London’s main attractions are known by virtually every nursery school child from Chile to China, but for this top five we asked Sam Chimes to recommend five of the capital’s forgotten treasures…
London is a vast and versatile city, which makes picking out things to do an easy task – Tower Bridge, Big Ben, London Eye, Natural History Museum, St. Paul’s Cathedral et al. These are a little obvious though; nothing wrong with that of course, but if you’re a frequent visitor or hard-to-please resident you might crave something a little bit quirky or different. The five places below probably wouldn’t rank very highly on most tourists ‘to visit’ list (that is unless you have a penchant for police stations, interactive archives, tombs, trains or magic), but at Urban Travel Blog we kind of love them…
Petite Police Station
Movie Buffs’ Booth
The BFI Southbank’s Mediatheque is simply brilliant. I admit that placing yourself in a sound proof booth to watch documents from the British Film Institute’s archive might not appeal to all when it comes to visiting a city. It is though an amazing resource. My own discovery of it was somewhat by chance. After a day spent marauding the streets of London on a sunny afternoon, the need for a seat had led me to the BFI complex. I then found myself relaxing for the best part of two hours while watching Withnail and I. Oh, and did I mention that it is completely free?
Address: Belvedere Road, Southbank
Website: www.bfi.org.uk
Tent of a Tomb
Address: 61 North Worple Way
Website: www.stmarymags.org.uk
Death Train
The London Necropolis Railway Station, despite it somewhat fantastical sounding name, did actually exist and still does. It opened in 1854 and took coffins and mourners from Westminster Bridge Road to Brookwood Cemetery. Trains ran everyday until 1900 when they were then reduced. The station was hit by bombs during the Second World War and never reopened, but the entrance still stands to this day.
Address: 121 Westminster Bridge Road
Website: Wikipedia
It’s A Kind of Magic
Address: 7 Charing Cross Underground Arcade, The Strand
Website: www.davenportsmagic.co.uk
Liked these suggestions? Then you’ll love our Secret Seven things to do in the capital. Plus check out what happened when we gave local blogger Chris Osburn €500 to burn exploring his favourite London haunts. Finally we’ve also got five little known gems for you in Paris!
Good info. Lucky me I recently found your site by accident (stumbleupon). I have bookmarked it for later!