Why is London the Best City in the World to Visit

In 2012, London leapt to top spot from eighth place to be adjudged the best place to visit in the world, according to tourist feedback website TripAdvisor. The most favourite attractions were said to be West End shows War Horse and Priscilla, Queen of the Desert and Courtauld Gallery. Just last year, the city gained the top spot in the total number of tourists that came to the city in a year. These accolades amply prove that London is indeed the best city to visit in the world.

London is indeed a great place to visit as it has so much to see and to experience with attractions galore. It has 200 museums, 123 historical monuments, 108 music halls, more than 30 historical gardens, 6 racecourses, 2,000 tennis courts, 7 ice rinks and 95 golf courses. Along with 857 art galleries, London also boasts of having three of the top ten museums of the world. More than 17,000 music performances take place across more than 300 venues in the capital including the O2 Arena which is the most popular music venue in the world, for the last five years running. London is also a favourite venue for festivals as around 250 festivals take place every year in the city including the Notting Hill Carnival which is Europe’s biggest street festival attracting nearly one million people and The Mayor’s Thames Festival, which is London’s largest free festival.

The historic city of London presents a wide range of unique landmarks, museums and monuments and as such people with different passions and interests can find something that they would love to see. The various places worth seeing are:

ArcelorMittal Orbit: Being the latest attraction to have caught the attention of people, it stands out due to its curious structure and its fantastic views over London. It offers two observation platforms that enable visitors to enjoy panoramic views of East London and the City as well as overlook the Olympic Park which was the venue of the 2012 Olympic Games. A bar at the venue in the summer is an ideal place to have a drink and enjoy the sunset scenario.

London Zoo: If you are visiting London with your family, you can spend an entire day having fun with your kids at this zoo that has over 12,000 wild animals such as tigers, gorillas and meerkats. You can also discover some unusual animals at this oldest historic zoo that strives to preserve all types of wildlife and species. Visiting the zoo is a great way to see animals in their near-natural environment. It follows the principle of ‘cruelty free captivity’. The most favourite aspect of the zoo is the feeding time for the penguins and apes and the insect house is also a marvel.

HMS Belfast: It is a part of the Imperial War Museum and is moored beside the Tower Bridge. A visit to the warship will reveal its role in wartime history and you can experience how people went to sea and even fought battles from these small ‘tin cans’. You can also see what life was like on deck.

If you are visiting London and would like to be strategically placed close to most of these attractions so that you can visit them easily, it would be best to stay at Park Grand London Hyde Park Hotel .

Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre: A visit to London cannot be complete without a visit to this attraction where you can discover the works and life of the famous playwright. You can take a tour and see the reconstructed Elizabethan open-air playhouse and even go backstage to see what goes into making a Shakespearean play.

Kew Gardens: It is exciting to walk around the 121 hectares of this exotic green space which is like an oasis in the quiet and rural West London. You can enjoy a relaxing break on a summer day in this garden away from the hustle and bustle of the hectic city life. You will find that climbing up the Treetop Walk through the Nature Trails and Rose Gardens will simply exhilarate you.

Visitors to London staying at Shaftesbury Metropolis London Hyde Park will not only get comfortable accommodation at affordable cost, but will also be located close to most of the attractions of the city.

London Aquarium: This fish aquarium in County Hall provides a beautiful environment while its Easter Island statues immersed in a multi-storey pool simply looks great. It is a well designed place that provides a great retreat from the urban environment of London, if you don’t get grouped with school parties.

London Eye: It is a huge Ferris Wheel with slow moving capsules that move slowly and give enough time to get on and get off when a capsule is level with the ground. The queues for entry can get quite long but things have improved with the new ticketing system. In the summer, the capsules get quite hot. It is also possible to book an entire capsule that can be used for various purposes such as for advertising, having sex or for holding cocktail parties. When the capsule is at the top, you can get fantastic, panoramic views of London’s skyline, which you can capture if you take your camera along with you. The other places from where you can get such great views are the top of Greenwich Hill, near the Ranger’s House or the Observatory, Bunuel fashion, down the city skyscrapers, Parliament Hill, on Hampstead Heath or Primrose Hill in Regent’s Park.

Madame Tussaud’s Wax Museum: It is a much bigger waxworks museum than many other such museums in the world. Since many people visit this attraction, there are always big queues that you can avoid by pre-booking a ticket online. You can see wax statues of both past and present important personalities of the world including politicians, film stars, sports personalities, members of the royalty and other luminaries in various fields of life. 
There is a lot more that London has to offer.