by Scott Hayden

Created on: December 18, 2008   Last Updated: August 08, 2010

London is a fantastic place, and the best attractions will be easy to find. They are clearly marked on tourist maps, and several tube stations have signs that will point you in the right direction. This is an expensive city, but the good news is that many of the best sights are free so this will leave some extra money for other things.

Don't be intimidated by the size of the underground subway system. It's easy to use and in any case, you'll probably spend most of your time within zones 1 and 2. If you're new to London start the day by going to Trafalgar Square, which is in the heart of the city. To get there go underground and get off at either Charing Cross or Leicester Square stations. From here it's easy to find Whitehall, Big Ben and Westminster Abbey; they are all south of the square. Buckingham Palace is to the west.

What is really worth seeing is the National Gallery to the north of the square. Admission is free but some special exhibitions do charge a small fee. The paintings are incredible! They date back to the 13th century and include works by Van Gogh and Michelangelo. Next door is the National Portrait Gallery which contains the Chandos portrait, probably the finest image of William Shakespeare. These are two of the best galleries in Europe and both of them would be worth a few hours of your time.

One of the smaller museums near Lambeth station is the Imperial War Museum. It's free to enter, and will really only appeal to those interested in military history, specifically the two World Wars. You can easily spend an entire day here. All kinds of war memorabilia are carefully laid out for visitors, including weapons and recruitment posters from Britain and other Commonwealth nations. Here you can learn what it was like to be in a World War I trench, or relive the experiences of the men who stormed the Normandy beaches on D-Day. It's worth it!

If you don't mind shelling out a bit of money for admissions fees, check out Madame Tussaud's Wax Museum and the London Dungeon. The former will cost 22.50 and the latter, 19.95. Both places are lots of fun, paticularly in the Chamber of Horrors in Madame Tussaud's. Step down into the dark and dingy corridors and discover what it was like to live in the poor sections of this city in the 1880s and 1890s. London was a rough place in those days, filled with dangerous characters. Among them was Jack the Ripper. The London Dungeon goes further back in time to the medieval age, and shows visitors some of the more unpleasant aspects of the city's history. It's not exactly a museum. Rather, it's just for entertainment.

Don't leave London before taking a shopping trip to Harrods Department Store, near Knightsbridge station. Prices are pretty steep here, but even if you don't buy anything it's fun to just look around and see what they have to sell. You're probably thinking it's just another mall, but wait until you step inside. Once you've been to Harrods, you'll know what luxury really means.

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