One day in Brighton: what to visit

Lungo mare Brighton porticciolo

Introduction to Brighton

Brighton is a town located on the south coast of England, famous for its beaches, its colorful houses and its diversity.

It is a destination that is often chosen by tourists on holiday in London, as it is very quick and cheap to get off to Brighton thanks to the train and buses, and being a human-sized town, it can be easily visited in a day.

Assuming you arrive in Brighton via the railway, the first place I recommend you visit is the Brighton Toy and Model Museum, located right next to the station. Here you will find more than ten thousand games and models, displayed through Victorian galleries, and it is the ideal first stop that will fascinate both kids and adults.

The North Laine neighborhood

Once the visit is over, direct towards the North Laine district, one of the most famous and visited in the city. Here you will find a multitude of independent shops where you can buy all kinds of food, new and second-hand clothes, home decorations, handicrafts and much more.

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It is advisable to spend a couple of hours in this beautiful neighborhood, small but full of surprises! An iconic shop is Snooper’s Paradise in Kensington Gardens, where you will find a huge collection of various second-hand items. You can not miss the numerous graffiti hidden almost everywhere in the neighborhood and, if you are hungry, you can choose from the many cafes in the area, with a great choice of vegetarian and vegan dishes.

Once you have completed your visit to the neighborhood, walk down Trafalgar Street to St. Peter’s Church, a beautiful pre-Victorian Gothic style church built in the 19th century.

Brighton piazza del Royal Pavilion

Brighton Royal Pavilion square

The emblematic monuments of the city

Walking south towards the sea, you will arrive in front of the inevitable Royal Pavilion, one of the emblematic monuments of the city. In full oriental style, this palace was built in the nineteenth century under Prince George IV, who in 1802 wanted to modify the external appearance of the palace according to the Indian and Chinese style for the interior, which he was fond of. You can visit the interior of the Royal Pavilion by paying an entrance ticket, where you can admire, in addition to the splendid interiors, objects on display loaned by Queen Elizabeth.

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It is worth visiting the park around the Royal Pavilion, very green and full of vegetation, perfect for a relaxing moment in the sun. This park also houses the Brighton Museum, Brighton’s art museum, the entrance has a little cost. You will find various collections inside showing the history of Brighton and the world around us, as well as the various exhibitions that the museum regularly hosts.

Continuing your walk to the sea, you will arrive at Old Steine, but before coasting the promenade I recommend you to head west and go up North Street, one of the main streets of the city center, and then access the famous Lanes by taking one of the small streets that you will find on your left.

Partly similar to North Laine, The Lanes is another of the typical neighborhoods of Brighton, made up of small, mostly pedestrianized streets and characterized by various independent shops of all kinds. Here you will find many restaurants, shops specializing in sweets and clothing stores, including luxury ones, but above all many jewelers.

For shopping lovers there is also Churchill Square, the city’s commercial center, located in the center of Brighton near the Clock Tower, built in 1888 for the golden jubilee of Queen Victoria.

Brighton West Pier

Brighton West Pier

The seafront, Brighton pier

It is finally time to walk towards the place you most expect to see: the seafront, with its pebble beaches. If you arrive at the Seafront from West Street, you will be halfway between the West Pier (west) and Palace Pier (east).

The West Pier was burned in 2003 due to two fires, and what you will see is its skeleton, which in bad weather deteriorates more and more over the years, but remains always fascinating and mysterious to contemplate.

The opening of British Airways i360 was inaugurated recently, a 162 meter high tower from which you can admire the entire city, the South Downs national park and, on clear days, the cliffs located east of Brighton. Entrance is not free, little fee applies.

Brighton molo principale lungomare

Brighton main pier waterfront

Finally, you have to see the extremely popular Palace Pier, probably the most emblematic place in the city, with its amusement park, its games and the magnificent view of Brighton that it offers, especially at sunset.

Already been to Brighton? Let us know in the comments about your experiences and if there are other places in Brighton that you think are worth visiting!

One day in London: what to visit

Londra vista sul Tamigi

London is not only the largest city in the United Kingdom, but the biggest of the European Union: visiting all the monuments and the museums in one day is impossible. This does not mean that it is not worth visiting, even when you are in London for a short time: if you follow my itinerary with all the emblematic monuments of the capital – leaving aside the museums which need more time – one day in London is enough to discover the most popular places in the city.

Let’s assume your day in London starts at 9 in the morning in Victoria, a neighborhood in the heart of the city with an important train and bus station. If you arrive at the station or find an underground stop nearby, I recommend you to go to a counter with personal or automatic to request the Visitor Oyster Card, a rechargeable pass that will allow you to travel on public transport. £ 15 is more than enough to visit all the places that we will introduce you to in this article. If you prefer to walk and limit the use of public transport as much as you can, a contactless payment is enough to use the metro and buses if you need it.

London has 5 main airports and one of these, Heathrow, is one of the most important airports in the world by number of passengers. Around 1303 planes leave and arrive every day from Heathrow.

Westminster and Trafalgar Square

About twenty minutes walk from Victoria Station, and a stone’s throw from the side of the river Thames, you will find the Big Ben, one of the most famous clocks in the world, overlooking the London Eye, located across the river. (To get there by tube, take the Circle Line or the District Line to Westminster Station).

But that’s not all you have to visit in the area: we are in fact in the Westminster district, where the English parliament is located. Looking around you can see the House of Parliament, Westminster Palace and the splendid Westminster Abbey, the place where British sovereigns are crowned. Access to the abbey is free for those who have the London Pass.

I recommend that you spend an hour in this beautiful neighborhood full of history before venturing towards Trafalgar Square (13 minutes on foot or 6 minutes by bus taking the number 88 from Parliament Square to Trafalgar Square). In the center of this important square is the statue of Horatio Nelson, the British admiral who defeated France and Spain in the battle of Trafalgar. Behind it you will find the National Gallery, a free art museum founded in 1824.

Londra Big Ben e vista sul Tamigi

Buckingham Palace and parks of London

You can now walk south-west to The Mall, a beautiful tree-lined avenue that connects the Admiralty Arch (a stone’s throw from Trafalgar Square) to Buckingham Palace (16 minutes on foot), skirting St. James’s Park.

You will arrive at the official residence of Queen Elizabeth, where every day starting 11:15 am you can watch the famous change of guard, which lasts about half an hour. Once the ceremony is over, go through Green Park, located immediately to the left of Buckingham Palace, to reach the famous Hyde Park (16 minutes on foot), an ideal place to relax, contemplate nature and visit the famous Speaker’s Corner. This is the name of a corner of the park still in use today where great figures of the past, including George Orwell, Karl Marx and Lenin, exposed their ideas to the public, creating a place for promoting and defending freedom of expression.

A long weekend in London: what to visit?

Shopping in Oxford Street

It is now time for lunch. Heading north-east you will arrive at Marble Arch. On your right you will find Oxford Street, a large street full of shops and cafés where you can have a bite to eat before spending a couple of hours shopping and buying souvenirs. At Oxford Circus underground station there is the intersection of Oxford Street and Regent Street, another London shopping street. Heading south you will come to Piccadilly Circus, a sdawaethat has become famous for its large bright advertising screens. If shopping isn’t your thing, you can go directly to the next destination by taking the Central Line at Marble Arch to the Tottenham Court Road stop.

Leicester Square is only a five minute walk from Piccadilly: in this area you will find the famous Odeon Cinema (where all the big movie stars are invited for the premières), the Chinese district of London Chinatown and many theaters and restaurants.

Londra St Paul's Cathedral

St. Paul’s Cathedral and Covent Garden

Then take the Piccadilly Line to Leicester Square and change to Holborn to take the Central Line to St. Paul’s Cathedral. If you prefer to walk, continue east for half an hour and you will arrive at St. Paul’s Cathedral, the largest religious building in Britain, completed in the early 18th century. South of the cathedral you will find the Millennium Bridge, the famous pedestrian bridge that had to be closed only two days after the inauguration due to vibrations due to the large number of passersby. Across the river, on your left, you can see The Shakespeare Globe (a replica of the famous Elizabethan theater) and in front of it the Tate Modern, a museum of contemporary art. From here, head west for a short walk along the river, then head north across the Waterloo Bridge.

It is almost time to leave the capital, but not without having diner first. You are now very close to Covent Garden (Savoy Street stop on the Central Line starting from the cathedral), a neighborhood plenty of shops, restaurants, pubs and bars where you can eat and have a cocktail before departure. You can then take the underground which will take you back to Victoria (from Covent Garden Station, take the Piccadilly Line and change at Green Park Station to take the Victoria Line to Victoria Station).

Now we know that visiting London is possible. What have you visited? Tell us in the comments.

Knowing Brighton

Brighton molo principale

Dreaming of moving to an English multicultural and full of opportunities city, but don’t want to give up the sea?

Living in Brighton is the ideal choice for many: just less than an hour distance from London, it is a full-sized town which offers all the benefits of a large city: Brighton has two universities, large multinational companies such as American Express for those looking for job opportunities and many independent shops of all kinds for shopping lovers.

Brighton and nearby Hove together form the Unitary authority of Brighton and Hove, recognised as a city in 2001 and which today has almost 300,000 inhabitants. The city is located in the county of East Sussex, in the south east of England, and is a stone’s throw from the South Downs national park.

The coastal town is famous for its non-conformism: known for its large LGBT community, Brighton is an extravagant city with a myriad of independent shops and bars, where the lifestyle is much more relaxed than the capital; it is precisely for this latter point that more and more people working in London decide to choose Brighton as their residence.

Brighton lungo mare

Brighton seafront

How to get to Brighton

The most convenient airport is certainly Gatwick, located halfway between Brighton and London, and half an hour away by train from the coastal town. You can possibly consider other London airports such as Heathrow, Luton and Stansted, and from there to reach Brighton via London by train, or by taking a bus (National Express is the best known and often very cheap company).

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The bus will take you to Old Steine, a stone’s throw from the sea, while the train station is located in the heart of the city: in both cases you will not be far from the bus stops that will take you to your destination. To find out which bus to take, you can download the Brighton & Hove Buses app on your mobile phone, which will also allow you to check timetables and buy your ticket online.

Transportation in and around Brighton

Staying on the subject of public transport, it is important to know the costs of the various passes. The car parks in the city center are few and very expensive, so the inhabitants very often prefer public transport. As indicated above, the Brighton bus company has a smartphone app through which you can buy tickets for single use, passes for a full day, for a week, for a month and for 90 days. Prices vary widely depending on the company you use, your destination and time (buses cost more at night), but in general the price for a monthly ticket is around £ 80. There are reduced rates for university students and special tickets for groups and families; you can find a list with all rates on this site.

As indicated above, Brighton offers a much calmer and more relaxed quality of life than London, and for this reason many people decide to live in Brighton while working in the capital. However, the peace of the sea has a cost: the monthly season ticket costs almost £ 400. The train will not only take you to London: Brighton is also well connected to the east (Lewes, Eastbourne) and to the west (Shoreham, Worthing, Littlehampton).

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Do not forget the bicycle, one of the most economical and ecological methods of getting around the city: most of the main roads in Brighton have a lane dedicated to cyclists. For those who do not have one, Brighton offers the possibility to rent one of their bicycles through the BTN BikeShare Scheme: prices are 3p per minute (plus one pound to ‘unlock’ the bicycle) or £ 72 per year, for thirty minutes a day.

Brighton train station

Brighton train station

The rents

As you may have understood from the costs of transport, living in Brighton is not cheap, but the most important cost is rent. Although not at London levels, rents in Brighton are among the most expensive in the United Kingdom: on average it counts £ 500 for a room in a shared house, £ 700 for a studio apartment and £ 800 for a one bedroom flat, to which you will have to add bills and council tax.

While not a big city, Brighton has very different neighborhoods, and prices vary according to your requirements. If you prefer calm, but with the sea at your doorstep, the Hove area will do it for you; if you prefer green instead, Preston Park is also a very calm and pretty area. The Hanover neighborhood, located to the east of Brighton, is famous for its colorful houses and is highly appreciated by both students and families. The center is, without a doubt, the liveliest and most expensive neighborhood.

On Facebook you can find many groups of people living in Brighton and you will often find information on available rooms, roommates with whom to share an apartment and furniture and furnishings for sale.

Working in Brighton

As everywhere in England, in order to work you will first need to apply for the National Insurance Number, and write a CV in the British format. Knowledge of the English language is essential; finding work without it is almost impossible. The predominant sector is tourism: in the summer jobs in restaurants and hotels are in great demand, all jobs which involve contact with the public.

Many jobs, especially in large chains such as supermarkets and clothing stores, do not accept paper CVs: if you are interested in working in this sector you can search for jobs and apply directly on the company’s website.

In case you don’t have a specific job in mind, or are simply looking for a job to improve your knowledge of the language, there are many websites and places in the city where you will find ads and help in your search. If you are looking for help in person, you can go to the Job Center on Edward Street or to one of the many recruitment agencies scattered throughout the city.

Study in Brighton

Brighton is a popular destination for students from all over the world, both for attending university studies and for learning or improving their English. For those who wish to attend higher studies, you can choose between the University of Brighton and the University of Sussex: both universities offer three-year courses, masters and doctorates in almost all subjects. Although not located in the heart of Brighton, they are well connected to the center by bus and train. For music lovers, the British and Irish Modern Music Institute (BIMM) has a college in Brighton.

For those interested in a short stay to attend English language courses, Brighton offers several language schools. Some of the most popular are:

Brighton seaside restaurants

Brighton seaside restaurants

Where to eat in Brighton

There is no shortage of good food in Brighton. On the waterfront and almost everywhere in the city you will find vendors of the famous fish and chips, one of the inevitable dishes of every British coastal city. In the most central neighborhoods, in particular North Laine, The Lanes and Kemptown, you will find numerous cafes where you can taste fresh, local and homemade dishes, with many vegetarian and vegan options. An inevitable place for burger lovers is Burger Brothers, a place that at first glance looks like a classic fast food shop, but which is very often described as one of the best places in the city.

If you are a lover of Italian food, you will not feel lost: the city offers numerous pizzerias and clubs where you can taste aperitifs and local specialties.

The best known pizzerias in Brighton are:

  • VIP Pizza (19 Old Steine BN1 1EL) ; 
  • Fatto a Mano (77 London Road BN1 4JF, 25 Gloucester Road BN1 4AQ, 65-67 Church Road BN3 2BD); 
  • Purezza (12 St James’s St BN2 1RE);
  • Nuposto (14 West Street BN1 2RE); 
  • Al Duomo (7 Pavilion Buildings BN1 1EE).

For those looking for something other than pizza there are:

  • Franco’s Osteria (4 Victoria Terrace BN3 2WE); 
  • Monjibello – aperitifs and Sicilian cuisine (24 Duke Street BN1 1AG); 
  • Grazie Mille – breakfast, lunch and appetizers (169 North Street BN1 1EA); 
  • La Mucca Nera – ice cream shop and aperitifs (107 St James’s Street BN2 1TH).

For everyday shopping, in Brighton you will find all traditional supermarkets (Tesco, Asda, Aldi etc.). There are also several independent foods such as Infinity Foods and Hisbe, specializing in local, seasonal and vegetarian / vegan foods, and for fresh and cheap vegetables and fruit you can go to the Open Market, open from Monday to Sunday.

Shopping in Brighton

Brighton is also very well equipped in this category: with a shopping center in the city center and two pedestrian zones plenty of original and independent shops, it is impossible to go home empty-handed.

The Churchill Square shopping center is a five-minute walk from the station and consists of three floors where you will find clothing stores (Topshop, Urban Outfitters, Victoria’s Secret), home stores (Lakeland, Tiger), restaurants and various types of fast foods (mostly located on the top floor).

If more traditional shops aren’t your thing, head to North Laine and The Lanes neighborhoods, both located in the heart of the city. In North Laine, Snooper’s Paradise is a must, a two-storey store with many vintage items of any kind, where you can get lost for hours. In the Lanes you will find above all jewelers, luxury clothing stores and restaurants.

Art and culture

Brighton has an important music scene: many internationally famous bands and artists, such as The Kooks and Fatboy Slim, are originally from this city. Emerging singers and bands often perform in pubs, such as Prince Albert on Trafalgar Street and The Hope and Ruin on Queen’s Road. The main concert halls in the city are Komedia, Concorde 2, the Brighton Dome and the Brighton Center.

Brighton Concorde 2 concert hall

Brighton Concorde 2 concert hall

Two major cultural events are organized in Brighton each year, the Brighton Fringe and the Brighton Festival. The two events often take place simultaneously and last from early May until early June. Brighton Fringe is England’s largest art festival and one of the largest in the world, with more than 1000 events in hundreds of different locations. The Brighton Festival, created in 1967, is a celebration of music, art, theater, literature, with events suitable for all members of the family, from the largest to the smallest.

If you are in Brighton the first week of August, you cannot miss the Brighton Pride, one of the most important events of the year, with almost 500,000 visitors from all over the world. The event takes place from Friday to Sunday, with the traditional parade on Saturday. In recent years, Brighton Pride has launched a music festival, Pride in the Park in Preston park, which recently welcomed international artists such as Britney Spears and Kylie Minogue.

Brighton Pride

Brighton Pride

Monuments and places to visit

Like almost all seaside cities, Brighton has a pier, the Palace Pier, an emblematic symbol of the city and one of the most famous piers in the United Kingdom. 525m long, on this pier you will find restaurants, a games room, a funfair, and you can admire Brighton and its beaches. In reality Brighton has two docks: heading west you can see the skeleton of the West Pier, disused for several decades and ruined by two fires in 2003. Along the coast there is also the British Airways i360, a tower 162m high from which you can admire Brighton and its surroundings.

West Pier Sud Inghilterra

Brighton West Pier

Another emblematic building is the Royal Pavilion, built under George IV in Indian (external) and Chinese (internal) style. You can visit the palace by paying a fee while the garden that surrounds it is free. Very close from the Royal Pavilion you will find the Brighton Museum and Art Gallery; the museum tells the history of the city and you can often visit exhibitions on various themes. Other museums of the city are the Brighton Toy and Model Museum, located at the station, and the Sea Life Center, an aquarium located close to the Palace Pier.

If you want to know what to visit in Brighton in one day read this post.

Seven Sisters cliffs

Seven Sisters cliffs

If you have more time, the surroundings of Brighton are well worth exploring. Starting from the center, you can take a bus that will take you to the cliffs of the Seven Sisters, have a walk in nature and contemplate breathtaking landscapes. These cliffs are part of the South Downs National Park, a 1627m2 national park that surrounds Brighton. For countryside and small typical villages lovers this place is a must.

Are you planning to move to Brighton? Share your experience with us in the comments!

A long weekend in London: what to visit

Londra vista del Big Ben e bus rosso

London is more accessible than you might think. A weekend will never be enough to visit the British capital, vast and full of museums and monuments, but a long weekend in London will allow you to discover all the emblematic places without haste.

If you plan to visit London for three days and you are afraid of forgetting some unmissable places or monuments, keep reading this article: you will find, day by day, the itinerary to follow with all the monuments, museums and parks to see.

Day 1: Westminster, Buckingham Palace and the parks

It is Friday morning and you just arrived at Victoria train station, one of the most central stations in the capital. Here starts your long weekend in London. Before venturing to the first stop, follow the signs inside the station until you get to the Victoria underground station. Here you can request the Visitor Oyster Card, a rechargeable and very practical card to quickly access the London Underground.

Now that you are in possession of the card you can go to the first stop, the area of Westminster. Here you will find some of the most famous monuments in the city: the House of Parliament (home of the English parliament), Big Ben (one of the most famous clocks in the world), Westminster Abbey and Westminster Bridge. Visiting the abbey is not free, but buying the London Pass online before departure you can access without having to buy a ticket on the spot.

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Cross the bridge to get to the other side of the river. On your left is the famous London Eye, the big London wheel. The London Pass includes also the access to the London Eye. The ride lasts thirty minutes and plus a little queue, you will be moving to the next stage in about 1 hour.

Once the tour is complete, return to Westminster and head west to the Buckingham Palace, the Queen’s residence. The famous palace is surrounded by beautiful green spaces, including St. James Park and Green Park, perfect for resting and having some food. Buckingham Palace is also famous for the change of guard ceremony, an event that happens every day at 11:30 in the morning.

Londra Buckingham Palace

Traveling north through Green Park you will arrive to Piccadilly and from here to the famous Piccadilly Circus, a crossroads famous for its large and bright advertising screens.

You are very close to Trafalgar Square, which you can easily reach on foot or by taking the Bakerloo underground. Behind Horatio Nelson, whose statue is located in the center of the square, you will find the National Gallery Museum, an art museum founded in 1824 hosting thousands of works made since the 17th century. Entry is free and I recommend that you spend a couple of hours discovering this place.

An article entirely dedicated to London, its activities and its history

Once dinner is over, before returning to your hotel, it is worth visiting Leicester Square, a London square famous for cinemas: this is where the premières take place. Right next to the square you will find Chinatown, the Chinese district of London, especially beautiful at night. You can then return to Leicester Square, where you will take the underground to go to the hotel.

Day 2: St Paul’s Cathedral, Tower of London and Soho

Let’s start the second day of the weekend in London with a dip in history: we are in St. Paul’s Cathedral, an Anglican cathedral completed in 1711. I highly recommend you to visit it: the London Pass allows you to enter for free and to avoid the queues. Once the visit is over, head south and cross the Millennium Bridge across the Thames. You are now in front of the Tate Modern, a museum of contemporary art built inside an old power station. Entrance is free and I recommend to spend a couple of hours to visit the museum.

Move to east and you will find the Shakespeare’s Globe: this is the reconstruction of the theater where the company of Shakespeare played, destroyed by a fire in 1613. The cost of the visit, even in this case, is included in the London Pass. Continuing east you will reach the Borough Market, one of the most famous markets in the world, with a huge choice of national and international products. This place is ideal to visit during lunchtime.

It’s time to continue your walk along the river towards east: a few steps from the market you will notice the London Bridge, and continuing along the Thames for another ten minutes on foot you will reach the famous Tower Bridge; the movable bridge is one of the main symbols of London and connects 2 boroughs, Southwark and Tower Hamlets.

Londra Tower Bridge

Cross the river to reach the Tower of London, built starting in 1066. The tower, considered a World Heritage Site, can be visited today (it is included in the London Pass).

For dinner I suggest visit Soho, a very busy neighborhood day and night. To go to Soho from the Tower of London, take the District Line or Circle Line until Tower Hill stop and change at Embankment Station to take the Bakerloo Line to Piccadilly Circus, then continue on foot north. Alternatively, you can walk west from the tower via the City, London’s business district.

Day three: Museums and shopping

It is the last day of your weekend in London, and we want to dedicate it to culture and shopping before the imminent departure. The South Kensington neighborhood, located to the west, is perfect to start the day. It houses three famous museums: the National History Museum, the Science Museum and the Victoria & Albert Museum. Like so many other museums in England, they are free to enter. Although it is not possible to visit all three museums in detail, I strongly invite you to dedicate the morning to this neighborhood full of history and culture.

London Victoria Albert Museum

Spend the afternoon doing some shopping, end the weekend by treating yourself and buying souvenirs before leaving the beautiful city of London.

From South Kensington underground station, take the Circle Line or District Line and change at Victoria Station to take the Victoria Line to Oxford Circus. Here you will find yourself exactly at the intersection of Oxford Street and Regent Street, the two great London shopping streets. Again, I invite you to spend the whole afternoon in this area full of shops and stores, always crowded and full of life. If you have time to dine before departure, the area is full not only of fast food restaurants, but also of pubs and restaurants hidden in the side streets between Oxford and Regent Street.

Have you been to London before? What did you like most? Write a comment below!

Knowing London

Simbolo rotondo Metropolitana Londra

Discover and get to know London, a wonderful city with a thousand faces.

London is not only the capital of the United Kingdom or the largest city in Europe or the third most populous city on the continent (8.5 million) after Moscow and Istanbul. London is second only to New York in the ranking of the most important and influential cities in the world and represents the main financial center of the entire planet.

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Most people say that when you are in London – and I do not necessarily mean in “The City”, the business and finance district – you have the strong feeling of being in the center of the world, as if you were in the place from which the most important decisions start, in the headquarters of a multinational company called “Earth”.

London, with its 3 million immigrants, is the most multi-ethnic city in Europe and is characterized by a fascinating mix of languages (you can hear over 300 different languages), races and cultures that, more than in any other cosmopolitan metropolis, coexists more or less serenely and in compliance with local rules. This is mainly due to the democratic and preconceived attitude that London, in its inhabitants and institutions, shows towards anyone, whether it is a Londoner by birth or an immigrant. Just think that the mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, is a Muslim of Pakistani origin.

Brighton is a city built on the south coast and is one of the most loved cities in England

You too will receive the same treatment as the others, there will be no discrimination because you are a foreigner or because you have just arrived. Like the others, you too have a very wide range of job and business opportunities that you can conquer in a meritocratic way. You just need to get the right information to move in the way that best suits your needs. And we will probably be able to give you a little help, be part of our Facebook group.

Londra no discriminazioni

Get to know London, city of opportunities

That’s right, it is one of its most beautiful and characteristic aspects, which makes it one of the most sought-after permanent destinations – probably the number one in the world – and an object of desire for those who want to make a fortune.

London is a big city and you will have no trouble finding a job quickly.

There are several tools to look for work:

  • The most official tool to look for work is the Job Center, the efficient free placement service spread throughout the territory. They are public offices you can go to and have the opportunity to independently consult the many job vacancies on display or fill in a special form and leave your Curriculum Vitae.
  • Facebook groups: many people use Facebook groups and help each other by providing information on available jobs.
  • Websites: Gumtree, Indeed, Reed.co.uk, Totakljob etc.
  • Certainly very effective and suggested method is to print a bunch of CVs and distribute them by hand once arrived in the UK. To get some info about it, read our post about the importance of CVs.
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Work and investment in London

The fear of losing your job and remaining unemployed does not exist in this city, on the contrary, there is a tendency to often leave a job to look for a better and more profitable one. Salaries are generally higher than in many other european countries and the incentive system of work allows you to improve your income over time thanks to the achievement of higher levels given by seniority and performance. Furthermore, the limited and simplified English bureaucracy allows you to open a business very quickly and at very limited costs, in fact, London is a city that hosts a huge number of international companies, including many Americans, Italian, French and Spanish ones. The highest number of businesses is in the hospitality, over 2,000 Italian restaurants. Punctuality and respect for payments are among the things that people appreciates most.

Lavorare a Londra

The modernity of London, the second most important city in the world

Integration is probably in the DNA of this city, just look at the extraordinary harmony that exists between the historical monuments and the most modern buildings in the city. Ancient and modern at the same time, this is London. Classic and conservative on the one hand, focused on innovation on the other. The sudden changes in entire neighborhoods are a testament. Just think of Notting Hill, Brixton, Hackney and the modern Docklands, which was once the largest port in the world.

Expeditions for the Indies and conquest of half the world that made London the headquarters of the British Empire, the largest of all time, left from that port. It was in that century, the nineteenth century, that London became the largest and most important city in the world, rising from 1 to 6.7 million inhabitants. It became the world headquarters of trade, banks and international politics. In this century, most of the historic buildings arose and became symbols of London and major tourist attractions.

BUY THE LONDON PASS AND SAVE ON MUSEUMS, PALACES AND ATTRACTIONS

Museums and palaces. Get to know London and its attractions

One of these, which has become a real icon of London, is the Tower Bridge, the most famous opening bridge in the world built in the late 1800 and which connects the two sides of the Thames near the Tower of London (from which it takes its name and represents one of the main attractions). Inside the bridge you can buy a ticket (about 10 pounds) for the Tower Bridge Experience, the permanent exhibition inside the bridge that allows you to see the gears that once opened the bridge, to look through the glass floor and to know the history of the bridge that had made the whole world talk about it for its beauty and for its innovative mechanical devices, considered an authentic engineering marvel.

You will surely have seen on TV, perhaps during some news of the English royalty, Buckingham Palace, the official residence of the sovereign of the United Kingdom, where thousands of tourists every year go to attend the traditional change of guard. It is also possible to visit other areas of the castle with guided tours (£ 20-40).

It is almost impossible to find a person who has never seen or heard of Big Ben, the most famous watch in the world. In reality Big Ben is the nickname given to the largest bell of the clock tower, the Elizabeth Tower, and is part of the majestic Westminster Palace, also built in the nineteenth century, known as Houses of Parliament where the two chambers of parliament are based . The palace actually arose in the 11th century, but due to the disastrous fire in 1834 it was completely rebuilt, with the exception of Westminster Hall which represents, in fact, the only original part built in 1097.

Londra artistica

Big Ben, the most famous watch in the world

If you want to appreciate other historical works, you must absolutely see Saint Paul’s Cathedral, the largest and most important British church that was built in the late 1600, and Westminster Abbey (11th century), the second most important Anglican place of worship; the Kensington Palace (where you can take the tour of the royal apartments for about £ 20).

Also in the nineteenth century (1840) another symbol of London was born, the gigantic and spectacular Trafalgar Square, built in memory of the battle won by Admiral Nelson to the detriment of the Franco-Spanish fleets during the Napoleonic wars. On the north side of the square you can find the National Gallery Museum.

Access to London’s many museums

Speaking of museums, if you are passionate about art and culture you are in the right place because one of the peculiarities of this city is the ability to access most of the museums for free. They are so many and beautiful that I would not know which to suggest. If you are passionate about history and archaeological finds you should definitely go to the British Museum, one of the largest and most visited in the world, as well as the oldest. If you love paintings you cannot miss the exhibition of over 2300 pieces (including Botticelli, Michelangelo, Caravaggio, Rembrandt, Van Gogh, Raffaello, Leonardo da Vinci) of the National Gallery; if instead you are fascinated by contemporary art, you must go to the Tate Modern, the most visited museum of modern art in the world; if you want to know the history of London since prehistoric times, then you must see the spectacular Museum of London; instead, the Natural History Museum, projects you into the evolutionary journey of the world and mankind. Click here if you want to access the full list of London museums.

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London is also a city full of theaters and you have probably heard of the Royal Opera House, the most prestigious in the city and one of the most famous in the world. It is also called Covent Garden, because of the neighborhood in which it is located. Speaking of Covent Garden, let me spend a few words on this fantastic and fun neighborhood, in particular of its homonymous square which is certainly one of the funniest in all London. Here you can admire jugglers and many street artists who make a living by exhibiting their beautiful shows. Then there is a theater which, beyond its performances, is one of the major attractions of the city: the Shakespeare’s Globe Theater (ticket price £ 20).

London city of music and musicians

I don’t know if there are more musically active cities of London around the world. Many music international stars are born here and be sure that every day some of them is performing somewhere in the city. Maybe at the Royal Albert Hall, an event room (concerts, ballets, boxing, wrestling, conferences etc.) with only 5500 seats, but very exclusive. One of its peculiarities is the gigantic and suggestive pipe organ (about 10,000).

London, in addition to being a place where many artistic and cultural attractions are concentrated, is also a city full of different attractions and famous for an infinite number of reasons. Monuments such as Saint Paul’s Cathedral or the Tower of London may not sound familiar to you, but you surely know Harrods, the most famous luxury store in the world, or the illuminated sign of Coca Cola in Piccadilly Circus or the famous markets of Camden Town, or the renowned Madame Tussauds wax museum.

Madame Tussauds Museo delle cere

Madame Tussauds – some real waxes

One of the most modern attractions together with the London Eye, the tallest ferris wheel in the world with its 135 meters and 32 capsules as per the number of districts in London, is The Shard, the 310 meter high glass skyscraper designed by Renzo Piano, the highest in all western Europe and from which you can observe (telescopes and representations of ancient London) a real overview of London from above. The ticket for the lookout has a cost of £ 25.

From up there you realize how green London is; the area occupied by parks and gardens is 47% of the entire city, 180 km2. London’s parks are a bit like for other countries the sea or the mountain: places of leisure and amusement crowded especially during the summer and the beautiful sunny days. Their interior is often populated by numerous animals, lakes (also navigable) trees and entertainments for children. They are often home to concerts or various events.

Our article about London is constantly evolving and developing as London is a city on which we could build an entire site.

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Happy reading and … welcome to London!