5 Must Visit Spots in London

Hey Finches! My name is Gina Moccio and I'm the Founder of Babe Crafted. London is where my heart is, so when Amy asked me if I'd be game to be a guest blogger for PaperFinch, there was no question as to what city I wanted to highlight.

I was fortunate enough to study there for a semester in college & visit 2 years ago with my partner. My next trip to this wonderful city will be later this year.. I'm excited to share that I’ll be living and working virtually in London for all of August. Eeeek!

I’m living the dream and I’m excited to take you through a tour of the places I’ll be visiting again & that I highly encourage you to check out as well. I really could go on & on about this amazing city, but I’ve narrowed it down to 5 for you! I hope you enjoy my picks and that you’ll let me know how much you love them once you visit for yourself. Let’s dive in!

1 // Have lunch at Borough Market

I can’t recommend Borough Market. If you’re a sucker for good eats & people watching, then this is the foodie experience for you. There are so many yummy food stalls to grab a meal from, but I highly recommend stopping by ScotchTails’ stall. If you’ve never had a Scotch Egg, you’re in for a treat! It’s a soft boiled egg that’s been wrapped in sausage, breaded, & fried.

You can choose the flavor that best fits your palette and even add some sweet potato fries. ;) You won’t be sorry, babe.  

2 // Catch a show at Shakespeare’s Globe

I’ve been lucky enough to see 2 shows at Shakespeare’s Globe, including The Merry Wives of Windsor and A Midsummer Night’s Dream. They were both life-changing experiences filled with amazing performances and lots of laughter.  

I’ve been a groundling (standing on the ground floor under the open sky) and I’ve sat in the stands. I recommend getting a ticket that includes a seat in the stands and then renting a cushion for a few pounds once you check in. Yes, the groundling standing room is cheaper, but you’ll enjoy the experience more with a bit more comfort. Plus, you can order a beer for now and pre-pay for one that you can pop back out and grab during intermission. How rad is that?! The answer is very! So no matter what’s on at the time of your visit, go see it.

I recommend getting tickets online as early as you can. Shows often sell out!

3 // Pop in for some inspiration at Tate Modern

Tate Modern is one of several Tate collection museums and I’ve had such great experiences during the times I’ve visited this one. The building is a former electrical powering plant, so if you were wondering why the biggest & most popular modern museum on the world looks like a factory, that’s why, girl!

See works by Vincent Van Gogh, Andy Warhol, Bridget Riley, & Joseph Beuys in person. Explore & enjoy!

4 // Enjoy pizza & craft beer at Crate Brewery…

…before hopping on the Alfred Le Roy for a turn around the River Thames. One of my favorite things I’ve ever done in my life was snag a ticket to float around on the River Thames on the famous Alfred Le Roy canal boat. My ticket included a cocktail (still one of my favorite cocktails of all time called White Building!) and my partner & I arrived really early, so we decided to enjoy a pizza and some beer while we waited for our boat travel event to begin. It was so delicious! If you’d like to try for yourself, we had the Sage & Truffle pizza. Highly recommend, babe!

Snag your river cruise ticket through Alfred Le Roy’s website here and then make sure you give yourself enough time to enjoy some pizza for maximum foodie enjoyment.

5 // Snag a Hot Chocolate at Dark Sugars Cocoa House

Girrrrrrl. You’ve never experienced anything like this chocolate shop! It’s right in the middle of Brick Lane, the famous place to enjoy tasty Indian food in the neighborhood of White Chapel and it’s a gorgeous chocolate retail shop where you’ll want one of everything, but will settle for a handful of artisan chocolates like Passion Fruit Pearls and Irish Kiss Pipettes…. and a cuppa hot cocoa!  

They chop up fresh chocolate shavings & add it to your cup as a topping. It’s beautiful, IG worthy for sure, & completely yummy.  

Thanks for visiting London with me! Here are 3 bonus travel tips below that I’ve shared just for you. Stay boss & don’t be shy about reaching out to say hello! -Gina

1 // Opt for the guided tour! You’ll learn some exciting things about historic places that you never would’ve known.

2 // Bring comfortable shoes! I ended up having to pop into a shop and buy a pair of sneakers because the shoes I thought would be fine were giving me blisters.

3 // Figure out how you want to handle social media before your trip. If you plan to post daily, that’s okay! If you plan to go silent during your vacation or work trip, that’s okay too. I would decide in advance so you can know what to expect and be in the moment when it matters most. I wouldn’t want you to miss out on any magic during your trip!

4 // Oh! And the most important tip of all: have fun! London is an amazing city & you deserve to enjoy as much as you can, babe.

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Gina Moccio is a storytelling and digital marketing expert. She loves to travel, drink iced coffee, & talk about goals. She’s the Founder of Babe Crafted, a girl gang of women entrepreneurs interested in connecting with likeminded women, scaling their business, giving back, & having fun while doing all of the above. Gina can be reached via email at hello@babecrafted.com, on Babe Crafted’s website http://babecrafted.com/, or on Instagram: @babecrafted.