How many times have YOU visited London?

London

I’ve visited London 10 times, 10 trips! So, my upcoming trip in May will be my 11th visit to the best city in the world-London. You must think I’m crazy, but I call that love (or obsession). I could have visited so many other cities instead of spending my money to go to the same place again and again (and as you know London’s not cheap). But what can I say? I really believe in Doctor Samuel Johnson’s words: “when a man is tired of London, he is tired of life; for there is in London all that life can afford “.

 10 trips to London, but out of those 10, there were a couple of weekend trips and two 4-5 days trips and 4 day trips. It all began with my first visit (actually it all began way way back when I was a child and just dreamt about visiting London ).My best friend ( and my maid of honour) and I spend 5 wonderful days (from 28th Dec 2006 to 02 Jan 2007) exploring London. One of the things we did was to find the bookstore from the movie Notting Hill :). Naturally we did all the usual tourist stuff: visited the Tower of London, visited the Westminster Abbey, crossed the Tower Bridge, took million of photos of Big Ben, saw the Buckingham palace and St.Paul’s cathedral and so on and so on. We also went to the Ice-bar and to the Sherlock Holmes museum as well as walked through the Leadenhall Market and gawped at the ancient monuments in the British Museum. Furthermore, we visited the Harrods and chased some squirrels in the Kensington gardens (not really, they came to us freely). 🙂 But after that trip we decided that we have to do it all over again-another trip to London was already on our minds.

London:the bookstore from the movie Notting Hill, 2006
London:the bookstore from the movie Notting Hill, 2006

The fate intervened and we both got into the same sort of internship programme and got jobs in England! However, we were in completely different parts of England so we couldn’t really visit each other. Of course, before our work experience began we just had to spend a couple of days in London. That was in August 2008. We re-visited some of our favourites (like our pub Prince Alfred in Bayswater) and discovered new stuff such as St James’s palace, the Burlington arcade and the Westminster Cathedral. We also watched the Changing of the guard and walked along the South Bank and went to Chinatown and Soho and much more.

with my best friend, 2008
with my best friend, 2008

During my work experience I took two day trips to London. On one I discovered Fortnum & Mason and Camden but I didn’t do any sightseeing on another day trip since I went to London to attend a seminar for work.

My best friend and I had a couple of days off during our work experience so we met again in London. We finally went on the London Eye. I bought a very cool red bag for just 10£ at Portobello Market. We’ve also visited V&A museum and the Tate Modern and strolled around Carnaby street and did some window shopping in Liberty. And went clubbing 🙂

Over a year later we planned our New Year’s trip to Madrid via London. So, we spent the night in London (Dec 2009) and enjoyed the Christmas decorations around Covent Garden and Regent street and saw for the first time the Somerset house. As usually we bought a copy of Glamour magazine and I ate some Walkers salt & vinegar crisps!

Dec 2009
Dec 2009

When I visited my boyfriend in November 2010 I took a day trip to London (long story short:we met while I was working in England, had a long-distance relationship after I returned to Croatia and broke up soon after this day trip). I went to look for Peter Pan’s statue in Hyde Park, met another friend, explored the Natural History museum and took photos of the Albert Memorial and the Albert Hall. As always, I also walked around Leicester sq and Piccadilly circus and Trafalgar sq and did some shopping.

2010
2010

In July 2011 I spent 4 days in London with my parents. They’ve heard so much about it from me and they wanted to see it for themselves. They asked if I’d go with them since they couldn’t really get around in London with their limited knowledge of English. So, off we went and I showed them all the usual tourist stuff. We went on the London Eye and we visited Greenwich (that was my first visit). We also took a boat ride down the Thames from the London Eye to Greenwich by Thames clippers. Love that ride! (did a similar one 2 years later). I bought the sweetest t-shirt ever in Primark for just 2£ (it’s got a big squirrel with a crown on it) and I bought a super cute bag in a shop near Covent Garden!

2011
2011

Almost exactly a year later (July 2012) my husband (then just my boyfriend) and I spent a week in Scotland (you can read more here and here and here if you want). We flew via London so we got to spend half a day (actually just 13 hours) in London. I saw the Tower Bridge open up for the first time and wandered around St Katharine’s dock. We also climbed the Monument and visited FC Chelsea’s stadium (yeah, not my obvious choice). We walked a lot and he pretty much managed to see all the major sights (but only from the outside).

London, July 2012
London, July 2012

And that brings me to my last trip to London. My best friend and I visited London in Aug 2013. What did we do? Well, I wrote about it already (about some of it ). We had a lovely afternoon tea. Before that we went on the cable car (the Emirates Air line) and took a boat ride (Thames clippers) and wandered around Canary Wharf. After a couple of years we walked around the City again. We didn’t do the Shard. We also saw London from Primrose Hill (alas there was a haze, so I don’t have nice photos) and we’ve finally found Neal’s yard. And had  a drink in Oxo tower and in our pub :).

London, Aug 2013
London, Aug 2013

In a nutshell, this was a short review of my 10 trips to London. What shall I do on my eleventh trip? Well, you’ll read all about it after the trip 🙂

Xoxox

Tanja

Ps. I’m going to Stockholm in 10 days… 🙂

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101 thoughts on “How many times have YOU visited London?”

  15. I think London is a city you can come back to over and over again – there’s just so much to discover. I’ve lived here for 15 years and visited countless times before that and still haven’t uncovered all its secrets. Enjoy trip 11! #citytripping

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  19. Enjoy your 11th trip! 🙂 I know I am biased but it really is the best city in the world! 🙂 I lived and worked there for years and I miss it so much now that we are away from home…

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  20. Wow Tanja! You have a real love affair with London. I think you have definitely done more of the touristy sights than me and I have lived there for 11 years! It’s a great city though…so many different pockets to explore. I don’t think I could ever tire of London. Looking forward to hearing what you get up to on your 11 visit. Thanks for linking to #citytripping

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  22. You’re so lucky to get to visit London so many times. I am read this post with great interest as I am in the midst of planning my Great Britain trip for this summer. It will be my 2nd time to London but my children’s first. (I have no idea how many times my husband has visited.) There’s so much to see, and I am having trouble narrowing down the list. I was just telling my husband how I wish we could go again and again until I felt satiated.

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    1. my thoughts exactly, I don’t know if you can ever get enough of London! I’ve got so much planned for this trip, many new things and some old, and yet there’ll still be lots to do for my next trips:)

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  23. I’m already looking forward to reading your post about this year’s visit. When you know a city well the best thing is that you don’t feel the need to go around doing all the touristy things – you can just take it slow, discover something new, return to an old favourite and just enjoy soaking in the atmosphere. There’s always something new to find in London.

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  25. I actually thought you were a Londoner, from the name of your blog and section (my) London! I agree that one can never tire of London, it’s just too full of wonderful things to ever have enough of it. I’ve been literally hundreds of times but I still wouldn’t say I know it really well, I discover new things every time. Enjoy your 11th trip. #citytripping

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      1. Manchester was (still is) great. I find it very charming, although many think it’s really ugly. There are a lot of students, so it’s very easygoing and friendly.

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  31. I think about 6 or 7 – my mother-in-law lives there so it provides us with a great base. I love getting out of London now as there’s so much we’ve seen in the city itself. But I do remember finding the Borough Markets a few trips ago and I almost couldn’t believe we’d never seen them. One of my fave places now. #weekendwanderlust

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  35. Have fun on both trips! Hope you have nice weather for exploring 🙂 I’ve been to London maybe 8 times but each time I feel a bit lost, it’s such a huge city! My fave thing is Pret a Manger and Eat sandwiches, as silly as it sounds (they remind me of my childhood) and the tiny upside-down cheesecakes at M&S deli department! Hahah, quite a foodie! 😉

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  36. A must see is the Wallis Collection – a private collection of art, but now free and with a super restaurant in the conservatory. Richmond Park is lovely for a walk, but watch out for the rutting deer in mating season. Borough Market is great for tasting and buying world food and is near The Geoge Inn – possibly the last original coaching inn since Shakespeare’s time (It is National Trust but last time we ate there, the food and service were rubbish – so go for a drink and to soak up the atmosphere). Walk around the City and Bank – lots of old buildings, courtyards and bars. Enjoy.
    We loved Stockholm – spent 5 days there last Spring … read The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stig Larsen before you go … Gamla Stan district. A boat ride to the islands on a sunny day is great when you are a bit city’d out.

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  38. I’ve only been twice, but I’m moving there for graduate school in September and can’t wait! Any affordable restaurants or attractions you recommend? Will definitely be on a student budget. Love this post!

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    1. thanks:) attractions: free museums such as natural history,science, British, national gallery, etc: sky garden: parks, camden, other markets cheap: the monument for sure! as far as restaurants:those things change fast and I haven’t been since 2013 so..

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  44. Well, having lived near London most of my life I’ve been too many times to count, however I still haven’t done some of the things you have! I need to get my butt in gear before I move away. I hope you enjoy your 11th visit!

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  46. I love your passion for London Tanja! I’ve been here most of my life and there are some things on your list I only visited for the first time a few months ago like Leadenhall market! Few other recommendations for your upcoming trip would include Holland Park, Brockley Market, hawker house street feast & a walk through Little Venice – few posts on my blog if you need info but I’m sure you’ll have a wonderful time here whatever you end up doing – I feel a similar way about NYC! 😊

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