Best places to visit in London

Traitors, pirates, prostitutes and serial killers. London isn’t just royal palaces, museums and other grand architecture. Further east along the river is its grittier and darker underbelly where the original town of London was first established around the docks and wharfs where traders and explorers would prepare their vessels for expeditions. This is where you’ll find the Mayflower Pub from where the Pilgrim Fathers set sail and the Angel Pub where Captain Cook prepared for his voyage to Australia. The history here is deliciously grim and gruesome in stark contrast to the pomp and ceremony of Westminster and after more than 10 years of living in London I love it!

So if you want to experience a different side to London here are some tips:

1) Big Tourist Attractions

The Tower of London is one of London’s biggest attractions and a great place to begin your introduction to English history. Besides housing the Crown Jewels, one of the most memorable artifacts here is Henry VIII’s huge suit of armour. This fella clearly ate a lot of chicken legs and lamb chops. You’ll also find the execution site here where Henry disposed of some of his unwanted wives.

Also, in this area but south of the river is the London Dungeon. Some love it, some hate it but whatever, it gives you an entertaining lesson on London’s more grisly history.

2) Jack the Ripper Guided Walk

If the notion of East London sparks images of shadowy figures in black cloaks and tops hats slinking around foggy Victorian streets then this is the guided tour for you. You will be shown all the sites where Jack preyed on and killed his prostitute victims and told the many theories regarding the mysteries surrounding his identity. The favorite and most scandalous being that he was a member of the royal family.

3) Riverfront walk from Tower Bridge

Like most cities, the best way to see London is on foot. You can walk a long way along the riverfront here and you’ll see great views and find little treasures off the usual tourist track. This area used to be a slum swarming with thieves and smugglers and whilst the whole area has been regenerated, from an architectural viewpoint, it retains much of its original flavour. One of the best places to visit is the The Clink Museum which was the original prison and source of the phrase “in the Clink”. You don’t have to be a museum buff to enjoy it, its small, about the size of a house and gives a great insight in to local history, prison life centuries ago and the grim punishments that used to be favored.

4) Pub-Crawl

How could you visit England without visiting some of its pubs? Some of the oldest in England are located along this part of the riverfront and most retain their original charm with low oak beamed ceilings and timber panelling. On the southside of the river are the Angel in Bermondsey and the Mayflower in Rotherhithe. On the northside in Wapping there are 3 great old pubs to visit: ‘The Town of Ramsgate’ where the infamous Hanging Judge sentenced hundreds to the gallows behind the pub. The ‘Captain Kidd’ which was named after a pirate who was covered in tar and hung in the street as a warning to others and, further east, ‘The Prospect of Whitby’ a former meeting place for smugglers.

5) Eating and Drinking

In addition to these pubs a couple of other great spots to find watering holes are: St. Katherine’s Docks which is just a short walk from the Tower of London and a relatively unknown gem but a beautiful spot to rest whilst eying up the cities super-yachts. And Shad Thames, a riverfront strip of restaurants and bars just over Tower Bridge to the south.