“…when a man is tired of London, he is tired of life; for there is in London all that life can afford.” – Samuel Johnson

8 Days In London

Theatre heaven, literary (and actual) history everywhere, spectacular architecture around every corner – what more could you want?

London put on its best weather pants for the week of our stay, apart from 1 – 2 colder, cloudy days, we had glorious sunshine and heavenly blue skies to show off this city at its springtime best. I hadn’t been to London since 1994 so wanted to visit a few old time favourites but mainly relish in the theatre I couldn’t afford then and wander lots of the neighbourhoods I had only seen on film and TV shows. We stayed in a very central location at the top of Oxford Street near Marble Arch so everything was either a tube ride or long stroll away. Our first endeavour was to beat the jet lag, so after a long overnight flight from Sydney and landing at 8am London time, we focused on staying awake for as long as possible to try to reset the body clocks. It was a warm, sunny day so we dropped off our bags and walked for hours through Mayfair, Pall Mall, up to Buckingham Palace and then through Hyde Park. Spring was in full bloom, the plane trees ensured they set off my hay fever, carriages passed by with fancy looking people in them and it was wondrous. King Charles seemed to be home so there may have been an important event on.

We eventually got the woozy feeling that our legs may not quite make it back to the hotel so we returned to the hotel for an afternoon nap and then forced ourselves out again for a pub dinner before calling it for our first day in London.

After an unexpectedly great night’s sleep (I did take 10mg Melatonin which is my new favourite remedy for jet lag and 3am wakeups) we embarked on another mammoth walk to see another part of the city. We walked back into Hyde Park, crossed the Serpentine Lake and came out onto Exhibition Road in South Kensington in order to hit up the V&A Museum. I hadn’t been there before but quickly realised we could probably only do one whole floor so we focused on the British history galleries seeing all the glorious design, art exhibits from Medieval to Victorian life. I love the fact so many of London’s museums and galleries are free so you can actually see as much or as little as you want without thinking you need to get “your money´s worth” so wander aimlessly until the theory of diminishing returns kicks in. The Sculpture Gallery near the entrance is particularly beautiful so we finished there before heading out into the fresh air and sunshine again.

We found a great cafe in a pedestrian mall on Exhibition Road called Glamarama Green which was unexpectedly Australian so we shared a great green salad and admired their unusual lamingtons while people watching. From there we wove our way through the back streets of South Kensington up to the Kings Road in Chelsea. This has changed drama since I was last there in 1988! What used to be all the old vintage, grungy and cutting edge fashion stores has been cleansed to the high end chain stores you find everywhere. It was a bit of shame but I did get to see Trinny London’s store and even walked past her make up artist John! We made the mistake of catching a double decker bus back to Marble Arch – they aren’t air conditioned on the top floor and the traffic in London is truly terrible but at least I ticked that experience off!
The rest of our stay has been about finding a neighbourhood and spending the day exploring so below are the best walks we had.

Best London Walks

There are so many, many places to explore in London – you really do need a lifetime but below are some of the great walks we did throughout our 8 day stay. I loved getting away from the tourists hotspots and spending half a day exploring different neighbourhoods as they each have their own special character and attractions.

Hampstead Heath to Camden to Primrose Hill: We caught the Tube to Shepherd’s Bush then an overground train to Hampstead Heath. You feel like you stepped back in time to a 19th Century village the moment you exit the train station. It was a stark contrast to bustle of central London.

As a lifelong literature lover, I was there to see Keats’ House as his beautiful poetry was what set the wheels in motion for my obsession with all things Romanticism. You can see Keats House around the corner from the train station (it is rather unassuming and we didn’t go in because our visit coincided with a horde of students on a school excursion which I knew would break the reverie of the place) then meander around the absolutely lovely heath for hours. There are swimming ponds, lush green tree tunnels and rambling hills. The birdsong and pretty sweeping meadows are the epitome of Romantic poetry so I can see how Keats got his inspiration from nature here. It would definitely be a perfect spot for a Sunday picnic. We, instead, wandered down Downshire Hill and stopped into Ottolenghi for a sweet treat and coffee. Then we walked all the way along Havistock Hill enjoying seeing the gorgeous terrace houses and quaint shops dotted along the way. You eventually come upon Camden Market which is very much worth a visit. There are endless rows of quirky vintage shops and lots of food trucks so hours could be spent here browsing, people watching, eating and drinking. From the market you walk along Camden Lock which is spot you often see in TV shows. It certainly looks more like the sight of a few murders than the quaint picturesque images you get on some shows. There was this one section that went under one of the bridges where I picked up my pace a little because dodgy was the vibe for sure. We finally found a set of stairs that takes you up to Primrose Hill. This has so many stunning pastel row houses and fancy shops so it was a lovely place to pass through on our way to the top of Primrose Hill. This has an iconic view of all of London and again one you see often in film and TV shows. I can absolutely see why it would be a lovely picnic spot for sunset. We unfortunately got the blasting Artic wind version instead so shuffled back down to Chalk Farm tube station to get a tube back to our hotel to warm up a little. This whole walk took around 3 hours and if we hadn’t had a bit of deadline to meet in the afternoon we probably would have spent a lot longer exploring the market because there is so much to see there.

Hyde Park to Kensington Palace to Notting Hill: We traversed Hyde Park again to get up to Notting Hill. This park has proved to be the centre of everywhere you want to go in London! We finally made it to the Kensington Palace end and diverted off our track to see the very touching Princess Diana memorial sunken garden. This is a beautiful space and you can view the statue from all angles through the little hedge windows that surround the lake and garden. I found myself tearing up a little as it is a really beautiful tribute to her and a life cut tragically short. We then continued up Bayswater Road towards Notting Hill Gate tube station. From there we walked across to Pembridge Gardens and then proceeded to wind our way in and around all of the crescent shaped roads that run off to the left of Kensington Park Road and Portobello Road. The colourful terrace houses and mews were pretty and it was nice to walk around without the crowds who seemed to all be hanging out on Portobello Road which, from what I saw, was just more tacky souvenirs and overpriced vintage gear. We wound through the streets eventually coming out on Tavistock Road and the Westbourne Park tube station. This was clearly this less fancy part of the suburb but it was good to see the two faces of such a well known district that has featured in countless rom-coms and TV shows.

The Thames Loop Walk – London Bridge to Borough Market to the Globe Theatre: The sun was blazing on the day we decided to walk from Bank tube station down to London Bridge so all the sights along the Thames were looking their absolute best. We crossed London Bridge and then walked back along the river to cross back on Tower Bridge. We were trying to keep on the sunny side for as long as possible so followed the trail past The Tower of London, weaving in and out of buildings and tunnels until we came back to Millennium Bridge. We made a quick toilet stop at Tate Modern and headed towards Borough Market. It was Friday, lunchtime and sunny so the crowds were out in force making it pretty hard to get anything from the market stalls for lunch. We stopped into Fish restaurant for some fish and chips for Glenn and a tuna burger for me. Only thing missing was a cider which they didn’t have on their menu. We then headed to the Globe Theatre as we had tickets to see “Romeo and Juliet” at 2pm. They were a bargain price of £13 for standing in the groundlings area in front of the stage. It was absolutely wonderful – such a lively, energetic production; even though it was a little hard going standing for 2 1/2 hours, the actors were so engaging that the time went fast as you got caught up in the action of this much loved play.

Richmond – this very charming town is the last stop on the District line and took about an hour to get to from our hotel near Marble Arch. There are quaint, narrow alleyways with cute shops (including a Ted Lasso shop for fans of the beloved TV show) and the remains of Richmond Palace (where Queen Elizabeth I died in 1603) have been transformed into houses and apartments.The main attraction is the riverside walk which takes you to outskirts of town and then you can walk further onto the vast expanse of Richmond Park which was once the hunting ground for Henry VIII. We only saw a small area, walking up to King Henry’s Mound to see the protected view all the way to St Paul’s Cathedral in London city centre. It is home to hundreds of deer but alas we didn’t see any. Instead we enjoyed rambling the meadows and delightful gardens near Pembroke Lodge. There is a Poet’s Corner testament to the natural beauty at every turn. I can see why they were inspired, especially with the spring time heath in full flowery bloom. We then walked back along the high road overlooking the Thames, seeing Twickenham Stadium in the distance and the planes taking off from Heathrow. We settled into a great pub lunch in the glorious Spring sunshine at the White Cross Hotel which apparently gets flooded from the river at high tide – there were gumboots available if needed! It was such a great day out and we were glad we made the effort to escape the bustle of London again.

Accomodation: The Cumberland Hotel

This hotel was a great central location on the corner of Oxford Street and across the road from Hyde Park. When we arrived from our long overnight flight, we walked from Paddington Station which is where the Heathrow Express train takes you. It took about 20 minutes and was flat all the way with not too many cobblestones to trip me up! It is a big, busy hotel but I found the rooms were really spacious and quiet. You could also open the windows for some fresh air which was nice.The room had a very comfortable bed, Nespresso coffee machine, well sized bathroom and plenty of spots to lay your suitcases out. There is a very well equipped gym and the cafe/bar on the ground floor seemed to do a roaring trade (but we didn’t eat there as £6 for an espresso seemed ridiculous!). The Marble Arch tube station was around the corner from the main entrance so it made for such easy travelling throughout the city. I would highly recommend if you want something comfortable and quiet to escape to with fantastic access to anywhere in London by foot, Tube or bus.

Tips for saving money in the most expensive city in the world.

London has won the dubious title of most expensive city in the world in 2025 and boy oh boy did we notice this so here a few ways we saved some pennies during our stay:

#1: Tesco Meal Deals are your friend: For around £4 you can get a main (mainly pretty good sandwiches, wraps and salads including gluten free options), a snack and a drink. We did this a few times for lunch as it seemed everything in every restaurant we stepped foot into was £20 for a meal of any kind. Pretty hard to keep up that pace every meal every day for long.

#2: London Theatre Direct has some last minute theatre tickets that sometimes come up for a range of plays and musicals. For example, we saw the fabulous “Retrograde” play about Sidney Poitier for £15 – these were second row seats originally priced at £47 which I bought the day before the performance. We also got £13 standing tickets for a fantastic performance of “Romeo and Juliet” at the The Globe theatre. If you don’t mind standing/leaning on the stage for over 2 hours it is well worth it to be so close to the action for such a cheap price.
#3: Museums and Galleries for free – one of the best things about London is their investment in arts and culture which extends to free entry into some of the best museums and galleries in the world. We had a wonderful experience at the V&A Museum in South Kensington and also spent hours in the Tate Britain all for free.
#4: Hiring Bikes and Scooters is a false economy – you may think you are saving money hiring a Lime e-bike or scooter but they are actually really expensive. We rode across Hyde Park to Westminster Abbey and it cost almost $20 which is way more than the tube ride would have been. It was fun to do but not really a money saver.

#5: Walk everywhere – London is such a walkable city. We walked about 100kms in 8 days because it was often so much nicer and easier (and cheaper) to walk from neighbourhood to neighbourhood. You get to see the sites and the people up close and personal as well as keeping fit so it is a win-win for your budget and body.
#6: Buy breakfast at the supermarket – we bought cereal, fruit and yoghurt at trusty Tesco’s and kept it all in the mini bar fridge in our room. We improvised bowls by buying some instant porridge and kept their plastic containers and also were lucky to have a Nespresso machine in our room which housekeeping kept stocked with coffee capsules every day meaning we didn’t need to spend £6 on a espresso!