London is most beautiful during December , because she is having her famous festivals Christmas and New Year. If you are planning to visit London in the last week of December then you have made the right choice. The streets , the stores , houses everywhere it will be filled with the joy and decorations of Christmas. The shopping is also best during this time. London has 'Boxing Day' for your shopping crave and you can buy a lot of things at a cheap price on this day.
We reached London on 29th night , again this was also a weekend trip plus New year. There are several airports in London, we landed in Stansted airport. This airport is far from the city but there will be bus and train service to central London from this airport. But make sure you come before 12 midnight . Since all the services will end by 12 midnight and restart only early morning. We took the bus and reached central London. We were staying at Morden, a place not too far from central London , which is easily connected by tube. The public transportation is London is quiet good, so you can easily travel around and if you have the travel card(Oyster card) then it is very easy.
It was our first time to London , so we decided to see all the major places in London. We took a tube and went straight to Buckingham Palace, the Home of British Queen. The Change of guards is very famous there. From there almost all the major attractions are walk able (for people who love to walk). Then we went to see Big Ben, London Bridge, the Shard, Tower of London , London Eye,Tower bridge, British Museum, Hyde Park, Palace of Westminster, Westminster Abbey, National Gallery . All these places are on the banks of Thames river. The walk along this river watching the places is really a good one.
All these places can easily take a full day .Then we went to winter wonderland. This attraction comes only during the Christmas days.
From thrilling fairground rides and ice skating to charming Christmas markets and family shows . This place is really a wonderland for both children and elders.
Other attractions at Hyde Park's annual sparkly Christmassy addition include two circuses Winter Wonderland's ice rink, the biggest outdoor rink in the UK, surrounds the Victorian bandstand and is illuminated with more than 100,000 lights. There's also the Winter Wonderland Comedy Club, ice sculpting workshops and immersive screenings of ‘The Snowman’.
The next day was the New year eve , 31st December 2017. We planned to simply wander around the streets and Markets of London to feel the Christmas. First we went to Covent Garden Market. This market is a beautiful market decorated with flowers, so many street performances. You will never know , how your half of the day will go. While walking we came across the famous London Dungeon, The London Dungeon is a uniquely thrilling attraction that will whisk you back to the capital's most perilous past . If you are ready to scream , then it is the right place for you . It was evening by that time we came to the place where famous London New Year Fireworks happen.
You can have a small shopping plus some food time. Since we were really early for the event. We went to Trafalgar square. You can either walk to this place or you can take a tube and reach that place. I would suggest to walk so that you are not missing any part of Christmassy London.
Then we again went back to Thames Riverside, Central London where the fireworks happen. You need to get a ticket prior to this event so you can get the best place to see the Fireworks. The fireworks tickets are sold through London Mayor's website. Basically it happens in two phases . First round of major sale starts around August , September and if you are not lucky to get a ticket at that time there will be second round of sale during the end of November. The ticket will come to you as a hardcopy to your home irrespective of where you are living. To get the updates about the sale and also to get updates about the events happening in London , you can sign up to London Mayor's website : https://www.london.gov.uk/events/2018-12-31/london-new-years-eve-fireworks-2018
You have to reach very early for the event , the waiting time is really high as there are so many security checks , once you reach inside you ca choose the best place to see you event. It will be nice if you can go nearer to the London Eye facing it. You should be ready with your warm winter clothes else you will feel very cold. December midnight at the banks of the river Thames - It is very cold guys!!
When the big Ben strikes 12 , your wait is over . The fireworks will start and it will last for around 15 minutes. That is the most beautiful moment. You will feel so happy and this is the best way to start your New Year. The people there are really friendly and everyone wishes new year each other and then they part to their homes. Going back home also you can use public transport.(TFL). It was 2018 New year when we went and on that all the transport was free. Mayor has decided to give free rides to all who partied this night.
The next day morning we had the flight back to Copenhagen. This flight back was also from Stansted , so we started early and took the airport shuttle. Since it was a holiday in London on New Year, transport was very less and all the shuttle buses were pre-booked . By luck only we got a seat in the bus. After thanking London for the best new year of my life we bid bye and took the flight back to Copenhagen.!!!
Tips for easy travel
Use Oyster card for travelling around in London . You can easily get one
Use TFL instead of Google Maps for getting the public transport , since the timings and buses keeps on changing.
Even though credit card is accepted everywhere , it is always better to keep some change of pounds with you
Book New year Fireworks tickets prior to the event . Try to get it in the first sale itself
Have a Wonderful New Year in London!
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