Route from Oxford Circus to Green Park
Start at Oxford Circus tube station and you can walk the length of Oxford Street, perusing in the shops as you go. You will then reach Marble Arch which is good for a photograph or two and opposite you will find Speaker's Corner. Take a peaceful stroll through Hyde Park, taking in the Lake and the Queens Horsed Guards as you go. If you want to see Buckingham Palace you will pass through Wellington Arch to get to it and the nearest tube station from here is Green Park.
Oxford Street ****star
Oxford Street is great for the fashion consious student as it has every high street store imaginiable with all the new lines before any other city in the UK. Topshop is a must as it has four floors, one just full of littles boutiques and vintage clothes! It also has its own cafe and toilets, and they are always hosting events from live music to fashion shows. When I was there, it was promoting London Fashion Week and had top designers and cat walks on all weekend!
Marble Arch, Oxford Street **star
Marble Arch was originally built as an entrance to Buckingham Palace, but was moved to Oxford Street apparently because the Queens carriage wouldn't fit through it. It also has three small rooms which used to be a police station. Pretty impressive - you won't miss it if your going to visit Speakers Corner as it's huge! Good spot for taking photographs!
Speaker's Corner ****star
Speaker's Corner is located in the south east corner of Hyde Park opposite Marble Arch. Every Sunday, though because of it's popularity, speakers can be found every day of the week, people flock here to voice their opinion on anything and everything. Even Karl Marx and George Orwell once used this as a platform to express thier ideals and beliefs! When I went I saw a man who thought he could live forever, so the things you will hear really are extremely varied! Well worth a look, as anyone is free to get up there and pontificate and heckling is welcomed which makes it a hilarious place to visit!
Hyde Park ****star
Hyde Park is a great place to visit if the hectic bustle of London is getting a bit too much to handle. Here you can amble through the park which has a meadow and a lake and pack yourself a picnic, or participate in numerous activities including, rollerblading, horse riding, boating, cycling. frisbee, tennis, basketball and even swimming!
Hyde park offers loads of activites but one of my favourites and it seems like one of the popular is in-line skating. There are various places you can hire skates from and you can get lessons from £12 - or just bring your own, which makes for a really cheap day out!
The Serpentine Lake in Hyde Park is open to the public 7 days a week from May to September. You can hire out boats and pedalos and there is a paddling pool!
The Queen's Horse Guards *****star
The Queen's horse guards regularly train in Hyde Park along Rotten Row, but if you want to see them I suggest you go quite early as they are usually gone by 11am. They are escorted to and from the stables by mounted policemen so it shows just how important they are and to watch them galloping up and down Hyde Park is amazing.
Wellington Arch *star
Yet another massive monument to commemorate someone's death - pretty impressive though. In between Hyde Park and Buckingham Palace, you can't miss it!
Buckingham Palace **star
Not particularly interesting when I went because i missed the changing of the guards but that event is supposed to be very cool to watch. Even if your not into the Royal Family (which to be honest I doubt many students are) it is still worth a visit even if its just to have a laugh at the hoards of foreigners that flock to the gates everyday - its madness to watch how excited some of them get about seeing a fancy building!
Alternatively...
Take a walk by the river Thames.With lots of sights to take in and photographs to be taken, a stroll down the the river can be very pleasant.
- Start at Westminster Tube Station
- You can't miss the Houses of Parliament!
- Walk over the Westminster Bridge and follow the river
- You will see the London Eye and Jubilee Gardens
- Turn right here till you get to Waterloo Station
- Take the tube to St Paul's.
- Take the Waterloo line East to Bank, change onto the Central line and go west to St Pauls
- From here St Paul's Cathedral is straight in front of you.
- Walk towards the river and take the Millenium Bridge
- On the other side of the river you will find the Tate Modern and Shakespeare's Globe Theatre.
St Paul's cathedral ***star
OK so perhaps not the first place as a student you would visit, and with admission fees at a costly £8.00 you may wonder why I have included this in my student guide but it is definitely worth a visit. St Paul's is one of the most beautiful sights in London with its towering domes and intricate stone work and it looks amazing from Millennium Bridge which you can walk over to get to the Tate Modern. And if you refuse to pay the ridiculous admission fee (which i did) you can wander around the grounds for absolutely nothing.
Tate Modern ****star
One of London's most popular galleries, full of international modern and contemporary art, the Tate Modern is an inspiring place to visit-and best of all it's free! One floor out of 5 holds a special exhibition which usually costs about £6.50 with a student card but if you don't want to spend anything there are lots of live events such as music, performance, workshops, talks and discussions to keep you entertained.
The London Eye and Houses of Parliament **star
Other interesting sights to see are the London Eye and the Houses of Parliament, both very impressive structures. Also Tower Bridge, Shakespears Globe Theatre and Milleniium Bridge are on the river and are good for photographing.
