From the start of my trip to London, I can honestly say that I have not spent a single day entirely in my flat. When I’m not traveling, working at my internship, or attending classes, I try to seize every opportunity to explore some of this beautiful city — especially since I’m sadly realizing my time here is rapidly coming to an end!
The wonderful thing about London is that it is literally impossible to be bored. No weekend plans but on a tight budget? Almost all of the museums in the city are free to the public. One museum that I have visited no less than three times is the famous British Museum — home to some of the most priceless artefacts in the world, including the Rosetta Stone.
Despite that I’ve visited three times, I still feel that I’ve not even scratched the surface of the sheer amount of treasures there are to view in this museum. From golden trinkets of the British Empire to ancient relics of Egypt and Greece, there’s truly something for everyone in this museum.
Another one of my favorite museums is the Tate Modern, of which I’ve been to twice. I wasn’t completely sure how I would feel about this museum because I’m usually not a fan of modern art, but this museum made me a believer. My favorite piece in the museum is one of their most famous: a giant tower of radio sets all playing at once, symbolizing an overload of information that has come with the digital age.
With so many museums available in London, it’s very hard to pick favorites. If I had to choose, however, I think my favorite historical place that I’ve been to in London so far is Westminster Abbey. Unfortunately, this one isn’t free but fortunately, students receive a half price discount if you come after 5:30pm.
Westminster Abbey is a grand Gothic church that is most well known for being the place where royal coronations are held. It is also still a holy place, so they request that the visitors remain silent. It’s an extreme shame that I was not allowed to take photos here, because the inside of Westminster Abbey was one of the most incredible sights I’ve ever seen. It is here where royals and other prominent members of society (including legendary scientists such as Isaac Newton and Albert Einstein) are honored and sometimes even buried there. Larger than life marble statues and intricate Gothic designs take up the whole space, with passageways throughout that lead to separate decorative tombs for late kings and queens. If there is one place where I would suggest people spend money to visit in London, this would definitely be the place.
Before coming here, I never realized just how much there was to see and do in London. I’ve been here for about three months now, and I still feel that there’s so much that I haven’t explored yet. At the end of my trip I really don’t think I’ll be able to say I’ve “seen all of London”, because I truly don’t believe that’s even possible!
