On the banks of the Thames housed in the old Bankside Power Station the Tate Modern is one of London’s newest and most popular attractions. Here there are 88 galleries displaying a huge collection of modern art. The Tate has some of the worlds most precious modern art pieces including works from Dali, Matisse, Rothko, Picasso and Warhol. Warhol’s Marilyn Diptych which was painted in 1962 is one of the more popular of the artworks. For book lovers the centre also has a book shop which claims to have more books than any other store in London, they have over 10,000 titles on hand, but many believe Waterstone’s in Piccadilly has thousands more. The best thing about the gallery is it is free except for special exhibitions.
Pleasure Beach is an amusement park in the popular holiday town of Blackpool UK, it is most well known for its huge rollercoaster the Pepsi Max Big One. The imaginatively named “Big One” was opened in 1994 and at the time it was the tallest in the world but has since lost the title to two other coasters in Rust, Germany and Fujiyama, Japan. The coaster was featured in the TV series “engineering at the cutting edge”. Sitting on the edge of the beach it takes a bit of foundations to get the thing to stay where it is, reportedly costing as much as the coaster itself. Along with Pleasure Beach, there are many tourist attractions and amusements in Blackpool which is well known as a popular UK holiday destination. Read the rest of this entry »
The Tower of London on the north bank of the Thames River has had a very colorful life over its 930+ years of existence. IT was originally built as a fortress and has been used as a royal palace, prison, a mint and observatory a treasury building and even a zoo. Today it is the home of the Crown Jewels of the United Kingdom and one of London’s most popular tourist attractions.
The Tower is guarded by the Yeomen Wardens or Beefeaters as they are more popularly know and the ravens. Ledged maintains if the ravens were to leave the tower the British monarchy would tumble. Read the rest of this entry »
It can be quiet expensive to see some of the more popular West End shows in London, but there is a cheaper way if you are quick and lucky. Look for the TKTS booth which you can find on the south side of Leicester Square and you might be able to see you favourite show for a fraction of the price. Usually offerings on Mondays are cheaper and easier to get hold of you sometimes get tickets as low as 7 pounds 50. Not all shows are on sale at TKTS, there are some other bargain ticket places around the west end so a few laps on foot may really pay off, and it’s a really good chance to see all the different shows on offer.
Capsule hotels are all the rage in Japan where space is limited and people just want a place to spend the night. Well some ingenious people have decided to open up a similar style of accommodation inside London’s Gatwick Airport. Now there is no need to wait hours for flights trying to catch a few minutes sleep on those horrible plastic chairs in the terminal you can book into a luxury capsule and get some proper rest. Read the rest of this entry »
The Chelsea Flower show held every May is one of London’s premier events in fact it is more than a flower and garden show it is more a society event to be seen at. Everyone who is everyone (or wants to be anyone) attends from TV and film stars, Lords and Dames even the Queen pops in to smell the roses. The show is all in the name of Charity the Chelsea Royal Hospital is the benefactor. Every year dozens of new flowers make their world premier and there are some spectacular gardens on display from the world’s best landscape designers.
It’s not usual for large communication towers in the city to be opened up as a tourist attraction for example, the CNN tower in Toronto, Munich Olympic Tower, Sydney Tower etc…. but not in London. The British Telecom tower which stands at 190 metres doesn’t have a public platform. The centre did once have a revolving restaurant when it opened in the mid 1960’s but it was closed in the 1970’s when the city was under threat of IRA terrorism attacks and it has never reopened. So for the best high view of the city of London head to the magnificent London Eye Wheel on the banks of the Thames.
If your ever looking for a great meal in London head to the nearest pub and order a pint and a toad in the hole- you wont be disappointed. This has got to be the best pub meal ever. Don’t be alarmed your not in France so its not a frog, its a magnificent dish with some sausages, onion and mash potato served in a crispy vol au vant like basket covered in rich brown gravy. You will love it- and for only a few quid it is a bargain. Washed down with a few pints of refreshing lager you have had a great lunch. Read the rest of this entry »
