Tourism London free self guided tour: Sea Life, Big Ben, Eye, Museums, Kensington Gardens, Wicked Broadway

This is the second free self guided tour (day 2) from our summary Guided Tours post Tourism in London things to in one week.  The previous free self guided walking tour was for a half day, this one will be a full day tour. You will start in Westminster area close to the House of Parliament and the Big Ben (again these attraction but now it will be in the morning, so different lighting condition for taking photos), the London Sea-life Aquarium, The London Eye. Then in the the afternoon, it will be the Science Museum,  the Natural History Museum, the Imperial College and Kensington Gardens. Finally you will finish the day with the excellent Wicked Broadway show at the Victoria Appollo Theatre. In this London full day self guided tour, You will need to use the London Tube twice. Everything will be explained here.

Photo Album (157 Photos, Panorama Photos are available in 3D with .MPO file): London Day 2 Photos

Important Short Notice: Before starting, if you are reading this article in a website different from travel-photo-souvenir.com then you are probably in a website that it is copying this article without my permission. I had to write such a notice since my previous free self guided walking tour was entirely copied on someone else blog and trying to get profit with it.

 Today’s self guided tour in London will begin in the morning. You can start either from Westminster station (District line and Circle line) or Waterloo station (Jubilee line, Northen line and Bakerloo line). The London Eye is usually very crowded, and you need a ticket to enter. Therefore  you need to go to the County Hall (building in front of the London Eye) to buy it. Many packages are available which include: the London Eye, the London Sea-Life Aquarium, Madame Tussauds, 4d movies and The London Dungeon. You can choose the package that you need. They have also a map of the whole view that you can get on top of the London Eye (360° mini guide costs 1£). I bought the package that includes the London Eye, Sea Life Aquarium and Madame Tussauds and I was satisfied with it (for Madame Tussauds you will need to take the London Tube, I will cover this in a future guided tour post).

 I would recommend to go to the Sea life Aquarium first as I think it is better to not be bothered with the morning sunlight  when taking photo from the London Eye. I enjoyed visiting The London Sea-Life Aquarium: you will see sharks, sea turtle, many colourful fish (including the famous Clownfish Nemo and Dory Regal Tang), jellyfish (with different light effects), crocodiles, frogs, penguins and many others.

 Photographers will enjoy testing the performance of their camera in such places. They also have a place where you can get souvenir photos of the aquarium (photo in the North Pole or riding a penguin in a freezing water). There is also a glass tunnel where sharks and fish will be around you (left, top and right). The time you will spend in visiting the London Aquarium depends on the time you will spend taking pictures. You can either finish visiting it in half hour or in 2 hours like me ;). Once you are done with this attraction you can head to the London Eye. Be patient with the long queue as it is always very crowded. While you are doing the queue you can get some nice photos of London Eye.

From the top of it, you will have a fabulous view of London city. North View: St Mary Axe(the Gherkin), Tower 42, OXO Tower, St Paul’s Cathedral, The Barbican Tower, South Bank Centre – Royal Festival Hall, Waterloo Bridge, Somerset House, Cleopatra’s Needle, Shell Mex House, Covent Garden and British Museum. West View: Centre Point, Charing Cross Station, Nelson’s Column and Trafalgar Square, Whitehall Court, Wembley Stadium,   institute of Contemporary Arts, Royal Air Force Memorial, Horse Guards Palace, Hyde Park, Ministry Of Defence, St James’s Park, Harrods, Downing Street, Green Park, Buckingham Palace and Foreign Office. South View: HM Treasury, Westminster Abbey, Parliamentary Offices, Big Ben, Westminster Bridge, House of Parliament, Battersea Power Station, MI5 Headquarters, Millbank Tower, Lambeth Bridge, Vauxhall Bridge, MI6 Headquarter, Lambeth Palace, St Thomas’ Hospital and County Hall. East View: Westminster Park Plaza, Strata, Waterloo Station, The Old Vic Theatre, Tower Bridge, Canary Wharf, The Shard, Shell Centre, Tower of London, BFI London IMAX Cinema and Tate Modern Gallery.

 At the end of the London Eye ride, there is a camera that takes pictures automatically. If you are planning to buy the taken picture later, make sure to smile and look to the camera (I think the camera is situated in the direction of the London Aquarium – South East).

 Before moving to the next attraction of this self guided tour, take a break and grab a lunch there before using the London Tube Underground. You will find several fast-food in this area, I think you can also find some restaurants near the Westminster station.

 After having lunch, go to the westminster underground station and take the District line or Circle line and head west bound. Stop at South Kensington Station, visit there the Natural History Museum and the Science Museum. In the Natural history museum they have: Age of Dinosaurs, Wildlife Garden Darwin Centre, meteorites, birds, reptiles, geology and many other interesting things.  The architecture of the museum is also very beautiful and it worth a visit. The entrance is free.

 Then you can go South Kensington Gardens and visit: the memorial playground to Diana Princess of Wales, Peter Pan Statue…  I didn’t have time to do it (as I started my day a bit late) but it is one of the most famous attraction in London, once you have done with South Kensington Gardens and if you still have enough energy to walk and time before the start of the Wicked Broadway musical show (usually 7:30 pm) you can drop by Imperial College, one of the most reputed university in London. For Imperial College, I was expecting a greener place but it was not the case. I was a bit disappointed.

Now the last attraction of this self guided tour: The Wicked Broadway musical show (The Untold Story of the Witches of Oz). Make sure to buy your ticket in advance to get place close to the stage. Sometimes they have ticket available for the show of the day. This show is hosted at the Victoria Apollo Theatre. To go there you need to take the London Tube and stop at Victoria Station (Circle line and District line). I already saw the Wicked show in San Francisco and it was FABULOUS, very artistic, great costumes, good lighting, original music, great actors and funny. I enjoyed this show quiet a lot, when I was in the USA I was a bit far from the stage but this time I was in the 3rd row and it was awesome. I highly recommend to stay in the front. This show is about wizard and witches. I will not give any spoilers about the story. I recommend to hear some of their music several times before going there, you will enjoy the show even better.

Finally, Don`t forget to leave a comment ;)

In the next post about guided tours in London, I will talk about London Bridge, London Tower, Saint Paul Cathedral, Oxford Circus, Piccadilly Circus and Mamma Mia Broadway Show.

Photo Album (157 Photos, Panorama Photos are available in 3D with .MPO file): London Day 2 Photos

All the pictures were taken with Sony Nex 5 camera  18-55mm Lense

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Sea Life, Big Ben, Eye, Museums, Kensington Gardens, Wicked Broadwa HD Photos – Wallpapers

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