England Airfares

Coming from the US, what excited me the most about England were all the castles. We took a 20-minute train ride from London’s Paddington Station, past Wimbledon to the Hampton Court Palace and stepped foot into halls William Shakespeare once presented plays to kings.

The Tower of London, filled with tyrannical memories of Henry VIII was just a short subway ride away from where we stayed in Hyde Park.

Just south of Hyde Park was the Victoria and Albert Museum, which had some epic, gothic artifacts, including 14th to 17th century Asian and European art. It was the British Museum that stole the show for me with its Egyptian mummies (including Cleopatra herself), the Rosetta Stone and friezes from the Parthenon in Athens.

I was unimpressed by Buckingham Palace, it sits behind huge gates, which don’t allow us within 100 feet of the place, and the changing of the guards was unsatisfying.

London, the capital city of England, first got its name from ancient Roman settlers who named it “Londinium”. Remnants of this ancient empire are evident throughout the country especially in the town of Bath, which is a reasonably short bus ride from London, and contains spas dating back to the Romans.

Additional recommended daytrips from London are Stonehedge, Windsor Castle and the beachfront town of Monmouth. You can also take 2 hour “Chunnel” rides to Paris and spend the day there.