London

Beer Helps Ultra-Marathoner Run Around the World

Heineken beer bottle ©Creative Tools Irish ultra-marathon runner Richard Donovan has become the first man on the planet to run seven marathons on seven continents in less than five days–thanks to a bottle of beer. In just four days, 22 hours and three minutes, Donovan completed marathons at the Russian Novo science base in Antarctica, [...]

Rowdy Kiwi Expats Spark Complaints to High Commission

NZ flag ©michaeljohnbutton The behavior of participants in the 13th annual Waitangi Day pub crawl in London, England has sparked a complaint to the New Zealand High Commission. Waitangi Day is a New Zealand public holiday held each year on the 6th of Febuary to commemorate the signing of the Treaty of Waitangi, New Zealand’s [...]

Londoners Recycling With “Smart” Bins

Renew bins in London © architizer.com Throwing your next soda can into a recycling bin is a win-win for many Londoners, with the installation of new “Renew” bins. The bins display data from stock quotes to weather and transit details. Twenty-five are already in place around London. While the bins don’t come cheap, the developers have [...]

Rio Statue Replica Causes Uproar in London

Christ the Redeemer ©David Berkowitz The statue of Christ the Redeemer with open arms in Rio is seen around the world as a symbol of peace and friendship. But residents of a posh north London neighborhood are up in arms at the possibility of the Brazilian national tourist board erecting a temporary replica on the [...]

A Chilling Winter Tour of London’s Dark Side

People make a big deal about Halloween but for me winter is the right time for ghost stories and the macabre, particularly in a city like London. When the wind whistles through the city streets and there’s mist on the lake in St James’s Park – when it’s dark at three o’clock in the evening [...]

Big Ben is Leaning and the UK Parliament is Sinking

Big Ben ©apdk Rumors about the architectural stability of the famous UK parliament building and it’s iconic tower have been making the rounds this week. The 96-meter tall clock tower, which houses the bell nicknamed Big Ben, leans about 46 cm to the left of its peak. In response to concerns, a spokesman for the [...]

Classy Hotels Rented By the Hour in London

Do Not Disturb ©SLR Jester Secret romantic rendezvous are getting a location upgrade thanks to a group of Parisien (of course) hoteliers. The website www.dayuse-hotels.com if offering hotels across 50 cities (mostly in France) with 80 in Paris and is currently launching in London. The website allows guests to rent rooms in London during the [...]

Windsor Legoland Hires Kid Concierges

Legoland Windsor ©Rob Young The new hotel at Legoland Windsor, which is set to open in March, will offer a team of six boys and girls between the ages of eight to 12 concierges to help younger guests decide how to spend their time at the park. In exchange for their kid perspective, each kiddie [...]

Exclusive London Hotel Opens, Plans to Close in a Year

Vacancy with a time limit © fitopaldi Last week “A Room for London” opened as a temporary, one bedroom hotel commissioned by Living Architecture and Artangel. The hotel’s designers drew inspiration from Heart of Darkness which documented Joseph Conrad’s riverboat voyage through the Congo. The hotel is placed atop the roof of the Southbank Centre’s [...]

Company Offering Tours of London’s Most Hated Highway

M25 Junction 8 to 11 ©Highways Agency Is the M25 London’s version of Route 66? A bus company in the UK would like you to think that. Brighton and Hove Bus and Coach Company is offering coach tours of the 117-mile orbital highway for visitors to the UK. The M25–mocked as ‘Britain’s biggest car park’ [...]

Cruise Line Recreating Titanic’s Disastrous Voyage

MS Balmoral ©.curt. In what is probably the most disastrous travel package gimmick of the century, a British company is marking the 100-year anniversary of the Titanic’s sinking with a sold-out cruise following the Titanic’s exact route to America. Hopefully this ship is bringing more lifeboats… Two thousand “disaster voyeurists” will be departing on the [...]

London Dungeon Discovers ‘Fake’ Skeleton Attraction is Real

the London Dungeon ©Oscar del Rio In a scene straight out of a crime television show, a real human skeleton was uncovered among the piles of fake bones at the London Dungeon attraction. There are unconfirmed suspicions the skeleton could have been’smuggled’ from the Far East to be used in dissection by early British anatomists. [...]

Chocolate Lovers Festival in London

Chocolates ©Anjum. Sweet tooth’s unite! London’s Southbank Center Square will be playing host this weekend (From Dec. 9 to 11) to the The Chocolate Festival a celebration of all things chocolate. The festival, which is mostly free, will have 30 stalls selling and sampling chocolate, and visitors can also chat with British chocolatiers like William [...]

Seven Tips for Travelling London’s Underground

For many visitors coming to London, one of the greatest fears is of not being able to get around town. Of getting lost on the tube, of catching the wrong bus and ending up in Battersea instead of Bayswater, of being ripped off by a taxi driver or being clattered by a cyclist. My preferred [...]

Queen to Rent Out Palace During London Olympics

St. James Palace ©siegertmarc Her royal highness is renting out rooms in St. James Palace for corporate and charity events to make a little extra cash during the during the London Olympics. Historian David Starkey states that the opening the palace was perhaps inevitable, “We are in an age where everything is up for sale [...]

New World Record: Largest 3D Street Art Ever [Video]

“The painting measured an impressive 1,160.4m² and was unveiled at London’s West India Quays, Canary Wharf.” Amazing!

Why Beer Lovers Should Get Out of London and Go to Guildford

Travel writer and beer enthusiast Andrea Kirkby uncovers the secrets of a surprisingly unknown “beer lover’s paradise” within striking distance of London …

Dispatch from Camden, London’s Global Marketplace

There are few places in Europe that encompass almost every cultural category or way of life as well as a certain little marketplace hidden in an Industrial Revolution-era canal-side nook. Here you can feel the pulse of the twenty-first century global economy in action, and the excitement of a thousand different faces speaking a hundred [...]

Exploring the Secret River Flowing Beneath London [Gallery]

Man in London Sewer © Jon Doe (sub-urban.com) Miners’ lamps flash against the cold, damp subterranean walls and the tunnel ahead looks interminable. And if claustrophobia and darkness were not enough to deter the faint of heart, there are rats and the rising tide to think about while splashing through a foot of dirty water. [...]

Touring London’s Dangerously Seductive Bookshops

Every great city has a particular place that book-lovers know. In Istanbul it’s Sahaflar Carsisi, the bookseller’s souk, where cats doze on top of the books or dodge the feet of passers-by; in Paris it’s the left bank of the Seine, where the bouquinistes have their barrows; and in London, it’s the area around the [...]

A Slow-Motion Bus Tour of London [Video]

Proof that everything looks better in slow-motion … and with a nice, faded vintage film effect to boot: Details via Vimeo.

Madame Tussauds Hires Guard to Stop Tourists From Heiling Hitler

Wax Hitler © Ashley R. Photography Due to a series of complaints London’s most popular attraction, Madame Tussauds, has hired a guard to monitor its wax Hitler and prevent tourists from giving it the Nazi salute. Tussauds’ wax figures of Hitler have always been controversial. Previously the London version was kept behind glass to protect [...]

Six Best Cities to Get Lost In

Venice, Italy © Accidental Hedonist For the directionally challenged, Lonely Planet compiles a list of the six best cities to toss out your pathetic map and just get lost. The cities all have one thing in common–an easy way to find your bearings and get un-lost when the need arises. Who knows what you might [...]

Undead Destinations

Bran Castle © Horia Varlan The recent pop culture obsession with vampires has led to a surge in fang tourism. Lonely Planet has compiled a list of the best places around the world to delve into the mystery of the undead. Explore ancient legends of beautiful Pontianaks– Indonesia’s version of a vampire–in their namesake city [...]

10 Cities with the Best Free Attractions

Pike Place Market Seattle, Washington © two gypsy hearts Broke ass budget backpackers can even afford these sites. From Seattle to Hong Kong, AOL Travel has a list of cities with attractions priced just right (free!).

First Backwards Running Championship Held in London

Running Shoes © Guttorm Flatabø Apparently driving on the wrong side of the road isn’t enough for the Brits. From Reuters, London is holding the first ever “backwards running” championship. In the video, note the runner in blue who takes the “turn-your-body-sideways-but-keep-your-head-looking-backwards” strategy to fool the judges: Apparently running backwards burns more calories, which I [...]

How to Travel Around London Like a Local

Night Time in London © Robert Brown London has many things to see and do and though many of them are close enough together to walk, there are plenty of other methods of transport to get you about the city nights or days. The Underground railway or Tube is probably the most common way of [...]

Lost London: Archival Shots from the 19th Century [Gallery]

Never Too Early for Olympic Dreams

Landmarks of London © Dimitry B. London’s annual Chap Olympiad and Tweed Run may just temporarily be upstaged by the Games of the XXX Olympiad, scheduled to take place in the summer of 2012. The luminous rings are up in St. Pancras, and the city rumbles on with anticipation. If you’re thinking of heading there [...]

‘The King’s Speech’ Movie Tour of London

The King's Speech on Location in Portland Place, London © David Barrie As a fitting follow-up to last week’s 10 Can’t-Miss London Locations for the Traveling Movie Buff, we look at how to tour London with The King’s Speech in mind. It is of course the movie that’s been on everyone’s lips, especially after it [...]

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