Famous true words spoken by the English 18th century poet, Samuel Johnson. We truly believe this, especially from a LGBTQ perspective. London has one of the best gay scenes in the world, which we love. It’s a very progressive city where we always feel comfortable and completely accepted.
If it just wasn’t for the bad weather…
Gay London of course is Stefan’s home city where he was born and raised. This is also where we met back in February 2009, so it will always have a special place for us. These are our 10 favourite sightseeing highlights for first time gay travellers to London based on our many years experience exploring this awesome city.
Watch a musical like Dreamgirls
New York has Broadway, London has the West End. This area around Leicester Square, Piccadilly Circus and Covent Garden is home to some of the best theatres in the world. Here you’ll find the best musicals at any time of the year, which is one of the reasons why London is considered the theatre capital of the world.
We sang through Mamma Mia, cried in awe during the Lion King, laughed at Kinky Boots, and more recently, were completely blown away by Dreamgirls at the Savoy Theatre. This show, loosely based on the story of the Supremes is just incredible. The singers’ voices made our hairs stand on end. And the performance of “And I Am Telling you” brought tears to our eyes. It gets a standing ovation every time without fail!
We always use TodayTix when searching for last minute deals. We love it because they have the best prices and cover all the top musicals playing in London. You can also download it as an app, which make researching and booking so much easier and quicker.
By Stefan Arestis – Full Story at The Nomadic Boys
The statue of Eros at Piccadilly Circus in London has been a rendezvous for lovers, friends, drug dealers and paramours for a very long time. But make no mistake, Piccadilly’s famous lights has been existing for more than a century. It is London’s version of New York Times – or the other way around. Piccadilly is also a shopping paradise for luxury shoppers.
This is the statue of Eros, the Greek God of Love by Alfred Gilbert.
Piccadilly leads to many roads. Soho London and the famous landmarks of Westminster can be conveniently reached from here on foot.
National Gallery
First of all, National Gallery London is a grand place to see grand art. There’s no excuse you’d skip this attraction that is visited by thousands of art lovers around the world. Inside, you’ll find the world’s art masterpieces. Name the world’s most famous artists in their own discipline and they have them here. Expect to be dazzled by the works of Van Gogh, Rembrandt, Monet, Van Dyck, Titian, Michelangelo, Rafael, Caravaggio, Diego Velasquez, Leonardo Da Vinci, and many more.
And the best thing about all these? The National Gallery is free for all! However, no one can snap a photo of any thing inside. Sorry, but no art-related Instagram posts while inside. Inside, there are hundreds of portraits of historical figures and royal majesties.
Tate Modern London is your place to go if you wanna see contemporary art. I must admit that the building’s facade itself is not of a contemporary design but a boring concrete that doesn’t scream modern. And the reason is that – it used to be a power plant and converted into an international venue of contemporary art pieces. As a friend said, “All that contemporary shit you’ve seen somewhere, they’ve all been here at Tate Modern first.” He could be right. 😉
And the best thing about being a tourist in London? The art galleries and museums are FREE! Yes, they’re free, except of course for few visiting exhibitions. I did save a lot of money as museums are exorbitantly charged anywhere in big cities around the world. I love free stuff. Therefore, I love London! 😀
Tate Modern London is your go-to gallery for contemporary art. It is Britain’s national museum of contemporary art where you see the works of big names in the art world.
Behind the iconic Big Ben is the Houses of Parliament. This is where the House of Commons and the House of Lords sit down together to make laws. Yes, it’s here where laws are introduced and debated for the greater good of the British people. Visitors are actually allowed to go in here via a guided tour. It is advised to book ahead.
If you look at it from across River Thames, this neo-Gothic building has three towers. And the most famous of all is the Clock Tower where the famous bell, nicknamed as Big Ben, continues to ring.
Here are 10 interesting facts I learned about the Houses of Parliament in London
1. It’s also called Palace of Westminster. Well, obviously, it is a palace!
Tower Bridge is not The London Bridge We Learned in Nursery School.
Remember that nursery rhyme we used to sing when we were young – London Bridge is Falling Down? Well, I thought that the bridge the song is talking about is the one below – the Tower Bridge. Why? Because it’s the most iconic bridge in London and I couldn’t imagine any other bridge to be worthy of the famed nursery song. 😀
Obviously, I was so naive to believe that for ages. You see, if I hadn’t gone to this marvellous city, I wouldn’t have known that. And no one have corrected me. I blame my British friends.
And yes, there’s a London Bridge but it’s not grand in scale and style. It looks just like any other bridge in the world.
The Millennium Bridge is right in front of Tate Modern. Yes, it’s a just bridge. But if you’re into photographing gorgeous places in London at night, don’t skip this. Millennium Bridge is a photogenic place to be – even if you only have a point and shoot camera. It’s all about the right angle to capture the bridge in all its perfect moment and light.
I’d suggest to go there after 8 in the evening. If you go there before that, there’ll be a lot people passing by and your shots won’t be as dramatic as mine below.
For the locals, the Millennium Bridge is also known as the “Wobbly Bridge” because pedestrians felt the swaying motion.