London is a city that boasts of a thriving tourist industry. Home of the Big Ben, a clock that stands 315 feet high and is perhaps one of the most famous clocks in the world, Buckingham Palace, the London Eye, and tons of other amazing sites, London is truly a cosmopolitan city. I, of course, was happy to participate in its tourism industry over spring break. Keep in mind, this information may vary by season, especially in the busy summer. I visited mid-March.

Favorite place: National Gallery

I loved the art exhibition, which mostly covered European art since around 1250. The collection was absolutely amazing and the museum itself also had amazing architecture and gorgeous rooms. I only wish it was open later and had more of the collection on display.

Overrated: the Change of the Guard at Buckingham Palace

I expected lots of formal fanfare and some sort of fancy marching by the guards in front of Buckingham Palace. Though I saw some of that, it was lax. In fact, a large portion of it was a band playing music, some of which were songs I recognized. It was nice to sing along to Les Miserables, but it was not worth the wait. To get a good place, you need to arrive at a minimum of 45 minutes to an hour before it actually starts. Then, you just stand in a huddled mass with loads of other tourists and watch police officers yell at people to keep moving and not loiter in the walkways. I guess it is almost a requirement for the hardcore tourist, since it is so famous, but I would definitely not do it again. If crunched for time, this is not an essential or entertaining activity.

Most surprising: the Tower of London

I didn’t have many expectations for the Tower, but I ended up spending an entire morning and part of an afternoon there. I took one of the Yeoman Warder tours, named because they are given by Yeoman Warders that can be easily identified by their bright red and black uniforms. I can’t verify that all of the tours will be so engaging, but I was blown away by how funny my tour guide was and how interesting the history all is. It’s surprisingly beautiful and is also the location of the Crown Jewels.

Big Ben, which is actually the name for the clock and not the tower, is not open for tourists to enter or see at any time. While an easily recognizable photo opportunity, there is not much else to do but take a picture. In addition, there are some of the famous red photo booths around that area set up just for visitors. They are also stationed in other busy London locales. In this picture above, the popular London Eye is also visible in the background. It is essentially a very large ferris wheel with transparent capsules.

Columbia Road Flower Market

It begins at 8 am, but I arrived around 10. I think it would have been more enjoyable earlier, as it was fairly busy. I’d say this is something most tourists do not visit, though I’m certainly not an expert on the popularity of attractions. It’s essentially a road where vendors set up stalls to hawk flowers, as expected, along with herbs, succulents, and other plants. This isn’t something unique to London, but it’s a nice stop.

Westminster Abbey

The Abbey boasts of having unparalleled architecture and being the location of many royalty figures. In my opinion, the St. Paul’s Cathedral is more beautiful, but the history of Westminster is just so rich and spans many royal families. Coronations, weddings, and burials of the most exclusive in the nation have been held there, such as the most recent wedding between William and Kate.

Harry Potter fans will also find some unique locations in London. Here, I went to see the famous platform at King’s Cross Station through which Harry and Ron run headfirst into. It is a total scam for money; they set up a line to take photos and an entire store full of Harry Potter merchandise, but it’s cool to see. There are also other sites that influenced JK Rowling, such as the real life alley she based Diagon-Alley on, with the creepy vibe to go with it.

St. Paul’s Cathedral is a must see for me, though I understand not everyone is interested in architecture. Christopher Wren’s work on that very building inspired the famed dome in our very own Capitol building. In addition, if you can make the trip up a few hundred stairs, you can climb up to the upper and outer level of the cathedral for some amazing views of the Thames and London in general.

While you’re in that area of London, head on across Millennium bridge to visit the primary modern art museum, Tate Modern (not to be confused with Tate Britain) and Globe Theatre, famed for the relation to William Shakespeare. Both are very interesting, but make sure to check ahead for opening times of Globe Theatre. During my trip they closed around noon, which was much earlier than expected.

Harrod’s is the congregation of every item one might ever need. Food, clothes, accessories, toys, furniture, and anything else imaginable could probably be found in this giant store. There’s even a currency exchange (with better rates than the Heathrow and Tampa airports). My favorite place was the food hall, but if shopping is a primary part of one’s travel plans, a good number of hours should be saved to get lost in Harrod’s.