Explore London for Less

RachaelRaymag.com

Eat and sightsee your way through London without spending a fortune! We've gathered the best insider deals and steals for these must-see activities.

Brixton Market
Brixton Market

1. Grab Some Grub
Brixton Market in south London houses more than a dozen canteen-style restaurants, ranging from American burgers to Pakistani street food. Make sure to order a banana, butterscotch and cream crepe (£5 [$8]) from live-music venue Brick Box. (COld Harbour Lane and Brixton Station Road)
Make your own!Puffy Pancake with Nutty Banana Buttersscotch



Pies 'n' mash
Pies 'n' mash

2. Eat Like a Brit

Pies 'n' mash with liquor is so uniquely British it requires translation: beef pies with mashed potatoes and parsley gravy. M. Manze restaurant has been making the Cockney dish (£5 [$8]) since 1902. Its other specialty, jellied eels, needs no translation. (87 Tower Bridge Road)
Make your own!Horseradish-Mashed-Potato Shepherds Pie





Blackfriar Pub
Blackfriar Pub

3. Have a Historic Pint


The 137-year-old Blackfriar pub feels more like a step back in time than a bar. Slide into one of the red leather booths during off-peak hours for a view of the pub's 100-year-old mosaics and bronze carvings. Snack on the salty-sweet Sticky Toffee and Date Pudding. (£4.25 [$7], 174 Queen Victoria St.)
Make your own!Scotch Pudding







Sigmund Freud House
Sigmund Freud House

4. Take a Freudian Trip


Crowds driving you mad? Get a mental tune-up at Sigmund Freud's house, where he lived from 1938 to 1939. It remains just as he kept it, right down to the perfectly preserved psychoanalysis couch -- a pillowed chaise cloaked in velvet drapery. (£6 [$10], 20 Maresfield Gardens)






Pho Bowl
Pho Bowl

5. Noodle Around


Stop at Song Que in Shoreditch for a bowl of the signature, authentic pho that has customers queuing up around the block. The long-simmering, herby broth is rich and full of sliced rare flank steak and springy rice noodles. (£8 [$13], 134 Kingland Road)
Make your own!Spicy Hot Pot with Noodles





The Old Vic
The Old Vic

6. Go Backstage


The iconic Old Vic theatre is known for producing some of Britain's biggest talents, like Judi Dench and Peter O'Toole. Visit during the day for a 75-minute backstage tour, equal parts ghost story and history lesson, that highlights the building's best secrets. (£10 [$16])



Afro Caribbean
Afro Caribbean





7. Join the Festivities

Follow the sounds of calypso music to the Notting Hill Carnival, an annual parade full of outlandish costumes, dancing and steel drums, said to be the biggest street fair in Europe. Try a bite of the Afro-Caribbean fare, like curried goat with rice and peas.






Connaught Hotel
Connaught Hotel

8. Treat Yourself

You're in London...let yourself splurge at least once! The aristocratic yet sexy Coburg Bar at the Connaught Hotel in Mayfair offers a taste of luxury. Sitting in the rich burgundy and purple velvet wingback chairs, you may be tempted by the Michelin-starred restaurant's truffle menu (£145 [$235]), but don't miss the cocktails. The drinks span the past three centuries: Pimm's Cup No. 1 (£12 [$19]) -- a blend of Pimm's, lemonade, tonic and fresh fruit -- was created in the 1840s and is quite possibly the first English cocktail. Pair your drink with luxurious tapas like smoked salmon blinis with caviar (£24 [$39]).
Make your own!Pimms Cocktails and Blini with Red Caviar

By Juliana Spicer

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