{"id":22941,"date":"2018-03-22T14:50:35","date_gmt":"2018-03-22T21:50:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wearetravelgirls.com\/?p=22941"},"modified":"2025-08-26T09:58:20","modified_gmt":"2025-08-26T16:58:20","slug":"london-local","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wearetravelgirls.com\/london-local\/","title":{"rendered":"LONDON AS A LOCAL: THE BEST NON-TOURISTY THINGS TO DO"},"content":{"rendered":"

London is an incredible city. It\u2019s cosmopolitan, entrepreneurial, and a lot<\/em> of fun. But if you\u2019re visiting for a few days, it can be a bit overwhelming.<\/p>\n

London is big and the list of things you can find on Google is endless. How do you know where to go? What are the best non-touristy things to do and places to stay in London?<\/p>\n

\"London<\/p>\n

NON-TOURISTY LONDON ADVICE<\/h3>\n

I\u2019ve put together this guide because I\u2019m always being asked by friends from around the world – \u201cI\u2019m going to London soon, where shall I go?\u201d And it\u2019s pretty impossible to answer spontaneously. There are so many places to go and so many things to do in London, so there is no quick answer.<\/p>\n

I\u2019ve specifically not included the main tourist attractions here, like Big Ben, Madame Tussauds, and The London Eye. Yes, they are cool, but they are expensive and often so full of tourists that it\u2019s not where the locals hang out. <\/p>\n

In order to fully enjoy the city, you\u2019ve gotta know where to go. So hopefully this post will give you some ideas for where to stay, where to eat, the best \u2018underground\u2019 bars, and what else you can do in the city including flying trapeze, neon naked life drawing, and yoga!<\/p>\n

\"London<\/p>\n

LONDON’S BIG, WHERE SHOULD YOU STAY?<\/h3>\n

I have a friend from Portugal who boldly claimed \u201cthere\u2019s nothing to do in London\u201d. But when I asked him how he came to such a ludicrous conclusion he told me that he stayed in Hounslow. For those of you that don\u2019t know, Hounslow is a small borough on the very outskirts of London.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s close to Heathrow Airport, about an hour on the tube from Central London. It\u2019s very residential and there\u2019s really not much else here apart from chicken shops and newsagents. Moral of this story? Stay in a good area!<\/p>\n

Whatever your budget – whether you\u2019re looking for an Airbnb, hostel or hotel – the list below should give you some ideas for where to look, based on what you like.<\/p>\n