Been There, Done That In London? Here are Some Non-Touristy Things to Do

There are few areas of London, less known to people not residing in the city. Some of these may not be the typical touristy spots but have a distinct charm and add to the true ‘London’ experience. Here are few of my favourites:

Clink Street

Clink Street is a street in the Bankside area of London and runs parallel to River Thames. It is the historic location of the notorious Clink prison of medieval England and is now the Clink Prison Museum. The street is pretty much village-like, narrow and cobbled and has this mysterious, beguiling quality to it that makes it so fascinating. It also houses some of the most popular eating joints of London like Gourmet Burger Kitchen, Nandos, Wagamama, Zizzi, apart from other cafes and pubs. For people who love to roam streets and admire dark, narrow lanes, Clink Street is a real treat.

Carnaby Street

Carnaby Street is a shopping street in the Soho district of London and is known for its designer boutiques and global brands. Around Christmas, Carnaby Street is adorned with giant decorations that add to the electric atmosphere. Just a five-minute walk away from Oxford Circus and Piccadilly Circus, Carnaby is a great place to shop and eat or just simply walk around and hang out.

Hampstead Heath

ampstead Heath is one of the most beautiful of London’s open spaces and parks. It’s perfect for picnics, especially during the summer and for one of those days when the sun actually rises over the British Empire! Climb up to Parliament Hill for an excellent view of London’s skyline. Eat, drink, relax or play games, you can spend hours at the heath without even realizing it!

St. Katherine Docks

A lively Marina next to Tower Bridge and Tower of London, St. Katherine Docks is one of London’s best-kept secrets. With the glorious Tower Bridge for a background, St. Katharine Docks makes for a great place to take photos or to just simply admire. If you are lucky, you might also get to watch the Tower Bridge open and rise to let a boat with a tall mast pass through. It is quite an enthralling sight when such a tall, mighty structure opens up, almost splitting into two. It is also a popular leisure destination and several luxury yachts belonging to wealthy Londoners dock here. Watching them take their boats into the river is quite exciting and almost makes you want to go out there and buy one of them beauties for yourself! There are also many beautiful buildings, hotels, shops, restaurants and a pub in the area. St. Katharine’s is the perfect place to bask in the glory of river Thames and the structures sitting atop, and around it.

Kingston upon Thames

Home to Kingston University, Kingston is one of the three boroughs of London granted the ‘Royal’ status.  Kingston upon Thames is an ancient market town and one of the plushest suburbs of greater London. It has a beautiful riverside, with a number of bars, cafes and restaurants.

Kingston is also great for shopping. It has a very traditional looking market or the ‘town centre’ with a large number of global retail brands to choose from. You can spend a good whole day at Kingston and still want to come back for more. My typical at Kingston included little bit of shopping, walking around the market and adjacent areas and then finally sitting by the riverside with a book, sipping a rich, delicious Ferrero Rocher milk shake from the nearby outlet of ShakeAway, a chain of milkshakes in the UK. Ah, good times.

Waxy O’Connor’s

I’m not much of a drinker but this is one pub I absolutely loved going to. Its unique, quirky décor and the great atmosphere caught my fancy each time. This Irish pub has everything that a decent bar should- good selection of drinks, good food and soothing music, but its fascinating interiors is what really captured my imagination. The pub is made up of four different bars covering six levels linked together by a maze of staircases and passages. Imagine the landscape of Pan’s Labyrinth if you’ve seen it and you’ll get the picture.

This is London in a nutshell, but a trip to London is more than just what it has to offer to its tourists. Every part of the city, every little nook and corner has a fascinating story to tell and it’s up to the tourist how he or she wishes to unfold these tales. A trip to London is indeed incomplete without a visit to famous London landmarks but it only gets better when you go beyond them and explore other parts of the city too. London is, undoubtedly, a ‘must visit’ destination and you will be truly amazed by all that this great city has to offer.

As Samuel Johnson sums it up, - “By seeing London, I have seen as much of life as the world can show.”