A Cheap but Thorough Visit to London!

A wonderful trip in which we managed to see almost everything the city had to offer, except the museums, for lack of time. Despite this, and the fact that London is an expensive city, we managed a cheap trip without going without anything. Hoping this account is useful for your future stays in this city, as various descriptions I found on the Internet were for me. Flight: Unlike many, we decided not to go with Ryanair, as it wasn't very convenient for us, with advantageous conditions at awkward times (late evening), arriving at London's most inconvenient and distant airport (Stansted) and having to pay more for the checked bag than the ticket itself! So, carefully weighing the offers, we decided to leave from Milan Malpensa and fly with Lufthansa rather than a low-cost carrier.

Booking online, we travelled paying 100 euros return for the flight, leaving in the morning and returning in the evening. Hotel: after various searches online, we decided to stay at the Umi hotel in the Bayswater area (near Notting Hill). A convenient area for metro connections, the essential means of getting around London! The hotel wasn't the best as far as the size of the rooms and the bathroom (fairly old), but it was clean, a nice neighbourhood, a hearty breakfast and a very low price.

In fact for a double room we paid about 280 euros for 4 nights (35 euros per night per person, cheap in Italy, let alone in London for a 3-star!) Getting around: although we were in London only 5 days, the most convenient thing for moving around this metropolis was the 7-day prepaid travel card (Oyster card) for zones 1-2, which covers practically everything there is to see in London (excluding the trip to the airport). Cost: 30 euros for unlimited travel at any hour on the buses (the red ones) and the metro. So flight+hotel+transport for 5 days = 270 euros DAY 1: A smooth trip but all delayed, as the plane took off half an hour late because of overcrowding on the Malpensa runway, it being Sunday morning, and once we arrived at Heathrow we discovered that on Sundays there are works on the metro line to Heathrow, I think for the Olympics.

Even so, the English are organised, as there are various buses that replace the metro on some stretches. So our Sunday plans went out the window, and taking advantage of the beautiful sky (not a cloud in sight), we went on the London Eye. Not a cheap attraction (20 euros), but trust me, it's worth it! You can enjoy London from above for half an hour and admire it from every side. Then a long walk along the Thames before returning to the hotel. DAY 2: Grab the metro maps you find around; after a day it'll feel like you know all the lines perfectly, but you'll still need the maps! Don't worry if you miss a metro connection, a train comes on average every 3 minutes! To see London better and in more depth, before leaving we got the "London Pass". A card that lets you visit various partner attractions for a chosen period of time. On the relevant website you'll find more information.

We decided to buy the 2-day one (50 euros), and so the second and third days were devoted to the various included attractions; in total we calculated we'd have spent about 120 euros to visit these places without the card. The morning was devoted to the famous, gigantic London Zoo, which we wanted to visit, and the guided tour of Chelsea Stadium. A quick lunch in a typical bar/pub inside a metro stop (expect, more than anything, a station the size of a medium-sized station in our own cities!) after the Stadium at Stansted. The pub was called LLYODS BAR; we ate well and plentifully on meat, I recommend it if you're in the area for the Stadium visit. In the afternoon we went back to the City and visited the Tower of London with its crown jewels. On the way back to the hotel, we wandered along "Portobello Road", although to enjoy it best you should go in daylight.

Dinner at an English pub in the Bayswater area (Phoenix Pub), for which I'd found a great review online. I confirm the quality (for a pub)/plentitude of the food and the good price; plus it's lovely to eat in a non-touristy place, a typical haunt of real Londoners, and picture that there was a match on! Taking advantage of the London Pass, afterwards we went ice skating for an hour at an indoor rink near where we were (Queensway) DAY 3 Third straight day of sunshine, and the next 2 as well. Although we travelled armed with an umbrella just in case (London is famous for its unsettled weather), we were lucky.. Second and last day of our pass, the many attractions to visit continue. First stop of the morning: St Paul's Cathedral.

A very interesting church from every point of view, located in the City, opposite the new pedestrian bridge (Millennium Bridge), one of the finest examples of Baroque architecture in London and with a fabulous panorama to enjoy after climbing 530 steps. After crossing the bridge (Millennium Bridge) you'll find yourself in the City, the financial part of central London. An interior visit to HMS Belfast, a Second World War ship moored right next to Tower Bridge, whose interior is a museum (detailed reconstruction). We devote the afternoon to Greenwich, which we reach with a lovely cruise along the Thames, this too included in our pass. Here you can visit the observatory atop a small hill, the famous meridian and enjoy the beautiful panorama.

A brief stop in Chinatown, distinctive for the gates that enclose it (don't expect wonders, it's made up of 4 streets, nothing like the one in New York), before reaching SoHo, the real heart of London. One word: FANTASTIC. Piccadilly Circus, Leicester Square.. spectacular squares, distinctive and conveying all the charm of London. Impossible to skip this neighbourhood on your holiday in London. For dinner we try a small Italian place, bar Bruno, on the corner between Wardour St and Peter St. The portions are generous and good as far as Italian food goes, but I recommend it only if you're passing through and want to stop for a short while, an alternative to a fast food, let's say. DAY 4: Now we have time to devote ourselves to discovering the city itself, not through its monuments and attractions, savouring each place by walking and wandering without a precise destination.

After walking along the Thames between Big Ben and Westminster Abbey and a short stop at Covent Garden, a very famous market, we decide to return to Soho, where we stay almost the whole afternoon. Not far away is a very evocative square, Trafalgar Square, which houses the National Gallery. A long, well-earned rest follows at Starbucks, where we enjoy our Frappuccinos! DAY 5 AND, SADLY, LAST: We decide to go and see the famous changing of the guard at Buckingham Palace, honestly perhaps the only place I wouldn't go back to. However much of an experience it may be, it's not worth losing so much time (bear in mind you have to go early if you want to see anything and still wait a long time before the ceremony begins). More interesting, in my opinion, is the park behind Buckingham Palace, Green Park, or in general the various parks of London (the largest being Hyde Park).

A last stop in Soho, where we try the "real English Breakfast", truly good and hearty