Studying abroad is about more than just studying (and partying). It’s also an opportunity to immerse yourself in a new culture and to see tourist attractions you can brag about to your friends at home.
While you’re in London, stop by Unigo’s Top 11 Places to Visit. Take pictures, if only to prove to Grandma that you really were there.
11. Changing of the Guard. Every other morning at 11:00 (and daily during the summer), the guard—soldiers who protect Buckingham Palace—rotates to give the soldiers a break. This isn’t just any handoff: the Foot Guards wear crazy (or, if you’re one of them, normal) outfits of red tunics and bearskins. There’s even a band that plays not pop songs along with the requisite military music. Price: FREE!
10. Geffrye Museum. This is as close to time travel as you can get. The Geffrye Museum features a series of living rooms, each decorated in the style of a different period. The displays move through 17th-century, Georgian, Victorian, and modern décor. And just when it seemed like it couldn’t get any quainter, there’s also a series of period gardens. Price: FREE!
9. London Eye. The London Eye is a giant Ferris wheel. The name is doubly punny: the thing looks like a big eye, and riders are treated to a London landscape 50 miles in diameter.
The Eye is really huge. It weighs over 1600 tons. Price: £15.
8. Royal Observatory. This museum offers a collection of astronomical instruments as well as a public planetarium. The best part: it sits atop the Prime Meridian, or zero degrees longitude. Straddle it and you’ll be standing in two hemispheres at once. Price: FREE! (The planetarium costs £6.)
7. The Tower of London. The Tower is old. You should visit just because it was built almost a millennium ago (in the 1080s). Once you get there, you’ll be entertained by the tour guides (Yeoman Warders, or “Beefeaters,” who wear costumes and make jokes), the Crown Jewels (sparkly accessories worn by the British monarchy), and the Medieval Palace (where British royalty slept when they visited). Price: £16.50.
6. British Museum. The British Museum doesn’t just have British stuff. As the website puts it, it’s “a museum of the world, for the world.” Some of the globe’s most famous historical objects live there, including the Rosetta Stone. Lots of potential for hilarious photos here. Pose like a Greek statue—no one’s ever done that before! Price: FREE!
5. Madame Tussauds. This wax museum has gone international, but it all started in London with artist Marie Gosholz (1761-1850), a.k.a. Madame Tussaud. The museum houses wax models of famous people that are so realistic, they’re creepy. (As a child, I posed with the London museum’s model of the Beatles. I thought this insanely clever.) Price: £25.
4. National Portrait Gallery. The Gallery’s portraits range from the old and storied (a portrait of Henry VII, painted in 1505) to the modern (Annie Liebovitz’s photography). And, since London has a near-monopoly on interesting historical tidbits, it’s no surprise that the museum—which opened in 1856—was the world’s first portrait gallery. Price: FREE!
3. Science Museum. When you’ve reached your art and history quota, check out London’s Science Museum. (No, you’re never too old.) The Making the Modern World exhibit represents industrialization by guiding visitors through displays of groundbreaking inventions in chronological order. Price: FREE! (IMAX movies cost £8.)
2. Kew Gardens. The gardens—technically known as the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew—cover 300 acres in southwest London. They host a famous botanical research institution, but what you’re probably looking for are the visitor attractions. There’s a Holly Walk, a pathway lined with trees (romantic!); a Woodland Garden, with giant lilies; and an arboretum with 14,000 trees. The garden is massive, so map your destinations beforehand. Price: £13.
1. Imperial War Museum. The War Museum, which opened in 1917 to feature World War I displays, later expanded to include objects from all the wars Brits have fought in since 1914. There are thrilling exhibits—like Secret War, an espionage display—as well as sobering ones, likes Crimes against Humanity. And, of course, there are weapons. Price: FREE!
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