My favourite bits of London.
Editor’s note: The competition has now been closed.
With the London Olympics around the corner and me on the opposite side of the world, I recently got to thinking about why London is one of my favourite destinations on the planet, and why I have already been there 3 times (2 weeks, 2 weeks, 1 week). Not only was London the first ever overseas destination I visited, but it’s also one that I’d love to go back to, even after 3 visits, both to discover new corners of the city and to revisit old favourites.
Europe is popular holiday destination for younger travelers and with great deals on student flights to London, they can also be affordable. So while we all wait for the Olympics to start, here are some of my favourite bits of London AND a 100 USD accommodation voucher giveaway (read on to see how you can enter the competition).
All the free museums
I’m sure that I am not the only person out there who has an ambivalent relationship with museums. I love to pop in and have a look, sometimes falling completely in love, sometimes being totally disappointed, but a pricey entry ticket often stops me from even trying to see what the museum in question has to offer. But London gives all travellers a wonderful gift: Most of its major and most impressive museums are completely free, including the National gallery, the National portrait gallery, the British Museum, the Tate gallery, the Tate modern, The Victoria and Albert museum and the Museum of Natural history. And because they are free, you don’t feel like you have to take the entire museum or gallery in all at once, because you can pop in and out as many times as you want on different days and during different visits.
The quirky characters
Most cities around the world are filled with interesting characters, be they talented buskers or end-of-the-world prophets. London is certainly a great place to people-watch, and here are some of my favourite discoveries so far.
The Parks
Big cities can be a bit depressing with their high rise buildings and sea of traffic, but London is filled with large expanses of green in its very heart. When the weather is nice enough, it’s an absolute pleasure to spend time in one of its many royal parks. My favourite so far has to be Kensington gardens, though I have yet to explore Richmond park with its roaming deer.
The transport system
After having spent some time travelling in South East Asia, I really came to appreciate good transport systems such as the one London has. Yes, trams, trains and buses can run late, and yes, they can be hot and crowded during rush hour, but as a traveller, they allow you to go pretty much everywhere at a reasonable cost.
It’s a city for everybody
A traveller in London can come up with several different itineraries, depending on his or her interests. You can follow the museum trail or the history trail, you can go on gourmet adventures in a city full of international eateries, you can have it as a base from which to explore nearby areas like Brighton and Oxford, or, if you have varied interests, you can explore area after area systematically and discover all that each have to offer. You can totally go crazy with your budget, or only pay for food and accommodation while enjoying the large number of free sights and activities on offer.
With so many things happening in London such as the upcoming Olympics, travellers are constantly looking for accommodation during big events in London. That’s why I am offering a 100 US dollar Wimdu voucher to one lucky reader to be used to book Wimdu holiday apartments or accommodation. The voucher can be used to book accommodation in London or any other property on offer on Wimdu, WORLDWIDE (check Wimdu for available locations, there are so exceptions).
Here is how you can enter the competition:
Each of the following options translates into 1 entry, and can be done once per participant:
- Leave a comment explaining where you’d use the voucher if you win (your comment won’t qualify if you don’t answer this question).
- Tweet this post. Be sure to add @artofslowtravel to the tweet, and come back on this page and post another comment saying that you’ve tweeted.
-Follow me on twitter and tell me you have through a comment on this page, including your twitter name
-Follow me on Facebook and tell me you have through a comment on this page, including your facebook name.
PLEASE POST SEPARATE COMMENTS FOR TWEETING, LIKING AND SHARING. 1 comment equals 1 entry, so if you tell me you have tweeted, shared and followed in only 1 comment, you get only 1 entry.
Competition details
- The competition closes on 17th of June at 8 pm (Melbourne, Australia time) and is open to ANYONE, wherever in the world you are (the voucher prize will come in the form of a voucher code)
- The winner will be selected shortly after by using Random.org.
- The voucher has no expiry date.
- It can only be used for one booking and on one property.
Good luck and spread the word!
Denise
-Text and Photography by Denise Pulis @www.theartofslowtravel.com. All rights reserved.
39 Comments → “My favourite bits of London.”
Leave a Reply
Browse by Continent/Theme
Portfolio
Navigate
1. These are all GREAT reasons to love visiting my favourite city – London! My first reaction would be to use the voucher but I’ve got too many friends there I’d want to stay with so… I would like to use the Wimdu voucher on my October Queensland trip – in Noosa!
2. Oh and I’ve tweeted the comp!
3. I would use the voucher to stay in Berlin Germany!
4. Just tweeted the giveaway!
5. I would use the voucher for my trip to Darwin in August!
6. Belfast
7. tweeted.
8. I tweeted the giveaway! I’m also now following you on Twitter – @rachaelmnorris
9. This post makes us miss London!! We would use the voucher going back to our favorite city in the world & spend a few days strolling through London’s fantastic market, hang out in some of the cool cafes in Fitzrovia and cycle through the parks, followed by a picnic with some goodies from M&S.
Fingers crossed that we win the voucher 
10. I’m following you @rachaelmnorris
11. Hi Denise,
I am going to the Philippines in September and would definitely like to use an accommodation voucher there. ^^ I tweeted this post.
Sarah
12. I also love London and its amazing museums are one reason. I would use the voucher in Rome.
I still have mixed feelings about London. Maybe I just have not been there long enough to truly telephone deeper. I’ll have to go back and hang out more with the locals on my next visit
13. I’d visit friends and use the voucher in San Diego or the LA area – before heading over to Catalina Island.
14. I’ve tweeted and liked you on Facebook – I think via Leigh and not HikeBikeTravel.
15. I’m with you, London is a fabulous city and I would be happy to visit it many many more times! I would use this voucher in Barcelona.
16. I liked your fb page (my profile = Jenna Francisco) and tweeted this post
17. I’ve tweeted, already following you on twitter, my twitter is @eurotravelista and liked you on Facebook using my personal account!
18. I was a teenager the last time I was in London, and would love to go back. All of those museums are calling my name
I would use this voucher in the Czech Republic.
19. Tweeted, and shared on FB. I can’t follow you on Twitter at the moment, as I have reached a limit (: I do follow you on FB.
20. Liked you on FB too. Hurrah – two entries.
21. Nice giveaway! I absolutely love London and your pictures bring good memories. Looking at the tube pic, I hear “Mind the gap!”.
oops…forget to name the city. London!
22. OK, so this is my third entry which is for tweeting about this.
23 Tweeted. @InsideJourneys / FB InsideJourneys
Would be nice to go to the Olympics next month. That would make my 4th trip to London.
Since there are at least four non-stop flights a day from San Francisco (which helps when it comes to finding seats in Business or First Class using your frequent-flyer miles) and the flying time is relatively short, London was my top choice for first and last stops on two month-long trips to Europe.
For as large as it is, London doesn’t seem congested (unless you ride “The Tube” during rush-hour), and there’s much to do if you are a tourist. Free museums and large parks (we stayed a couple of blocks from Hyde Park) make it a highly desirable place to visit.
24. I tweeted this. ^^
25. The people watching in London looks fantastic!
Nice giveaway! I would use the Wimdu voucher in Miami or San Diego
26 I tweeted this post
@AndiTraveler
27. I followed you on Twitter @AndiTraveler
28. Love the post! I just arrived in London on a one-way ticket a little over a week ago and love the city to bits. I would use the voucher when I continue my travels in South Korea next year. I’m applying for English teaching positions at the moment!
29. I would use the voucher to stay in Istanbul my dream destination.
30. Have Tweeted, Followed you on Twitter, and Liked you on facebook.
jan@budgettravel.com – Budget Jan
31 Hello Hello Hello Hello!
I would use the Wimdu Voucher for an apartment in Dubrovnik, Croatia!!
Thanks for offer such a great contest
32 I have tweeted this post! @chrystalclear_
33. I have liked you on facebook! – https://www.facebook.com/chrystalcleartravels
Thank You!
34 I followed you on twitter! @chrystalclear_
Thank You!
man i love love love love London! If I didn’t have friends there, I would use the voucher there, but instead, I would probably use it in NYC before I head home to Canada and the real world.
Hi Jade,
Unfortunately, you’re too late for the competition! So sorry.