Travel Tips – How to Enjoy your Holiday in London

The build up to Christmas is in full swing. The preparations are visible in every street. The energy of the festival season is travelling everywhere and catching up with one and all. So making a visit to London will be an experience of a life time on this occasion. 

Professional Help

In case you have not planned your holidays so far you can take assistance of some agencies or professionals to get the right holiday tips to arrange a trip to holiday places including London to celebrate Christmas in all grandeur in London. Their suggestions will be valid to be part of the mayhem irrespective of your age. It will definitely help you to make the best out of your holidays with family and friends as Christmas comes only once in a year.

What to Do in London ?

Among the things to do in London, the first priority will be to see the best London attraction.
There is a lot to see in the capital. Some of the must see London attractions are free and some need admission tickets.

•    Buckingham Palace

•    Royal Museums Greenwich

•    Houses of Parliament

•    Palace of Westminster

•    Big Ben

•    Whitehall

•    Tower Bridge

•    London Eye

•    Royal Opera House

•    British Museum

Kew Gardens: Head to the Kew Gardens as Christmas is the best time to see it. You will have free entry to the Royal Botanic Gardens from 22nd December to 4th January and kids will enjoy it nicely with its numerous entertaining activities such as face painting, a carousel and fun with Santa.

Ice Skating: Enjoy ice skating at Somerset House skating rink and find yourself in awe of the 40 feet giant Christmas tree. The giant tree in the grand courtyard of Somerset House will be another attraction.

Shopping: Your holidays are incomplete until you shop souvenirs of the place you visited. Shopping is no fun during the festive season. The Westfield Shopping Centre is recommended to make the best of collections in the city but also capitalize on the ongoing Xmas sale season.

Hyde Park’s Winter Wonderland: This you cannot miss if you are in London. Winter Wonderland is a great place to soak up the Christmas spirit. But you have to pre- book tickets to see the long list of varied attractions. Too many stalls, lovely attractions and rides in the Giant Wheel will put you in great awe.

Royal Albert Hall:  Attend the Christmas carol if you have a preconceived notion and be awe- struck. The highlight is that the candlelight carol at the Royal Albert Hall is performed by a famed Orchestra wearing 18th century costumes and delivering a breathtaking performance.  So enjoy the Christmas cheer to the hilt with family and live it up to the spirit of the year to come.

Stay in London

Your stay in London will be most comfortable if you stay in apartments like serviced apartments.  It will offer you not only cost advantage but freedom and privacy and the feeling of being home away from home. Compared to staying in hotels they are economical by at least 30 percent. These well furnished apartments have elegant living room, lounge, bedrooms and all entertainment options including TV and Internet. Fitted with a good kitchen they help you to make your own meals.

Thanks to the location of these serviced apartments at the central London locations you do not have to travel a lot to see the various city attractions and the Christmas cheer. There are very good holiday apartments in Kensington, Bayswater, Hyde Park areas which you can book in advance through credible letting agencies.  

London’s Chinese New Year Celebrations to be a Grand Affair

Cross-posted from the Official Short Let Apartments Blog

This year Chinese New Year in London is going to be a spectacular event with 300,000 people supposed to take part. The Year of the Horse in 2014 is considered more auspicious. The Chinese horoscope says those born in 'horse' years will be cheerful, skillful and prosperous.

The New Year falls on 31st January but the London celebrations have been scheduled for the Sunday, 2nd February 2014, with a number of activities in Chinatown, Trafalgar Square, Shaftesbury Avenue and Leicester Square.

Programme

The core of Chinese New Year Celebrations will begin at 10 am with a parade starting from Duncannon Street and will move along Charing Cross Road and Shaftesbury Avenue.

The opening ceremony will be in Trafalgar Square. After the ceremony the main celebrations will kick off with performances such as dragon dancing, music and mimes on the Trafalgar Square stage. You can join the Chinatown for fun and can watch firecrackers around Gerrard Street, Lisle Street and Shaftesbury Avenue with impromptu parties, food stalls and lion dancing adding to the joy.

London annual Chinese New Year has been billed the biggest Chinese New Year celebration outside of China. Thousands of people will turn up in the festivities and traditional dragon dancers can be seen wading their way through the crowd.

Mythology

For the Chinese community the New Year is the largest annual festivity signifying the start of the new lunar calendar year. The joyous celebrations that traditionally extend for 15 days are marked by the purchase of new clothing and a tidy haircut. It is also an occasion of family get together and dining together.

The mythology of the New Year is inspired by the sufferings of a little village where every lunar New Year eve a dragon called Nian used to torment the villagers. One year the villagers decided to adorn their village with red buntings and decorations, wear red attire and blow firecrackers to create a loud noise to scare away the dragon Nian from terrorizing them. That is how the red color became widespread with the celebrations.

Visit London

So, this is a great occasion to visit London and watch the Chinese New Year spectacle besides watching London’s major attractions. For your pleasant stay in London you can choose some of the best holiday apartments in the heart of the city. There are well furnished serviced apartments you will love as they are less expensive than hotels. You can call up or contact any of the top letting agencies online and book the apartments in accordance with your travel dates.