There is a lot that you can do or see in West London.
Portobello Road Market: One of the most popular markets in London, Portobello Road is famous for clothing, antique shops, second-hand book shops, galleries and food stalls that remain open all week. However, every Saturday there is a sudden transformation as it becomes a full street market with hundreds of stalls selling bric-a-brac, clothes, shoes and food. If you wish to get the true feel of West London, it would be best to walk up from Notting Hill Gate Tube and see the bijoux houses, beautiful gardens, and hidden cafes and then walk north from Ladbroke Grove for visiting the vintage and music stalls. If you feel hungry, you will find plenty of street food stalls where you can get street food from all over the world. It is best to go to the market on a weekday as you will find lesser crowds but remember to wear comfortable shoes.
Victoria and Albert Museum: Located in Brompton in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, this free-to-enter museum is the world’s largest museum of decorative arts. Presenting the most comprehensive costume collection in the country, it is the ultimate destination of every fashion lover. Its vast collection also includes ceramics, glass, costumes, silver, ironwork, medieval objects, sculpture, jewellery, furniture, textiles, drawings, metalwork, photography and prints. It has a permanent collection of over 4.5 million objects. The museum covers 12.5 acres and it presents 145 galleries while its collection spans 5,000 years of art from the cultures of Europe, North America, Asia and North Africa.
Richmond Park: This National Nature Reserve and deer Park is one of the biggest parks in London and it hosts the beautiful Isabella Plantation and Pembroke Lodge which is a Georgian mansion located at its highest point. It is of great national and international importance for wildlife conservation. The park includes many buildings of architectural or historic interest. It also has a golf course and other facilities for sport and recreation.
When you are visiting London for business or for pleasure, you are bound to feel physically and mentally tired as you would be trying to pack in too many things in a day. For getting fully relaxed both in mind and body, the best thing to do is to visit a Spa In London, where you can indulge in different types of treatments.
Natural History Museum: Forming a part of the three famous museums on Exhibition Road in South Kensington, this museum is located just by the side of the V&A. One of the main centres of research in the world, it is particularly famous for the dinosaurs exhibition. It is home to some 80 million items including life and earth science specimens in the fields of botany, entomology, mineralogy, paleontology, and zoology. It is famous world-wide for its exhibition of dinosaur skeletons and ornate architecture, with a large Diplodocus cast dominating the vaulted central hall.
Kyoto Garden: One of the best places in London for complete relaxation, this beautiful Japanese style garden is located in Holland Park. It attracts tourists from all over the world and as such it gets crowded on weekends. It feels like a mini Japan in London and it was a gift from Kyoto. It reflects the key traits of Japanese gardens including stone lanterns, tiered waterfalls and plenty of fish. You can hear the squawks of peacocks who wander around the park.
For a most comfortable stay in London, the best option is to stay at Montcalm Hotel Marble Arch as you would get luxurious accommodation with ideal facilities and be situated in the heart of the city.
Little Venice: Located just north of Paddington and positioned at the meeting point of the Grand Union and Regent’s canals it is a picturesque neighbourhood where many waterside cafes, cosy pubs and beautiful restaurants are located. There are lots of things to do from canal boat rides to puppet shows. The best thing to do is to explore Regent’s Canal which starts from Little Venice and ends in the Docklands, while passing by ZSL London Zoo and Camden Town. You can also walk downstream past the elegant Regency streets of Maida Vale and on to Regent’s Park and Camden.
Kew Gardens: Hosting one of the largest collections of plants from across the world, Kew Gardens is perhaps the most famous garden of the world where you can find different varieties of exotic plants, beautiful greenhouses and botanic gardens. You can visit the garden at any time of the year as it offers lovely plants irrespective of the season. It is a must-see place, particularly if you love flowers, especially orchids.
Westfield London: It is the second largest shopping centre in the UK that offers a variety of shops, restaurants and grocery stores. Located in White City, it is the ideal place for a shopping day. The shopping centre has a large size as its retail floor area covers 150,000 square metres which is approximately the equivalent of 30 football pitches.
BAPS Shri Swaminarayan Mandir Temple: Also known as the Neasden Temple, it is one of the biggest Hindu temples outside India. It has aptly been described as one of the Seven Wonders of London as it offers stunning architecture with a completely tranquil environment. For its construction, Italian marble was first transported to India where thousands of artisans worked on it for a long time to make all the carvings which are worth seeing. The marble pieces were then transported to London for assembly and building of the temple.
Hyde Park: Covering an area of 350 acres in central and West London, this iconic park was originally acquired by Henry VIII for hunting. It offers lush green meadows in the heart of the city where tired sightseers can relax for a while. The park also offers plenty of leisure activities such as cycling, horse-riding, walking, jogging, picnicking, swimming, boating, paddling and visiting various attractions that are located in the park and in its adjacent Kensington Gardens.
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