St Patrick's Day London March 2017

It's a global celebration of Irish culture. It Particularly remembers St Patrick's, one of  Ireland's patron saints, who ministered Christianity in Ireland during the fifth century.
Every 17th of March, Ireland celebrates one of its patron saints, St Patrick, with a traditional feast.
Singing , dancing , a parade and a pint or two - the Irish known how to party and celebrate this day.
Watch St Patrick's Day performances by West End stars, Irish acts and community choirs, plus a huge caili on the Trafalgar Square stage, hosted by Irish stand-up comedian Jarlath Regan. Then tuck into traditional and modern Irish food from the market, and enjoy special family activities for free.

24-hours in London

London is one of those cities that will surprise you (and confuse a little bit) with its modern skyscrapers, centuries-old buildings and an incredibly young and vibrant feel.

Whatever you do, make sure you spend some time at the Tate Modern museum. It's definitely one of the most-interesting museums in the world and is filled with incredible installations and art made by both famous and obscure artists from all around the world.

Take a walk along the banks of the Thames, across the Millennium Bridge and to beautiful Tower Bridge. It's worth exploring Borough Market, which is home to delis, top restaurants and the city's best farmers market.

Kensington Gardens is another stop not to be missed. The gardens are filled with shrines to the late Princess Diana, including a stunning fountain dedicated to her memory. The artificial lake and ornate walkways, complete with blooming flowers and trees, is a heavenly oasis in the bustling city.

After this, grab a cab and head to the Burlington Arcade. The Arcade, which is in the heart of Mayfair, is one of the most-popular shopping destinations in all of London.

The best time to ride on the London Eye is right before sunset, so be sure to book your ticket for around 6pm. The 30-minute rotation, which gives you the best 360-degree view of the city is better than anything else.

Seeing a play at the renowned Shakespeare's Globe theatre is a truly unforgettable experience. Not only is the building an exact replica of what Shakespeare's original one looked like during his time, but it also offers a medieval theatre experience.

And that’s your 24-hours in London filled to maximum.

Making the most of this Festive Season

It’s that time of year again and we can already smell a hint of minced pies in the air. The lights, the Christmas trees, the window displays, the festive buzz… Christmas just makes London and Londoners come alive and this year is set to be more magical than ever with an array of festivals, ice rinks and traditional markets returning to get you in the festive spirit.

Get your fix of alpine après-ski at the Ski Lodge at Montague on the Gardens, pick up some unique gifts on the Southbank and skate your hearts out Somerset House. For more traditional Christmas cheer there's Carols by Candelight at the Royal Albert Hall or the fantastic new exhibition that's taking place at the Charles Dickens Museum.

Hyde Park’s Winter Wonderland returns again this year for more festive fun. If that’s not enough to get your festive juices flowing there’ll be an array of exhibitions and pantomimes going on as well as festive beverages to indulge in and street food stalls to browse. 

In fact there’s so much happening in London this Christmas you’ll be hard-pressed for choice. 

Little Venice and Regent's Canal

Little Venice, about a square mile within London's Maida Vale district, is one of the more exclusive residential districts in central London. When the Grand Union Canal was opened in 1820, the area was home to artists, writers and women of the night. Today, Little Venice is a bit more genteel. The area is comprised of about ten tree-lined streets with beautiful 17th century white stucco homes plus shops on Formosa Street and Clifton Gardens. Easy access to Oxford Street, the West End, Paddington Station and even Heathrow make this oasis on near London's canals a much coveted, fashionable and expensive address.

A Self-Guided Walk/Day

You can walk and explore Little Venice and Regent's Canal and make an entire day of it if you like starting with a visit to the London Canal Museum. Or maybe start with breakfast at Café La Ville at the corner of Edgware Road and Aberdeen Place. Walk to Regents Park, up to Primrose Hill for a wonderful commanding view over London and then along Regent's Canal to Camden Market. That walk is all of about 30 minutes with paved towpath all the way. If you don't want to walk, both Little Venice (TUBE: Warwick Avenue) and Camden (TUBE: Camden Town) are served by the Tube so you can return by the Underground. If you're going to go it alone, we recommend you pick up an Eyewitness Guide to London.

A Guided Walk of Little Venice is offered by The Original London Walks. All you need to do is to be outside of Warwick Avenue on Wednesday 11AM or on Saturday or Sunday at 2PM with the price of admission.

Little Venice

London's Top Activity Bars

London, the centre of the world, still remains famous - despite having over 300 languages, four world heritage sites, 40 West End theatres and the oldest underground railway network in the world - firstly for:

1) Its rain. And secondly,

2) Its bars.

Check them out here:

All Star Lanes | Bowling’s great. Especially when you combine it with cocktails, non-sweaty shoes, a 1950’s vibe, an authentic American diner serving everything from corn dipped Mississippi fish finger sandwiches to chargrilled prime beef steaks, and private karaoke booths. 

Details: Holborn, Bayswater and Shoreditch.

Baranis | A basement cocktail bar with a simple menu of traditional French snacks and a sizeable array of the region’s prime anise-flavoured apéritif, pastis. They also have a gravelled indoor pétanque court, where the goal is to throw hollow metal balls as close as possible to a small wooden ball. Simple. Unless you don’t have arms.

Details: 115 Chancery Lane, Temple, WC2A 1PP

Bar Kick | “Shoreditch royalty” would be a relatively adequate summation of Bar Kick. Then again, so would “a bustling, rambunctious football-inspired bar offering a menu of epicurean sandwiches, charcuterie and cheese, cocktails, beer, wine and - most importantly - foosball tournaments.

Details: 127 Shoreditch High Street, Shoreditch, E1 6JE

Urban Golf | Golf: hitting a tiny ball with a tiny club into a tiny hole hundreds of metres away behind trees, water beds and sandpits. Urban Golf: kind of just like that, except virtual, and indoors, and warm, with 50 of the worlds best courses on electronic hand, and bar food menu, with drinks.

Details: Soho, Smithfield, Kensington

Draughts Board Game Café | A partially crowd funded board game café in the heart of Hackney, stocking more that 500 games and a much smaller selection of local craft beers, ales, ciders and wines as well as homemade baked goods.

Details: 337 Acton Mews, Haggerston, E8 4EA | A £5 per person cover charge applies

Bounce | Set over 12,000 square feet of a Russell Sage-designed space in Holborn, Bounce features an impressive 17 ping-pong tables, a 40 foot bar serving seasonally-inspired drinks, a DJ booth and a raised restaurant for overlooking the action. In short, if table tennis was fun before the addition of cocktails, music and all of your friends – which it was – then Bounce has done the nearly impossible, and actually made it better.

Details: 121 Holborn, Holborn, EC1N 2TD

Lucky Voice | Karaoke is a legitimate sport. It requires skill, determination, perseverance and finally, alcohol. But it also requires a karaoke bar, like Lucky Voice, where the deal is simple: you pay per person for private rooms, into which you can take all manner of drinks prepared by the on site cocktail bar.

Details: Soho and Islington.

Original Sin | As well as looking like the broody basement bar of a lower NYC whisky refinery, Original Sin is also one of the rare gems which exist to provide you with only one thing: fun. Oh, and a free pool table.

Details: 129 Stoke Newington High Street, Stoke newington, N16 0PH

The Four Quarters | A Peckham bar / pub specialising in all your classic misspent-youth arcade and video games like Pong, Asteroids, Tron, Pac Man and Streetfighter II.

Details: 187 Rye Lane, Peckham, SE15 4TP

What to expect when visiting London

SURE, everyone knows the basics of London - the home to Buckingham Palace, Trafalgar Square, Tower Bridge, Big Ben and the London Eye.

England’s capital and most visited place is commonly seen as the gateway to Europe. No-one misses visiting London when they head to the UK, it’s almost compulsory.

Whether you want fish and chips, to ride the tube or visit Camden Markets, London has it going on. Modern London is multicultural and full of life and you’ll never get bored however, there’s more to it than you’ll imagine. 

GETTING AROUND

You’ll need an Oyster card which charges a deposit of £5 + £2.40 per journey on top. 

TRAVEL ETIQUETTE

If you want to rest while you get taken up or down on the escalator, make sure you stand on the right side. Especially in London, people will frantically be coming past you on the left so make sure you remember this.

JUST REMEMBER

The tube gets crammed! Peak times such as rush hour in the morning anywhere from 7am-10am and 4pm-7pm can be tight. The tubes will fill up quickly and it won’t be a comfortable ride back.

It’s not unusual for it to be silent on the tube. In London no one seems to speak to each other, whether they are staring at their smart phones, reading the paper, snoozing or gazing into the distance, expect this.

WEATHER

It doesn’t rain as much as you think. London actually rains less than Paris or Rome not to mention the rest of the UK. It may be grim sometimes but when it rains it is normally just in spurts rather than all day long. Just take a hoodie or a coat just in case, or a small umbrella if you want to carry one around.

TIPPING

Tips aren’t as essential in London as they would be in the US, however it’s common to tip. If you’ve ordered food 10 per cent is a good start however if there is a service charge added, which is more often now 12.5 per cent then that’s the majority or all of your tip right there.

HUNGRY?

Dining out in London doesn’t have to cost the Earth. Visit a money saving website like MyVoucherCodes to avoid paying full price when eating out at London’s popular restaurants.

THIRSTY?

Pubs are a way of life here. People will often go to the pub during the week but mostly on weekends. If you sit in the pub all weekend then that’s considered pretty standard in London. Don’t feel the need to do something productive, the pub’s a fine substitute for that!

FREE ACTIVITIES

Most of the city’s top museums and galleries are completely free entry. So if you want to head to the famous British Museum, Tate Modern or National History Museum then you won’t have to pay a thing.

SHOPPING

Shopping alternatives from Oxford Circus are Covent Garden, Kings Road and Regent Street. They’ll be more low key in comparison however are good options to consider.

NEED A RIDE?

The black cabs have a novelty about them but you’ll find if you do ever take a taxi, local cabs and Uber are cheaper and more convenient.

And the most important - have a jolly good time!

Chel-Ski

Chel-Ski is a new dry slope that offers skiing and snowboarding training just ten-minute walk from Fulham Broadway Station. Don't expect to be bundled up in salopettes as your hurtle into artificial snow drifts, because your session takes place on a giant astroturf treadmill. Getting used to skiing on the spot is a challenge, but once you are up and gliding smoothly it's the ideal setting in which to gain confidence and perfect your technique.Sessions at Chel-Ski are always with an instructor and as much for beginners as improvers - it must be far less scary to learn to snow plough on a bit of carpet than on an icy slope. 

Despite the apres-ski themed cafe, this is no substitute for the real thing but, for what is essentially a combination of a lesson and a workout, it's great fun. 

As is seeing how confused people get when you tell them you went skiing on Monday morning!