Mentioned by CN Traveller
The 30 best hotels in London
"Arguably the most beautiful department store in the world, Liberty is housed in a fairytale Grade II-listed Tudor revival building built in 1924, seven years after founder Arthur Lasenby Liberty died. A maze of cave-like rooms is laid out around three central atriums, stacked high with merchandise and artistic displays. The store’s fabric department—where visitors can admire Liberty’s world-famous patterned, print, and floral fabrics—is a must-see."
"Housed in an eye-catching mock-Tudor building, Liberty of London is a must-visit for many tourists to the city and is most famous for its “Liberty print” fabrics which are also available in the form of clothing, furniture, and accessories. Liberty silk scarves start at around £150 and fabric starts from £22.50 per metre. Liberty has taken part in several designer collaborations with brands including Manolo Blahnik, Barbour, Nike, and Uniqlo."
"London is home to some of the most beautiful shops – whether you’re an interior design nut or just like to look from the outside. Wandering around London, it’s almost impossible not to pass a lovely little storefront or a beautifully decorated boutique. From The Old Curiosity Shop to Alice’s to the interior of The Liberty Store, there is no shortage of inspiration and beauty (Daunt Books is another blogger fave)."
"Housed in one of London’s most glamorous hotel, The Dorchester Spa promises an experience as opulent as its surroundings. A warren of light, bright spaces and dramatic-yet-intimate areas, facilities include a fitness centre filled with Technogym equipment, nine treatment rooms, a relaxation room, experience showers, steam room, hair salon and wittily named Spatisserie cafe. Available Monday to Thursday, the signature spa day at The Dorchester is dubbed the Beau-Tea-Ful Spa Experience and, you guessed it, culminates in a classic afternoon tea."
"Decadent art deco features line The Dorchester's exclusive spa. Dorchester Hotel, Park Lane, Mayfair, London, W1K 1QA. Tube: Hyde Park Corner Station"
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"Sopwell House Hotel is a grand affair, with more than 100 rooms, two restaurants, a spa and 12 acres of grounds to its name. Among all of that the best place to relax is in the cocktail lounge, where afternoon tea is served. It’s a long, breezy room that begins with a marble-topped bar and stretches all the way to a library, with little alcoves and giant sash windows along the way."
"The 10,000 square-foot agua spa at Sanderson in London's Fitzrovia is a dazzling all-white space providing pampering, spiritual relief, and tranquillity. With walls of white, flowing curtains, the 14 all-white treatment rooms, chill-out zone and meditation beds creates a cloud-like ambiance with the sound of running water added to the atmosphere. Try the Natura Bisse signature treatment that analyses your skin and creates a programme designed specifically for your skin or the Natura Bisse Diamond Experience offering a multi-sensory cosmetic lift using ingredients that penetrate into the deepest layers of the skin, providing the firmness necessary to stimulate regeneration and reinforces the skin's natural defence system."
"The Tom Dixon-designed Thames-side hotel has transformed this part of the South Bank. The designer’s first complete hotel comes with portholes and a curved copper hull as well as a little bit of disco-ball shimmy in the air. His aesthetic flows down to the subterranean spa, where a huge copper droplet appears to drip through the ceiling from in the relaxation lounge."
"St Stephen Walbrook has the most beautiful interior of all Wren’s churches reputedly. He was experimenting with his plans for St Paul’s Cathedral. St Stephen is a variation on the same theme – an un-English central dome married to a traditional English church plan of nave with aisles, chancel and crossing transepts."
"Sir Christopher Wren is best known for the design and construction of St Paul’s Cathedral. He also built many other churches around London after the Great Fire. He probably did more to shape the appearance of London than any other single person, all the way through to the 19th century."
"Wildly regarded as Wren’s best City church, this was damaged during the Blitz so they commissioned Henry Moore to design a new altar"
"The Ragged School Museum in London opened in 1990 at the former Dr Barnardo's Copperfield Road Ragged School. The school opened in 1877 to provide the children in the area with a basic education, making it the biggest school of its kind for the period. By 1908, the government had taken over public education and the school was closed."
"How does making your way down the world’s longest and tallest slide sound?. Pretty amazing, right?. If you agree, check out the Arcelor Orbit Slide."
"The Sunday roast is a pillar in British food culture, but surprisingly few restaurants better the home-cooked version of this national institution. The Marksman’s roast, one of the finest in the city, is worth travelling to Hackney for. But this is also a pub-restaurant to visit any day of the week — for delicious, seasonal, imaginative cooking — like cocoa beans, girolles and hen’s egg or brown crab and fennel pollen on toast — brilliantly British and refined, this should be the template for the gastropub 2.0 in London."
"Michelin named this Hackney spot its Pub of the Year in 2017 – unsurprising, since it was reborn the previous year with Michelin-starred blood in its veins. Chefs John Rotheram and Tom Harris reopened the Marksman, having both previously worked at British heavyweight St John. Its food-centric resurrection marries neighbourhood boozer vibes on its ground floor – and excellent bacon buns on the weekends – with a dining room above."
"Sure, the small terrace of east London boozer the Marksman looks down onto Hackney Road traffic, but it’s surprisingly pleasant. There’s limited space but bag a table when the sun is out and it’s a sweet spot to sink a few pints in the afternoon and linger on for some beef and barley buns — sun’s out, buns out."
"The BAO Bakery Goods counter at Cafe BAO has almost single-handedly made King’s Cross a must-visit area for baked goods. Inspired by the western-style yōshoku cafes dotted across Asia, Cafe BAO has got some of the most unique bakes available for purchase in the whole of London. There’s nowhere else in the city that you can get your mitts on a bag of dinky buns filled with molten chocolate and cherry chunks, runny salted egg custard, or sweet red bean and white chocolate."
"Everyone’s favourite Taiwanese street food emporium, Bao, best known for its tiny Soho outlet, has opened a big new café in King’s Cross. Drawing inspiration from western style cafes in Asia, the new eatery will serve – among Bao standards – European dishes with an eastern twist, such as Taiwanese fried chicken kiev. 4 Pancras Square, N1C 4DS Nearest Tube: King’s Cross"
"The Bao brand can do no wrong and its success continues with this all-day operation in King’s Cross. Head to the bakery counter for curious sweet treats including a white chocolate and red bean bao."
"Although – or perhaps because – it stopped being cutting-edge several thousand cheap leather jackets ago, Camden Market attracts millions of visitors each year and is one of London's most popular attractions. What started out as a collection of attractive craft stalls beside Camden Lock on the Regent's Canal now extends most of the way from Camden Town tube station to Chalk Farm tube station."
"Camden Market is not a single market, but consists of several different markets within walking distance of each other. Market stalls sell just about everything including food, clothing, crafts, art, souvenirs, and more."
"Exhibiting modern art by both up-and-coming and established artists from the USA, Europe and Asia, Victoria Miro is a gallery that is all about the wow factor. “Their recent Idris Kahn exhibition, Beyond the Black in 2013, gave me the same wow effect as when I went to see Mark Rothko at Tate Modern” says Matthew, recalling to us how the atmosphere of the gallery that day was both powerful and enthralling. Having worked closely with Idris Kahn in the past, Matthew told us he felt very proud to see what he had achieved."
"Victoria Miro is recognised for celebrating new artists from America, Europe and Asia as well as sustaining amazing homegrown London talent. The large space is set across two floors, and the gallery is particularly unique as it has its own garden. The studio represents established installation artist Doug Aitken as well as more modern artists including Conrad Shawcross and Alice Neel."
"This gallery is in an 8,000-square-foot former furniture factory situated between Hoxton and Islington in north east London. Victoria Miro can be relied upon to exhibit the very best and most extraordinary in contemporary art. For example, currently it is showing work by Japanese artist Yayoi Kusama whose iconic pumpkin sculptures are a sight to behold."
"By far the most extensive and sophisticated exhibitions of photography can be found at the dedicated Photographers’ Gallery, which is perhaps more aptly described as a museum of photography, spread over five floors. There is no permanent collection, but exhibitions are carefully curated with an educational and historic focus. The gallery also hosts a bookshop, a café, and a lively series of educational and social events, making it a premier yet relatively underappreciated attraction for anyone out and about in the city."
"The Photographers' Gallery opened in 1971 as the first public photography-dedicated gallery in the UK, and still maintains a sterling reputation. Its 2019 programme will feature German photographer Arno Schidlowski and four artists shortlisted for the Deutsche Börse Photography Foundation Prize 2019. 16-18 Ramillies Street, Soho, W1F 7LW; thephotographersgallery.org.uk"