Arch Climbing Wall
The Arch Climbing Wall is a great place to rock climb whether you’re a professional or a complete newbie. They have a few locations throughout London and provide lessons for all levels – beginners to advanced. We wanted to give it a try and signed up for the introductory lesson one afternoon. We had a fantastic time and would encourage anyone to check this place out if you’re in the mood to try something out of the ordinary. Read more about our experience here.
Draughts – Board Game Cafe
London’s only board game cafe and a guaranteed fun time! We love this place and highly recommend it. Read our review here.
Emirates Air Line
Emirates Air Lines operates a cable car that crosses the Thames between Greenwich Peninsula and the Royal Docks (close to the O2 by the North Greenwich Tube Station). Cable cars take off twice per minute and during the day, the ride takes approximately ten minutes each way. At night, the experience and views become even nicer. Starting at 7 pm each day, flights are extended to 12-13 minutes each way (25 round trip).
It’s worth taking a ride to see the views over London (cheaper and cooler than the London Eye) and it’s a great choice both during the day and at night – each will provide a different experience. The cable car goes quite high and is all glass, so it might not be the best option for those with a fear of heights. There’s also an on-board video highlighting some of the most famous London landmarks.
Adult tickets are £10.70, but are discounted to £8.40 when you show a valid Oyster card. We’d highly recommend booking in advance as entry is timed and once the slots for any given time fills up, no one else is permitted. Website
Faulty Towers Dining Experience
This is an interactive theater experience performed during your choice of either a lunch or dinner session. As the audience, you are somewhat involved and the actors engage with you during the performance. The whole play is, of course, modeled after the classic TV show, Fawlty Towers. The play features the show’s three main characters, Basil, Sybil, and Manuel, going about with their duties of running a B&B. The play starts in the bar area of the hotel and progresses to the dining room and through a full meal service. During the show, you are served three courses (no choices, but they do accommodate dietary restrictions) and the play is performed all around you. It’s a slapstick and quite exaggerated theatrical experience in the true style of the original Fawlty Towers show. The actors are pretty spot on with their portrayal of the characters and if you have a soft spot for the show, you’ll love this experience. Website
Harrods
It’s difficult to even begin to describe the wonder that is Harrods. While there are many people who go to Harrods to shop, we do not. Nonetheless, it is absolutely worth a trip. The place itself is a wonderland. It’s bustling, it’s ornate, it’s chaotic, it’s calm, it’s beautiful all in one, depending on the floor, time of day, and time of year. Sure, it’s a department store, but it’s so much more. There are seven floors across 4.5 acres and each year, it sees 15 million customers.
It has countless cafes, bakeries, restaurants, a food hall, chocolatiers, an ice cream parlor, and bars. It has an art gallery, a toy store, a book store, a reading room, and offers various services (optician, travel shop, interior design, florist, etc.). Some of the bathrooms are nicer than those at 5 star hotels. It has the famous Egyptian staircase – you must go see it.
The service is impeccable (though admittedly a bit overboard). You can’t go speak with any employee without their asking whether you’d like store directions or further assistance, but it’s all part of the experience.
I will note that my favorite part is hands down the desserts in the bakery. They have some of the only legitimate desserts in London (by that I mean American-style and American-sized cakes!) and fresh baked breads and pastries. Website
Oxygen Freejumping
Oxygen Freejumping is a huge indoor trampoline park that is guaranteed to bring out your inner kid. You can bounce on floor and wall trampolines into pits of foam, complete mini trampoline obstacle courses, and play other trampoline sports (basketball, dodge ball). It is a blast and we encourage you to give a go! Read more about our visit here.
Prince Charles Cinema
This cinema is a revival house that specializes in showing classic or notable older films, though also features some more recent releases. It also hosts a number of sing-a-longs to musicals like The Sound of Music, Grease, and the Rocky Horror Picture Show. We aren’t fans of musicals, but we have been to a sing-a-long and can vouch for the fact that it’s really a great time. Everyone’s in a good mood, it’s light and fun, they show the lyrics on the screen, so no prior knowledge is necessary, and they rev you up in the beginning. You’re also given props and actions to use and mimic during the film.
The cinema also hosts all night movie marathons that are themed according to the season or to a certain decade/year. Their pricing is reasonable for theaters these days and we do think it’s well worth attending one of their special events. Website
Sky Garden
The Sky Garden is an amazing public space open year round, seven days a week to the general public. It offers fantastic views over London and has an observation deck and an open air terrace. There are several eateries/bars, though a reservation is recommended for the main restaurant.
Though tickets are free, they must be reserved online in advance. For peak times (weekends, holidays), tickets should be booked several weeks in advance, particularly for larger groups. Security is strict and valid photo IDs must be shown for each registered guest. Once through security, you are led to an elevator and go straight to the sky garden to lounge for as long as you’d like. Definitely worth planning ahead for. Website