Why I’m Not Going Back to London

Ok, hear me out before you think this is a completely negative post. Full disclosure, it’s not, and my opinion only, which really doesn’t matter. But, it may help some folks heading to London to be better prepared. I don’t want to bore everyone with a long post of words and fluff so I’m going to get straight to the point.

I loved visiting London for my first time. I loved walking the streets, strolling through the parks and soaking in the sights of a new city. I grew up with Prince William and Prince Harry, reading magazines of London and following the Royal family. Being able to see London in person was definitely a bucket list item. I loved being able to check off all the points of interest and I will say a highlight was being able to attend Palm Sunday service at Westminster Abbey. Below is a list of the main points of interest we experienced while in London.

• Buckingham Palace
• Kensington Palace
• Hyde Park & Kensington Park
• Westminster Abbey
• St. Paul’s Cathedral
• London Eye
• Big Ben
• House of Parliament
• Tower Bridge
• Piccadilly Circus

I don’t regret anything and loved experiencing the diversity of London. I enjoyed strolling the neighborhoods, eating fish and chips at the local pubs, and enjoying a cup of coffee in the early mornings. London is full of friendly and diverse people from all walks of life and anyone can feel welcomed in London. It’s a bucket list city and everyone should visit it at least once.

I’m not saying I’ll never go back, but I won’t lose sleep if I don’t get back there. So, why is London a one and done for me?

• London is a very large metropolitan city. It has a lot of the new mixed in with the old. It doesn’t possess the old city feel, although London has some cool architecture, famous points of interest, it didn’t give me the WOW factor. I know this may sound cliché, but when I travel, I want to be immersed in the country, the culture, and the feel of the locals. I enjoy old buildings, beautiful architecture, and cultural foods. London was another large populated city, and yes, it had some old world feel, it just didn’t meet my expectations.
• It’s not a walkable city due to the size of London and you will have to use transportation at some point. The transportation is expensive. Although, this really isn’t a surprise and it’s just like any major city. Getting around the city isn’t cheap, no matter which mode of transportation you take. I under budgeted in this area and we walked as much a possible, but walking everywhere is not realistic and you will have to taxi, Uber, bus or use the Underground. I recommend purchasing the Oyster card if you plan to visit London to save on The Underground when visiting or utilize the bus system. We ended up using Uber while we were there and it was costly.
• It only takes a few days to explore and see the highlights in London. Of course, there are plenty of attractions you can visit to occupy your time, and lots of museums which are free. If you have extra money to spend on your trip then you can spend a full day shopping on Oxford Street. We were able to see and do everything on our list in two full days and spent the other few days exploring other areas of England. I wouldn’t want to spend a full week in London alone, and a few days here were enough for me before I needed a break from the crowds and traffic.
• London is a busy city and you can’t avoid or get away from traffic and crowds. London is full of tourists so be aware to purchase popular tourist attractions in advance. I also highly recommend making reservations for dinner. We had a hard time on the nights we didn’t make a reservation to walk in and grab a table. Give yourself time to get to places due to the size and traffic in London. Some people enjoy the thrills of large crowds and cramped spaces, but I can only handle crowds for so long before I need to get away.
• There are restaurants on every corner in London and food of every option. You can have fish and chips, Italian, Indian, steak and the list goes on and on, if you get my drift. Don’t get me wrong, we ate at some great places, but London food itself was just, ok. Although the pubs were fun and a great experience, pub food is not the best, and I recommend venturing to other cultural food choices.

Maybe, I had unrealistic expectations of London. Maybe, I need to give London another chance. I think I was hoping for a story book city carved out of Winnie the Pooh or Mary Poppins. In reality, it was a large modernized city intertwined with cobblestone streets, Georgian and Victorian style buildings, and an abundance of tourists and crowds. Although, I enjoyed the experience and marking this city off my bucket list, I won’t lose sleep if I don’t get back here in the future.

Did I miss the mark? Am I the only one that feels this way? Maybe I am, and that’s okay. I left feeling accomplished of the places I saw in London, but it didn’t capture my heart, and my heart guides the places where I feel most alive, and London just wasn’t one of them.