Short London Breaks

Time Out Guide To London

admin — Thu, 24 Feb 2011 11:11:53 +0000

Any Short London Break should definitely start by picking up a copy of Time Out. A long-standing essential in the Londoners pocket, as a guide to whats happening, when its happening and where its happening in London – this is even more valuable to the visitor who, faced with so many options within the city, would benefit from some guidance.

Most people coming to London automatically head for the great sights of the London Eye, the British Museum, the Natural History Museum etc and whilst those destinations are fantastic – there’s often a wealth of places which go neglected.

Time Out can really help here! In these lean times value for money is more important than ever. Looking for discount theatre tickets? Then their special offer page really helps. Want to check how that theatre production has been reviewed before you buy? Then Time Out has the answer too.

The magazine has been around for many years and over the last few years its global dominance has expanded - now boasting Time Out guides to New York and Sidney amongst others.

Its guide to restaurants, galleries , alternative venues , gay and lesbian events etc. etc means you’ll really get an insight into the vast array of possibilities within London – its also a great thing just to browse slumped in the chair at the end of a busy tourist day in the city, whilst you plan the evening or the following days events!

One of my personal favourite features is the ‘If You Only Do One Thing Today’ choice. Again its an invaluable avenue of exploration to the Londoner as well as to the city visitor, prompting great ideas that may not have occurred – and it leans more towards free or inexpensive events such as today’s choice – the Watercolour Exhibition at The Tate.

It’ll be the best couple of pounds you spend on your visit!

Short London Breaks is an agency offering quality self-catering accommodation across London and at every budget level. To see details of available properties visit out website at www.shortlondonbreaks.co.uk

London Short Breaks Celebrates the National Gallery

admin — Wed, 09 Feb 2011 16:41:59 +0000

Short London Breaks is always happy to promote the great features of the city of London – especially when those great features are free of charge, and the national collection of art, as housed by the National Gallery delivers every time.

The walls are covered in hundreds of grand masters from all over the world but the national artists arent neglected in any way either! With the galleries being laid out systematically – covering time frames and geographical location each gallery offers a perfectly compiled study in itself – and if you are in the area for any period of time then we definitely recommend focussing on just one or two galleries per visit – a brilliant way to get the best from this national resource.

However if youre a real art aficionado then you may want to consider paying for entry to one of the specialised exhibitions that come to the National Gallery and currently, in collaboration with the Flemish Government they are showcasing the works of one of the great Flemish Masters – Jan Gossaert. The exhibition runs from February to the end of May so plenty of time to get along and soak in some high art.

The exhibition features over 80 works, including many of the artist’s most important paintings, including the ‘Virgin and Child’, 1527, Prado, Madrid, and ‘Hercules and Deianeira’, 1517, Barber Institute of Fine Arts, Birmingham. It also features drawings and contemporaneous sculptures of the Northern Renaissance.

The National Gallery has one of the largest and finest collections of Gossaert’s paintings in the world – a highlight being The Adoration of the Kings (1510–15). This exhibition allows them to be set in the context of the full range of the artist’s work, from the fruits of his early visit to Rome to the unusually erotic presentation of the nude in his Adam and Eve series.

Whilst youre there pick up a couple of their leaflets as regualr changes in the programme means a revisit is always a great way to pass the day!

London Short Breaks Buttons

admin — Sun, 04 Jul 2010 16:13:41 +0000

Thames Walk – South Bank

admin — Tue, 16 Mar 2010 09:16:28 +0000

Short London Breaks always welcomes the opportunity to promote the healthy outdoors life – and perhaps a city break in the capital doesnt automatically lend itself to thoughts of striding out and taking in some fresh air, but with the development and investment that has taken place over the last few years into the Thames walk way, thats just what you can do on a bright fresh day like today.

If you’re just in the city for the weekend then the following walk ticks lots of different boxes – sight-seeing opportunities, culinary treats, culture, and best of all, easy on the budget!

If youre approaching the walk by tube then Id recommend starting at either London Bridge or Borough stations. Coming out of either of those head North until you come to the river.Why not start your explorations by venturing out onto London Bridge itself? Although it doesnt have the romance of many of the other bridges it does afford a great place to take pictures of Tower Bridge as well as The Tower of London on the North Bank of the Thames.

Then heading west along the river once again you shouldnt miss an amble around Borough Market – a real treat for all the foodies out there who want inspiration or just something unusual to snack on.

The market specialises in produce from small companies and producers from around the UK – but it also is a great place to find olives from Greeece, cheese from France, Ostrich from South Africa, chillies from Brazil – the list is endless.Its a great place to pick up a sandwich for later on in your walk too.

Continuing along back to the river you’ll see some of the best views of the river from here – with the City of London offering its best photogenic side, including the Lloyds Building, the Gherkin,St Pauls, the Barbican etc etc. There are a wealth of inexpensive restaurants along the river walk at this stage – pizza, Greek, up market burger stores too – so if youre in the market for a mid-price meal as a treat this is a good place to choose, and you can enjoy the river views at the same time.

Many of the restaurant along here are in the larger chains and so its worth checking out their websites

for discount vouchers and special offers – try Pizza Express, The Real Greek, the Gourmet Burger Kitchen for instance.

Continuing along the Thames Path then you’ll shortly pass the rebuilt Globe Theatre on your left and its worth dropping in and checking out the special offers. They do great standing tickets for the evening performances and given the architecture and atmosphere of the building at around £5 it makes for a memorable night’s entertainment even if plays arent your usual thing.

Continuing our walk along the South Bank, reaching the Millenium Bridge you’re faced with a couple of options. Just walking out onto the bridge, again, gives some good photo opportunities, but it also allows you to divert over to St Pauls Cathedral and see Christopher Wren’s masterpiece. Back on the S0uth side there’s more free culture avaialble in the form of the Tate Modern (see their website for details of exhibitions) - which always has a central exhibit in the main hall which generally delights even the most disinterested art viewer.

Just the above should fill at least three hours of your time, but if you’re still keen to hit the pavement further then continue along the river to the South Bank complex – go into the Royal Festival Hall, up to the 6th floor balcony and enjoy some of the best views of London. Dont forget to take you camera with you and this is an afternoon when the budget wont be hot badly at all!.

If you’re looking for quality accomodation in the city then go to Short London Breaks website to see what’s available!

Short London Breaks is an agency offering quality self-catering accommodation across London and at every budget level. To see details of available properties visit out website at www.shortlondonbreaks.co.uk

The British Museum

author — Mon, 22 Feb 2010 09:06:32 +0000

Putting aside any moral or ethical issues for the moment, as a visitor to London one thing everyone must make time for is a trip to the British Museum. As the largest empire the world has ever known the British explorers/conquerors/looters (whichever term you wish to apply) brought back from the farthest reaches of their empire artifacts and historical treasures the likes of which had never been before.

The wonderful thing about the British Museum – apart from the fact that entry is free and so makes for a great day out with the family, (and invaluable on one of those rare rainy days we occasionally get in London) is that there really is something for everyone. No child can ever walk past the ancient embalmed bodies of Egyptian mummys without a thrill and know exactly what they are looking at.

Want to see a perfectly preserved body (apart from a little colouring and the fact that he’s squashed) that has lain in a peat bog for almost 2000 years? Then get along to the British Museum.

Want to see oneof the most hottly contested museum artifacts in the world before they get returned to Athens? Then go a long and see the Elgin Marbles which are displayed in incredible beauty with their mountings and lightings in their own dedicated room on the ground floor.

museum traces its origins back to 1753 when an act of Parliament officially accepted the donation (at a cost of £20,000 admittedly) from Sir Hans Sloane, a persoanl collection of over 71,000 objects. Over the next hundred years or so, the wealth of the Empire allowed itself the luxury of extending this collection with many ‘gentlemen’ collectors and archeologists bringing back curiosities and ancient treasures from around the world.

The opening hours are 10.00 to 17.30 daily and entrance is free – apart from special exhibitions – and with audio tours in 10 different languages, it really does offer an incredible day out for every visitor to our city. See the Musuems fascinating website for details of special projects and details of work they are doing around the world to promote and preserve the heritage of hundreds of countries!