While realistically speaking, most people won’t come to London for just one hour, we wanted to find out where locals would send out-of-towners if their time in our city was limited. Places visitors just need to have seen, and can’t-miss spots every non-Londoner should have on their bucket list. Once again proving just how friendly we Londoners are (particularly to tourists), a few of our readers came up with some rather sarcastic responses to the question “If a non-Londoner had one hour in London, where would you send them?”… (All GIFs are via Giphy)
One hour in London?
1. “Nowhere. They won’t make it anywhere interesting in an hour, let alone back”
I mean, they have a point…
2. “Let’s be honest, they would spend it on the Tube before they got there”
3. “Nowhere. You literally can’t reach any place in London in less than one hour. Find the pub at the corner, have a quick beer, and call an Uber to take you to the airport. There’s gonna be traffic.”
Yeah, okay… we get it…
4. “If they’re changing at Bank, maybe that’s the only thing they’re gonna see.”
Then there were these lovely suggestions…
5. “Away. Why are you talking to me?”
6. “Faster. I’d tell them to go faster. And on the right side of the Tube escalators.”
7. “Tesco”
???
8. “Go to London Bridge and learn the difference between that and Tower Bridge, then tell all your friends.”
Well, now you know. After all of this friendly advice, you might want to think twice about coming to London…
But in all seriousness, some of our good people actually made an effort to recommend a few places worth checking out. If you’re really a non-Londoner looking for a list of our city’s can’t-miss spots, here are some great tips from locals:
9. “The Thames Clippers boat as you can take in almost all the landmarks within the given hour while having a pint of Guinness.”
10. “Little Venice and then a walk to Camden along Regents Canal, and take in the view of London Zoo.”
11. “St Paul’s. Arguably the single greatest building in Britain.”
12. “The Royal Albert Hall and the gorgeous surrounding parks for walks.”
13. “St. Dunstan in the East + the Sky Garden (see the greatness and magic of London all in one)”
14. “The viewing platform from Tate Modern. It has a small coffee shop, it’s free, and usually you don’t have to queue to get in.”
15. “Walk along the South Bank. Start at Waterloo and head east.”
Alternatively,
16. “Start at the South Bank, then over Millennium Bridge to the Strand and up to Covent Garden.”
17. “Go grab a drink at the Shard. You’ll see the whole city and people-watch. Win win.”
18. “Camden Town”
19. “A picnic in Primrose Hill“
20. “Soho and Chinatown, gotta go where the food is.”
Can’t argue with that!
21. “Greenwich”
22. “Museum of London – much underrated”
23. “Walk from Southwark Bridge to Vauxhall bridge!”
24. “Buy a coffee and go sit in Mount Street Gardens.”
25. “Camden Market, then a trip on a canal boat to Little Venice.”
26. “Columbia Road Flower Market“
27. “East London docklands area, some lovely walks by the Thames and the old India docks”
28. “Walk along the Embankment from Tower Bridge on the southside to Westminster Bridge. Look across the river to see the mixture of the old (The Tower of London) and the new, City skyline. On the way stop at Borough Market, Southwark Cathedral, the Globe Theatre, Tate Modern, Festival Hall, and Westminster Bridge.”
You better walk fast to check all of these off in under an hour, but then again, speedy walks are the London way.
29. “Ronnie Scott’s”
30. “Holland Park”
31. “Shoreditch“
32. “Start at Trafalgar Square, stroll through St James’s Park with its pelicans, then down to Parliament Square, calling at Westminster Abbey, Big Ben, the Houses of Parliament, then back up Whitehall, past the Cenotaph, and back to Trafalgar Square. Now go onwards up Charing Cross Rd, past St Martin in the Fields, into Chinatown and Soho for a meal and drink, or into Covent Garden to do the same.”
Again, you might need to rush to get through this packed itinerary, but it’s a great one nonetheless!
And finally:
33. “Anywhere, London is amazing!!!”
Agreed!