Floral Tour of London–Travel Tips and Must See Places
Note: Jenny Chu is a California native, but currently lives in Barcelona with her boyfriend and dog. She writes about budget traveling and you can read more about her adventures, like this one in London, at www.iheartjennychu.com.
By Jenny Chu
I’d been to London a couple of times before this trip and wanted to do something different, so I decided to take a self-guided floral tour of the city since it’s become the new thing on Instagram. Here’s a list of places I went, price breakdown and a few helpful travel tips.
Jenny Chu in London Photo by: Law Cefre
Photo Opp Locations:
Peggy Porschen is a must for this floral tour of London. The bakery is so cute and has the most stunning floral arrangements you’ve ever seen.
Les Senteurs
Élan Cafe
It’s challenging to get a table, but you don’t have to wait in line to take a photo. This was also the case for Peggy Porschen, but you can also just order something small for take away if you don’t want to wait.
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Kew Gardens: 16£ – You can purchase your tickets in advance online so you skip line when you arrive. Kew Gardens is in zone 4.
Other locations that I didn’t have time to go to: Sanderson Hotel and Saint Aymes
Price Breakdown
Visiting London is not cheap, but I was lucky enough to score reasonably priced flights from Barcelona and inexpensive accommodations.
1£ = $1.34 USD as of June 11th, 2018
When I went 3 years ago, 1£ = $1.77 USD Insane!!
Flight from BCN –> LGW (Gatwick)
$96.50 OR 9,850 points in the Chase Ultimate Rewards Portal. I didn’t use my points because I’m saving it for a bigger trip.
Lodging: Millennium Apartments in the Shoreditch area $75/night
Hotels and a lot of Air B&B were going for $150 or more so I lucked out on this deal. It’s a really tiny apartment but that didn’t matter since I was out most of the time anyways. The Shoreditch area in London was a great location! It’s kind of a hipster-ish area and the tube was a five minute walk from the apartment.
Jenny Chu in London Photo by: Law Cefre
Things To Do Beforehand:
Purchase your Gatwick Express ticket online using the route from Gatwick Airport to London Victoria Station. I did a round trip ticket and it cost me 32.70£ ($43.73 USD) Your ticket could be cheaper if your flight lands after peak hours. Peak hours are the first train of the day to those arriving at the airport before 10:00 am and in the evening it is between 4:30pm – 6:00pm leaving from London. You can purchase tickets once you land but be prepared to wait in a long line. Finding the Gatwick Express is fairly easy however make sure to have the ticket bar code on your phone. You will be scanning in and out.
Once you get to the London Victoria station, you have to purchase the blue Oyster card which cost 5£ (non-refundable) and then load the card with money. I wasn’t able to buy the Oyster card through the self-service machine so I had to wait in line for the customer service rep.
Jenny Chu in London Photo by: Law Cefre
There is a daily cap for using the tube in Zone 1 and 2. I spent a total of 25£ in the span of four days and that included 1 trip to Zone 4 for the Kew Gardens. The Oyster card works on the city buses as well. The tube operates from 5am – midnight daily with reduced services on Sundays. One ride in Zone 1 & 2 cost 2.40£ with the Oyster Card.
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***Please note – when traveling via the tube, there are a lot of stairs to go up and down. Hopefully you have packed light! Your phone will not work underground so screenshot your routes before heading underground. There is WiFi underground but you cannot connect to it unless you are registered with their local phone services like Vodafone or Virgin (it asks for a username login/password.)
Uber works here! It’s way cheaper than taking those cute taxis.
Jenny Chu in London Photo by: Law Cefre
Reserve free tickets to the Sky Garden. It’s a really tall building with a panoramic view of London. When I went three years ago, I went to the Shard – guess how much it was to go to the top? Almost 50£ ($67 USD)!!!! Tickets go fast so book at least two weeks in advance. You also have to pick a time slot. If you forget, you can still get up there if you have reservations to one of their four restaurants.
And finally the last thing to book before coming to London – if you are a priority pass holder (Benefit or having a Chase Sapphire Credit Card) you should book a reservation at Gatwick’s airport lounge called No1 for your departure date. Call (+44) 844 264 6440. I tried getting in and the receptionist said they were full but that really isn’t the case. Priority Pass holders are bottom of the totem pole and they will try to sell you a pass to get in. Luckily, another place you have access to is the Grain Store Cafe & Bar in which they offer 15£ off your bill. Both of these lounges are located in the South Terminal.
What To Do:
All of the museums are free, however at times there is a fee for special exhibits.
Jenny Chu in London Photo by: Law Cefre
*Insider’s Tip: If you need a place to store your luggage you can use stasher.com, which is what I did to find a place near the British Museum.
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If you want to check out the touristy sites, there’s endless possibilities. Consider the London Pass where you can see a variety of things like the Tower Bridge, Buckingham Palace, Coco-Cola London Eye, Shakespeare’s Globe, Tower Bridge Exhibition, Big Ben, London Bridge Experience and Tombs, River Thames Cruise, Westminster Abbey, Convent Garden and more.
Other cool places to visit include: Oxford Street for shopping, Fenwick Department Store on Bond Street, Camden Stable Market, Notting Hill, Portobello Road Market, Hyde Park. St. James Park, Windsor Castle and the cliffs of White Dover.
Photos by: Law Cefre
@cefrecreativeofficia