What must I photograph in London

Excluding the usual landmarks (London Eye, Tower Bridge, Big Ben etc)

Borough Market is good for day to day life in South London, plus you have Southwark Cathedral which is nicely illuminated in the evening.

Royal Acadamy on Picadilly is usually good for a work of art being displayes, at the moment there is a 50ft stack of silver balbauls.

If you like architecture, just make sure you are looking up when you walk around, there is a lot of ornate works that people walk past everyday and miss.
 
Walk until you get to Oxford Circus, there make a right turn into Regent St. heading towards Leicester Square. You will pass Hamleys (the worlds' largest toy store, you must see, go in and get yourself a real toy). Leicester Square, I think its' depicted in every single James Bond movie? From there walk down Lower Regent Street until you get to Trafalgar Square. Shame you can no longer feed the Pigeons there. Very iconic. From there head towards the Embankment, you will see Big Ben (well the tower with the big clock) and loads of interesting buildings. Cross over the river and head towards the London Eye, and from there towards Tate (it's a new museum, very interesting). From there cross back over the Millennium bridge and head towards Covent Gardens.

This should take you about 6 hours walking. It's great fun. Be sure to wear comfortable shoes.

I know that most of the names I've mentioned may not be known to you; but use Google map to get a picture of the area, streets, etc. and you will see it all too clearly, I hope.

Wail, almost 2 hours I was making that
Was I correct with drawing this way from your template.
And one thing yet. I changed the end of your template from Covent Gardens to Tower Bridge, because I don't know what Covent Gardens is and vice versa I know what Tower Bridge is very well.
 
Tower bridge is a little disapointing at the moment well begining of December it was as one side was covered in scafolding as was part of the white tower in the tower of London. One shot I would like to try again is this just south of tower bridge you can look through the gap between buildings and see the clock tower of the houses of parliament in the London eye.
13641_194525658386_673418386_3110012_6258414_n.jpg

I was with freinds and didnt really have the time to do anything other than quick snaps as we rushed round London.
 
Little John, I thank you for information about refurbishing the Tower Bridge.
I've found the site about refurbishing and written them what will I face in the end of February...
 
Wail, almost 2 hours I was making that
Was I correct with drawing this way from your template.
And one thing yet. I changed the end of your template from Covent Gardens to Tower Bridge, because I don't know what Covent Gardens is and vice versa I know what Tower Bridge is very well.

That's it! You will enjoy it; I hope. The only change I'd suggest is, to just go from point A to point C directly. That will take you across Hyde Park. It's a nice walk along Bayswater Road.

As for Covent Garden, click here to see what it is all about. Take my word for it; it's a very nice and amusing place with a lot of photography opportunities. Click Here for a Google map of the place.

The whole walk may be a bit more than 2 hours; but remember that you will be stopping to shoot, see the people, look at the landmarks, etc.

One last note; about transportation. Everyone has a preferred way to get around. Personally, I prefer to use the London buses (the red ones) instead of the underground. This way I can see what's around ;). A one day pass is, I think, just under £4. This will allow you to hop-on and off as many times as you want; and different buses take you to almost all the locations you need to get. Of course, the best mode of transportation in London, in my opinion, is by foot. Especially if you are nicely located :).
 
Here's a breakdown of that walk I suggested: -

- Walking along Bayswater / Hyde Park (point A to C in your map); 45 minutes.

- Walking along Oxford Streed (from Marble Arch to Oxford Circus; point C to D); about 20 minutes. As long as you don't stop in any of the stores. Here you will find Selfridge department store. HMV (mega music, computer games, DVDs). Desney store. etc. If you want, have a walk through Selfridge, you will find some odd things in there; they sell sweets and vodka that have insects and bugs in them. Apparently these are a big hit. There is also Yellow cafe in the basement, very nice for an afternoon tea :thumbs:.

- Walking from Oxford Circus to Hamley that's about 10 minutes (points D to E). You could spend a good hour or two in Hamley. It depends how much of a child still in you :p.

- Walking Hamley, going towards Trafalgar Square, you will pass the new Ferrari store and the National Geographic Store too. Both are worth a visit, they are within 3 minutes walk from Hamley on the same streer (Regent Street). The walk from Hamely to Trafalgar Square, you will pass Piccadilly Circus. This walk is about 45 minutes (points E to F).

- Walking from Trafalgar Square to Big Ben (points F to G to H); that's about 30 minutes. You will be stopping here (at H) for some nice shots for sure :).

- Walking from Big Ben to The London Eye, about 15 minutes; and again, you will be stopping to shoot. As a matter of fact, you will be shooting all the time :p.

- London Eye, you must take a ride. The queue to buy the ticket would take about 30 minutes, and the queue to get your turn to ride, another 30 minutes. The ride itself is 30 minutes also. That's 90 minutes. But you will get some of the best bird-eye view of the whole of London. Regardless of rain, snow, sun; you will get wonderful shots from there.

- London Eye to Tate Museum to Millennium Bridge; about 30 minutes. DO NOT TAKE that route in your map! You can walk the whole distance along the river bank. It's far far far better; whatever you do, I'd suggest you just stick to the river and walk with the flowing people. So much to see. You will come across performing people in the street. The skateboard park (great graffiti) and so much more.

You may want to wander in and walk around the Tate; some sections are free to enter and you can shoot in most areas. Ask the security and they will guide you.

- Millennium Bridge, this is where you have to stop and shoot a bit extra! It's a very nice bridge and has some great scenes of London from here. Once you've crossed it, you will see St. Paul's cathedral.

Now from here, my suggestion is walk to Covent Gardens instead of Tower Bridge; or you could do both :thinking:. I'd do both, if your feet aren't aching by now.

- From Covent Gardens, you are 15 minutes walk back to Regent Street. So, in a way, this has taken a nice circle around the West End of London.



Alternatively, you can take the London Sight Seeing Bus Tour; these are special buses (similar to the London Bus, but not the same company). I think it's £20 for the day pass. This will take you around ALL the famous touristy locations of London, you can hop off at any location and hop back on any other of their buses and go to the next touristy location.
 
Wail, you are a real writer! My respect to you!
I made the section from A to C through B because of I thought the point B is Speakers' corner. Maybe I was wrong...
BTW, Why do you know London streets as well as you do living in Saudi Arabia?
And what is more, what do you think if it (walking) will be made at night?
 
If you spend time in London you learn most of the main routes quite easily. I used to work down there 3-4 days a month and can drive round london now with ease I can navigate London better than I can drive round Manchester and it is only 15 minutes away.
 
Little John, as for refurbishing of Tower Bridge I've received that:

Hi Oleg,
As far as I'm aware, no scaffolding should be on the bridge during February.
Regards,
John
 
Wail, you are a real writer! My respect to you!
I made the section from A to C through B because of I thought the point B is Speakers' corner. Maybe I was wrong...
BTW, Why do you know London streets as well as you do living in Saudi Arabia?
And what is more, what do you think if it (walking) will be made at night?

If you spend time in London you learn most of the main routes quite easily. I used to work down there 3-4 days a month and can drive round london now with ease I can navigate London better than I can drive round Manchester and it is only 15 minutes away.

As Little John said; if you live somewhere long enough you get to know it pretty well.

I've spent close to 20 years living in London; and a few more years living in other parts of UK! That's not counting the other 20 years where I'd visit UK / London about 2 ~ 3 times a year.
 
So much of the more interesting images of London are found off the beaten track, down side alleys, etc.

The City of London ( ie the Central Business District ) has so much to offer, certainly in terms of Architecture. The street patterns , (in the main of medieval layout) , produced interesting angles and light patterns. If you are going to shoot this area it is best to do it at the weekend - preferably Sunday morning.

East London, and the former Docklands ( which include Canary Wharf) are well worth a visit.
 
Hi Oleg

I live in London and it is a dream for photographers.
Your question is a difficult one to answer as there really is so much, from the iconic to the unique. Have a look at this site for some inspiration

http://www.jn66.com/#intro

In general you should be free to photograph most places, although check first. Some of the railway stations require permission and some of the places on the Southbank are privately owned, so you can be asked not to photograph (never happened to me).

You can for example photograph freely in the Victoria & Albert museum (once took a bride & groom in there).

You will almost certaintly have trouble photographing in Canary Wharf, especially at night with a tripod.

My advice is to simply set off in one direction and go where the camera leads you. As long as you don't walk more than 10 miles you will always be able to hop on a tube and get back to your hotel.

If I think of anything else I will let you know

God bless
Dave
 


look for famous people...
 
Hi Oleg

I live in London and it is a dream for photographers.
Your question is a difficult one to answer as there really is so much, from the iconic to the unique. Have a look at this site for some inspiration

http://www.jn66.com/#intro

In general you should be free to photograph most places, although check first. Some of the railway stations require permission and some of the places on the Southbank are privately owned, so you can be asked not to photograph (never happened to me).

You can for example photograph freely in the Victoria & Albert museum (once took a bride & groom in there).

You will almost certaintly have trouble photographing in Canary Wharf, especially at night with a tripod.

My advice is to simply set off in one direction and go where the camera leads you. As long as you don't walk more than 10 miles you will always be able to hop on a tube and get back to your hotel.

If I think of anything else I will let you know

God bless
Dave

Thank you, David for the very incentive site! I like the style like that and though there are a lots of inserted objects in these pictures all of them are processed with flying colours! In the literal sense of the word and in the figurative sense (what's the crazy words I've found in my dictionary) ;)
I think it would be great to invite him for our walking.
Do you think he lives in London?
 
I've only had a flying visit to London myself so I can't give locations but just icons. The Gherkin (google it if unsure) and the Canary Wharf buildings would be top of my list. As mentioned the skateboard park is nice (as well as all the cute guys...) as well as houses of parliament and Big Ben.
 
Thank you, David for the very incentive site! I like the style like that and though there are a lots of inserted objects in these pictures all of them are processed with flying colours! In the literal sense of the word and in the figurative sense (what's the crazy words I've found in my dictionary) ;)
I think it would be great to invite him for our walking.
Do you think he lives in London?

Hi Oleg

According to his website he lives in France, but he has a stall in Covent Garden (which you MUST vist). Maybe he visits London, maybe he will be here when you are. I am sure if you send him an email from his website he will be happy to help you. He was born in Poland, so he is a neighbour of yours!


God bless
Dave
 
Goodness. There's so much to photograph in London. Southbank is a great place with plenty of views of Westminster, the London Eye, street performers, Thames and so on.

Also I recommend the Thames Flood Barrier at night as it's beautifully lit. Most bridges in London look very cool at night too.
 
I've only had a flying visit to London myself so I can't give locations but just icons. The Gherkin (google it if unsure) and the Canary Wharf buildings would be top of my list. As mentioned the skateboard park is nice (as well as all the cute guys...) as well as houses of parliament and Big Ben.

Note: The official name for the Gerkin is the 'Swiss Re Building' in case you have difficulty finding it :)
 
Hi Oleg
According to his website he lives in France, but he has a stall in Covent Garden (which you MUST vist). Maybe he visits London, maybe he will be here when you are. I am sure if you send him an email from his website he will be happy to help you. He was born in Poland, so he is a neighbour of yours!

Done!

This is a citation of my email to him:

Hi, Jurek.
You don't know me and I haven't known you until today.
I'm from country which sputnik was the first.
Now, I hope, you know I've been watching your site. It's great, really breathtaking!
(I forgot to notice my English is very very poor and funny)
I'm writing you without any hope you'll take my crazy suggestion.
We (my wife and I) are going to visit London and I want to invite you for a walk for taking pictures together. I'm a member one English site (www.talkphotography.co.uk) in which I joined for combination studying English and taking pictures together (They are my best hobbies).
Now, I'm planning our trip and plenty of Londoners give me some advices about what I must to photograph.
One from them gave me the link of your site. Your style is liked by me very much. Then I decided to invite you for a walk down London's streets and landmarks.
How I'd wrote I don't have any hope you'll take my suggestion, but you never can tell.
Perhaps it would be interesting for you to know new people (I think lots of Brits would be glad to meet you as well) and share them some of your experience.
I quite forgot, there is the link to my thread in the Talkphotography forum
http://www.talkphotography.co.uk/forums/showthread.php?t=191555

Best and warmest wishes,
Oleg from Moscow
 
Excellent email you've sent there :thumbs:

....
And what is more, what do you think if it (walking) will be made at night?

London at night is more sexy and / or romantic than during the day ;). It's all up to how you like to put it! It's alive and busting with people 24 hours a day. It's a city that never sleeps.

If you do the night tour on a weekend, you will bump into a lot of funny, odd, and weird things / people.

Do enjoy your trip :)
 
Done!

This is a citation of my email to him:

Hi, Jurek.
You don't know me and I haven't known you until today.
I'm from country which sputnik was the first.
Now, I hope, you know I've been watching your site. It's great, really breathtaking!
(I forgot to notice my English is very very poor and funny)
I'm writing you without any hope you'll take my crazy suggestion.
We (my wife and I) are going to visit London and I want to invite you for a walk for taking pictures together. I'm a member one English site (www.talkphotography.co.uk) in which I joined for combination studying English and taking pictures together (They are my best hobbies).
Now, I'm planning our trip and plenty of Londoners give me some advices about what I must to photograph.
One from them gave me the link of your site. Your style is liked by me very much. Then I decided to invite you for a walk down London's streets and landmarks.
How I'd wrote I don't have any hope you'll take my suggestion, but you never can tell.
Perhaps it would be interesting for you to know new people (I think lots of Brits would be glad to meet you as well) and share them some of your experience.
I quite forgot, there is the link to my thread in the Talkphotography forum
http://www.talkphotography.co.uk/forums/showthread.php?t=191555

Best and warmest wishes,
Oleg from Moscow

Wow! I'm impressed by your optimism. If he says yes, can I come along?

God bless
Dave
 
If the 4 days you are visiting are going to cover the weekend, Why not create a TP meet? I've seen photo's of quite a few members turning out for a London meet.
 
Hi Oleg,

I'm not sure if anyone has mentioned this yet but you can pay to go to the top of Tower Bridge and walk across the high level walkways. They have exhibitions which change regularly and you can of course take photo's from the viewing windows. The information is here:

http://www.towerbridge.org.uk/TBE/EN/Exhibition/

I always enjoy the Natural History Museam which is free to enter and Covent Garden is a must for seeing lots of interesting people.

You could also use the Thames Clipper service to get about by boat. This will be more expensive than using the bus or tube but is something a bit different. For £12 you can get a roamer ticket which allows you to hop on and off all day and will take you to some good landmarks. Information is here:

http://www.thamesclippers.com/siteseeing-leisure/siteseeing-leisure.html

I also found this website which may be of use to you:

http://www.londontourist.org/itinerary.html

Hope you have a great time in our capital :thumbs:
 
London at night is more sexy and / or romantic than during the day ;). It's all up to how you like to put it! It's alive and busting with people 24 hours a day. It's a city that never sleeps.

If you do the night tour on a weekend, you will bump into a lot of funny, odd, and weird things / people.

Do enjoy your trip :)

It's a great pity you can't join us, Wail

Wow! I'm impressed by your optimism. If he says yes, can I come along?

God bless
Dave

Dave, you must do it in spite of his answer will be :wave:

If the 4 days you are visiting are going to cover the weekend, Why not create a TP meet? I've seen photo's of quite a few members turning out for a London meet.

Gary, maybe, 21th of February it'll be Sunday!
 
Hi Oleg,

I'm not sure if anyone has mentioned this yet but you can pay to go to the top of Tower Bridge and walk across the high level walkways. They have exhibitions which change regularly and you can of course take photo's from the viewing windows. The information is here:

http://www.towerbridge.org.uk/TBE/EN/Exhibition/

I always enjoy the Natural History Museam which is free to enter and Covent Garden is a must for seeing lots of interesting people.

You could also use the Thames Clipper service to get about by boat. This will be more expensive than using the bus or tube but is something a bit different. For £12 you can get a roamer ticket which allows you to hop on and off all day and will take you to some good landmarks. Information is here:

http://www.thamesclippers.com/siteseeing-leisure/siteseeing-leisure.html

I also found this website which may be of use to you:

http://www.londontourist.org/itinerary.html

Hope you have a great time in our capital :thumbs:

Thank you, Fi (BTW, I don't believe it's your real name).
I've seen the Tower Bridge's site and understood it could use this point for taking pictures, but I think it's not a good idea photographing throw the glass.
As for using the boat, maybe it'll be interesting for my wife, but I prefer to have some choice of points of view. Anyway, thank you!
The latest links is excellent and very usefull! :thumbs:
 
Thank you, Fi (BTW, I don't believe it's your real name).
I've seen the Tower Bridge's site and understood it could use this point for taking pictures, but I think it's not a good idea photographing throw the glass.
As for using the boat, maybe it'll be interesting for my wife, but I prefer to have some choice of points of view. Anyway, thank you!
The latest links is excellent and very usefull! :thumbs:

Fi is definately my real name - it is short for Fiona. Everyone calls me Fi though - does it seem like a very strange name?

The windows at the top of Tower Bridge open so you do not have to take your pictures through the glass :thumbs:
 
Fi is definately my real name - it is short for Fiona. Everyone calls me Fi though - does it seem like a very strange name?

The windows at the top of Tower Bridge open so you do not have to take your pictures through the glass :thumbs:
Okay Fiona, I hope you don't mind to have a meeting if people decide to arrange it
 
Fabio, why did you ask about places of London's views if you were already there? (I saw your profile)
I didn't get the point of the joke. :shrug:

Because I'm not a londoner...I just moved here and I still don't know the secret of the city :D
And nothing is better than asking to native people ;)
BTW I hope my post helped you as well...

Ciao,
Ponch
 
There is a lot more to London than the touristy places. There are the hidden London underground stations. You can check more about it from this forum. Though, I am not sure its' suitable for the casual field day.

There are also set walks around London. I have a leaflet of these somewhere in my goody-tour box; but it's not with me right now. One of these walks is the trails around the city where all the deaths by the London ripper took place. Erie, to say the least.

I am sure there are many other "hidden" gems of London. It's a city, a life time wouldn't do it justice.


Oleg,

Sorry I can't be there, got too tied up with family stuff here right now.

May be in the near future you can help me with a guide around Moscow (or any other city in Russia). I was there once, back in 1990; I am sure it has changed a lot since and am keen to go back and make another visit.
 
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