christmas day! 🤣
You can have a walking Pub Tour of London’s West End that includes Trafalgar Square, Covent garden and Soho HERE.
After having a good look around, we decided to go for lunch at “Preto” Restaurant, a Brazilian restaurant on Shaftesbury Avenue in Soho.
On the way to the restaurant, we stopped at one of those theatre ticket offices that offers tickets for the same day.
We didn’t book anything in advance, so were hoping we would be able to find tickets for a nice play for the evening.
We managed to buy tickets for a play called “The Ocean at the end of the lane” on show at the Duke of York’s Theatre in the West End.
“Preto” restaurant is a Brazilian Steakhouse that serves traditional Brazilian food at a buffet and a “Rodizio” barbecued meat which means they will pass different types of meat at your table, and you can serve yourself as much as you can eat.
This is a very popular type of restaurant in Brazil and this chain aims to replicate the same kind of experience over there.
I had been to Preto’s before and remember it was OK but not as nice as the ones we have in Brazil. This time I was a bit disappointed with the food and the service of this restaurant. I don’t think I will return to Preto’s on a future trip to London.
After lunch we continued our walk in the West End, passed Ronnie Scott’s Jazz Club on Frith Street and then Soho Square.
We walked to China Town and further until we arrived in Piccadilly Circus. From there we walked in the direction of Leicester Square.
As it was already dark, we could admire the Christmas lights at Leicester Square Christmas Market and the Swiss Clock Glockenspiel on the Swiss Court.
It was still too early for the theatre, so we decided to walk back all the way to Covent Garden.
This time was a different view as it was dark, and all the Christmas lights were on.
On the way back we crossed Goodwins Court, an old alley with houses built in 1690. It really feels as if you were transported back in time.
We passed through King Street that was beautifully decorated with Christmas lights around the buildings where a dancing show was taking place, before we arrived at Covent Garden Christmas Tree.
We decided to go for drinks at The Royal Opera House.
The Royal Opera House is a beautiful building and worth visiting anyway. We went all the way up to the bar and took many photos of the views which are superb.
Soon it was time to head to the theatre and that is what we did next.
We walked to the Theatre on St Martin’s Lane which was also looking beautiful with all the Christmas decorations and arrived just in time to get to our seats and the play was about to start.
We found the production of the “The Ocean at the end of the Lane” very interesting specially the light effects and the puppetry.
The story plays with your imagination and can be a bit too complex for a mind that is looking for something lighter as entertainment. But it was worth watching it and the cast was amazing.
At the end of the play, we took the tube to our hotel in Kings Cross. Everybody was quite tired by then, and were looking forward to some rest before continuing exploring next day.
You can have a guided, walking tour that lasts between 1 and 2 hours from West End to Westminster covering many sites in London HERE.
I hope this post clarifies what can be done in a day in London and gives you an idea of some of the best places to explore in London. I also hope it helps you to plan your own visit to London in a weekend.
HOW TO MAKE THE MOST OF YOUR TRIP
Below you will find a list of what to visit, where to stay and where to eat in London, Day 1. I classified each place as follows:
BOLD – Visited, tried and recommended
NOT BOLD – Not visited or tried, but planning to visit or try and heard very good reviews
RED – Visited and tried but do not recommend, avoid or be cautious
*** – Excellent
** – Good
* – OK
£££ – Expensive
££ – Fair and affordable
£ – Cheap
WHAT TO SEE IN LONDON
1 – The Butterfly Trail – ***
2 – Seven Dials Market – ***
3 – Neal’s Yard – ***
4 – Covent Garden – ***
5 – Frith Street and Soho Square – ***
6 – China Town – ***
7 – Piccadilly Circus – ***
8 – Leicester Square and the Swiss Clock – ***
9 – Goodwins Court – ***
10 – Royal Opera House – ***
11 – St Martin’s Lane at the West End + play at the theatre – ***
WHERE TO STAY
1 – Covent Garden Hotel – 5* – £££
2 – The Londoner – 5* – £££
3 – Sonder King Street – Apartment in Covent Garden – 4* – ££
4 – Page8 – 4* – ££
5 – The Santuary House Hotel – 3* – ££
6 – Astor Court Hotel – 3* – ££
WHERE TO EAT
1 – SushiSamba – Japanese/Brazilian – *** – £££
2 – Benihama – The Japanese Steak House – *** – £££
3 – Any restaurants in China Town – *** – ££
4 – St John’s – Marylebone – British -££
5 – Preto Restaurant – * – Brazilian – ££
If you tried any of my recommendations above, please send me a message and tell me about your experience good or bad, so I can update the list accordingly. Thanks!
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