London Things to Do

After years as a bit of an outsider, Bermondsey is firmly staking its place as a great place to go in London for food and drinks.

On the south side of the river, not far from London Bridge Station, Borough Market, Tower Bridge and of course the new rising star, The Shard, Bermondsey is full of hip bars and excellent restaurants.

Around The Shard, which opens in February 2013, a new zone is developing called London Bridge Quarter. There will be new restaurants and bars to service all the new offices and apartments, and even London Bridge Station – one of the world’s oldest railway stations – will be getting a redevelopment in the next few years. The wharves along the Thames to the east of Tower Bridge have long been a place for good restaurants and shopping.

One of Sydney’s favorite and famous sons is Bill Granger. Now he’s opened his first restaurant in London, bringing to Notting Hill some of the laid back Aussie attitude combined with the excellent food that made Bill’s so popular in Sydney.

London has many secrets, be it streets, shops, legends, or something you never even thought of. One is The Cut. Tucked in just behind Waterloo Station and Southbank is a street called The Cut.

The Roundhouse is an icon of London music and performance. Located in Chalk Farm, the stunning round brick building dating to 1847 was originally a railway engine workshop, built round so trains could turn around inside. By the 1930s it was abandoned and became derelict, becoming home to a theatre company in the 1960s. The Doors played their only UK show here in 1968. But even this sort of history couldn’t save it from the closing during the 1980s when getting rich was much more popular than local theatre. Luckily in the mid-90s someone again saw the value of the place, bought it, and reopened the doors, giving it a major facelift in 2004.