Hey Lia! I am about to go on an adventure to your city and I was wondering if you could please give me some recommendations for "off the braten path" places?
I can try! I’m also publishing this so other Londoners can add their suggestions, as I have no doubt I’ll leave approximately everything out.
Also some of these are not quite ‘off the beaten path’, but are worth going to anyway.
The British Library: Excellent in its own right, and also has a maps exhibit right now that I found really enjoyable.
Natural History Museum: falls into the category of not-exactly-off-the-beaten-path, but it’s wonderful. I’m a scientist so I’m a bit biased here, but it’s one of my favourite museums, and it’s in a beautiful building in South Kensington. It’s also currently hosting the Wildlife Photographer of the Year exhibit, which is pretty much what it says on the tin: the finalists of the annual wildlife photography competition. I’m not a photography person at all, but this is one I look forward to every year because it’s that good.
Borough Market: super crowded (with locals and tourists) but definitely worth a visit. Near/under London Bridge, and full of excellent things. If you can’t have a full lunch of free samples, you’re not trying hard enough.
Spitalfields Market: the hipster version of Borough Market, sort of. But with more non-food things. Fun to wander around, and also home to one of my favourite tea shops: the London Tea Exchange.
Liverpool Street and that general area has some fun street art as well, if that’s your kind of thing. There are walking tours of the street art that I’ve heard good things about, but I haven’t actually been on one so I can’t say for sure.
Hyde Park and The Serpentine Bar & Kitchen: better in summer, definitely, but still pretty in winter. The Serpentine is located at its namesake (the Serpentine ‘river’ aka Hyde Park’s water feature), and is a nice place to sit and have a drink or a pizza in the middle of the park. It’s pretty and picturesque.
Courtauld Gallery if you like art but don’t like super crowded museums.
Paul A. Young makes incredible chocolates and even more incredible hot chocolate. Like, really really incredible. Expensive for a cup of hot chocolate, but worth it.
If you want something super nerdy, Draughts is a cafe that is full of board games.
Um...Kew Gardens is probably better in the summer but still alright in the winter.
If you have time and money, the Harry Potter Studio Tour is 100% worth it, even if you’re just a casual fan. If you hate Harry Potter, this is not for you. Otherwise, it’s really well done, and so much fun. It does take the better part of a day to get there and spend time walking around, though, and tickets sell out a long time in advance sometimes, so may not be right for your trip, depending!
Bletchley Park is also a fun day-trip kind of thing; it’s a bit outside the city and you have to take a train, but it was the code-breaking headquarters in WWII (think Enigma), so if you’re interested in that, it might be worth a visit.
If you want the ‘afternoon tea’ experience I’d suggest the Kensington Palace Orangerie in Kensington Gardens (which is next to and virtually indistinguishable from Hyde Park). Another one that’s better in the summer, but overall is one of the nicer and less absurdly expensive teas I’ve found. Though I’ve heard rumours they’ve changed it, so I can’t be certain anymore!
If you want a bookstore that is 5 (6?) storeys, has every book you could ever want, and also serves tea, go to Foyles. This probably doesn’t actually belong on this list, but I love it so it’s there.
Other museums that are well known but worth going to: The British Museum (less crowded once you’re out of the Ancient Greece and Ancient Egypt sections), the National Portrait Gallery, the V&A, Tate Modern
Things You Don’t Need To See (aka the things on the beaten path that are 110% unnecessary, don’t waste your time):
--the London Eye. It’s slow and expensive and the queue takes forever and you can get a good view of London from St Pauls, or the Tate Modern, or Hampstead Heath, or about a hundred other places.
--the Changing of the Guard. It’s boring. I mean, you can go if you want, but it’s boring.
--Madame Tussauds. It’s a wax museum and I suppose if it’s your sort of thing it’s good, but...meh
--Buckingham Palace. You can see the outside but you’re not usually allowed in (only at certain times of the year) so it’s nice to walk by but not particularly worth a special trip.
--King’s Cross. You’ll probably end up here anyway, but for some reason it’s often listed as a Place To Go. It’s not. Same for Paddington.
--The Tower of London. Okay, this one’s probably a controversial pick for the ‘don’t need to see’ section, but I’m putting it here anyway. The Tower is fine, the Crown Jewels are pretty, but overall I always find it to be super crowded and rather underwhelming.
Okay, I’ve definitely forgotten loads of places, so I’ll try to update this if I think of them, but if anyone else wants to chip in, please do so!
