text and photos by: Nina Sarmiento
In my previous post, I listed down ways on how to travel less in Europe. One of which is to just roam around and tour the many fab landmarks, museums and galleries which you can visit either for free or for a token fee.
This week, I'm re-posting  The Gypsygals  quick guide to London. It's an expensive city, but there's a way to enjoy London even if you have a tight budget.
I have sailed the world
beheld its wonders
From the Dardanelles to the
Mountains of Peru,
But there's No Place Like London!
— "No Place like London" – Sweeney Todd (2007)
 
The City of Red Phone Booths

The City of Red Phone Booths

There is no gray area when one deals with London. You either love or hate this noisy, dynamic and cosmopolitan city. And I'm an urbanite who's hugely in love with this city – a place humming with locals and tourists, streets filled with museums, churches, galleries, monuments and cafes, roads lined up with red phone booths and red buses and a vibrant night scene courtesy of those cool clubs in London. Two days aren't enough to explore United Kingdom's largest city, which is why if you want to save some time and money, you might want to try this website, which offers great deals and booking information on the hotels in London. 
 
If you can only spare a long weekend here then here are the must see sites (all of which are accessible through the London underground train aka the Tube):
 
1. Statue of Eros – Located at the center of Piccadilly Circus, this statue here does not represent the Greek God of Love the Angel of Christian Charity. The statue was built in 1892 as a memorial to Anthony Cooper, the 7th Earl of Shaftesbury who tirelessly worked for the poor and the mentally ill.
Statue of Eros

Statue of Eros
Nearest Metro: Piccadilly Circus
 
2. Trafalgar Square – From Piccadilly Circus, walk towards the Hay Market street and turn left. You will stumble at Trafalgar Square. You can't miss it with a gigantic column dedicated for Admiral Horatio Nelson, flanked with gigantic lions on the bottom. Nelson is famous for his naval victory against French, a
feat depicted on the reliefs of the columns base.
Nearest Metro: Charing Cross

3. National Gallery – Art lovers take note, just a few blocks away from Trafalgar Square is one building that will blow your mind away! The National Gallery is home to over 2,000 paintings including Georges Seurat's "Bathers at Asnières", Vincent Van Gogh's "Sunflowers", Sandro Boticelli's "Venus and Mars" and Leonardo Da Vinci's unfinished "Madonna of the Rocks". I heard one enthusiast before said, "any museum with a Da Vinci in it puts that museum on the map".
Oh and did I mention that the entrance is free? 🙂 You should stay there for at least two hours (I did!) just to appreciate most of the stunning art works., But if you just want to whiz thru or in a hurry then just check the website for the highlights of the gallery,
The Gallery is open daily from 10 am to 6 pm and on Fridays from 10am to 9pm.
4. Horse Guards Parade – From the Gallery take the Parliament street and turn left where you can see the entrance to the Horse Guards Parade – a large parade ground off Whitehall in central London where the changing of the guards mounted on horses takes place.
Ceremonies takes place Monday to Saturday at 11 am and Sundays at 10 am. After the ceremony, you may to take photo along with the royal guards on horse. But you can't ask them to smile for you ;P – they are a bit camera-shy.
 
5.The Mall – From the Gallery, go pass the Admiralty Arch and head to The Mall. Nope you can't shop in here. What you will see instead is a stretch of road lined with trees. Nearby are the two Royal gardens: Green Park and St. James – both are lovely places during the spring-summer season.
Nearest Metro:St. James
 
6. Buckingham Palace – Why visit London? To have tea with The Queen of course?! Any one with some curiosity over the Royal Family should go here. If the weather is good, you might catch the changing of guards ceremony. Check out its Twitter account for updates.
Nearest Metro: St. James

                                       7. Westminster Abbey – This is one of Britain's national shrines, the coronation and burial-place of popular British figures including poets and royalty.
Westminster Abbey

Westminster Abbey
The tombs of Henry VII and his wife were here and so does the chapel built in Henry VII's honor. The tomb of Elizabeth I is on the left chapel upstairs, along with her step sister Mary Tudor, oddly side by side as Mary was a Catholic and Elizabeth was a Protestant and they both lived in an era when religion once divided their country.
 
On another side of the chapel lies the tomb of Queen Mary of Scot's, Elizabeth I's 'rival' to the throne. Elizabeth got the upper hand and sentenced her to death for high treason. James VI of Scotland, who was the successor of the unmarried and childless Elizabeth I, who managed to have his mother's tomb transferred here.
There is a corner for the noted British writers, where one can find the tombs of Geoffrey Chaucer, Thomas Hardy, Lord Alfred Tennyson, Henry James, T.S. Eliot, William Wordsworth, Jane Austen, Charles Dickens the Bronte sisters and a memorial to Shakespeare.
For opening hours please visit their website.
Nearest Metro: Westminster
 
8.The Thames, Big Ben and Houses of Parliament – Another celebrated tourist spot is the Big Ben, the nickname is actually for the Bell and not for the tower. The view at night is quite good with lights flooding the tower. On a clear day it would be nice to take a cruise along the Thames river.
 
9. London Eye – Cross the Westminster bridge and hop in the capsule of one of the world's biggest ferris wheels. Sitting in a capsule will give you an unobstructed view of the city. One full circle will last for half an hour. You might also want to buy a ticket ahead of time as the queue tends to be very long on some days: Go here to book your tickets asap.
 
10. millennium Bridge, Tate Modern and Shakespeare Globe – Power walk your way through the Millennium Bridge, a pedestrian-only steel suspension bridge crossing the Thames. Proceed to Tate Modern – London's gallery of modern art., and view some artworks by Salvador Dali, Paul Cezanne, Andy Warhol, William Blake, Auguste Rodin and Pablo Picasso. If you prefer theater over visual arts, then you can go to the nearby Shakespeare's Globe, and perhaps catch a performance in an open-air playhouse – a reconstruction of the playhouse built in 1599 where Shakespeare worked.
11. Tower Bridge – Repeat after me: London bridge is different from the Tower Bridge, so to save yourself from confusion when asking direction, say "Tower Bridge " or bring a photo of the bridge with you. The tower bridge has a small exhibition inside, so you might want to have a peek inside.
Nearest Metro: London Bridge
 
12. St. Paul 's Cathedral – The towering dome of cathedral has stood in London for more than three centuries. The church was built after the Great London fire, capped with a dome that continue to amaze architects and culture vultures – truly a testament to the genius of the church's architect Sir Christopher Wren.
Now, a lot probably remember this place as the wedding venue of Princess Diana and Prince Charles. While inside, it would be worth looking on the Whispering gallery, but remember to check the visiting time, as obviously loitering is not allowed during service time. 
 

13. Tower of London – Should I say the Bloody tower of London, as this is a place that serves as a prison, place of execution, fortress, arsenal, royal mint and jewel house. Inside the compound are four main towers: the Green tower- the place of execution for some high-profile prisoners like Anne Boleyn and Catherine Howard, both were wives of King Henry VIII. On the walls of the tower you can see a graffiti allegedly for Jane Grey, the queen for nine days, the poor lass got entangled on royal political turmoil and got herself executed for treason; the White Tower – oldest tower that houses the collection of armors, suits and oh the axe for chopping heads(brrrr); tower Ravens – there's this story that goes that even though King Charles II would love to shoo the birds off his compound, he was advised that if the ravens left then the kingdom will fall and disaster will come; and the Bloody tower – got it's notorious nickname to the mysterious disappearance of King Edward IV's two sons, Edward and Richard. After King Edward IV's death, the two young ones were taken in to this tower by their uncle, the Duke of Gloucester, for 'protection'. The 2 young boys disappeared and the Duke was crowned as the king. Centuries later, two skeletons were found on the white tower. Who are they? My guess is as yours.
 
Nearest Metro: Tower Hill
 

l4. British Museum – Get ready for an overload of antiquities from different civilization and cultures. Among the highlights of the museum is the Rosetta stone and the Egyptian gallery, the Nereid Monument and the controversial Elgin Marbles the collection of stone objects – sculptures, inscriptions and architectural features – acquired by Lord Elgin during his time as ambassador to the Ottoman court of the Sultan in Istanbul. Lord Elgin also acquired the friezes of Parthenon, the main temple in Athens. There has been a lot of debate-discussion (especially from the Greek side)as this are considered national treasures and should be returned.
 
Website: http://www.britishmuseum.org/
Nearest Metro: Tottenham Court