Londoners love... recommendations from people
who know
Win a personalised Monopoly set or a book (100 to give away) recommend your favourite bit of London
The
world's oldest municipal park, Victoria Park is literally in my back
yard. We find it most relaxing and a haven within the maze that is our
beloved city.
Another favourite is Columbia Rd Flower Market - a place to admire
all the lovely plants & flowers. Naturally the urge to spend is omnipresent
but so are the bargains! Hackney is a rather strange place but has a
charm all
of its own. These days it boasts some very fine dining establishments
and the ethnic mix couldn't be better. Cyrus Todiwala MBE chef/proprietor
of Cafe Spice Namaste
Different parts of London are my favourites for different activities: The King's Road - for walking and window-shopping on a Saturday afternoon; the North end of Portobello Rd/Ladbroke Grove - great local market, shops, foods, atmosphere; Holland Park - mid-summer open air opera; Soho on a Sunday morning - amazingly peaceful, you notice what's around you, not the madding crowds. Joe Sovran, Finnish-Canadian London resident.
Lounging in Battersea Park on a summer Saturday with food, beer and friends (not necessarily in that order) - no better way to relax. Banana Cabaret at the Bedford in Balham - comedy, drink, silly dancing til 2am, the perfect night out. Fabric - still London's best club, puts all its effort into the music; The Gate at Hammersmith - London's best veggie restaurant. A pub walk from Highgate tube across to Hampstead village via the Flask pub at Highgate. The London Eye - thousands of people can't be wrong...the best view there is of the city, day and night. Alex Smith, Sutton Tourism Officer
I love walking around the City on summer weekends. No traffic or crowds just peace. It's the best place to see remnants of the old, weird and secret London. The London Stone is almost hidden behind an iron grill at the front of the Overseas Chinese Bank opposite Canon Street. It was sliced off the tip of a large menhir that stood in the middle of the road until the 18th century. Until then it was the traditional place to pass laws, make proclamations, perform ceremonies and was mentioned by both Shakespeare and Dickens and first referred to in 10th century records although its origins are shrouded in myth and legend. A ley lines is alleged to run along Canon Street. David Bush , Equity Trader.
Bermondsey Antiques Market holds special memories – my 2nd date with my wife, who wanted to test whether I liked her enough to meet her there at 5 am (and probably to see the power of my wallet), followed by smoked salmon & scrambled eggs at the Fox & Anchor in Smithfield. I also remember how excited she was when I introduced her to Lebanese food, I particularly like Ranoush on Edgware Road for a quick lunch (make sure you get a fresh squeezed mango juice), in fact you will find fabulous Middle Eastern food all along the Edgware Road. Elias Moubayed, London resident & Lebanese-German who never quite got round to going back home.
My very favourite bit of London is in the East end. I love the history there from the Jewish merchants to the Bengali population now. The different smells, sights, sounds, the 24 hour Bagel shop, the Whitechapel Art Gallery, the Women’s Library, London Guildhall Uni, the evocative names of the times of Jack the Ripper and then the Krays the Blind Beggar pub AAARGH!! How the area’s changed! Anita Traynor, social worker & Liverpudlian temporary resident of London (for 20 years)
My favourite bit of London is the Thames Path from Hampton Court to Sunbury. My boyfriend and I go cycling there in the summer and it's great because it's flat but you can really get some speed up. Also, the people who walk along the Thames Path around there don't get annoyed with cyclists so they generally step aside and let you pass. I can't say the same about the families out on their bikes travelling in packs at a "leisurely" pace though...aah, the sound of screeching bike brakes!! Usha Mistry, Pool of London Partnership
My
favourite part of London is the Horniman Museum in Forest Hill. Where else
can you find an overstuffed walrus, a Spanish Inquisition torture chair, a
20 foot high Nigerian Ijele mask and live poison arrow frogs all in the same
place? And run around in 16 acres of beautiful gardens afterwards? London
is a world city, this is the world's museum." Andy Charlton,
Blue Badge Guide
I love
going to the tennis at Wimbledon. Being a milkman in the area I also get to
meet the stars when local residents let their houses to them. Everyone asks
where they stay but I'm not telling anyone! David Greaves, Milkman
It has to be Soho night or day, it is lively, interesting & so cosmopolitan, and you can have a meal even at three am after a good night out. If you just want to watch the world go by the cafes are a dream. I always feel I am on holiday when I am on a day or night out in Soho. Mary from Tooting
The mews in areas like Knightsbridge, South Kensington, Chelsea and Holland Park. You leave a heavily trafficked road and turn into a quiet, villagey street with tiny but pretty homes, and people who seem to know one another and care about their little piece of London. A special mention goes to Chelsea Gardens and its stores and eateries, where it's lovely to sit outdoors and sip a nice cappuccino even in the winter, if it's not raining. Emilio Tommasi, former Italian diplomat living in London.
Bush House and the BBC, and Speakers’ Corner in Hyde Park – in the old “eastern bloc” days we used to listen to the BBC and dream of the freedom of speaking at Speakers’ Corner. It was the first thing I did on my trip to London after the wall came down. Herr Mohr, from Magdeburg in the former East German Republic.
I am a motorcyclist and love to ride around exploring different bits of
London, and on a bike it is easier and you can park for free! But my favourite
bit of London is Mudchute City Farm. It is situated on the south part of
the Isle of Dogs and has all the 
usual farm animals in it, but also has some
Llamas. Seven month old white Lizzie Llama has been delighting old and young
alike as she happily eats grass out of people's hands with her Mum and Dad
looking on. The weirdest thing about Mudchute City Farm, is that it is actually
quite large in area, so you can take photographs in what looks like a regular
countryside setting, except for the fact, if you view north, you can see
the towers of the Canary Wharf complex rising out of the tops of the meadows!
I wonder how many of the thousands of commuters who travel to their offices
every day realise that just a couple of miles south is this beautiful big
farm! The cafe is lovely too and a great place to while away an afternoon.
The same as the above can also be said of Surrey Quays Farm on Rotherhithe
on the riverside, minus llamas! Sam South, from London
Do you have a your favourite bit of London? You could win a personalised Monopoly set or one of 100 books
