London Things to Do

The 2012 Olympics might be a distant memory now, but London‘s Olympic Stadium is set to stay a focal point of the capital’s sporting events, with the park hosting it’s first post-Olympics event -  the London Cycling Festival - in August 2013.

If you’re traveling out to Olympic Park, you have a few choices of how to get there and there are a number of gates to enter the park.

The stations which were expected to be very congested have not been as crowded as feared: London Bridge, Bank, Charing Cross, St Pancras, the Jubilee and DLR lines were busy but flowing well.

Hampton Court Palace is on the edge of London alongside the Thames River, and while famous as the home of Henry, Hampton Court remained an occupied royal palace for many centuries.

Greenwich Park, located in south-east London, beside the River Thames, is the oldest royal park in London, established in 1433 and now forming part of the Greenwich UNESCO World Heritage Site. Encompassing 183 acres (74 ha) the park is made up of beautiful sloping grasslands including a deer sanctuary home to a herd of Fallow and Red deer; a traditional early 20th-century style Tea Pavilion; and forested hillsides offering sweeping views across the River Thames to St Paul’s Cathedral and beyond.

It’s the oldest royal park in London and was established in 1433. It’s 183 acres (74 ha) of beautiful sloping parkland leading up to the Royal Observatory (home of the Prime Meridian) and Planetarium, including the historic Queen’s House, the Royal Naval College and the National Maritime Museum. Due to the park’s use for the Olympic Games, it will be closed to the public until August 4th.

Hitting headlines recently as the 2012 Olympic Shooting venue, the London Royal Artillery Barracks boast a long military history, built in 1776 for the companies of the Royal Artillery and used by them until 2007. Not only that, the Royal Artillery Barracks once hosted the Royal Arsenal complex, home to the British Government’s principal armaments manufacturing facility, and the Royal Military Academy which trained officers and engineers from 1741 to 1939. Nearby Woolwich Common is still a military training area, so if you’re lucky, you might catch a glimpse of the Royal troops marching through the park.

30km South of London nestled in the vibrant student hub of Surrey, Box Hill is one of South England‘s most popular lookout points, famed for its sweeping panoramas. A popular picnic spot since Victorian times, Box Hill cemented its tourist itinerary status when it hosted the cycling portion of the 2012 London Olympics.

With the 2012 Olympics starting in London on Friday, July 27 and ending Sunday, August 12, this exciting event is just around the corner! Whether you’ll be in England before the games, during, or after, here are some resources for transportation, navigating the crowds, and what to see and do during this summer in London.

Crossing Charing Cross Road at Shaftesbury Avenue during rush-hour on Thursday, I found the traffic halted, more police than I’ve ever seen in my life and people lining the kerb. The Olympic Torch was coming past, circling through central London and ever closer to the stadium.

And so today it begins: Opening Day of the Olympic Games London 2012.

The 2012 London Olympics… in the form of a handy infographic guide!

So you’re in London, it’s the Olympics and you don’t have tickets. Or you have tickets but only for one or two events. Don’t despair – there are plenty of ways to be in on the action and all for free.

One of the most fantastic things about London is that nearly all the public museums and galleries are free.

1. The National Gallery

Located on Trafalgar Square and with one of the best collections of painting anywhere in the world, the National Gallery is free which means you can return several times to cover the whole collection. A great place for avoiding the rain!