What are one of the best things to do in London? An insider’s guide

Once I travel, I prefer to attempt to experience a city in an area way.

So once I stayed in Downtown Vegas — more traditional and fewer flashy than “The Strip” — I went to yoga classes and occasional shops in residential areas. And once I went to Kerala, India, I selected a homestay in the town of Kochi over a name-brand hotel.

The enjoyment of living like an area comes from a slower pace of vacation, where I do not feel like a tourist checking off a listing. It gives me a truer sense of a spot.

Having been born and raised in London, I do know many places — from parks and restaurants to cafes and architectural sites — that a visitor may not search out right away. Some treasures are actually underground.

And I actually have my favorite ways of seeing among the city’s foremost attractions too.

Certainly one of my favorite things to do here is cycle. Bikes for hire can be found from Santander Cycles, near Lancaster Gate Underground station just north of Hyde Park (download this system’s app for pick-up and drop-off locations). There are several cycle paths around Hyde Park that soak up sights like Kensington Palace, the official residence of The Prince and Princess of Wales, and “The Serpentine” — a lake toward the south of the park.

But be warned: Several paths across Hyde Park are pedestrian-only, and police often effective individuals who cycle on them.

Hyde Park connects to Green Park via a busy intersection that has traffic signals for cyclists. After crossing the road and cycling along Structure Hill, you may reach Buckingham Palace. On a warm day, I’d carry on cycling into St James’s Park, just opposite the palace, and have lunch at its roof-terrace café.

The City of London (also known as “the City”), juxtaposes shiny glass and steel towers and residential blocks inbuilt the Nineteen Sixties with traditional pubs and the ruins of the traditional Roman city of Londinium. The Bank of England is a brief walk from St Paul’s Cathedral, the massive, domed church designed by Sir Christopher Wren within the late seventeenth century.

I prefer to walk around this area. A weekday visit at lunchtime shows the hustle of the place as staff pile out of their offices for a fast meal.

Postman’s Park, though tiny, is a well-liked spot for a sandwich, with its Memorial to Heroic Self-Sacrifice, a series of tablets dedicated to abnormal individuals who died saving others. Close by, Christchurch Greyfriars Church Garden is ready within the ruins of an 18th-century church and is value seeing for the flowerbeds contrasting with the stays of the church partitions. For a conventional pub, try The Cockpit, a unusual bar on St. Andrew’s Hill, a backstreet near St Paul’s Cathedral.

St Paul’s stands out as the best-known monument in the realm, however it’s also fascinating to get beneath the City’s streets — literally — to see a part of London’s Roman history. The roughly 2,000-year-old Billingsgate Roman House and Baths sit below an uninspiring office block. Easy to miss, there are few surface-level clues to the remnants below, which will be accessed by guided tours on Saturdays from April to November.

I used to be raised near one among London’s largest parks, Hampstead Heath. “The Heath” — as locals call it — is hilly and wild, and it is simple (and fun) to get a bit lost in it. The views from the highest of Parliament Hill are an awesome strategy to orient yourself in the town, and the park’s historical Kenwood House has an art gallery that is free to enter.

Hampstead Heath station, on the London Overground train line, is on the Heath’s southwest tip, and on a sunny weekend in any season you will find the nearby street full of Londoners getting coffee before climbing the Heath. A top spot is the independently owned Karma Bread. My favorite treat there may be the cardamom bun, or shakshuka for breakfast.

On the southeast tip of Hampstead Heath is the Thirties-built Parliament Hill Lido, an unheated outdoor swimming pool that could be a classic local delight on a hot day. It’s open all 12 months round and facilities are basic: expect to drape your towel on the concrete pavement across the pool. Its website has schedules, pricing and reservation information.

Also in north London is the Parkland Walk, one other great place for a hike or a run through the woods along an old railway line. It’s pretty throughout the spring when tall cow parsley grows along the trail. A 2.5-mile walk east gets you to Finsbury Park, and shut to the Faltering Fullback pub, a rambling place with live music twice every week (check its website for details).

The Parkland Walk makes up a bit of the Capital Ring, a 78-mile signposted climbing route that circumnavigates London — through suburbs, along canals, via green spaces and even past a palace. It’s divided into 15 sections, all accessible via the London Underground and detailed on a free app.

The foremost Olympics stadium, often called London Stadium, is now home to soccer team West Ham United. It also hosts concert events and other sporting events including Major League Baseball. You possibly can cycle in the previous Olympic Velodrome or on a BMX track, or head to the ArcelorMittal Orbit, a curious-looking twisted red metal sculpture that doubles as a tunnel slide.

Certainly one of my favorite things to do in east London is eat. Shoreditch — a central area just north of the City – is full of great restaurants, from popular Indian chain Dishoom (reserve a table for lunch, or get there early for dinner and wait in line) to unfussy effective dining places like Lyle’s, which uses British meat, fish and vegetables.

Rochelle Canteen is an unpretentious place in a former bike shed where good produce is the star. It also has a walled garden, making it an excellent respite from the busy city streets.

Also in the realm is Columbia Road Flower Market, open on Sundays from 8 a.m. Londoners head there to top off on cut flowers and house plants. You may get a bargain throughout the final couple of hours (around 1 p.m. to three p.m.), and there are many independent jewelry, homeware and gift stores along the road too.

While north London has Hampstead Heath, south of the river is Richmond Park, which dwarfs its northern counterpart in size. Plus, the park is within the county of Surrey, so it is not technically in London.

Still, you can easily spend a day spotting deer in its fields and exploring the gorgeous garden toward its southern tip, the Isabella Plantation. For views across the Thames, head toward Pembroke Lodge within the west of the park, and on a weekend you will see Lycra-clad cyclists whizzing through the park and at its cafes.

If you happen to’re on the lookout for something traditionally English, try Petersham Nurseries Cafe, just outside Richmond Park. It has a Garden Afternoon Tea on Fridays and weekends (reservations are essential) that features dainty sandwiches and mini savory tarts followed by sweet treats, equivalent to buttermilk scones and plum cheesecake. It also accepts walk-ins for brunch or lunch each day except Monday, when it’s closed.

There’s also a branch in central London’s Covent Garden — the flower-filled restaurant The Petersham — that has an sit-down deli and bar.

In west London, I like to recommend testing Notting Hill’s street market and restaurants. Portobello Road Market is open each day and sells food, vintage fashion and antiques. A very good day to go is Friday, when a lot of the stalls and areas are open and it’s less busy than Saturday, when locals head there.

French bistro Buvette, on Blenheim Crescent, is an excellent all-day food option — an outpost of the Manhattan original by chef Jody Williams. For a luxe movie experience try the Electric Cinema on Portobello Road, a restored Edwardian picture house with a classic diner round the corner.

Portobello Road meets Golborne Road at its northern end, a quieter and fewer touristy street where you will find traditional Portuguese pastel de nata custard tarts at Lisboa Patisserie. If you happen to look up you will see Trellick Tower, a residential block designed within the Brutalist architectural style by Erno Goldfinger.

Near the bottom of the tower is Rellik, a hip vintage fashion store selling clothes from the likes of Alexander McQueen, Vivienne Westwood and Issey Miyake.

Just beyond Rellik is a small grassy area that backs onto the Regent’s Canal, a waterway you’ll be able to walk along to succeed in Little Venice. Further east toward Paddington Basin, there may be a redeveloped area with waterside bars and restaurants, in yet one more example of London’s eclectic mix of old and latest.

Correction: This story was updated to reflect the right spelling of the Indian city of Kochi.