London Like a Local: The Perfect 48 Hour Itinerary

London is one of the most famous tourist destinations in the world. But once you've strolled past the buildings of Westminster, walked along the banks of the Thames, and discovered all of the tourist hotspots, what's next? Well in this video we're going to take you on a complete itinerary to show you exactly what London is like as a local. Welcome to Kensington. This beautiful area is known for its lovely streets, While most people choose to explore South Kensington, we're actually going to start off our exploration of this area in Holland Park, which is a lovely area known for its parks, gardens, and residential streets. Although you have more chance of having a few rainy days, my personal favourite time to explore London is right now in the late spring, because you get to see all of the beautiful Wisteria. St James Church, New Orleans, is a Grade II listed building that dates all the way back to 1845. It's surrounded on all sides by residential streets, and it's particularly nice because it's surrounded by this little garden. Unfortunately it's closed right now, but I did have a look online and I think it might be open to visit on Sundays. In any case, it's a really nice green space that is still very beautiful even if you can't go inside. Something I always enjoy discovering when I come to London are these little plaques. Typically they're blue, but obviously this one is black, and it denotes the fact that during the Second World War, these railings were taken down and melted to help with the war effort. Holland Park covers 54 acres, and this was once the site of Cope Castle, which was a Jacobian mansion tucked away in the woods. Today there are several spaces to explore. In the north, there's a more forested area where you can see lots of local wildlife, whereas in the southern part of the gardens, you can see all of these little formal gardens, which are really, really delightful and are completely free to visit. The Kyoto Garden is probably the most popular place to visit within Holland Park. It was created in 1991 for an upcoming festival of Japan in London in 1992. It was actually a gift from the city of Kyoto to celebrate the friendship between the UK and Japan. Today it's a really nice spot to visit with koi carp, tumbling waterfalls, and even some cherry blossoms in the spring. It is a very, very busy area to visit, but if you want to avoid the crowds, you could come here mid-morning during the week. The garden is centered around a koi carp pond, and if you time your visit correctly, you might even get to see some really cute ducklings. The Dutch Garden is a particularly beautiful formal garden nestled within the park. The best time to visit is definitely during the spring, as this is when you get to see all of the beautiful tulips in bloom. Cope Castle was eventually changed to the name of Holland House, and unfortunately this house was largely destroyed by an incendiary bomb during World War II. Today, only a small part of the house remains, and some of that can be seen right behind me. There are only a few things you need to know before visiting the park. The first is that you definitely shouldn't feed any of the wild animals. We've seen this happen a few times, but it's actually really bad for them. The second thing is don't trample the flowers. We've just come to Bedford Gardens to discover one of the most beautiful wisteria in all of London. Now, I'm going to be honest when I say that I've never seen a wisteria plant that's quite this big, and honestly, if you make time to visit just one wisteria spot in London, I highly recommend this one. The Churchill Arms was founded in 1750, and it was actually frequented by Churchill's grandparents. Today, you can go inside and it's decorated with all sorts of World War II memorabilia. There's actually a Thai cuisine restaurant in the back, and in the front, you can get all sorts of local real ales. We then made our way onto Kensington High Street, which makes its way through the heart of the district and boasts a mix of big-name brands and smaller independent shops. The Adam and Eve Muse is one of the most beautiful muse streets in London. It's actually home to a number of double-decker doors still from a time when London ran on horsepower. To be honest, the best thing about coming to Kensington is simply wandering around and exploring all of the residential streets. We're now going to go to one of my favourites, and I think the wisteria are in bloom there. Kynance Muse was built between 1862 and 1875 to serve as a stabling for the nearby Cornwall Gardens, which had just been developed. Today, it's a really quiet, lovely residential street with some of the best wisteria in all of London. We then carried our way on through the district to see even more wisteria, and I'm not even exaggerating when I say that it was hard to put my camera down. Kensington is home to lots of gardens and parks, but the most famous one of all, apart from Holland Park, is probably Kensington Gardens. These were created by Queen Caroline in the 18th century, and now they're open to everyone. Right in the heart of Kensington Gardens, you'll find Kensington Palace, which has served as a royal residence for the royal family since the 17th century. Unfortunately, although the park is free, you do have to pay to visit the palace. You can visit the state rooms during certain times of the year, and I have heard they're quite lovely. Otherwise, you can always admire the palace via its exterior. The King's Cross area is most famous for being home to two stations, St Pancras International, with departures all the way to Europe, and of course, King's Cross, which was made famous by J.K. Rowling when she wrote the Harry Potter series, and this is the departure point for the Hogwarts Express. Today, you can actually get your photo taken here, as well as visit the shop. Both are always very busy, so we're going to show you some other places within the area, which are a little less busy and touristic. This is Keystone Crescent, and it was formerly known as Caledonian Crescent. It's unique in that it's the smallest radius of any crescent in Europe, and it's also unique in that both the inner and outer circles match. It's very lovely to stroll around, and is unlike anywhere else in the King's Cross area. This area has undergone a vast transformation in the past decade or so, and nowhere is this more obvious than St Pancras Square. This is right next to the station. It's tucked behind. There's lots of modern office buildings here, cafes, bistros, and bars. If you carry on from St Pancras Square, you'll get to one of the coolest places in the whole of the area. This is Granary Square, and it's a really nice pedestrianised space filled with fountains, cafes, bars. It's also where a lot of Londoners come to hang out on their lunch break, as there's lots of really nice places to sit down. This square leads directly onto Coal Drops Yard, which is now a shopping complex. Back in Victorian times, this area was actually used to store coal, because back then there was no electricity, and that was the main way of powering London. To be honest, although it's very nice architecturally, there aren't a great number of food options, so we're going to go somewhere else for lunch. We've just found this area, which is a mini museum where you can learn more about the history of the area. Something that I really, really like about this place is that they've really incorporated the history into the newer developments. For example, Gasholder Park, you'll see lots of new high-rise buildings, which are built within the former frames of the Victorian structures, which once held gas. Just as we were leaving, we stumbled on this Japanese street food truck by the name of Okan Kiosk Food Truck, and the food was genuinely pretty tasty. They even had several vegan and vegetarian options on the menu. We're now heading off of the other side of Granary Square to reach Regent's Canal and one of the best hidden gems of the area. Sitting still on the water and just steps away from Granary Square, one of the most unusual bookshops in London can be found in the form of Word on the Water. This book barge is worthy of a wander around, and it's London's only floating bookstore. If you're looking for a particularly relaxing walk, then I really recommend heading along the Regent's Canal. This canal stretches 8.6 miles and dates back to the first half of the 19th century, when the best way to get things in and out of London was to ferry them on the water. Today, this is pedestrian and cycle only, so it's very, very calm and peaceful, and you'll see lots of local wildlife, including birds. This is Gasholder Park, and once upon a time, there would have been a structure here that 1.1 million cubic tons of gas. Today, just the outside of it remains, and the inside has been transformed into a beautiful park along the Regent's Canal. We've just arrived at Camley Street Natural Park. It's run by the London Wildlife Trust, and here you can get snacks and drinks right by the water. There's also the chance to spot some local wildlife. Apparently, this month, they've even spotted a kingfisher. Maybe we'll be that lucky after our drinks. It's really nice and peaceful here, apart from the occasional train going past, and there's lots of flowers too. We've seen some snowdrops and some bluebells, and I think later on in the year, there's a few other flowers too. We keep hearing the robins, but we haven't managed to capture them on camera, and now we're running out of time because we have to go back to the tube so that we can get to our next destination of the day. So let's go. We've just walked from Burra to reach Bermondsey. This area has a really rich industrial past, and once upon a time, it was really closely associated with leatherworking and tanning. It's right next to the Thames. Today, all of this area has been gentrified, and so it's full of cafes, bars. There's wine bars spilling out onto the main high street, Bermondsey Street, and this area is also famous for the Bermondsey Beer Mart. We've just reached the Bermondsey Beer Mart. In actuality, this is around two miles worth of beer rooms, bars, tap rooms, bottle shops, and breweries, which stretches along the railway tracks. The best time to visit is actually on the weekend when everything is open, but there are a few beer rooms which are open during the week, so we're going to go and check them out now. As I mentioned, not every beer store is open every day, and so we ended up visiting Cloudwater. They had a number of beers on tap, and I ended up trying one of their IPAs, which was really pretty good. We then made our way back towards London Bridge, just in time for golden hour. Hayes Galleria is a beautiful covered passageway that you can walk through to reach the bank of the River Thames. Inside, you'll find a scale model of a ship, as well as several eateries. Of course, when you're wandering along the banks of the Thames, you can't help but stop by Tower Bridge, and it's always fascinating and beautiful to look at. We ended up having dinner at this Thai plant-based restaurant called The Plants of Roslyn, and the food was so tasty that I am already planning which dish to order on my next visit. Thanks for watching, and I'll see you next time. Bye!