London, England: 3-Day Travel Guide (For Couples or Solo Explorers!)

Okay, okay... I know that this has been a long time coming. My life turned a little crazy after our return from our most recent international trip at the end of November. Things have finally slowed down a bit, and I've had the chance to rifle through all of our photos and footage from the trip to share these travel guides with you all! 

London was the first of our three stops during this past trip, and we had about three and a half days in the city. We tried cramming in as much sightseeing as we possibly could during this stop, since there is so much to do in London! 

We elected to stay at an affordable, smaller hotel on the edge of Hyde Park because I wanted to be in a safe area close to some of my bookmarked spots. Our hotel was the Byron Hotel - very easy access in and out of the hotel. The rooms were smaller and definitely older, but we spent most of our time outside of the room each day that it didn't matter.

Here's a couple more hotel options in the same area that we stayed that you can look at!

Hotels Near Hyde Park/Notting Hill: 

Grand Royale London Hyde Park 

Thistle Kensington Gardens 

Hilton London Hyde Park

This hotel is super close to the Notting Hill neighborhood, an area of London that I can't recommend enough. The homes are GORGEOUS, and there are so many wonderful spots to eat and shop. In fact, there's an open market along Portobello Road that sells all sorts of unique trinkets and fashions. If you walk down the road far enough, you'll hit London's version of Rainbow Row.




Once we got a feel for the city and how to get around (we loved riding the Tube/Underground around the city). As a tip - the Oyster card is the easiest way to get around. We purchased a card at the airport and loaded it with around £20each. The nice part is that you can cash in your Oyster cards for a refund before leaving the country at the airport as long as the balance is less than £10.

We used our Oyster cards almost every day to get around (for those areas that were a far walk) and were usually at a destination in less than 20 minutes. Our first day exploring, we took the Underground to the Westminster area so that we could see the popular spots and some historic architecture.











There are SO many beautiful buildings in this area! See below for a list of the most popular ones to visit and some closer shots of the architecture:

Notable Monuments/Buildings in Westminster Abbey Area

Big Ben

National Gallery

Buckingham Palace

St. Margaret's

Westminster Abbey

Victoria Tower

Admirality Arch

In fact, we happened to be in this London area on Armistice Day! We saw this celebration on the news as we were leaving our hotel, and had no idea that it was exactly in the area we were heading. The Royal Family was in attendance, and I was crossing my fingers that they would walk by us (unfortunately, it didn't happen).





After exploring this area we went to grab some lunch before heading back for a little rest. On that note, I'll share with you all some of the best places to eat in London! Prepare yourself, this list could be a little lengthy...

Best Places to Eat in London
Breakfast/Tea Time:
Farm Girl Cafe
Granger & Co.
Farmacy
Eggbreak
Minnow
Sketch

Lunch/Dinner/Bars:

Randall & Aubin

Rules

Corazon 

Barrafina

Padella

Butchies

The Prince

Coal Shed

Pastaio

Sibarita

Magpie

The Champion

Polpo Notting Hill

108 Garage

Henrietta

Smoking Goat Soho

Sketch London

Sketch London

Sketch London

Sketch is honestly an experience in itself! Make a reservation ahead of time!! We made a tea time reservation in the Gallery, as I wanted to see it's iconic pink decor for myself. Though we originally thought this was a pricey occasion, it was absolutely worth it. We were treated to endless finger sandwiches, cakes from the trolley, scones, tea and mini desserts. We were actually stuffed full by the time that we went! We opted to visit here as one of our last spots before hitting the train to the airport for our next destination. P.S. Be sure to check out their bathroom!

Farm Girl Cafe

The Champion

Whew! Now that we've made it through that, it's time to move on to London activities you don't want to miss. One of the things that I was most looking forward to was The London Eye. It's a touristy spot, I know. But, I really wanted to get that vantage point of all of London! If you plan on making a visit, make sure to reserve your tickets online ahead of time. We were actually a bit late to our reservation time, and they let us jump the line as soon as we got there. We were on the Eye within 10-12 minutes. 

Activities To Do In London:

Visit Buckingham Palace

Talk a Walk to Tower Bridge

Stroll Through Soho - Some of the best eats and such a beautiful area!

Picnic in Hyde Park

London Zoo

Shopping around Picadilly Circus

An afternoon at Kensington Gardens

Oxford Street

Wimbledon

Hyde Park Farmer's Market

We were so thankful to start off our trip in this amazing city! London is, without a doubt, a wonder that everyone should experience. It's no secret that I am a sucker for a British accent, so people watching was something I found myself doing rather frequently.

If you guys have any other London questions, don't hesitate to comment below or shoot me an email!

Cheerio!

x, B