On this post I’m highlighting the places we visited, the best things to see and the best things to do in London in one day.
We were in London with a group of friends to spend the weekend in London at Christmas time. This was our second day visiting London.
Everybody met at 9 am at the hotel reception, all feeling recovered from the previous day exploring London at Christmas time, (see my Day 1 post).
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We wanted to have breakfast at Borough Market and continue with our visit in London at Christmas time, so checked out of the hotel and left our suitcases to be collected later in the day.
Below is a map showing the places we visited or passed by on our Day 2 in London:
VISITING LONDON AT CHRISTMAS TIME
Our first visit was to the carefully restored St Pancras International Railway Station and the luxurious St. Pancras Renaissance Hotel.
We wanted to have a look at the beautifully restored building and their Grand staircase. The combination of the ceiling, stained-glass windows, wallpaper, carpet, and tiled floor makes the sweeping staircase a stunning piece of the Victorian era, a masterpiece of Victorian architecture.
From there we entered the station looking for the longest champagne bar in Europe, Searcys, but as it was too early on a Sunday, it was closed.
We looked for the Meeting Place Statue instead and it was quite close to the champagne bar.
The Meeting Place Statue was created by the sculptor Paul Day, and it is supposed to represent the romance of travelling, showing a couple embracing as if it was a farewell.
I love this statue; it transmits exactly what it is intended to do.
Near there you can also find The Sir John Betjeman Statue, who was a poet and railway enthusiast. He led a campaign to save St Pancras station from demolition in the 1960’s. So, thanks Sir Betjeman for contributing to save this marvellous building!
After that we took the tube to London Bridge, where Borough Market is. We looked around until we found a nice café called “Brood” to have breakfast. They serve delicious breakfasts and lunches there.
We had a lovely egg and bacon ciabatta bap that kept us going until late when we had a proper lunch. We were ready to explore the market after filling up with the delicious breakfast.
This market is just spectacular. One of the nicest markets I have ever visited, making it one of the best places to explore in London. You can find fruit and vegetables and all kind of foods from all over the world as well as arts and crafts products.
The produce is so fresh and appealing it makes you feel like a child in a toy shop wanting to buy everything.
If you enjoy food and cooking, this is the place to be. We looked at every stall and some people bought some products, but I refrained from buying anything as I didn’t want to carry a bag for the rest of the trip.
You can have a small group food tour of Borough Market by booking it HERE.
We left the market and entered Southwark Cathedral just next to the market. We couldn’t see the interior of the cathedral very well because there was a mass taking place at the time of our visit.
However, we could have a glimpse of it, and it is a very beautiful cathedral.
The Cathedral is Anglican and one of the few monastic churches that survived in London, becoming an Augustine Priory in 1106. After the Dissolution of the Monasteries, the church became the property of the Crown and was newly dedicated as St Saviour’s Parish church.
The church was designate a cathedral in 1905 when the Diocese of Southwark was created. The cathedral is sited on land that was once part of a Roman settlement, and one of the oldest crossing points of the River Thames leading to the City of London (Roman Londinium).
Continuing our visit to London at Christmas time, from the cathedral we headed to the embankment to walk alongside the river Thames.
We passed Hay’s Galleria with its many stalls of merchandise, bars and restaurants to chose from.
We passed HMS Belfast Floating Museum (which is open for visitation,) then walked all the way to Tower Bridge and crossed to the other side.
On the other side we entered St Catherine’s Docks where there is a very nice pub called “The Dickens Inn”. We went around the docks and came back to the main road heading towards the Tower of London.
We didn’t visit the tower as everybody had already been there previously, but if you wish to visit it, you can book the tickets HERE. Or you can have VIP Early Access to the Tower of London and entrance to the Tower Bridge by booking it HERE.
We walked in the direction of the “Walkie-Talkie” building, (real name “The Fenchurch Building”) and where the Sky Garden is located.
We had a reservation to have lunch at Fenchurch Restaurant at the top of the building, at 2 pm. So, we went up to the restaurant and had time to look around the garden before the food was served.
The Sky Garden is at the 43rd floor of Fenchurch Building (The Walkie-Talkie). The views of London from the top are amazing. The garden is a bit underwhelming but still impressive with its lush plants and the high glazed windows of the atrium.
There is also an open-air-terrace where you can see famous landmarks of London such as the Tower bridge, St Paul’s Cathedral, The Shard and other famous attractions. This is a way of experiencing London from a different perspective.
To visit The Sky Garden is free, but you need to book a slot online, in advance. It is unlikely a slot will be available if you leave to book on the same day of your visit. However, if you book one of the restaurants you don’t need to make a reservation and you will have access to the garden.
The food and wine at Fenchurch restaurant were sensational. It was expensive, but worth every penny of it.
I had the “Five cheese stuffed gnocchi, caramelised leek, Shimeji mushroom and truffle cream sauce” dish. This was to die for!
All the others were also impressed by their dishes, we all loved our lunch.
When we finished lunch, it was already dark, which gave us the opportunity to take on more views and photos of London, this time at night with the sparkling lights shimmering away.
Check out the video below from the Travelling Surveyor Instagram.
After that, we took the tube to Kings Cross to collect our suitcases from the hotel and said goodbye to our friends as we were all going in different directions.
This was the end of a very enjoyable weekend in London at Christmas time. I hope it gave you some ideas of what to do on a weekend and it helps you to plan your visit to London.
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 2. 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
THINGS TO DO IN LONDON
1 – Grand Staircase at the St. Pancras Renaissance Hotel – ***
2 – Searcy’s Longest Champagne Bar in Europe – ***
3 – The Meeting Point Statue – ***
4 – Sir John Betjeman Statue – ***
5 – Borough Market – ***
6 – Southwark Cathedral – ***
7 – Walk on the banks of the River Thames – ***
8 – HMS Belfast
9 – Hay’s Galleria – ***
10 – London Bridge – ***
11 – St. Catherine’s Dock – ***
12 – Tower of London – ***
13 – Fenchurch Building “Walkie Talkie” and the Sky Garden – ***
WHERE TO STAY
1 – The Landmark – 5* – £££
2 – Shangri-La The Shard – 5* – £££
3 – Hausd – Piccadilly Circus – 4* – £££
4 – Novotel London Bridge – 4 * – ££
5 – Holiday Inn Express Southwark – 3* – ££
6 – Hampton By Hilton Waterloo – 3* – ££
If you prefer to look for your own accommodation search and book via the widget below:
WHERE TO EAT
1 – Fenchurch Restaurant – British – *** – £££
2 – Circolo Popolare – Italian – £££
3 – Dishoon – Indian – *** – £££
4 – Amazonico – Latin American – ££
5 – Sucre – Argentinian – ££
6 – Bistro Freddie – French/British – ££
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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