My Favourite Thing About London

London has so much to offer everyone. People who live here love the culture, the fantastic cuisine, the liberalism, the nightlife, the traditional pubs etc. etc. etc.  But it’s not all that easy to pinpoint the one thing that you like best about living in London.

So we decided to put one not-so-simple question to a group of both original and adopted Londoners:

‘What is your favourite thing about London?‘

Spring ‘My favourite thing about London is the start of Spring, when the sun starts coming out and the trail of what seems like the longest winter ever is starting to trail behind. People are emerging from the walls of their winter retreat and finding the closest patches of sun. Early sunny morning walks, fry ups and beers in the park.’ -Mel

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British Film Institute ‘The BFI Southbank is, quite frankly, awesome.  It’s the biggest repertory cinema in the UK and has three screens, a gallery, a studio and a mediatheque.  There’s a shop with countless British and World Cinema classics on DVD, books on just about everything to do with the cinema, and even a clothing section should you feel the need to express your love for The Goonies via the medium of T-shirt.  If you fancy looking like an arty type with a glass of wine in your hand arguing the finer points of De Niro vs. Pacino, there are two stylish bars in there with a ton of different wines & beers to be had.  There are also two restaurants in there with pretty decent menus (and the Cheeseburger Royale is bloody amazing).  On a Sunday, you can even get a proper roast dinner there with all the trimmings!  Screening tickets are cheaper than cinemas in the West End, and even the price of a pint is a little less than most pubs in Soho.  Put simply, if the BFI Southbank were a lady, I’d take her home to meet my Mum.’ – Drew

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London Restaurants ‘The restaurants – specifically Donna Margarita and Franco Manca and sitting in the garden in on a sunny day getting bitten and drinking with my chum from down the road and over the invisible railing next to the tree.’ – Helen

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Shepherd’s Market ‘My favourite thing about London is that everyday you can discover something completely new that you’ve never heard of or seen before. It could be a market, a pub or just a beautiful view. The other day, after living in London for 7 years, I found Shepherd’s Market in Green Park. It’s a really lovely little cobbled square right off Piccadilly. You’d never know this sleepy little cluster of pubs was there. I went to the Market Tavern and had the best roast beef I’ve ever eaten in a pub.’ – Lucy

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Music ‘Gigs! All bands play London!’ – Effie

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London Restaurants ‘I love London for having all the best restaurants on our doorsteps! The Anchor and Hope at Waterloo, Brindisa at Borough Market (just don’t try and go on a Saturday) and Barrafina (a Spanish tapas place you sit at the bar) all my current favourites. Enjoy.’ – Ruth

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Walking around London ‘The fact that there is always something new to see. I like taking a walk around a new part of London and coming across interesting buildings, pubs, shops, parks. You don’t need a guide book as you can lose yourself for an afternoon in any part of zone 1 and beyond and are bound to discover something fantastic.’ – Dan

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Borough Market ‘With stalls piled high with chocolate brownies and buckling under the weight of huge wheels of cheese it’s dangerous to visit this bustling food market on an empty stomach. It’s also foolish not too – plates of tasters at every turn mean you can fill up on the finest foods for free. Depending on the hangover I’ll either round off my free samples with a latte at the legendary Monmouth Coffee Company (worth it just for the pattern they make with the milk) or head round the corner for another tasting session – this time at the world of wine, Vinopolis.’ – Amy

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World Cultures  ‘You can see the world without going outside the M25′. – Russell

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Just about everything ‘I like Battersea Park, particularly the peace pagoda which, as it’s purpose, invokes a sense of tranquility rarely found in London. I like walking along south bank round Christmas when there’s loads of fairy lights about. I LOVE going to Brixton academy, either sitting in the stalls and feeling like your looming over whoever your seeing or sweating down the front. Then walking out with ringing ears and going to one of the many awesome bars Brixton has to offer and enjoying the confusing feeling of being mildly intimidated by the plethora of hoppers, runners and gangsters yet comfortable amongst peers. I like boozing by the River in Richmond. I like how London gives you a 5-10 year extension on getting married, having kids, going down t’pit and all the other things expected from growing up and living in Nottingham.’ – Matt

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Notting Hill – ‘My favourite thing is that you have something for all tastes…Best place for me Notting Hill’ – Paola

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Bridges, buses and buildings – ‘Sitting on a bus going over Waterloo bridge with the Houses of Parliament and London eye to the left and St Pauls and the amazing skyline at Canary Wharf to the right. This is even better first thing in the morning at the beginning of a sunny day or at night when the city is lit up.
Another bus related favourite is sitting upstairs taking in the top half of the Victorian buildings and seeing all the detail of the architecture that you can’t see on foot.
I also love going for a run around along Albert Embankment to the London Eye and crossing over to run past the Houses of Parliament.’  - Michelle

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Please feel free to add a comment below telling us your favourite thing about London. It could be anything…. a pub, an event, a time of year, a building, a restaurant… you get the idea!