Unusual things to do in London.

WireHangers I would recommend one of two things to see, both of which are free:

1/ Little Venice- positioned behind Paddington Station this is a wide basin where the canal boats turn around. You can have breakfast there on a permanently moored canal boat- either in the boat or on the side path- as both joggers run past and swans glide by. It featured heavily in the Paddington 2 film.

You can also catch a canal boat that will take you through Regents Canal, past London Zoo and into the hear of Camden Market. The canal boat ride takes about 45 mins.

To get to Little Venice, with go to Paddington Station and follow the well trodden public path behind the station to can't the tune to Warwick Avenue (The Bakerloo line- the brown line) and its a 5 minute walk.

2/ Postman's Park- a small peaceful inner city park shadowed by St Paul's it has a terraced wall with tiles depicting heroic feats carried out br everyday Londoners of the past the closest station is St Paul's.

It is also a 5 minute walk from both St Paul's and the restaurant where first Dates is filmed.

In the other direction is the Millennium Bridge featured in the Harry Potter films, leading to the Tate Modern.

Speaking of Harry Potter, if you go to St Pancras station, you can see Platform 9 & 3/4.

If you're there, go into the newly restored St Pancras hotel. The grand staircase is where the Spice Girls danced and sang a zigza zig ah.

It's also where they held their press launch for Viva Forever!- the Spice Girls musical.

I hope this helps

It's in King's Cross Station next door, not St. Pancras. Just walk on towards the toilets until you see the cluster of people waiting to take a photo. There's also a merchandise shop (because of course).

As for unusual things to do, this has been on my bucket list for a while
www.postalmuseum.org/attractions/mail-rail/

Don’t travel by tube. Use the buses, top deck.
TFL river transport for example Westminster to Greenwich. Look at the city from the river.
Restaurant… not unique and very much a cliche but Joe Allen near Covent Garden is fun, very west end, stagey with the posters and memorabilia. People wills sniff at it but the food is ok.

I second seeing the city from the river and walking/travelling by bus.

I've only managed to do one of the hidden London tours before they stopped due to lockdown but hopefully they will be up and running again by your visit.
www.ltmuseum.co.uk/hidden-london

”In the other direction is the Millennium Bridge featured in the Harry Potter films, leading to the Tate Modern.

Speaking of Harry Potter, if you go to St Pancras station, you can see Platform 9 & 3/4.”





Funnily enough I was actually an extra in Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince and I live in Fort William where a lot of the movies where filmed, including the Glenfinnan Viaduct which everyone called “the Harry Potter bridge”, so I’m a bit Harry Potter’d out.

The other suggestions are absolutely fab! I’ll definitely do a bit of research on them and add them to the list. Thanks so much!!

Agree about not bothering with expensive bus tours, and I recommend the number 11 normal tfl bus which will show you a lot of cool landmarks for the bargain price of £1.55 each!

I quite like The Barbican conservatory - think it’s only open at certain times, but if you’re in the area to see something it’s worth checking to see if it is open.

Another vote for Museum of London, really enjoyed that.
The cable car across to the O2 is good if you like those.
London Transport Museum also great.


Ones on my list that I haven't got round to yet:
Bank of England Museum
Thames RIB experience
Hidden London tours by the Transport Museum (my regular theatre buddy can't walk very well so we're hoping to do those when her walking improves)

My friends went to the film museum (I think that's what it's called) in Covent Garden, they weren't expecting much but said it was very enjoyable.

I’d always recommend the free skygarden over the expensive shard.

Just thought of another one.
Sky Garden at the top of the Walkie Talkie building in the city. Amazing views and it's free.

skygarden.london/

Another vote for Highgate Cemetery. They are trialling self-guided visits to the West Cemetery over the next few weeks - visiting has only been by guided tours for many years. Well worth a wander around. You have to book in advance.

Aquashard is a lovely setting for lunch - 31st floor of the Shard, with amazing views, especially the tables for 2, which are right by the windows. It's not cheap - £34 for a three course set lunch, but I think the viewing platform higher up is around £25 to visit, and it's much nicer to be able to sit for an hour and eat while gazing at the view. They used to do breakfast for around £20 pre-Covid but they seem to have stopped that - perhaps it will re-start when things return to 'normal'.

Do they still have the theatre exhibit and archives at the V and A?