Another weekend in London

My parents visited me two weeks ago and we went to London during the bank holiday weekend. It was so lovely and sunny so I thought I'd write about yet another trip to London.

Imperial war museum On the first day I visited the Imperial War Museum. I had recently seen the adverts for The Holocaust Exhibition and I really wanted to visit. The museum is noisy - it was full of tourists visiting London over the Easter weekend. We went to investigate the different floors in the museum building - it was a huge maze that just didn't seem to end!

It covers a variety of wars - from the First World War up until more modern times, and it's very easy to get lost! You could easily while away a few hours here.

Just when we thought we were done, we found the Holocaust Exhibition. It is suggested that only people over 14 enter, and once you head up to the third floor, it is instantly quieter, and inside the actual exhibition there is almost no talking. Very apt for the subject matter.

The Holocaust Exhibition was much larger than I had imagined, and very detailed. It uses audio to great effect, and fills you with the personal realities of the time. It uses photos, models, clothing, recordings, video, artefacts and documents to bring these real histories to life. It can be easy to forget that this happened in our living memory. The museum is definitely worth a visit – highly recommended.

Borough market Delicious free samples, friendly traders, and high quality fresh produce – weekly grocery shopping gets a serious upgrade at Borough Market! Located in Southwark, Borough Market is London’s oldest fresh food market. The original market dates back as far as 1014 when food traders sold by London Bridge, but was established in its current location in 1756. The full market operates every Wednesday through Saturday, offering fine British and international fruits and vegetables, fresh meat and seafood, a vast array of cheeses and bakery items, and so much more. It’s a foodie’s dream market, for sure!

Natural history museum

The Natural History museum is housed in one of the most beautiful buildings in London, with stunning Romanesque windows and blue tiled walls. Entering the arched entranceway, the first thing you see is an enormous whale skeleton, hanging proudly in the central hall.

The museum is a truly special place, filled with knowledge, wonder, and awe. With over 80 million specimens of zoology, palaeontology, botany and geology, the museum is a world-renowned centre of naturalism and conservation. To this day, the museum still contains exhibits collected by Charles Darwin himself.

If you’re spending even a single day in London, do not miss out on a trip to the Natural History Museum. It’s an experience you’ll remember (and of course, entry is completely free!).

Take a left from the central hall and another left and you’ll find yourself in the museum’s famous Dinosaur exhibit. Here, you’ll get to meet some of the oldest animal specimens in the museum, including Triceratops, Iguanodon, Stegosaurus, Allosaurus, and Parasaurolophus. Some of the skeletons here are over 150 million years old.

Don’t miss: The animatronic Tyrannosaurs Rex

On Sunday, me and my family went on a Hop-on Hop-off bus tour to see the remaining hotspots in London.

Taking the Hop-on Hop-off bus helps you save a lot of time. You eliminate the hassle of designing routes and commuting in different modes of transportation to get to each and every attraction. This time you can now utilise in exploring other places. You don’t have to hurry as your ticket is valid for a full day and on any of the buses that you can board from any of the designated stations.

While visiting any city, you tend to spend the most on commuting. In a big city like London the cost of commuting from one attraction to another can be a lot. With the Hop-on Hop-off bus you can save all that commuting money and easily see all the attractions without having to worry about chalking out routes or juggling in different modes of transportation.

Sometimes trying to reach a destination takes so much time that covering all the top attractions becomes impossible in the duration of your trip. But a day’s ride on the Hop-on Hop-off bus covers all of London's popular hot spots.

Sight-seeing through the bus gives you great views, photo options and is a fun way of exploring London. I highly recommend taking the 'big bus tours' as it includes a boat ride on the Thames. Makes you see London from a completely different view!

Lots of love,

Esmee