The Travelista

My ‘Live Like a Tourist’ London Bucketlist

᛫ 32 Comments

The past 2 weeks have been big. I started my new job and a new life in London. Yep, that’s right. I’ve cast away from my Northern roots in search of exiting new things in the most cosmopolitan city in the world. Lots of my Uni friends are already living in London, but the biggest sacrilege about them (and many other Londoners) is that they don’t make the most of the city they’re in. It’s easy to get swept up in the working world of London, to the point where you forget about all of the incredible things to see and do on your doorstep. At an attempt not to fall down this rabbit whole, I intend to ‘Live Like a Tourist’ whilst in London. Weekends will be filled with mini adventures and evenings will be full of new discoveries (budget permitting). So I present to you, my London bucket list.

It seems the typical professional London resident works their ass off Monday to Friday, gets drunk on a weekend (and a Thursday) and does it all over again without doing anything unique to London. Now don’t get me wrong, there’s nothing wrong with this. I love letting my hair down on a Friday night as much as the next 23 year old. But I’m going to make it my mission to make the most of London, by doing and seeing things that the city is famous for. And I’m dragging my friends along with me. So I decided to write a London bucket list, full of things unique to London and that make it the amazing city it is.

So ladies and gentleman, I bring you, my very own ‘Live Like A Tourist’ London bucket list. When I tick something off the list I’ll blog about it on The Travelista and link from this page. Here it is!

–       Go for a curry on Brick Lane – DONE

–       Have a homemade picnic in Hyde Park – DONE

–Fly over London in a Helicopter – DONE

–       Go for a meal in pitch black at Dans le Noir

-Go on a London Ghost Tour

–       See Book of Mormon in the West End – DONE

–Eat Michelin Star food in Mayfair – DONE

–       Have a fancy meal at the top of the Shard – DONE

–       Go to Buckingham Palace

– Go to Kensington Palace – DONE

–       Go for a morning run along the Southbank

– Watch a film in an open-air cinema – DONE

–       Ride home in a rickshaw from Soho – DONE

–       See A List celebs attend a red carpet premiere – DONE

–       Find the best Lebanese restaurant in town – DONE

–       Visit London Zoo – DONE

-Splash out on amazing sushi – DONE

–       Go for Afternoon tea at a 5* London Hotel – DONE

–       Walk across the top of the O2 Arena

–       Go for dinner at Burger and Lobster – DONE

–       Go to a salsa dancing club and take salsa lessons

–Visit The Ritz – DONE

–       See the ballet at the Royal Opera House

-Go to a speakeasy bar – DONE

–       Spend the night in a jazz club

–       Watch a burlesque show in Soho- DONE

–       Check in to a London Hotel for the night – DONE

–       Go to the roller disco in Vauxhall

–       Enjoy a free day out at the V&A Museum and the Natural History Museum – DONE

–       Take an exotic cookery class – DONE

What do you think of my London bucket list? Is there anything I’ve missed off that you think I have to include? Comment on the box below and I will add them to my list!

Comments

  1. Hi there, my husband and I are moving to London next month and I am definitely saving this list for reference! I am so excited to see all the wonderful things the city has to offer! Thanks for sharing!

    Reply

  3. Hi there! i’m making my 2015 vision board and a trip to london is in it, i was searching for some images when i found your blog, im going to save your list for when i (hopefully) make my trip. 😀 thanks!!

    Reply

  4. hai..love your post. Someday I want to travel around London. How did you make that picture can move like that? any application that use for it. Thank you

    Reply

  6. I’ve only just found your blog, hello 🙂 I suggest Shakespeare’s Globe Tour & Exhibition. I’ve recently been there and can heartily reccomend it! no matter whether you are a literature geek like me or not, it’s a great experience full of knowledge and fun. Next time I’m in London I’d like go and see a play in there 🙂

    Reply

  8. Congratulations on your new job and move! London has so much to offer. That lobster roll looks amazing, yum!
    I just nominated you for a Liebster Award 🙂 lilacpaperdoll.com/2014/02/liebster-blog-award.html

    Reply

    • Thanks so much! London is an amazing place, you just have to open your mind to it and embrace everything that is here. Definitely try the Lobster Roll if you ever get chance. Thanks for my nomination. I really need to do one of these posts 🙂

      Jess x

      Reply

  11. Great list, as Anna said I’m sure you will add loads more to it as Living in London there is a never ending list of places to visit and things to see and do. Markets are a must, especially Columbia Road / Brick Lane on a Sunday and Maltby Street Market on a Sunday.

    Reply

    • Hi Dave! Thanks for your comment. Yes definitely going to add to it as I go along. The Markets are a great shout! I have done Borough market but planning to do the rest. I didn’t know there was one on Brick Lane! Huge thanks for sharing the tips 🙂

      Jess

      Reply

  13. Reblogged this on Blogged by Anna and commented:
    I felt very chuffed to have featured in The Travelista’s blog a couple of days ago as an inspiration to ‘Live like a tourist’, now she’s moved down to London. It’s such a good attitude to have – wherever you live – as there can be so many opportunities to learn something new, do something interesting, and generally fully experience the city you inhabit. I’m so glad my blog rubbed off onto Jess. She now has created a bucket list of things to do in London. I’d thoroughly recommend you check her blog out. Not only has she got some items on her list I never got round to doing, she writes about other fantastic destinations she’s visited. Reading about her new job and life in London, I almost got a little jealous of her – and of my old self! It really reminded me of me, 3 years ago, when I ventured down there with my eyes wide open, ready to take on everything the capital city has to offer.

    Reply

  16. Welcome to this incredible city! It’s funny, I’ve been in London 13 years and have only done about 10 of the things on your list! Don’t miss the great London markets – Brockley is one of my favourites! http://wp.me/p3Lian-5B look forward to hearing more of your adventures!

    Reply

  17. Thanks Jess – I think everyone should live their lives with this attitude 🙂 I love your list! I’m sure you’ll add to it as you do more things and it’s great you’ve ticked some off already even after only 2 weeks. Take a notebook with you to add to the list, that’s what I did. I went on tours (the Duck Tour which is now defunct, so can’t recommend that one) and was educated about other places to visit along the Thames, so I scribbled them down. I did 11 things on your list :_ I would say Dans le Noir is such an unbelievably fun and different experience – definitely do that one soon. Ahh I miss London now reading this x

    Reply

    • Hi Anna! Thanks for your comment. Perfect attitude to have in London which I have to thank you for. Feel like I’ve ticket plenty off my list, and next up is London Zoo and definitely Dans le Noir. If you’ve got any more recommendations let me know and I’ll add them to my list 🙂

      Jess x

      Reply

  18. Congrats on starting the new job & life – big changes! I absolutely love Anna’s blog so it’s lovely to see someone else picking up where she left off – looking forward to reading more!

    Reply

  19. You are totally right – I’ve lived in London my whole life but it’s only since last year, when I decided to do something different at least once a month, that I really started seeing the city and everything it has to offer. I’ve done a few things on your list but nowhere near enough.

    The O2 climb is lots of fun and I work at London Zoo so would definitely recommend you go there!

    You’ve got some great things on the list and I might just pinch some ideas from you. Have fun doing them all 🙂

    Reply

    • Hi Ayla! Thanks for your comment. It’s so true, we’re in such an amazing city yet people get caught up in working life and don’t make the most of it. I am determined to tick off everything on my list and make sure I really experience the city. Some are ridiculously touristy, some are more for locals, but I want to try them all! Fab you work in London Zoo! I think thats the next on my hit list 🙂

      Jess xx

      Reply

Trackbacks

Spark a conversation!

Follow on Instagram

  • I fell in love with my baby. It wasn’t love at first sight. First sight was through plastic. First sight was wires and tubes. First sight was like seeing my beating heart outside of my body, trying to survive on its own. I felt like I had let you down. I could no longer keep you safe or alive on my own. Nature let us down. Instead, it took an army. It took science. It took medicine. It took patience and compassion. I had to get to know you from a distance. It took time. But the days turned in to weeks. The weeks turned in to months. And without even realising it, deep down, beneath all the stress and fear, grew the deepest love I ever knew existed. A love that comes before anything else. A love that makes me know I will never ever let you down. I fell in love with my baby. And it’s ok if you did too #thisismotherhood #NICUawarenessmonth 🌿
  • A big part of having a premature baby that people don’t seem to talk about, is feeling robbed of your pregnancy. Alongside the stresses of NICU, Mums have to grieve the loss of their pregnancy. It often feels surreal to me that I was even pregnant. My bump disappeared overnight after my waters broke, yet I hadn’t given birth and there was no baby in my arms. Psychologically it was a lot to process. After Theo was born, seeing pregnant women filled me with jealousy and sadness. My Instagram ’algorithm’ was showing me nothing but big baby bumps. I couldn’t escape the world of pregnancy, and it was suffocating. This was one of my last bump photos, and it haunts me a bit because I was so blissfully unaware of what was around the corner. We took weekly photos, thinking we’d make an amazing GIF, showing my bump swell from 10 to 40 weeks. In a way these photos still make me incredibly sad, but they also remind me it was real and it did happen, and for that I am grateful. They are worth sharing 💕🌟 P.S “Well at least you didn’t get any stretch marks” is the absolute WORST thing you could ever say to a prem baby Mum. I’d still take a body full of stretch marks to have had my baby at term #TellMeWhy @tommys_thebabycharity
  • We have a sitter! 🌟 Couldn’t get a smile from him but had to post this one ❤️ Theo is now over 15lb and full of energy. He’s growing and learning new things every day. We are so proud! Things have improved on the napping front thanks to sleep consultant @just_chill_mama (putting him down to nap whilst still awake has been an absolute game changer). Weaning has been slow though as he’s got a super sensitive gag reflex (caused from his prematurity) so it means that the food often ends up coming back up. Weaning hasn’t been particularly enjoyable or easy for either of us so far but we had a helpful visit from his speech and language therapist this week to help us make some progress. He’s gaining weight well and hitting milestones so we really can’t ask for more! Our boy will do everything in his own sweet time 💕 #TheodoreWilliam #25Weeker #7monthscorrected
  • Yes, I am the girl that takes photos of other people’s front doors in admiration. If this isn’t front door goals then I don’t know what is. This little cottage is a short walk from my house. I admire it all year round because it always has a wreath to match all seasons. It’s also inspired me to paint our own front door a nice new colour, which is currently an odd shade of electric blue. I’m thinking of a pastel shade, maybe powder blue or duck egg blue. What colour should I go for? Please inspire me! I’ll report back on the cottage when the autumnal wreath is up 🍂🍁👀 #ihavethisthingwithdoors
  • September is Neonatal Intensive Care Unit Awareness month 💫Before having Theo prematurely, I was completely unaware of the NICU. I only knew of friends and family who had healthy babies. “Mum and baby doing well” was a phrase I just expected to hear. Looking back I was so ignorant. I never gave a seconds thought to the babies who weren’t “doing so well”. Maybe you haven’t either. The NICU cares for poorly term babies, but they are also the next best thing to a womb for premature babies. The walls of the NICU see every spectrum of emotion on a daily basis. From the heart shattering reality of Neonatal and newborn loss, to the indescribable elation of the parents who finally get to walk through the double doors with their babies in tow. They are the lucky ones. In between those emotions are anxiety, fear, trauma, exhaustion, overwhelm and sadness. An inconsolable sadness of parents who dreamt of a very different outcome whilst preparing for the arrival their baby; parents who never thought they’d be reading their baby a bedtime story through the portholes of a perspex box; parents who never realised how strong they could truly be until they had no choice. The NICU never sleeps. It is full of hard working doctors and nurses, saving babies lives 24 hours a day. The NICU is all consuming, sucking parents in to the point where the outside world may as well be frozen in time. But the walls of the NICU also see so much light and love. They see the warmth of Neonatal nurses as they care for the babies as if they were their own. They see parents celebrate when their baby has even the smallest of achievements. They see the deepest strength and love required for a family to make it through a NICU admission. Theo spent a total of 109 days, 17 weeks and 4 months across 4 different Neonatal units. I spent every single one of those days by his side. I am still processing the highs and lows of our time in the NICU, and right now stepping foot back inside one would be my worst nightmare. But I know that inside the walls of the NICU, extraordinary things happen. Inside the walls of the NICU there is always hope. I will always be grateful 💕 ✨ #nicuawarenessmonth
  • Hey guys! I got quite a few new followers on Friday thanks to some lovely Friday Follow mentions so I just wanted to say a big thank you to both my new followers and my old ones ☺️. This is me and my little family (my partner Scott and our baby Theo). I thought I’d share some known (and not so known) facts about me so you can get to know me better . 🌍 1. I grew up in York, went to Uni in Newcastle, lived in London for 4 years and now I live in Leeds with Scott and Theo. 🌍 2. It was my dream to be a travel writer so I created my blog as a way to self publish a portfolio. I started my blog in 2013 and I’ve been a full time blogger since 2016. I like to think I created the digital version of my dream job 😊[ ] 🌍 3. My Dad is Dutch so I’m planning to apply for a Dutch passport after Brexit. Theo can get one too! 🌍 4. Theo was born 15 weeks early at 25+6 days gestation due to #PPROM. We spent 17 weeks in NICU before we could bring him home but now he’s a healthy happy boy. 🌍 5. My favourite food is Lebanese. I live for hummus, fattoush and shish taouk. If only I had a good Lebanese takeaway nearby. 🌍 6. My 3 favourite travel destinations in the world are Vietnam, Italy and NYC. . Tell me a little random fact about you? 💕🌍

Subscribe

Never miss a post! Subscribe for Travelista updates and newsletters

Latest Video