My Little London Town Routine

Everyone has a town or a city they absolutely love going back to, mine is London. I will never tire of it, the air, the people, the hustle and bustle of the underground, Covent Garden and my favourite Leicester Square.

If I only had 12hrs in London...

My little London Town routine will always be the same, I sometimes wonder whether I should change it in order to see a bit more of the city, but then I remember I am only in London for 12hrs and cannot miss the things I love most!

The Morning Stroll through Covent Garden

In the morning, I head straight to Covent Garden. The first happy moment of the day is getting to it, my mother hates the Underground as do many people because of the rat race the city generates, especially at rush hour. I however, rather enjoy experiencing it. I tuck my headphones neatly into my ears, have some uplifting music on and just people watch. It is rather stress relieving seeing others lives go by, I catch myself wondering what those people on the tube are wondering and what their day would be filled with if I were in their shoes.



Once we get to Covent Garden, a nice tea in the centre of the square. Nice, warm cuppa to get the senses going and then just enjoying the surroundings. Talent acts, markets, quaint little shops perfect to get you into the London mood.

Lunch at Oxford Circus 

Once morning coffee and stroll are done, I head to Oxford Circus, Oxford Street. I sometimes spend a lot of time here wandering through the stores, but as of late I only tend to have a couple of hours in the city and so I just walk through this street and window shop as I head to the wonderful Bella Italia!


It is probably my favourite Italian Restaurant out of Italy. You have so much to choose from the menu, make sure you order the basket of different types of bread.... the dip it brings is absolutely exquisite, by the time you realise, the entire basket is gone leaving you hungry for more!


Enjoy any amazing Italian dish from spaghetti al vongole to lasagne and cannelloni.. its all there to your hearts content! Finally, do NOT have desert if you want to follow this little run about town as after this lunch I tend to head down to Leicester Square for the most amazing ice cream tower.


After lunch, walk down to Picadilly Circus through Regent Street and admire all the high street shops and Hamley's incredible window displays!

Afternoon at the delicious Haagen Dazs followed by a house of fun!

I absolutely LOVE going to Leicester Square around 17:30 hrs to sit and enjoy the mother of all ice creams... Haagen Dazs's very own Cookies & Cream tower. Its this cookies & cream flavoured ice cream in a long thin glass cup, it is heaven to look at and even more so when you take the first bite. The glass is full of the amazing ice cream, warm actual cookie crumbles and chocolate fudge sauce. A dream come true!


After the amazing treat, I tend to wander to Piccadilly Circus and visit Ripley's Believe It or Not store or enjoy some arcade games in the Trocadero. The arcade is a three storey building with everything from bowling to pin ball to casino type games... hours of fun!

Dinner in Chinatown

Once you've tired yourself out at the museum or playing arcade games, head back to Leicester Square, a quick visit to the M&M Store is a must. I would never had thought M&M's could've made such an array of consumables.. its a fantastic store!


At around 20:00 hrs, head over to Chinatown! If you are coming into Chinatown from Leicester Square the second corner on the right, Gerard's Corner. Our most favourite Chinese in the city! We never miss a chance to come here for dinner!

Ending a night at the Movies!

Finally, I never ever miss a trip to the cinema in London. Leicester Square is home to all the latest movies and I always enjoy a trip to the cinema, my guilty pleasure. I love that there are about 6 cinemas surrounding the square and they won't be showing the same movie in any of them, they give each other the respect to host different movies in different cinemas.


With this being said, for some reason I always tend to end up at the Vue. The Odeon is just too big for my liking and too popular, the Vue has its authentic cinema charm and not very busy meaning there will always be tickets available for you to watch something and queues for the popcorn won't be too long! Please do take note that most cinemas in Leicester Square are about £15.00 per person on average ... but sooo worth it!






This brings me to the end of my 12 hours in London! Please do let me know how you spend your only 12 hrs in the city you most love and always go back to! Send us an email to info@thetravelpostbox.com if you would like us to share your story here!



Safe Travels Everyone,
Shereen!