Guest post by Maya
Visiting the monuments and tourist spots is not the only way to get to know a city. Walking through the streets, squares, and markets, entering cafes, and talking to a passerby, is the best way to capture the essence of a city.
You can take a series of walking routes through London to discover the busiest areas of the center, but also the quieter side of the parks and residential neighborhoods, all in the same city.
3 Walking Routes to Tour Through London
Below are the best walking routes through London that will allow you to get to know the best known and most typical of this cosmopolitan European city. Start with a free walking tour London guide and get on the journey as proposed below:
- walk along the banks of the Thames, from Big Ben to the Tower of London;
- explore Westminster Abbey all the way to Buckingham Palace and then to Trafalgar Square;
- go through Piccadilly Circus, Oxford Street, and Covent Garden.
Doing these helps you enjoy the jewel of the city.
Photo by Pixabay
1. Walking along the banks of the Thames from Big Ben to the Tower of London
This first London walking tour itinerary starts from England’s most famous clock, Big Ben. This route runs along the banks of the River Thames and will take you approximately between two and three hours.
Crossing Westminster Bridge, you will have an excellent view of Big Ben and the Houses of Parliament. A few meters away, you will reach the base of the London Eye, the Ferris wheel over the Thames with great views over the city.
Continuing along the river, you will pass the Royal Festival Hall and the National Theatre, both in the South Bank district.
London Bridge is the last bridge before you get to the Tower of London. And it’s the bridge you’ll need to cross to get to the castle. In its central part, it offers the best view of the castle and the Tower Bridge drawbridge.
2. Westminster – St. James’s Park – Buckingham – Trafalgar Square
If the previous route started from Big Ben, it is not far from the mythical clock, Westminster Abbey is located in Parliament Square, in the district of Westminster.
Westminster Abbey – Photo from Pexels.com
On the other side of the square, on Whitehall Street, is 10 Downing Street, the residence of the Prime Minister, you will only be able to approach the street entrance. As you can imagine, it is very guarded.
This route crosses the oldest park in London, St. James’s Park, a pleasant walk that takes you to the central roundabout of Buckingham Palace, at the back of the palace there is another park, Green Park.
If you want to see the changing of the guard, it takes place at 11 a.m., as long as it is not raining.
Leaving Buckingham Palace, you face The Mall, the tree-lined avenue where at the end you find the Admiralty Arch designed in 1910 and completed in 1912, now houses offices.
Crossing the arch, you enter Trafalgar Square, built in 1805 to commemorate Admiral Nelson’s victory at the Battle of Trafalgar over the fleets of Spain and France.
3. Piccadilly Circus – Oxford Street – Covent Garden
If the two walking routes through London covered the most historical and monumental part, this route is focused on the recreational and leisure side of the city. It is located in the Soho district.
If Trafalgar Square is for art and history, Piccadilly Circus is for leisure and shopping. It is a spectacle both at night and during the day, the neon lights and the image screens do not stop 24 hours a day. Covent Garden is lovely and surrounded by pubs, shops, street artists, cinemas, and theaters.
Conclusion
These are the four basic walking routes through London that we consider essential to get to know the most important things in the city, but London is not only that.
There are other neighborhoods in the city that are just as interesting. Except that getting there on foot is not as feasible and they need transport to get there before taking a tour.
