🇬🇧 London: 15 must-dos for an unforgettable trip
Coronations of British monarchs do not happen every half century. However, we have a chance to see this event with our own eyes. King Charles III will be crowned in Westminster Abbey on May 6th. This will be the first coronation in more than 70 years and the first in the 21st century. This means that London will be seething and seething in May. We have made the task a little easier and have compiled a mini-guide for this time.
Watch the coronation procession
All of London will be obsessed with the coronation. And we also recommend watching the procession to Westminster Abbey in all its pomp and splendor. One of the best places for these purposes will be Whitehall, one of the main streets of the city. It will also be convenient to find a place for yourself.
Basically, the procession starts from Buckingham Palace along the Mall. Then it will move through the Admiralty Arch to Trafalgar Square. And there it will go out onto Whitehall, where it will go to the square in front of Parliament. The procession will then turn onto Broad Sanctuary Street. She will follow it to the Great West Door of Westminster Abbey.
Please note that the streets will be fenced and access to them will be on a first-come, first-served basis. So we recommend arriving at the site well in advance. If you still don’t have enough space, then head to Hyde Park, Green Park or St. James’s Park. There the ceremony will be shown on large screens.
Drink tea
After watching the coronation, you can go have tea. Afternoon tea is a very British tradition. It appeared thanks to the English Queen Anne in 1840. And the reason for the appearance is extremely simple: dinner was served at eight in the evening, and the queen had time to get hungry by four in the afternoon.
When you're in London, you definitely need to drink tea. Think: an elegant tower of sandwiches, scones topped with Cornish clotted cream and strawberry jam, gourmet cakes and tea cake, plus 18 different types of loose leaf tea to choose from. You can pamper yourself with all this at the Palm Court restaurant, located at the Ritz London hotel.
Why here? This is because the Ritz London is the only hotel in the UK to employ a certified tea master. Giandomenico Scanu visits tea plantations around the world to find the best teas.
Tea is served daily at 11:30, 13:30, 15:30, 17:30 and 19:30 local time. The cost of the pleasure will be from $86 for adults and $60 for children.
Have a pint
After watching the coronation and the afternoon tea ceremony, you can go to the bar for a pint of foamy drink. And the best place to taste beer is the oldest pub in London, The Seven Stars. It has been in Holborn since 1602.
The pub welcomes guests seven days a week, except holidays. You can come here from Monday to Sunday from 12:00 to 23:00 local time. The menu of the establishment changes every day, depending on the wishes of the owner Roxy Beaujolais. You can find out what is being served today just by looking at the board in the pub.
Have a real Sunday roast
Another must-have dish in British cuisine is the Sunday roast with all the trimmings. We suggest trying it at the 200-year-old Cutty Sark pub in Greenwich. It is conveniently located next to the Royal Naval College.
By the way, once a month the chef of the establishment creates a unique menu, available only for one night. Cutty Sark uses British seasonal ingredients.
By the way, the pub owners support independent fisheries and solo fishermen. They catch fish during the day from a boat and then sell the catch to the restaurant. According to the restaurant's website, the fish is so fresh that they can even tell you the name of the boat and the day and time it was caught.
Eat traditional fish and chips
There are many options where you can try this dish. We recommend the Golden Hind in Marylebone village. The restaurant in this quiet place has been operating for over a hundred years. Here you will be offered the best fish and chips in London. In general, on the menu you will find traditional seafood dishes.
And not far from the restaurant there is the Madame Tussauds Wax Museum and the Sherlock Holmes House Museum. After refreshing yourself with a traditional dish, you can walk along the streets where famous personalities once walked. Among them are Lord Byron, H.G. Wells, John Lennon, Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr, Jimi Hendrix, Yoko Ono and Madonna.
Remember Diana
And the last thing we recommend doing is to remember Princess Diana. Walk to the Diana Memorial Fountain, which was opened in July 2004. It can be found close to the Royal Albert Hall, Kensington Palace and premium shopping centres.
The fountain is made of granite with detailed grooves and channels combined with air jets to enliven the water and create different effects. Design The design of the fountain should reflect the life of the princess. Water flows from the highest point in two directions, forming cascades, whirlpools and bubbles before meeting in a calm pool. The water here is constantly renewed from London's groundwater.