Best bargains in London

London bargains

After some serious shopping in London it can be good to try my list of London bargains for free or cheap things to do in London, to keep the budget.

1. Free Art in London - Visit the National Gallery. Extraordinary paintings and no entrance fee. Go to room 43 to see the waterlilies by Monet, the sunflowers by van Gogh and so many more famous paintings. (close to Trafalgar Square) http://www.nationalgallery.org.uk/

2. Cheap Afternoon Tea in London - Make your own lovely afternoon tea. Coffee, scones and gorgeous cakes at good prices at the Patisserie Valerie. Eat there or take away. Address: ‪15, York House‬, ‪Great Cumberland Place, London.  (close to Marble Arch) http://www.patisserie-valerie.co.uk/

3. Free Park in London - Take a walk in the royal park Green Park. A lovely park to take a walk and see the beautiful gate to Buckingham Palace. http://www.royalparks.org.uk/parks/green-park

4. Cheap shopping in London - The place to shop super cheap clothes must be Primark. But go there very early as the queues are super long. Address: 499 Oxford street. (close to Marble Arch) http://www.primark.com

5. Free music in London. There are some free concerts in London. What´s on has the updated list. Visit it to see what is on when you are in London. http://www.timeout.com/london/music/free-music-in-london

Do you have more tips on London bargains that should be on my list? Please add a comment here.

Top 10 Afternoon Tea In London

The best Afternoon Tea in London

When in London you should have a traditional Afternoon tea. It is a very nice and elegant experience and it will give you enough energy to do shopping, walking and museums for hours and hours.

1. Forntum and Mason. Luxurious place and atmosphere with lovely finger sandwiches, scones and cakes. Don't miss… To do some shopping in the lovely shops at Fornum and Mason. Their Earl grey and the green tea elderflower is amazing. http://www.fortnumandmason.com

Fortum and Mason

Fortum and Mason

Fortum and Mason

2. Four Seasons Park Lane, London. Choose one of the three different flavors. British Traditional Afternoon Tea, Vegetarian Afternoon Tea or Italian Afternoon Tea. Yummie!

http://www.fourseasons.com/

3. Afternoon Tea at Harrods. A classic Afternoon Tea in the elegant Georgian Restaurang at Harrods. http://www.harrods.com

Don´t miss… to visit the fabulous food department. 

4. Beautiful from the outside and elegant inside. Visit the Spatisserie for a traditional Afternoon tea at the Dorchester Hotel. http://www.thedorchester.com

5. Fashionistas will love the Handbag Pastries, tea and Shoe formed cakes. Take a shopping break at the Berkeley hotel. A traditional English afternoon tea with cakes and pastries looking as the latest catwalk designs. Yes please! http://www.the-berkeley.co.uk

6. The Ritz Hotel has the true original Afternoon Tea. Elegant traditional atmosphere. http://www.theritzlondon.com

The Ritz

7. Choose between a classic Afternoon Tea or Champange Afternoon tea at Claridges Hotel in Mayfair. Tea Guild named it 2011’s ‘Top London Afternoon Tea’. http://www.claridges.co.uk

The Athenaeum

The Athenaeum

8. The Afternoon Tea at the Athenaeum hotel won the Tea Guild's prestigious award for the capital for "Top London Afternoon Tea 2012". The Tea Guild Awards are considered the ‘Oscars' of the tea world.

http://www.athenaeumhotel.com

9. The Brown's Hotel opened in 1837 and it was the first hotel in London. Several authors were inspired by this hotel and it is a glamorous place. http://www.brownshotel.com

10. Tired of elegance and luxury? Here is a list of some good value Afternoon Teas venues http://www.timeout.com/london/feature/1526/afternoon-teas-in-london

Do you know an extra ordinary After Noon Tea in London  that should be on my top list? Please leave a comment here.

Design weekend in London

Staying at the Sanctum Soho Hotel is a perfect if you are in London for a design weekend. http://www.sanctumsoho.com/ The location is great close to the restaurants and shopping on Regent Street and Soho.
The hotel was awarded the London Lifestyle Award in 2010. And it is easy to understand, when you see the fab interior which is crowned by a cool bar on the roof with a pool.
And their moijitos are great.

We spent one morning in the National Gallery museum. It is really nice to see the original beautiful paintings of Monet, Rembrand, Rubens and Van Gogh. A the view from the museum is lovely. Bring your camera!
A nice place to shop is the National Gallery Shop. Visit it in the museum on 30 Orange Street.

The Lumas photo gallery and shop exhibit stunning photos. I went there to get some nice inspiration before I took off for some shopping at Regent Street. http://www.lumas.com/

We had a lovely lunch a the exclusive Japanese resturant Matsuri on 15 Bury Street. The fire ball dessert is something special. http://www.matsuri-restaurant.com/

I just love shopping a Selfridges on 400, Oxford Street. Here you find design hand bags, watches, clothes and so much more. The shop Liberty is another favorite. It is located on Regent Street and houses loads of beautiful designer clothes, note books, hand bags, scarfs and so much more.

A romantic dinner at Angleas resturant with great food and drinks is a nice way to end the day. Or pop in to the Dehesa Charcturerie and Tapas Bar is also a nice place for some drinks and food. It is close to the hotel at 25 Ganton Street. http://www.dehesa.co.uk/

Lovely London

10 top things to do in London?


One of my favourite places on earth is London in the United Kingdom.
Ett av mina favoritställen är helt klart London i Storbritannien.
It has everything for a great weekend; fantastic museums, thousands of shops, nice restaurants and a lot to do.

My must-visit-museums are:
The National Gallery. The paintings are so beautiful that I totally forgot about the shops outside. Check out Monet´s beuatiful painting "The Water-Lily Pond"
But ok, I bought a lot of things in the museum shop so it was not a totally shopping free experience. Other great museums are the Tate gallery and Tate modern.

10 top things to see and do:

1. Visit St Pauls cathedral
2. Buckingham palace
3. Take a trip - maybe a champange flight? - on the London eye.
4. Tower Bridge
5. Westminster Abbey
6. Cruise the river Thames
7. Hyde park
8. Trafalgar Square
9. Visit museums, see below
10. See a musical. I have seen the Mamma Mia Musical twice and it was still great the second time.

and of course: shop till you drop; Oxford Street, Regent Street, Covent garden etc etc

6 supernice restaurants to dine at:

1. This is the place to have a romantic dinner with a view over London. Dine at the Oxo Tower
2. Listen to the lovely opera performance while dining a mediterrian dinner at the Sarastro opera restaurant.
3. We had a business dinner at London oldest restaurant. And it was fab! Visit Rules for a memorable evening.
4. The food was ok and it was interesting to visit Shakespeare´s Globe Theatre. The brasserie also had a magnificent view of the river.
5. Lunch at Harrods Sea Grill is a must when I am in London. Fantastic fish and a glass of wine. Life is good at the Sea Grill!
6. Duck and Waffle on the 40th floor with a gorgeous view of London. Heron Tower. 

Too expensive to stay...... but visit them for an Afternoon tea or a cocktail just to feel the atmosphere!
I had a coctail at the Lanesborough and wished I was staying there. And I tried to get in for an Afternoon tea at the Ritz hotel but was stopped by the doorman because we had not booked a table. And he said, even if you had booked at table, I would not have let you in... because we wear sneakers. So to summarize: book in advance and wear fab clothes but do not wear sneakers.
I can recommend the Radisson Edwardian hotel Berkshire. It is quite expensive but the location and their moijitos are perfect. Its is next to Oxford street and I have stayed there several times.
Or if you want a five star chic luxury alternative choose The Berkely in Knightsbridge. It has a roof top pool and the Blue bar turns into a chich nightspot in the evening. (book a table in advance) The hotel claims that the Blue Bar is Madonnas favourite but I did not see her there when I stayed there.

Where to shop?

1. Harrods is a must to visit
2. I just love Liberty. Take a stroll, check out all the nice things inside the shop.
3. Check out the bags and get a free make-up at Harvey Nichols
4. Extremely cheap clothes and stuff at the huge shop Primark. Go there early if your hotel is nearby so you don´t have to carry 10 heavy shoppings bags for a whole day.
5. Visit all the sport shops; the Adidas shop, Nike store, etc etc. and you will feel sporty for a long time after.