London has a sameness, an old grandmother of a city, but at the same time, you might easily be surprised by changes.
Where I stayed in Kensington, there were five coffee shops on the street facing the hotel. Four of them no longer accept cash. Gotta use a card. One waitress offered to take cash, but added, “I have no way to give you change.” It was £5 for coffee and toast. I had a £20 note. No choice but to use my card. Nothing appeared on the menu and no warning on the front door that said cash was not used.
London (don’t know about the rest of Britain) is not the only place on earth getting rid of cash. Sweden is almost cashless and furthermore your card better be a “tap” card, although some places may still accept the old fashioned cards.
In London pubs, at least ones I went to, do accept cash, but I wonder for how long.
Not everything is changing. Pubs are still open at eleven o’clock or noon. I don’t know why; some are 11 and some are 12.
London has a vast array of museums of every sort, 192 museums in fact, placing them #5 in the list of cities with the most museums. You can look up the rankings, but you probably want to know who is #1. Paris with 297.
My favorite London museums are, in no special order:
The British Museum with everything imaginable, including miles of architectural exhibits from all over the world, as well as the famous this and that, of which my favorite is the Rosetta Stone, from which linguists learned the secrets of many ancient languages.
The National Gallery, housing art of every sort, including a masterful collection of Impressionist paintings.
And very close to the National Gallery is The National Portrait Museum where I recently viewed a collection of David Hockney’s work.
There are many war museums, including Churchill’s War Rooms and The Imperial War Museum, plus many others.
Special exhibits change, so look before you go.
How about evening activities? My favorite, bar none, are the theatres. I buy my tickets at the discount kiosk in Leicester Square. Leicester is pronounced Lester.
Very easy to get around in London. The Tubes (Underground rail) connect every part of the city. With a new twist, you no longer have to use an Oyster Card as a ticket, which is a card that you refill with £ on machines (that are in every station). These days you can use your credit or debit “tap” card to ride.
How about getting from the States to London? There are Atlantic crossings if you prefer to go by ship. Or, if you want to dash over and back, air travel is in great supply. My two favorite airlines to London are Virgin Atlantic and British Air. Not fond of the U.S. airlines.
Heathrow and Gatwick are the two major airports that service London. Very similar in distance, but my favorite is Heathrow with an easy tube ride to the Kensington area where I usually stay. Lots of nice hotels, pubs, restaurants, and transportation to every part of the city.
I’ve been to London off and on for over five decades and written of my adventures. Below is a list of those on my blog.
https://stroudallover.blogspot.com/2017/11/theres-something-about-london.html
https://stroudallover.blogspot.com/2016/01/posh-london-tour-of-st-james-street.html
https://stroudallover.blogspot.com/2015/04/london-various-pubs-various-pleasures.html
https://stroudallover.blogspot.com/2015/02/going-down-tubes-part-tube.html
https://stroudallover.blogspot.com/2014/12/finding-london-bookstores-adventure.html
https://stroudallover.blogspot.com/2013/11/the-national-portrait-gallery-london.html
https://stroudallover.blogspot.com/2012/06/down-tha-local-tasty-british.html
https://stroudallover.blogspot.com/2021/11/theatres-fun-in-london.html Especially for plays, it’s best to check online. Theatre productions come and go.
When to go? I like early fall, or early spring. Not so crowed and I’ve had great luck with the weather. BUT, whenever you go, London is going to be a wonderful treat!
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