A Weekend Sightseeing in the City of London
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Over the Easter holidays we booked an overnight trip to London to explore an area we hadn’t really been to before – the City of London. The trip centred around the children’s request to visit the Tower of London but, before that, we had a whole day playing tourists – and it was great!
We parked at Richmond tube station, as we often do, and got the District Line straight to Aldgate East, staying at a Premier Inn for the night. We dropped off our suitcase and then starting our adventure.
The Garden at 120
Our first stop was the Garden at 120. After visiting the Sky Garden last year, we were keen to experience other viewing platforms in London and the Garden at 120 looked great – it’s free, with no booking needed and so we were able to just rock up whenever worked for us.
We only spent just under an hour at the Garden at 120 but it was enough to experience the peace and tranquility that the space offers. It’s a real oasis in the heart of the City of London and somewhere you really should visit if you have a chance.
Leadenhall Market
Our next stop was Leadenhall Market, somewhere we haven’t been before and definitely one of the most beautiful markets in London – next to Covent Garden, of course.
Our main reason for visiting Leadenhall Market was to tick the Leaky Cauldron off our Harry Potter Filming Locations list but we also picked up some sweet treats from Buns from Home – they were as great as Instagram led me to believe!
Royal Exchange
During our day in London we stopped at lots of different places to learn more about London and read plaques but somewhere unexpected that we came across was the Royal Exchange. We have never been inside before and walking through the doors was a real wow moment!
Mansion House
We then went in search of the Bank of England Museum but took time to appreciate Mansion House and all the other historic buildings and statues in this area of London first. The City area has so much history and so many old buildings, it really is a beautiful place to spend time.
Bank of England Museum
Another main stop on our day out was the Bank of England Museum where we got to learn about this history of the Bank of England and we even had the opportunity to try and lift a gold bar! It’s only a small museum, taking about an hour to walk around, but we really enjoyed it – and the building is really impressive too.
Guildhall Art Gallery and Roman Ampitheatre
Our next stop was the Guildhall Art Gallery, right next to the Guildhall, a beautiful old building. The art gallery is slightly more modern but has one of the oldest parts of London in the basement – a Roman Ampitheatre!
The Guildhall Art Gallery wasn’t the most exciting place for us, as we aren’t really into art, but we did take some time to look around the different galleries before visiting London’s Roman Ampitheatre. In contrast, this really blew us away.
Dating back to 70 AD, the ruins and foundations so old, and they have a few information boards to teach you more about what you can see. It’s basically the London version of the Colosseum – a pretty cool find under the ground in the City of London!
One New Change Roof Terrace
It was then time for another new view – this time the One New Change Roof Terrace. This is a free viewing platform on top of the One New Change shopping centre. You don’t need to book a time slot, just turn up and ask the elevator operators to send you up to the roof.
The One New Change Roof Terrace isn’t as oasis-like as the Garden at 120 but it is still peaceful, and gives great views of St Paul’s Cathedral – maybe the best views of St Paul’s in the city. It’s a really nice place to spend time, admire the view and take a break. It was just what we needed.
London Mithraeum
Our last attraction of the day was the London Mithraeum, another piece of ancient Roman London, found under the ground. This is an immersive experience and is completely free to attend and with no booking necessary – although booking is recommended in busy periods.
The London Mithraeum is an immersive experience that runs every twenty minutes. You get to see the remnants of the temple complete with atmospheric lights, sounds and even smoke, helping bring the attraction to life. We found it really interesting.
Leicester Square
We finished the day walking to Leicester Square so that Little Man could get his Lego passport stamped in the Lego store and then went and had pizza for dinner at ICCO Pizza. It was a really lovely end to an exhausting but great day.
Tower of London
The next day we one had one plan – the Tower of London! We have been a few times before but always with limited time so have always just done the main parts – the White Tower and the Crown Jewels. It was nice to visit with the whole day ahead of us and no need to leave early!
We did everything we could at the Tower of London, looking at every exhibition, reading every sign and taking photos. It was a fantastic day and a great way to finish our London break.
I’m already planning our next trip to London and love taking the opportunity to play tourists when we can. If you’re looking for more inspiration of things to do in London, these articles might help:
