Stuck in Stansted Airport - what to do?

Are you going to be stuck in Stansted Airport for most of the day? Is the connection times extremely bad? Well, don’t panic. There are plenty of things to do around Stansted airport. The fact that the airport itself lack most things that you expect from a major hub in a big city should not deter you from making the trip. If you don’t mind paying a few quid for the adventure of leaving the airport, the following are good options.

Tip 1: if you only have a few hours and don’t dare to venture out too far, walk to the SAS Radisson hotel and enjoy their buffet breakfast. The hotel itself is adjacent to the airport but you will still feel like you left the place. At least for an hour or two.

Tip 2 : if you have between 4-7 hours and really feel like you want to get away from the airport nonstop, then take a trip to Stansted Mountfichet. It is a small village only 2 miles from the airport. You can take either the train or the buss, do check for times before leaving as both runs no more than once per hour. It won’t take long before you reach the village and you are away from the airport. Stansted Mountfichet has an excellent museum, in fact it is like 3 museums in one. There is the House on the Hill Toy museum, which is the largest privately-owned toy museum in Europe. Let the toys take you back to your childhood and if you have children, they will love it. Before you enter the toy museum, there is a dinosaur encounter with a few famous dinosaurs . Then there is the Norman village and castle. All built up to show a what a Norman village would look like and with very informative talks and displays at each house or building. There are chickens, hens, deer and goats walking around the place which makes a nice little zoo for children. They have an excellent shop with fabulous goodies to eat for lunch.

Tip 3: if you have more or less the full day, why not make it into London? Stansted Airport are serviced by express trains that leaves every 15 minutes for London, and the journey takes about 45 minutes. If you aren’t in a rush and want to save some money, there is also the option of going by bus. The journey would take a minimum of 90 minutes, and depend on traffic. Once in London, you will probably have enough time to see a sight or two.

Tip 4: if an expensive journey in to London isn’t to you taste, why not go north to Cambridge instead? It is a picturesque university town, with a lot of sights. It is a smaller place, and so you will probably feel that you got more out of your day. Trains leaves for Cambridge frequently and takes less than 1 hour.

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Free things to do in Paris

Image via Wikipedia

Paris is known as the city of romance but is a great place to go even if you are on your own. There is a certain charm in Paris which not many bigger places can brag about. It's not only that romance is in the air, but it's more that people are alive. You can stroll around in the small streets in some of the famous quarters and feel happy and peaceful.

There are a good few things to do if you don't want to pay, some more interesting than others:

1. Notre Dame - this impressive cathedral is free to visit. However, they will charge you if you want to go down to the chambers or up in the tower. The cathedral raises high above the street and creates a wonderful picture. Walk around the quarter to find the most beneficial angle.

2. The Eiffel Tower - as one of the top attractions of Paris it's expensive to go up but to see if from below is well worth the walk there. Take a bottle of wine and a baguette and enjoy the tower lying on your back in the grass after a fantastic lunch.

3. Sacre Coeur - this white marble church is absolutely amazing and can be viewed from the steps below it. There are often street entertainment and Parisienne painters around this area so you can easily stroll around for a good while.

4. Montmartre - a true Parisienne quarter with a red light district. To stroll around here takes you back decades and the atmosphere is unbelievable. There are small shops which you can go window shopping.

5. L`Arc the Triomphe - here you can visit the Unknown Soldier's grave and walk in top of the Arc without having to pay. The Arc the Triumph is in the middle of a roundabout but you get here through the walkway underground.

6. Champs-Elysee - stroll up and down this famous street of Paris. There are plenty of restaurants and shops to look at.

7. Seine - go for a walk along the river Seine and browse through the books at the various stands. It's known to have happened that people find true bargains in these stands.

8. Jardin des Tuileries - one of Paris` many gardens. Marie Antoinette is said to have wandered around here.

9. The fountain at Trocadero - a place most tourists visits. It won't cost you a penny unless you make a wish.

10. Bois de Boulogne - take a trip out to the massive forest outside of Paris and forget all about city life.

As in most cities there are free concerts, free museums and churches to visit. Take a look in one of the free papers they hand out to see what's going on.

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Free things to do in London

Image by Anirudh Koul via Flickr

With London’s great attractions and entertainment, it often feels like you can't do London on a budget, but that is completely untrue. Take a look at some of the less talked about events or sights and you will see that many of them are completely free. It is however easy to fall into the sightseeing craze where you want to see it all. In that case, it can prove very expensive indeed.

So, what do you do if you don't have much money and still want to soak up the famous atmosphere?

You join in on all the fun, the only exception, you won't have to pay. Whatever your hobby or interest, London offers a great variety of freebies and it's there for your taking.

1. Head over to Buckingham Palace and watch the changing of the guards. Note that in winter this occurs every other day rather than daily like in the summer. Not only is it free but every visitor to London will eventually turn up here so you get plenty of atmosphere. Once you are here, walk around the palace, take some photos and then stroll over to Harrods for some window-shopping.

2. Walk around the lovely parks; Hyde Park, St James's and St Regent's park. The Speaker's corner is an area in Hyde Park where public speaking is allowed. Sit down, relax and enjoy whatever the subject might be of today's speakers. A few blocks away you have Oxford Street with all of its shops. If you like browsing through the merchandise, this might be a place to stop.

3. London's museums are often free and very interesting. If not all the time, there are times and days when you get in without having to pay. Take a look at the British museum, Sir John Soane’s Museum, the Natural History and Science museum, Victoria & Albert Museum and the Imperial War Museum. There are plenty of interesting things in these museums to occupy you on a rainy day.

4. Take a stroll around Covent Garden and sit down and enjoy the free street entertainment. This place always drags a crowd of tourists so you won't be the only one there. The place has a terrific atmosphere and the crowd is always enthusiastic whatever the entertainment. There is usually a market as well and a few local shops. A stroll away is Leister Square which comes alive at night.

5. Visit the various markets around London. Most famous are the Portobello market, the market in Camden Town and the Notting Hill market. Why not try and find the blue door from the film Notting Hill?

6. Walking is as always free and a stroll along the river Thames is a great way to pass away a few hours. See the Globe from the outside; they sometimes act parts of the play outside. Take a closer look at the Tower Bridge and listen to the men and women entertaining the pedestrians.

7. Trafalgar Square is one of those famous places in London you shouldn't miss. Lord Nelson is
raising high above street level and the birds are being feed all around you. Sit down and look at the people passing by or try and climb up on one of the lions underneath Lord Nelson. It is great fun for all ages.

8. Piccadilly Circus is another landmark that people tend to take a look at. Walk down there and join the crowds. There are a few good restaurants and bars in this area if you are feeling hungry or thirsty.

If you do feel like spending a few pounds, I suggest that you jump on one of the busses and take a trip around London. It's a great way of seeing a lot without paying much. It's nearly as good as those tourist busses driving around. It's also good for your bearing. London is so big that you sometimes lose track of where you are and how long to get from A to B. Try and do everything in one area at the same time so that you don't have to go back and forth too much.

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What to do in London?

Image via Wikipedia

London is one of my favourite places in the world. Not just because of its convenient location and status as a gateway to the world, but because of the never ending sights to see and the places to stroll around in. London might seem like a hectic place but if you look behind the corner, you will find peace and tranquility too. There are places crowded with tourists, like Buckingham Palace, Madame Tussuad's and the London Eye, but also places less likely to be visited, like St James' Park. With so many attractions, there is bound to be one that you like. Here are my top 5. Perhaps you will think different? Let me know.

1. Covent Garden - to me this is the heart of London. It is a place where I return over and over again. It is a perfect place to sit down and relax and enjoy the atmosphere. There is usually market stalls to browse through and free entertainment to amuse you.

2. The Imperial War Museum - an important museum as it is dedicated to the 2 World Wars. Here you will find everything you could possible want to know and see about these wars. You really will get a feel to how it was during the London bombings in their bunker. Try it if you dare.

3. Greenwich - take a ferry from Westminister to Greewich and enjoy the Thames. In Greenwich the pace is a lot slower and strolling around the streets is interesting. There are plenty of markets where you can pick up bargains.

4. The Tower of London - meet a Beefeater and let yourself be guided through the history of London. Not many places have such a rich history and the anecdotes are told extremely well. It is an interesting place to visit and you get a lot for your money.

5. The West End - no visit to London is complete until you have visited one of the many shows in the West End. Even just walking around Leicester Square will lift your spirits.

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