Pubs, paths and plays: 15 of London’s best experiences

LONDON — The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, says the United Kingdom’s capital hopes to welcome 40 million annual visitors by 2025 (up from around 32 million last year), and recently announced plans to invest in the city’s tourism infrastructure.

London remains popular with travellers from around the world. So what does the city have to offer?

Besides the well-known tourist attractions, here are some must-try travel experiences to get to know the heart of the city.

1. Have a pint in a historic pub

London’s old pubs are some of the most beautiful buildings in the city and many have literary connections, having been frequented by the likes of Shakespeare, Dickens and Samuel Johnson. They’re also magnets for thirsty hacks, who are never short of good pub recommendations.

2. Watching fringe theatre

London’s West End is world-renowned, but the city is also home to a number of fringe theatres, which put on leftfield productions across the city. Check the listings at Southwark Playhouse, Donmar, Menier Chocolate Factor, Union Theatre and Jermyn Street Theatre, which are some of the best.

3. Visiting weird museums

Rather than jostling for space in bustling institutions like the Tate, Londoners get their culture fix in some of the city’s more unusual and less-crowded museums. One of our favourites is Dennis Severs’ House, where visitors transcend the decades as they negotiate 10 authentically attired Georgian and Victorian rooms, seemingly moments after its residents, a family of Huguenot silk weavers, have left the building.

4. Ascending the bell tower in Westminster Cathedral

Not to be confused with Westminster Abbey, Westminster Cathedral is an often overlooked attraction and it is all the more attractive for it. The distinctive Byzantine-style building’s 83-metre bell tower is open to the public (one must take a lift, rather than climb) — come here for impressive views of the city and, hopefully, a few moments’ solitude.

5. Catching a gig at Wilton’s Music Hall

Wilton’s is the oldest music hall in the world and its crumbling interior beautifully evokes an otherwise vanished past. Intimate concerts occasionally take place on the premises, but you can also take tours of the venue or prop up the bar for a drink.

6. Grazing at Maltby Street Market

You could spend your Saturday weaving through throngs of foodies in Borough Market, or you could visit Maltby Street Market in Bermondsey, which serves up similar gastronomic delights minus the crowds. The market embodies all that is good about contemporary food in London (well-sourced meat and vegetables prepared with sophistication) and welcomes gourmands of all stripes.

7. Watching one of Shakespeare’s plays

Catch one of the productions at Shakespeare’s Globe or Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre.

8. Free concerts

There is an incredible amount of live music to be enjoyed across the city — much of it for free. The South Bank Centre has a packed roster of complimentary concerts throughout the year, while St James’s church in Piccadilly, which was designed by Christopher Wren, offers free lunchtime recitals on Monday, Wednesday and Friday.

9. Wandering around Whitecross Street Market

One of the oldest markets in London, this Islington institution serves up a smorgasbord of street food, as well as jewellery and clothing stalls. It’s decidedly un-touristy but only open during the week.

10. Visiting free museums after hours

London is blessed with world-class museums – the Natural History Museum, the Victoria & Albert and the British Museum to name a few – and most of them are free. What’s more, many museums in London are open late at least once a month for those who can’t hack the crowds at the weekend. Some occasionally offer sleepovers.

11. Walking the Thames Path

Not all of it, obviously, because it’s 184 miles long. However, some of the most scenic stretches in London can be found in Richmond, Putney and the South Bank.

12. Watching a fight at York Hall

One of Britain’s best-known boxing venues, York Hall opened in 1929 and still offers ringside seats to fights today having been saved from closure in 2007.

13. Feeling zen at Holland Park

Kyoto garden in Holland Park is a beautiful place to escape the madness of London. The Japanese garden is home to a mini waterfall, a koi carp pond and an ostentation of peacocks, which strut around adding to the ambience.

14. TAKING the Thames Clipper ...

Easily the best (and possibly the quickest) way to get around London, Thames Clipper services ply the waters between Putney in the west and Woolwich in the east, though the best section of the journey is when it passes beneath Tower Bridge.

15. ... OR the Number 15 bus

This slice of history still splutters through the city (Tower Hill to Trafalgar Square) as it did when the Routemaster was first introduced to London’s streets in 1956. It’s the only heritage service still running and brings some joy to the daily commute.

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