Day Trips from London.
1. Change of Guards:
For anyone visiting London this is a must see. Guards changing ceremony is held at Buckingham palace at 11:30 am and it is free. During summer months (April through July) Change of Guards happens daily. Rest of the months it happens alternate days. You can see it from the front gates of the Buckingham Palace.
2. National Maritime Museum and Royal Observatory:
Museum and Observatory are both located in Greenwich. About 30 minutes train ride from central London. Entry is free for both these locations. Here you may stand on Prime Meridian Line. Which is also know as Greenwich line. Every place on the earth is measured in its distance either in east or west from Meridian Line.
3. Queen's House
It is also located in Greenwich and can be covered same day item above in 2. This is the oldest classical building in London. It was build in early 1600s.
4. Westminster Palace (Parliament House):
UK visitors can arrange for tours of Westminster Palace as well as attend hearings/debates free of charge. Foreign visitors are charged a fee for a tour and it is available only during summer. But they can attend hearings/debate free of charge through out the year/when parliament is in session.
5. Westminster Abbey:
Westminster Abbey is a church built in 11th Century. Many famous people including Sir Isaac Newton, Sir Charles Darwin, Dr. Livingston etc are berried here. Visitors are charged fee but there is not fee for worshippers and you may see the church from inside during this time.
6. Tate Modern and Tate Britain:
These are exceptional art galleries featuring some finest contemporary artwork and artwork from Britain from 16th century. They are free and must for art lovers.
7. National Gallery and National Portrait Gallery:
Entry to this world renowned National Gallery is free. It is located in Trafalgar Square. It houses about 2300 paintings from 12th through 19th Century. It is open till late on Wednesday.
National Portrait Gallery represents British history from medium of Portrait. You can find here portrait of The Beatles, Henry VIII, Queen Victoria, Sir Richard Branson etc. Entry to Portrait Gallery is also free.
8. Royal Mail Mount Pleasant Sorting Office (Mount Pleasant):
Mount Pleasant is the largest mail sorting office in the world. It covers about 7.5 acre area. Its underground tunnel network to deliver mail is 23 miles long. Free guided tours are available for visitors.
9. Victoria And Albert Museum:
This museum has a collection of tons of items collected from countries all around the world. Mainly the countries where Briton had colonies as some point. Items include jewellery,pottery, clothes, paintings,weapons,statues etc. Entry to this museum is free as well.
Its fun to feed pigeons at Victoria and Albert Museum. These pigeons roam freely in the garden/lake of the museum and they are not at all scared of humans. They even eat french fries from your hand !!
10. London Landmarks:
This list will not be complete without mentioning London's most loved and very well known and well recognised landmarks like Big Ben , Piccadilly Circus (This is to similar to Times Square for New York) ,Tower Bridge and Trafalgar Square.
