London in 24 hours

London in 24 hours? No way! Well, it will definitely leave you craving for more but can also give you quite a good taste of what the city has to offer. Here you can follow our route during your own trip!

It was more comfortable for us to organize such a short trip since Paris is actually only 2 hours away by train. And from some time now this wonderful Snap Eurostar app allows you to buy really cheap tickets for few of their routes. Originally, we planned to arrive on Saturday morning and leave on Sunday evening to have full 2 days for discovering the city, but since with the Snap you can’t choose the time of your travel, we ended up with exactly 24 hours to pass in London.

We arrived to St Pancras International Train Station around 12 pm on a Saturday and headed directly to our cozy Airbnb flat in Pimlico. Let’s be honest, it wasn’t the cheapest accommodation ever but after a short research in London prices and the fact that we wanted to be as close to the center as possible, it really made a deal.

We decided to walk our way through the day especially considering how close to everything Pimlico was. Walking down in the direction of the main sites we stayed on the riverside amazed by the original combination of London’s architecture where the modern skyscrapers rise up above the old housing buildings.

First stop: Victoria Tower Gardens and Palace of Westminster, surprisingly empty on a Saturday! Maybe it was because of the low season (end of November) but London really did a rather empty, calm and tourist-less impression on us (coming from Paris that is always overcrowded no matter time of the year). Right behind, whether you’re looking for it or not, you will see the Big Ben.

Walking in the direction of Trafalgar Square we passed by 10 Downing Street and St James’s Park, surprisingly (or not?) the most crowed place we’ve seen during the day. Reaching Trafalgar Square we turned right and followed Strand and Fleet St all the way to Saint Paul’s Cathedral – it’s quite a walk, so if you don’t particularly enjoy a stroll, you can always hop on the bus or any other mean of transport.

By the Saint Paul’s Cathedral we decided to turn right back to the riverside and only a few minutes down we reached the Millennium Bridge with a background of Tate Modern and Shakespeare’s Globe. Here we decided to stay on the south Bankside as it was already full of little Christmas stalls creating a really charming atmosphere. We passed by the Borough Market – if you’re hungry, this is possibly the best spot to grab a bite. With our common love for street food it was hard to decidewhat to focus our eyes on and nearly impossible not to start stuffing ourselves with everything we saw! We knew we’d be meeting a friend soon though so decided to leave this one for the next time.

Reaching London Bridge we decided to go back to the North Bank as our destination for the evening was the area of Shoreditch. And let me say, this is a really cool place to hang out in the evening, full of cozy pubs and bars. We settled for a moment around the Brick Lane Market. Starving after the whole day of walking we stuffed ourselves in The Orange Buffalo and passed some time afterwards in the Rough Trade East.

After a few beers in a very British pub (game night!) our friend took us to a great place called Dinerama. This is yet another place where you will not know what to eat as it’s filled with street food stalls – Yum Bun, oh my! Taking Uber back to our flat we enjoyed our drive through Oxford Street and London at night.

Day 2

Regardless a few drinks last night, we decided to wake up early in the morning and hit a few more laces before our train back to Paris at 12 pm. This time heading north from Pimlico, we quickly reached the Buckingham Palace where we tried to spot the queen for few minutes and enjoyed a walk in the Green Park.

From there, we passed by Savile Row and where lucky enough to catch a set of the Kingsman sequel (sic!). Passing by Regent Street to Soho, there was something really special to walk around the empty streets of a neighborhood that is supposed to be so vibrant. We stopped to enjoy the English breakfast in Jackson & Rye and headed up through Fitzrovia to St Pancras International Train Station.

It’s definitely a pity that we didn’t have more time to enjoy the city – we didn’t get to visit any museum (and there would be plenty on the list) or see more of the South Bank but hey, there has to be something left for the next time!

If you would like to know more about our trip or if you’re planning your own quick stop in London and still have some questions, don’t hesitate to contact us!