“When a man is tired of London, he is tired of life” Samuel Johnson

     These words float around my head every time that I visit London. The season for a visit doesn’t make much of a difference to me, as I spend as much time as I can snuggled in a pub or wandering a museum. With that in mind, I do find myself absolutely enamored with London during the holidays. I’m not sure if it is remnants of A Christmas Carol indoctrination or the dream of a holiday without palm trees (I am a Florida girl, after all) but London embodies the holiday spirit for me.

     This visit we made it a point to hit some of our favorite pubs but also threw in a few Christmas market visits, a gin tasting, and finally did the Bermondsey Beer Mile.

Pub Scene

     I’m not ashamed to say that the area of London that I chose for us to stay in this visit was based around our favorite pub (okay… maybe our favorite museum, too). Bloomsbury is an intellectual and literary hub in London, home to the venerable Bloomsbury publishing house (hello, Harry Potter), the University of London, the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, and for our purposes the British Museum and the Museum Tavern. The Academy was a perfect base to explore London. The hotel is super cozy with a lovely breakfast, and within walking distance to the British Museum, King’s Cross Station, and several tube stations. Our favorite part of the hotel was the cute little library where we could sit and peruse the books as we talked about what we wanted to do for the day (and pretend that I didn’t already have a plan).

     The Museum Tavern is situated across Great Russell Street from the British Museum. United Kingdom breweries participate in a very unique system for selling their beer, called the Tied House System, and the Museum Tavern is owned by Greene King. The pub has the typical fare of a British pub– fish & chips, various pies, curry, and offers liquor, wine, draught beer, and hand-pulled cask ale. The location and service sell it for me. It is lovely to finish a round at the British Museum, pop over for a pint and go over the wonders that you’ve just seen. The service is always friendly, in fact, when I was studying for my Advanced Cicerone exam, the barkeep took me down to the cellar so that I could see the cask system first-hand.

     There are an estimated 3,500 pubs in London. I’m sure that there is somebody out there trying to tick their way through each pub but, being an ocean away, it is not me. I’ve included some standouts from this visit and I’m sure I’ll find more in the future. Pub culture in the UK is so interesting to me. While you do meet with friends at a pub for the typical drinking session, they are also a place to relax with a book, bring your family for Sunday lunch, or not imbibe at all. The US could take a cue from the UK (and Europe in general) and get on the nonalcoholic beverage in pubs/bars bandwagon.

The Grenadier, near Belgrave square, is an absolutely beautiful pub. It’s tucked away in a cobblestone alley and feels a world away from the surrounding busy streets. This is fine dining for a pub, and the prices reflect that, however you can still get a comforting cask pull of bitter. The star here is a traditional Beef Wellington, so, if you haven’t had one or have been dying to have one in London, this is the place.

A little further afield, near the Royal Observatory, you’ll fine Greenwich Tavern. The focus of this pub is on locally sourced food and the menu is varied and delicious. The ale on offer is also a little different from your average pub, as they have their own branded ale and several Adnams draughts. The location is also superb, very close to The Cutty Sark, The National Maritime Museum, and the Prime Meridian (for all you geography nerds out there).

Mulled Wine & More

     Christmas in London is magical. It’s the kind of magic that is attempted world round but everything falls short of the real thing: twinkling lights, mulled wine, Christmas puddings, and a genuine Dickensesque charm. We made it a point to visit several Christmas markets, the Southbank and Covent Garden markets were full of charm but the one that swept me away was the Winter Village at the Battersea Power Station. While smaller than some of the other markets, it was overflowing with Christmas warmth. The wooden chalets were selling the usual Christmas fare: mulled wine, hot cider, and roasted chestnuts but spaced between the food and beverage offerings were local artisans. Most of the other markets in the city were full of the same trinkets and handicrafts over and over, which is a tell-tale sign that they are mass produced, but the gifts at this market were unique and most chalets had the artist selling their own wares available and eager to chat! One of the best gifts I came home with was for myself, a purse from Ducksessory— definitely a highlight. Battersea Power Station is also home to a number of shops, restaurants, and a brewery. After enjoying the market for a bit, we warmed up with ramen at Tonkatsu. As with any good night, we ended with a couple rounds at Battersea Brewery. The tasting room was modern and lively and the beer was definitely worth a trip.

Mother’s Ruin

     Not from from the Blackfriars tube stop (and the quirky Blackfriar pub), you’ll find City of London Distillery. The distillery is the first (and they claim only) gin distillery in the City of London. A tour and tasting runs £25 and includes a gin & tonic on arrival, a tour of their distilling setup, a hands-on run-through of the ingredients in their gin, and a tasting of 4 different gins.

     A bit of interesting gin history: in the early 1700’s the average person in London was drinking 14 gallons of gin a year. The gin craze was blamed for crime, higher death rates, and plummeting birth rates. With the opening of gin joints, women were allowed to drink alongside men in public for the first time in London. The propaganda machine began to call gin “mother’s ruin,” as women were said to have been out drinking too much and neglecting their children.

A Mile of Beer

     The Bermondsey Beer Mile is a group of breweries and bottle shops, located along a stretch of railway arches. The “mile” is actually closer to two miles now, with the craft beer explosion that London has been seeing in the last 4ish years. The mile has over 15 breweries, a cidery, a couple of distilleries, bottles shops, and bars to stumble between. We spent a Sunday afternoon and evening visiting some of the venues and left with a greater appreciation for the UK craft beer scene.

A surprising hit of our beer sojourn was Billy Franks beef jerky store which has turned into a craft beer bar, bottle shop, and much needed snack stop on the mile. The draft list was great, the staff was wonderful, and the beef jerky was aces. It didn’t hurt that the Harvey the dachshund seemed to be ruling the roost and gave us the warmest welcome.

London Basics

If you are flying from the US, you will be coming in to either Heathrow (LHR) or Gatwick (LGW). Both airports have terrific public transportation to central London and the trains are highly recommended over a taxi for both time and fiscal reasons. From LHR the tube (subway) takes about 50 minutes to arrive in to central London and costs £6 ($8). Alternatively, the Heathrow Express runs to and from Paddington Station and only takes 15 minutes, however it is a bit extra at £25 ($32). From Gatwick the Thameslink takes about 30 minutes to get into the city and costs £12 ($16) and the Gatwick Express to Victoria station takes about 30 minutes for £17.80 ($23). I find the Gatwick Express to be an easier option as it is typically more reliable and the ease of using Victoria Station can’t be beat. In the off chance that you arrive into the city before your accommodation is ready or you just want to explore an area before dropping your bags at your hotel, all of the major train stations have companies that offer luggage storage for a fee.

Most of the big museums in London are free. It’s a wonderful gift to visit a big city and see some of the most amazing artwork in the world without worrying about lining up and paying a hefty price. With that said, London itself is a pricey city. I like to splurge on a nice meal a couple times, depending on the length of my visit, but I do also enjoy the convivence and reliability of pub and street food. Also, don’t knock a quick meal at Pizza Express.

London is one of the most amazing cities in the world, it is my most visited city outside of the US and I never miss a chance to pop over. You could spend your whole life wandering from pub to pub and museum to museum and still leave wanting more. There is an energy in the city that is unmatched and a history that is always calling for a longer look.