Author: Ashley Munson
Every major city in the world will tell you about the culture and history you can absorb from stepping through their streets or getting on an open top bus. They can all offer a variety of museums and galleries, they can all offer a ‘highest building’ offering views of the city and every city will offer a wide range of bars, restaurants and clubs in which you can either take in the lifestyle or escape from the hustle and bustle depending on your preference.
Those lines that are peddled out by tourism boards are not lies and whilst they can be wonderful experiences, they aren’t unique, but London can be. Here are five things that you can tick from your bucket list in London throughout 2019 – and they’ll all leave you with memories to last a lifetime.
5 – DINE IN THE SKY
London is blessed with a wide selection of restaurants ranging from your chain offerings to Michelin star fine dining and everything in between. They are available all year round but if you’re quick you could reserve your place at a ‘once in a lifetime table’.
Dine in the Sky offers high quality food and drinks menu, which is served on an open sided table suspended 100ft in the air outside of the O2 arena. The other beauty is that meals are offered throughout the day so you can choose your preferred time to dine and take in the London skyline from a vantage point that very few will be able to share. The experience is only available until mid-July so you might want to act swiftly.
4 – THE ORBITAL SLIDE
It’s time to channel your inner child and descend the worlds longest tunnel slide. The structure, which stands within the Olympic Park region of London, was designed by artists Carsten Holler and Sir Anish Kapoor ahead of the 2012 Olympic Games.
The slide runs for a whopping 178m and features a dozen twists and turns. If you’re brave enough keep your eyes open as alternating oblique and transparent sections toy with your nerves and treat you to glimpses of the city skyline.
3 – THE NFL COMES TO LONDON
It’s not everyday you get the opportunity to watch America’s number one sport in the UK’s number one city, but for four dates you can as the NFL matchups are about to touchdown in London. The Cincinnati Bengals and LA Rams face one another at the national stadium, Wembley, on 27th October before the Houston Texans play Jacksonville Jaguars a week later.
Wembley Way is an experience in itself and seeing the arch is one for your Instagram feed. However, if you want the freshest stadium marked from your bucket list then you need to check out two earlier fixtures. The Chicago Bears and Oakland Raiders go head to head on October 6th and the Carolina Panthers and Tampa Bay Buccaneers take to the field on the 13th at the new home of Tottenham Hotspurs.
The stadium, which has been 12 years in the making and holds over 62,000 people, contains a Michelin star restaurant, its own brewery and offers the longest bar in Europe at 65 meters long.
2 – THE GARDEN IN THE SKY
Whilst the crowds flock to the Shard, break the trend and head to 20 Fenchurch Street, or the Walkie Talkie as it’s more commonly known. There are 35 floors and what you’ll find at the top is not only 360-degree views of London but a range of Mediterranean and African plants to walk amongst as well.
A genuine garden in the sky. The best bit – it’s completely free but advance booking is required and, don’t fear, food and drinks are available up there too!
1 – BUCKINGHAM PALACE
Okay, so you’ll have to put up with the crowds here but you cannot go to London and not pay a trip to the residence of the Queen – after all, there is no other place in the world that can offer you an inside look at Buckingham Palace. Availability for the tours is from 20th July to 29th September and spaces are limited so book soon!
There you have it, a few options to make your trip to London different to the usual so when you chat with friends and they say ‘I’ve been to London’ you can rest easy knowing that whilst that might be the case, your experience was out of the ordinary.