Oh, London! You’ve got so much to do and yet not enough time! London is a great place to visit on a micro gap within the UK. I’ve visited London numerous times yet keep on adding things to my list to do. Just the other month, Rae from foodnerd4life and Charlie from The Millennial Runaway took a bloggers trip to London for two days, where we ate a lot of food! So, I thought I would cover how to spend the perfect weekend in London!
Warning, this blog contains a lot of food, it was very easily justified with the amount of walking you do when in the city… sort of anyway..! If you can’t eat as much, then feel free to replace some of the food stops with some sight-seeing or shopping!
Day One – Morning
If you’re spending two days in London, such as over a weekend, it’s likely you’ll arrive in the city early so you can make the most of your time. It is also more than likely if you’re travelling by coach that you’ll arrive into London Victoria.
Little know that very close to Victoria is this incredible Frida Kahlo mural, a short walk from the station and you’ll be able to clasp your eyes round this incredible work of art! And with it being so close to Victoria, why not make a visit!
The perfect place to start your trip is by visiting Dominque Ansel Bakery, they have the most incredible baked goods! If you don’t know me or haven’t read my blog before, you may be unaware as to how much I love floral walls (I’ve done a blog about the best floral walls to see in the UK if you want a read!). Not only do they do incredibly beautiful baked goods, but they also switch up their floral wall display!
To start our trip to London I treated myself to a chocolate chip cookie shot, a cookie baked in the shape of a cup and filled with milk – delicious!
Day One – Afternoon
If a whole host of food all under one roof sounds like your cup of tea then Old Spitalfields Market is perfect for you! The market is open seven days a week and is home to over 40 places to choose from to eat, spend a few hours tasting some treats and maybe find something you’ve never tried before!
I have never tried dumplings before (other than those bread filled ones which come with a stew!), therefore, knew I needed to sample some and Dumpling Shack was the perfect place, I mean, just look at them!
We decided to share various dishes between us so that we could all sample something. You could get little bits from various stalls and sit on one of the tables (if you can find a space!) and eat to your heart’s content. My advice would be not to go peak lunchtime as it does get busy with people popping over for some lunch!
Lastly, we picked up some Japanese wheel cakes from Wheelcake Island, not something I’ve tried before but they were delicious!
Dumplings! Wheel Cakes!
When in London, try to fit in a musical! Matinee performances usually start at 2.30 PM, if you’ve planned your trip in advance you are more than likely to get a good deal. You can also get tickets on the day, there may be a queue but to fill empty seats they’ll do them at a cheaper cost! My favourites include Wicked and The Lion King, but I’d also really like to see Phantom Of The Opera, Matilda, and Les Misérables!
Day One – Evening
After sitting down for a few hours, what better way to stretch your legs than with a spot of shopping?! Shopping couldn’t get much better than in London! With over 300 shops, Oxford Street is the best place for a spot of shopping. Open until 9 PM, there is plenty of hours in the day to shop til you drop, and the perfect time to do so is when you’re full of food! Primark is a must-visit, as where else can you grab a bargain like you would at Primark?! Oxford Street Primark is big (spread over four floors), so you may need a few hours to explore!
If you’ve purchased quite a few bits, I’d recommend heading to your accommodation to drop off your bags and check-in, if you haven’t already. Have a freshen up and head out for some food! I’d always recommend dining somewhere that you can only get in London, there are SO many authentic places to grab a bite to eat. My favourite areas to eat are Soho and South Bank!
Want the best view over London? The Shard is an 87-floor glass skyscraper boasting the best views over the city! I’d recommend heading up here for a cocktail and either to watch the sunset (depending on the time of year) or to watch the city come to life after dark!
If you want to make the most of your stay, find some cute little cocktail bars, I always recommend visiting places which are unique to that city. Give it a Google, find somewhere close to where you’re staying or some Insta favourites! I’d always wanted to visit Tonight Josephine’s, known for the ‘Well behaved women don’t make history’ neon sign!
Day Two – Morning
I don’t know about you but I have to start the day with a good breakfast, they say breakfast is the most important meal of the day of which I have to agree with! I’ve wanted to visit Dalloway Terrace for a while, they’ve got another beautiful floral wall. I’d recommend booking a table if possible, we booked the night before for around 9 AM, which was perfect.
They’ve got a great menu, the usual breakfast meals as well as a fab weekend brunch menu! I’m a bit obsessed with eggs royale, therefore, opted for that with a nice iced mocha!
After breakfast or brunch, I’d recommend doing some ‘London things’. You could head to the London Eye for a ride, walk the food off in Hyde Park or head to Convent Garden for a wander around the shops!
After some sightseeing, what better way to cool off than with ice cream?! Soft Serve (based in Box Park, Shoreditch), have some fab ice creams! This one was topped with popcorn, chocolate sauce and pretzels, I could not recommend it enough!
On the same street lies Dum Dums, the doughnuts from here a must. With so many different flavours, there is really something for everyone! I picked a Biscoff doughnut as I am obsessed with Biscoff. I couldn’t possibly fit anymore in, so took it away to eat later on. You could get a box of three (or more!) to take home with you.
Day Two – Afternoon
The perfect way to spend an afternoon in London is to see some of the incredible sights, such as the London Bridge! It’s also a good idea to wander around on foot (weather permitting!), so you can make room for more food!
One of my favourite tourist attractions to visit in London is the Natural History Museum, my favourite part is most definitely the dinosaurs! There are many events which take place, including silent discos and yoga. Or you could head to another museum or gallery, the V&A is another firm favourite! Alternatively, head to Camden Market! With over 1,000 stalls, shops, bars, and cafes, it’s the perfect place to spend a few hours wandering!
Day Two – Evening
Depending on the time you depart will determine what you do in the evening. If you aren’t leaving until a bit later on and still have the early evening to play around with, you could head to Sky Garden, another place boasting beautiful views of London! Depending on the time of year, you could watch the sunset from the giant glass windows. It does get busy, so I’d definitely recommend booking in advance if this is something you’d like to do.
If you’re also leaving from London Victoria, you could pop by Peggy Porschens, which opens until 8 PM every day. The floral arch outside the place changes seasonally, so you could keep on going back! Before I head off back home, I always stop by the Sainsburys around the corner from Victoria to pick up some journey snacks and a drink!
By Summer! By Winter!
There we have it, a weekend itinerary for London! There really is so much to do and see, it’s likely you won’t be able to fit everything in, but hopefully, my itinerary has covered some of the good parts of London. You can change it up, take some parts out, extend your stay in other places or follow it to a tee, if you wish! I discover new things each time I’m in London, so, if you have anything you’d recommend doing, please do let me know in the comments! ??
If you’ve only got 12 hours to spend in London, I’ve also got an itinerary for that too!
I’m in love with that city!!! I’ve been there a couple of times and there’s indeed still so much to do! Peggy Porschen is still on the list though, so I have to come back to visit 🙂
xoxo Annaleid
http://www.actuallyanna.com
I totally agree with you about London having too much to do to ever fit it all in! I love my trips to London but Peggy Porchens is the only one of these recommendations I’ve tried (best cake ever). That cookie and milk shot is the best idea- I’ll definitely be keeping all of these recommendations in mind for my next trip!
Soph – https://sophhearts.com x
All of that food looks incredible ? Looks like you had a fab time, I love a weekend break in London!
I love this itinerary – it sounds like you had a lot of fun! I, too, love going to Dominic Ansell’s bakery, the cronuts there are amazing 🙂
The food in London looks amazing! I was last there in 2012 and I think it’s overdue for another visit.
Mai
✰ maidoesthings.com