The tourist traps of London.

Debby's Blog

After some serious computer problems I am back with another blog for you. This time about tourist traps. Does London have them, would you ask. I can tell you that London has them. Ofcourse everybody has his or her own view on this, but I want to tell you about the places that are tourist traps for me. When I went to London for the first time I was 16. A whole new world opened up for me. Ofcourse I had to visit Harrods. They told me that everybody must visit this place once in a life time. It was very crowded that first time and the only thing that impressed me was the huge meat/fish hall. I went back a few years ago, as it was my mother's first time in London. Friends told her that she has to see Harrods. Well, she did and didn't enjoy it. We were followed by security for some reason. I was only looking for a loo, and that was very suspicious to them. I don't like the place at all. It is to kitsch for me. To pompous. Another place that is a tourist trap is Covent Garden. I sometimes visit it with friends, but it is not my favorite place. They hype it to much if you ask me. I prefer small and less crowded markets.

Another tourist trap is Portobello Market. Part of it is nice, but the rest is not what it used to be. I always like to visit markets when I am in other coutries, and I always fall for the foodstands. Portobello Market used to be a nice place, but now all I see there is a lot of junk. Ofcourse there are people who have another opinion and they love the place. For me it is overhyped. Madame Tussauds is another one, but for some reason I like this one. I visited it a few years ago, and I enjoyed being there. Sometimes you really have to look twice (or even 3 times) to see who the celebrity is. I especially like The Spirit Of London, a sort of cabtour at the end of the museum. You see the history of London passing in a funny way. It is funny to say that most tourist guides tell you to not visit Leicester Square as that is one of the biggest tourist traps of London. I feel very at home at that place. They are renovating the square, and I can't wait to see what it looks like when they are finished. We all have our own views on tourist traps, and what one person likes, the other dislikes. That is the good thing about it. For me the places I described are the tourist traps for me. When I visit London, I always try to look for new places to see, and although I visited London many times, there still are area's I want to visit and check out. But more about them in another blog.

Posted Date
Jul 16, 2011 in Debby's Blog by Debbylynley