24 Hours in London Travel Guide

London.

Like many world capitals, this is a city thatnever sleeps, and on my most recent visit, I got to experience that firsthand.

My challenge was to discover 24 unique experiencesin London – one for every hour of the day! From secret speakeasies to living room concerts, and whimsical afternoon teas to bustling food markets, I scoured the city to bring you thefollowing 24 hours in London! So let’s begin.

Well good morning.

It is 7:00 am here in London.

It is my first morning in the city and I'vejust woken up at the CitizenM Hotel and wait until you see the views outside my window.

I have the Tower of London right across fromme.

I skipped breakfast this morning, but forgood reason; because there was a unique coffee shop that I needed to track down in Hampstead! It is 8:00 am and we just dropped by KapeBarako and that may be the smallest little coffee shop I've ever been to.

It is set in an old red telephone box andthey make some delicious coffee.

I actually ordered myself a latte.

With a bit of caffeine in my system, I continuedon to my 9:00 am activity which was walking up Parliament Hill in Hampstead Heath.

This is a lookout point, where you can stopto enjoy the city skyline.

Aside from offering great views of the cityskyline this is a beautiful nature escape.

You have woodlands, walking paths and lotsof people walking very friendly pups.

So it currently is 10:00 am and we're on ourway to the Tate Modern.

This is actually my favorite art gallery inall of London.

So I love revisiting everytime I'm in thecity.

Set in a former power station, this unlikelystructure is home to the national collection of British art from 1900 to the present, aswell as modern and contemporary art by international artists.

But I didn’t just come here for the artthis time; there was a new extension to visit.

So we are currently in the Blavatnik Buildingand this is a new extension here at the Tate Modern and they have a viewing deck that is360 degrees.

So yeah, you can walk all around and get someamazing views of London.

From there, I got off at Westminster Stationand walked over to Horse Guards Parade for my next activity.

And it is now 11:00 am in the morning so nextup I'm going to be watching the changing of the guard and then I'm going to go visit theHousehold Cavalry Museum.

(Horse trotting sounds) So now that the changing of the guard is overwe're going back into the Household Cavalry Museum and you can actually look into thestables and watch the horses come in and the guards dismount.

If you’re visiting with kids, or you justfeel like playing dress up, there’s also a section inside the museum where you cantry on different uniforms.

Alright so it is 12 o'clock and we're currentlyon the Thames.

We're about to do an adventure an adrenalinefilled tour.

You guys ready? Yeah! Cruising down the Thames is a classic wayto experience London, but Thames Rockets does things a little bit differently! They show you some of the city’s highlightsby speedboat, all while pumping music, and sharing all kinds of interesting London factsthat you won’t find in any guidebook.

After that adventure, I was in some desperateneed of lunch! So it is now 13:00 pm and that means lunch.

Today we're here at Borough Market which isthe oldest market in all of London.

Apparently it dates back over a thousand years.

SO we're going to go find ourselves some food.

With hundreds of food stalls selling everythingfrom baked goods to fruit smoothies and fresh seafood to takeaway burgers, it didn’t takeme long to piece together a delicious meal! So for lunch I went to Gourmet Goat and gotmyself a kid goat kofte bowl with two different salads.

And this looks really really good.

Check out those colors.

A very vibrant dish so let's see how it tastes.

Mmmm.

Pretty good.

That is an explosion of Mediterranean flavors.

Next up, it was time for dessert.

Namely, donuts.

So for dessert I got myself a little somethingsweet from Bread Ahead.

They are supposed to have some of the bestdonuts in all of London and I got myself a classic vanilla.

Oh my goodness.

Filled with cream.

So much cream.

What can you do in the middle of the afternoonin London? I made my way over to the West End for a show.

It is a beautiful theatre.

Oh my goodness.

So it is now Two o'clock and we're currentlyat the Prince Edward Theatre.

We're going to be watching a matinee.

Aladdin.

This is my 1st time watching a west end showso I'm pretty excited.

Also, I love the movie Aladdin.

That is a childhood classic so.

There was no filming allowed during the performance, but it was a fun afternoon out, and if you make it to the West End, you’ll discoverthat there’s a show out there for everyone! Next up, it was time for a quintessentialritual: afternoon tea! So it is three o'clock and we're here at theSanderson London for a Mad Hatter's afternoon tea.

And it is time to try some of these delicacies.

Having tea at the Sanderson was like stumblingdown a rabbit hole and being transported to the world of Alice in Wonderland.

Everything from the menu to the teapots tothe ‘drink me’ potions was just right! So it is four o'clock and we are currentlyexploring Seven Dials.

This place gets its name from the sundialand the seven streets that break away from the dial.

So yeah, I didn't even know this place existed.

It is near Soho and Covent Garden.

Yet it has a village feel.

It is really cute.

Lots of antiques, restaurants, cafes.

So I'm now taking you into Neal's Yard thisis still part of the Seven Dials but it has got a bit more color.

It feels more bohemian.

Super artsy.

It is like being inside a rainbow.

Handbags, jewelry, chocolates – I window shoppedfor it all, before stopping for a sweet treat! So we've been wandering around Seven Dialsfor a little bit and we happened upon Pierre Herme and they have these beautiful macarons.

Check out those colors.

So right now I'm going in for raspberry roseand lychee.

So right now it is five o'clock and we areat Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park and we're going to be riding the Arcelor Mittal Orbit.

This is the tallest and longest tunnel slidein the world and honestly I'm feeling a bit nervous.

Excited.

Nervous.

A little bit of everything.

There we go.

Very fashion forward here.

You are now in full orbit swag.

Oh my gosh.

How are you feeling? I feel nervous now.

Alright we're higher than the Statue of Libertyright now.

And we're going to ride the slide.

What have I got myself into? I feel like I'm going into surgery.

Head forward and up.

Go for it.

Alright.

Bye! Waah! Argh! Haha! So a little bit shaky but I survived.

I was screaming the whole way down.

And I actually didn't even realize I had comeout of the slide and I was just sliding there and I was still screaming so they actuallyhad to like shake me awake.

It is okay.

It is okay.

It is over.

Next up it was time to explore street art, so I hopped on the train to Croydon.

The RISEGallery has been doing a lot of workto help connect local artists with property owners, and this has resulted in some beautifulmurals around every corner.

So right now we are walking along the stretchknown as the Legal Wall and this is basically open to the public.

Anyone can come here and just have fun withsome paint and get creative.

Sticking with the art theme, for my 7:00 pmactivity I attended my first Late.

This is when museums and art galleries stayopen after hours, offering extended admission or putting on special events.

I was in town when the Royal Academy of Artshosted the last of its summer lates titled, The Other Paradise, and guests were dressedto impress! So this is my first time attending one ofthe Lates and I've thoroughly enjoyed it.

It just has a really different feel from goingto a museum or a gallery during regular hours.

It is a lot more relaxed.

It feels more like a social outing.

You see large groups of friends enjoying drinksand viewing art so I would highly recommend it.

If you find yourself here in London.

At 8:00 pm, I got to experience Sofar Sounds, which is a pop-up concert that takes place in people’s living rooms.

The catch is that when you sign up, you onlyknow the neighbourhood where the concert will take place.

It’s not until 24 hours before the eventthat you are emailed the address and the names of the artists performing that night.

So it is now 21:00 pm and we're currentlyat PopBrixton.

This is a really cool container park whereyou have bars, cafes, restaurants, shops.

So I think it is time we find ourselves alittle bit of food because we've had a long day and I'm hungry.

So it is now 22:00 pm and we're at Draughts.

It is a board game cafe so we're going toplay some games.

The only question is what do we choose? So many options.

So we've settled on a game.

We're going to be playing Riff Raff and builda pirate ship apparently.

Then at 11pm, for a bit of live music, itwas onwards to The Blues Kitchen in Brixton, where they do barbecue, bourbon, and blues.

So that was a lot of fun.

The show just ended.

We all had a really good time.

We were actually listening to a band fromthe Netherlands that did like Jazzy Orchestra so it was really unexpected but really cool.

So it is now 12 o'clock and we're at FlightClub.

This is a really cool bar where you can comeand play pub games so we're going to try our hand at darts.

We've got some friends waiting for us downstairs.

Let's go in.

Flight Club is a bar that puts a twist onthe traditional English pub by adding modern darts into the equation.

Groups can book an oche (OCKEY), which isthe throw line in a game of darts.

I went into this with no dart-throwing experience, but I didn’t come out last! (Train sounds) With the clock striking one, my next stoptransported me to London in the 1940s.

So it is currently 1 am and we're at Cahoots.

This is a 40s theme bar and it is all aboutthe underground.

I feel like I'm about to ride the tube.

Also they just brought us the menu.

It is a newspaper.

So we're just going to have a look throughhere and choose some drinks.

So it is 02:00 am and we are currently inChinatown which is known for its late night haunts and dim sum.

We have chosen Opium which is a bit of a hiddengem.

They only have a tiny little sign and youhave to look for the jade door so let's see if they let us in.

This bar was set in an attic and it had abit of speakeasy vibe.

There mixing all sorts of fun cocktails, andI ordered one based on the year of my birth.

So here at Opium the drinks are based on theChinese Animal Zodiac.

I'm 1987.

It turns out I'm the year of the rabbit.

How have we gotten this far into London’snightlife scene without visiting a club, I don’t know, but that changed at 3 am.

Alright so it is 03:00 am still going strong.

We are here in Camden.

And we've just been inside Koko.

This club has the largest disco ball in allof Europe and yeah it is a lot of fun.

It is really packed in there.

I brought out my signature meerkat dance movesat KOKO, which I think just helped create more space around me, and then it was timefor more food! So it is now 04:00 am and we're at the BeigelBake.

I've ordered myself a salt beef beigel whichis massive by the way.

Almost the size of my face.

So let's tuck right into this.

Mmmm.

That is a lot of meat.

And a lot of mustard.

Oh! Spicy mustard I have to say.

So it is 05:00 am and I am currently enjoyinga little morning stroll along the southbank of the River Thames.

Got Tower Bridge in the background and yeahthis city hasn't quite open yet.

Rush hour hasn't started so it is very peaceful, very tranquil and I think it is a beautiful time to be out enjoying London before everyoneelse wakes up.

Last but not least, the final activity ofmy 24 hours in London was breakfast at Duck & Waffle.

Located on a 40th floor, this restaurant hasamazing views of Central London and they are open 24 hours a day.

So here we have Belgian waffle, confit duckleg, a duck egg and we also drizzled a mustard maple syrup all over.

This is going to be tasty.

So that was a really good meal.

It was the best duck I've ever had.

So tasty.

And now let's enjoy some views over Londonas we go down 40 stories.

And that’s a wrap for my 24 hours in London! I hope you enjoyed following along and thatalso got a few ideas for your own trip.

As you can see, this city has plenty to offer, no matter the time of day.

Wishing you happy travels and see you nexttime!.