What do you LOVE to do in London?

[Oesta]

I'm a Londoner and I've been feeling really down in the dumps reading about crime in London.

I need some cheering up to remember that this city is full of life and happiness and joy. What do you love to do?

I personally love the museums and want to start moving into art galleries next.

Amble around the museums and galleries. Walk along the river in the morning. Richmond Park is glorious. I like the fact that if I’m cooking something unusual, there’s almost certainly a shop near me that will sell ingredients. That we have public transport that works (I moan if I have to wait 10 minutes for a bus. My dad, living in a similarly suburban part of a small town in the midlands, gets one every half hour).

I love the National Portrait Gallery. That was going to be my recommendation even before you said you fancied visiting some galleries.

I love the history behind some of the older paintings, I love seeing how times and styles and history changes. I love the modern portraits celebrating ordinary people and not just fancy rich people.

I love the slightly crumpled looking portrait of the Brontes.

And there's a cafe

I love the river - every time I cross it, whether on a train or on a bus or driving, I get reminded of why I love the city.

I also love the history - I always try and walk as much as possible in central London because I love coming across random blue plaques and interesting buildings. I love the juxtaposition of history and modernity - we were a bit early for A Midsummer Night's Dream the other week, so sat outside looking at the Tower of London next to the ultra modern new developments in the City.

I love walking in central as well

I've been to the National Gallery but not the portrait gallery just yet.

I love to walk - which is what I'm about to do now before it gets too hot.

Next week take yourself off to Tate Britain then cross over Vauxhall Bridge and walk to Battersea Power Station - all that will cheer you up!

London is the best city in the world 🌞

I love the V&A and the Design Museum. I'd like to visit some of the less central, less well known ones like the Horniman. A go to Kew Gardens.

Gallery, early dinner, theatre....... it's my perfect day, anywhere in the world.

Same as pps - lots of meandering around the streets, going to museums and galleries.. I love going for cocktails or a pub crawl or popping to Borough market for a Bread Ahead doughnut. I like going to all kinds of gigs. I often look at Time Out or What's On type sites to see if anything interesting is happening. I make really good use of living in London, I figure it's so bloody expensive to live here, I shall enjoy it to the max!

I also love the food. So many yummy yummy restaurants.

I love walking through London and cutting through all the little hidden parks and gardens, love walking along and across the river, when I lived in London I loved being able to order any takeaway I fancied (mainly Thai or Vietnamese), I love going out to different independent bars and restaurants - especially hidden away in little back streets and tucked away places, live music nights and gigs, going to high up places and seeing the skyline, Greenwich and borough market, water bus/taxi, catching some of the regular bus routes and them being just as good as tourist buses, free talks and events (sign up to secret London type event lists and say yes to any weird and wonderful events that pop up!)

I love to take the Uber river boat and just jump on/off at various stops, it's surprisingly cheap!

The cable car ride over to the 02 is fun and there's lots of places to eat in the arena.

But most of all I love the royal parks and just wandering around them on a sunny day.

Also you can get a history boat ride from Greenwich where a tour guide talks everyone through the history of all the buildings/bridges you pass.

I love the diversity of London, sitting and seeing the mix of people getting about their day, how everyone dresses and the variety of foods and shops. I live in a village and go to work meetings occasionally in London and I’m always blown away by the food options (even on uber eats which doesn’t work near me!).

...oh and the big parks! st James, green park, Hyde park, Hampstead Heath, Wimbledon common, Richmond park, bushy park, Kew Gardens!

Parks. Museums and galleries. Theatre. Music. Good public transport. Diversity. Feeling safe.

How do you find "hidden" stuff. I also look for hidden stuff but am unsure what counts

I love to leave it…..No seriously, lots of museums and the parks are lovely. I also like going on the clipper. The kids and I walking around playing a game where we all try to find the most expensive things window shopping or even in somewhere like Harrods! I like Camden Town. I work up by Green Park so around Mayfair isn't special for me, but if you dont always go there Mayfair is nice to just walk around. National Gallery at Trafalgar Square is great. The crime in London is getting worse, random acts of violence is concerning, targeted for theft and the like has always happened but there is a lot more going on with people seemingly just attacking for no reason. London isn't the city I grew up and really enjoyed anymore, but its still not bad and as I live in one of the outer boroughs, my area is still nice…Not good though the direction its been going in for the last 10/15 years.

I've been reading the crime stuff and it's just upsetting me a lot

As a result I've taken up kickboxing and self defense.

I love London so so much. I love the parks and forests - going for a stomp on Hampstead Heath or Crystal Palace or Wanstead Flats, or up and down the canals in East London. I love swimming outdoors, in Beckenham Park Place lake and Brockwell Lido. I love going for long wanders through bits of town that I think I know and always finding new backstreets and shops and little parks. I love how fractal it feels - there's always something new that opens itself up to you.

I love the food culture here - so many places all over the city which will feed you anything. I love how multicultural it is, with so much nested and layered history, and how we all live here together in so many interlocking communities.

I love London! The art, the architecture, the people, the diversity and the food.
My favourite thing to do is people watch.
The v and an and Liberty are my favourite places.

I feel a trip coming on.

The South Bank - so much going on, whether you’re just having a stroll or going for a run, it’s the best place (though best not in August when there are so many visitors)

Crime has always happened - in London and elsewhere.
Just use your common sense, and you'll be fine.
And by not going into London, you're letting the "it's a helllhole" narrative win - which would just be wrong.

I love popping to places-that it’s no big deal to just GO to somewhere.

I fancy a coffee on the Heath a chat with some doggie people-I can make that part of my day.

I fancy a look at Libertys-I can spend half an hour there.

I can pop into a museum and see one item in depth for 15 mins and then leave.

If It’s 9pm on a Saturday night and I’m at home on the sofa in my PJs I can decide to stick some clothes on and go and see a band.

Have you ever been mudlarking? I did it last year and it was brilliant! We were literally tripping over Tudor pottery and endless pipe stems. A really fascinating way to learn about London's history.

I'm not a Londoner, but I studied there and lived there for 10 years. It is not somewhere i would choose to live, but it does have good bits.

Walking from Waterloo, through Jubilee Gardens and over the river on a crisp winter morning.
The V&A
The Horniman gardens
Greenwich Naval College
The private gardens and little streets around Middle Temple
The choice of food
The fact that when heavily pregnant, I never had to stand on the tube. Someone always offered me a seat.