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Explore London - What to see and do?

Camden Town,Historic Shopping Arcades,South Bank, London by Gaslight

© Cathy Smith

Sep 22, 2007
London - Angel, Camden Town, Cathy Smith
Sights you may have missed - paths you may not have trodden - from the Da Vinci Code to Samuel Johnson's favourite pub. London is the tourist capital of the world.

Help is at hand. Check out the highlighted articles below to help you plan your trip. Some may lead you over familiar ground but there will be historical input that may help you see things from a different perspective. There also will be places slightly off the main tourist beat.

London - What to Do - Take a second look at familiar places

Some of you may have already visited these places in the past, but there’s often something new to learn and you might enjoy a second look in a different way. You might wonder why, for example, what Piccadilly Circus has to offer that is new. It looks the same as last time you saw it, but when you realise how it got there, and why, a second look can be really worthwhile.

Piccadilly Circus

Knowing the colourful history of some of London’s favourite theatres can enhance your enjoyment of the evening when you realise you are treading the same ground that Nell Gwynne walked when she sold oranges to King Charles II and eventually became his mistress.

Historic London Theatres

Shakespeare's Globe Theatre

London - What to Do - The da Vinci Code Connection

Even something as simple as a walk down Fleet Street can turn into a walk through history. All you have to do is step through an ancient gateway and you will find yourself in a different world - one that is lit by old gas lamps in the evenings and where there is a 12th-century church known as the Temple church, which featured in the novel, ‘The `Da Vinci Code’.

Fleet Street

London - What to Do - Canal Walking

London is full of surprises. Not many people know that you can walk for miles alongside 19th-century canals, through the heart of the capital into quiet areas where you can stop for a pub lunch and a glass of beer, or that four of the city's major parks join up to allow a 4 to 5 mile 'country walk' across grassy fields .

Canal Walking

Historic Parks

London - What to Do - Wise words from a Londoner

Samuel Johnson and his literary friends would gather in The Old Cheshire Cheese pub in Fleet street to quaff ale and put the world to rights. The chair he sat in is still there and his favourite meal, Steak and Kidney Pudding, is served. He loved London and wrote "To be tired of London is to be tired of life".

So... explore and enjoy!

For something different:

Old favourites with an historic slant


The copyright of the article Explore London - What to see and do? in Historical Travel is owned by Cathy Smith. Permission to republish Explore London - What to see and do? in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.


London - St.Paul's Cathedral, Cathy Smith
London - Globe Theatre, Cathy Smith
London - Angel, Camden Town, Cathy Smith
London - View from South Bank, Cathy Smith
 


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