I had been told beforehand that flying into London, you could just see city in every direction. Flying into Stansted Airport, we did not get the same “overwhelming” view as we would have if we had arrived closer to the city, but nonetheless, the sprawling city of London could be seen in the distance as we landed. And it was definitely huge. We wasted no time after landing, and took the train right away from the airport to King’s Cross Station.
My Itinerary
The Adventure
King’s Cross Station
Though we didn’t spend much time there, the station itself was a bit of a tourist attraction. The station is massive, and quite beautiful. It is of course also filled with an excessive amount of Harry Potter references, and an unreasonably long queue to take a picture by the platform 9-3/4 sign. But, with so much to see, we skipped these and ventured into the city.
Big Ben
We had such limited time to explore the massive city, but we would not let our time constraints prevent us from seeing as many landmarks as possible. We started, of course, with the iconic Big Ben. It was so fun for me to see what has become such an iconic building and popular tourist attraction with my own eyes. I think that Big Ben is also elevated by the surrounding parliament buildings, which cover a large amount of space behind it. To me, this made Big Ben not just a standalone highlight, but a part of what is a massive city block of beautiful architecture. But the journey had just begun, and we didn’t have all day.
Westminster Abbey
Our next major stop was Westminster Abbey. We had arranged ahead of time that we would attend an early evening service there, allowing us free entrance to the church, but also to enjoy some choral music. My father, a doctor of church history, was eager to tell me all about the historical figures whose names were inscribed around the interior. It was a beautiful service and a beautiful building. Afterwards, we took a bit of time to walk around the property and even see some of the courtyards within it before moving on to our next stop.
Buckingham Palace
We made our way through a park toward Buckingham Palace next. The walk itself was nice too. The park had a small lake, and I enjoyed seeing some birds that I couldn’t see back home. Then, we attived at the palace. I admit, it was a place that I knew only by name, but wouldn’t have been able to tell you anything about or even recognize in pictures before visiting it myself. It’s definitely a place I’ve always heard a lot about, and definitely for good reason. It’s a beautiful building that I struggled to fully take in among all the other tourists who were as eager to see it as I was. At this particular spot, I remember appreciating the details not just of the building but of the surrounding property and gates. It’s this small attention to detail in places you barely even think to pay attention to that makes a lot of European architecture some of my favaourite.
Trafalgar Square
As the evening came, we found ourselves briefly in Trafalgar Square. In hindsight, this is a place that I wish I had paid more attention to, and would plan to take in more thoroughly on another visit. It’s another place I’ve heard lots about in talking, but our passing through was quite brief, as I believe we were more focused on finding a good dinner location. Eventually, we ate at an amazing Indian restaurant before turning in for the night.
London Eye
The next day, with even less time, we took the bus from our hotel back towards central London. We were fortunate enough to get the front seats on the top of the double-decker bus. Once we disembarked, we considered riding the London Eye, but it’s a very pricey attraction, so in the end we decided to take in the city by foot instead. We still spent some time in the area, though, and were able to snap some photos of the London landmark.
The Strand
We continued down the Strand, where there was no shortage of things to see. One thing I loved about the city is how every corner is filled with beauty and history. Beyond the popular attractions, there is still so much to see. For example, we took several detours, exploring the hidden gems of the city off the beaten path, sometimes literally having to walk off the streets into an alley to discover a beautiful church or monument.
St. Paul’s Cathedral
We eventually came to St. Paul’s Cathedral, which was massive to say the least. It is a beautiful domed cathedral that again, I had heard a lot about. We did not go in, but even beholding the building towering above you from the streets is a feeling of immense grandeur. From there, we made just one more quick stop into a small church before heading towards the Tower of London.
Tower of London
Out of all of the landmarks we visited, I probably knew the least about the Tower of London. I was surprised to see that it was not actually a very tall building, and would consider a word other than “tower” to be more appropriate to describe it. Nonetheless, it was a cool structure, right by the river. We ate lunch (fish and chips) right next to it, allowing me to fully take it in while we sat. With the river right there as well and of course the Tower Bridge over it, it was great scenery for our classic British meal.
Tower Bridge
We then crossed the Tower Bridge, which was a great vantage point to see large parts of the city, including the more modern sector. It seemed like a different world compared to the historic streets through which we had just wandered, but was still madly cool and impressive. The Shard stood out to us in particular. If we had had more time, perhaps we would have gone over to take a closer look, but that was unfortunately the end of our stay in London. With our stuff all gathered, we made our way back to the train station (St. Pancras International this time) and began the long process of boarding the train to France.
Highlight
It’s hard to choose a highlight from London. The city is just so big and there’s so much to see, literally everywhere. So, I’m going to cop out and say that the city itself as a whole was the highlight. It was just so fun for me to be in a place that is so often visited and talked about. As much as I love my more unusual travels, London is a place that has definitely earned a reputation for itself as one of the top tourist destinations, and deservedly so. There’s just too much to see in a two-day trip, and those were a packed two days. Though busy, the whole city had an undescribable feeling, like it was meant to be explored.
Concluding Thoughts
London was such a big and impressive city! Though we managed to cover most of the highlights, I feel like the city has so many more hidden secrets to discover. I definitely want to go back, and I would highly recommend it to anyone interested. It does indeed deserve the hype. From the smallest quaint buildings to the impressive feats of the Houses of Parliament, I enjoyed everything I did and saw during my short stay.
Check out my drawings inspired by this trip, and other pieces in my Europe Collection.
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