Happy New Year 2019!
Welcome back everyone! Winter is here but London is a city that never sleeps. With so much to see and do, London is truly a vibrant city and to make things even better, the Alhambra Hotel is offering great discounts during January, February and March. Take advantage of it! Up to 30% off Rack Rates.
2019 NEW YEAR PROMOTION
- Valid for January/ February/ March 2019
- Up to 30% Discount Rack Rates
- Subject to Availability
- Please note that Live Rates on Website ALREADY reflect Discounts
- Book Now at alhambrahotel.spinmeaweb.co.uk
Over the next few months, I will be publishing a list of recommended places to visit or to do in London. Here are some of the MUST DO things in London:
The V&A is one of the world’s – let alone London’s – most magnificent museums, its foundation stone laid on this site by Queen Victoria in her last official public engagement in 1899. It is a superb showcase for applied arts from around the world, appreciably calmer than its tearaway cousins on the other side of Exhibition Road. Some 150 grand galleries on seven floors contain countless pieces of furniture, ceramics, sculpture, paintings, posters, jewellery, metalwork, glass, textiles and dress, spanning several centuries. Items are grouped by theme, origin or age: for advice, tap the patient staff, who field a formidable combination of leaflets, floor plans, general knowledge and polite concern.
Dating back to the thirteenth century, this historic food market (London’s oldest) is a sprawling cornucopia of gourmet goodies. It’s best to visit Borough Market on an empty stomach so you have room to snaffle samples of the bread, cured meats, cheese, olives and pastries on offer. The market used to mainly highlight British produce but nowadays you can find a global smorgasbord of traders. This goes for the street-food vendors too – you can indulge in succulent and salty French confit duck sandwiches, aromatic Ethiopian stir-friend stews, Spanish chorizo sarnies, Tuscan porchetta-inspired spit roast and even the humble scotch egg (elevated, of course).
Being London’s best and most famous food market has its pitfalls: it can get extremely cramped and chaotically busy. The market is a tourist hotspot and many of its visitors are there to take pictures rather than buy anything. So if your aim is to shop, arrive early to avoid the crush. If the crowds are too overwhelming, pick up some bits to go from Neal’s Yard Dairy, Cannon & Cannon and Bread Ahead, then head down to bankside for a riverside picnic. It’s worth noting that the market is closed on Sundays and exists only in skeleton form on Mondays and Tuesdays.
The Tate Modern is one of London – and the world’s – most iconic art galleries. The venue boasts an international collection of modern and contemporary artworks that few can beat, plus a historic piece of architecture worth visiting in its own right. Tate Modern is one of four Tate venues in the UK, and it welcomes a stonking 5 million visitors through its doors each year.
The gallery opened in 2000, making use of the old Bankside Power Station. The imposing structure on the banks of the Thames was designed after WWII by Sir Giles Gilbert Scott, the same architect behind Battersea Power Station. It was converted by Herzog & de Meuron, who returned to oversee a massive extension project. This started with the opening of the Tanks in 2012, and ended with the brand-new Switch House extension in 2016.
Next month, I will carry on with more recommendations of MUST DO things in London so…watch this space!
See you all in February!
Bruno-Manager
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