I remember coming up the long stairs from the London Underground for the first time, to a typically London rainy day. Our family was about to take a Thames boat tour and really see the city from an aquatic angle, but the sight of all the umbrellas, cloudy skies, dirty streets, and the pervasive odor of fried fish and river water all hit me like a ton of bricks.
London! I was studying English literature at the time, so to me it was one big field trip. The boat tour was well worth doing on a first visit to London; we saw St. Paul’s cathedral, the Globe theater, the Tower Bridge, the Tate Modern with its tall tower, and the famous London Eye, Big Ben, and Parliament. It gave me a sense of what it was like for all the thousands of people that traveled London by boat up and down the Thames for hundreds of years.
That day we toured St. Paul’s cathedral, Westminster Abbey, and the Globe theater, and I would heartily recommend all three locations to a first-time tourist in London. None are free, but for a nominal fee you can see some of the best, most interesting parts of the city.
Westminster Abbey greets you when you leave Waterloo Station, and is well worth seeing for the graves of the poets and famous people buried there. Pause a moment beside Chaucer, or Handel, and feel the weight of art and history on your shoulders for a moment. The abbey was begun by King Henry III in 1245, so that’s a mere 800 years of history you’re standing on right now. And I found that despite the crowds of people, Westminster is a quiet, calming place suitable for reflection.
Saint Paul’s is the work of brilliant architect Christopher Wren, and its dome is breathtaking to see from the outside as well as the inside. The cathedral withstood the Blitz of London during World War Two, and there is an entire chapel in the building dedicated to the American troops who came and helped England win the war, which moved me to tears. I also enjoyed seeing the cathedral because I remembered it from the movie Mary Poppins as the location of the Bird Woman who sold pigeon food. I admit I was kind of hoping to see her, but no such luck.
The Globe Theater was a must-see for me, an ardent lover of Shakespeare. It is an amazing reproduction, right down to the uncomfortable seats and the room for the even cheaper “seats” to stand up and watch the show. Although take my advice, if you see a show there, pay the extra few bucks for a seat cushion, and you will not regret it! The stage is the most beautiful part of the reproduction, it is embellished all over and utterly amazing to see. The place will definitely give you a taste of fifteenth century London.
If you are planning a London trip in the near future, enjoy! It’s a beautiful city with so much to see, and something to interest everyone. I have visited seven or eight times since that first trip, and have loved it every time.