Best London Souvenirs

By Dom Bewley
best london souvenirs

You! Yes, you there! Are you a fan of things? Do you like stuff? Perhaps items related to a specific city? Well, you must be a fan of souvenirs! Loveable keepsakes of times past, that help remind you of the exciting adventures you've experienced. If you're visiting London from further shores, or simply from another part of the UK, you might want something to remember your trip. But which are the best souvenirs? Well, pay attention, and take a gander down below, guv'nor. What we will do, is provide you with a list of the best London souvenirs.

Image of Bus, Vehicle, Tour Bus, Double Decker Bus,

Tiny Bus

You know them; you love them. London's big red buses are one of the most recognisable elements of the country's capital. And, predictably, you'll find little red buses of all shapes and sizes you can buy and put around your house.

Big Ben

Definitely one of the must-have London souvenirs. Everyone's favourite large clock, Big Ben is another of London's most famous landmarks. Fancy some of that large clock action in your little lounge? Go grab one and put it on a shelf. That way, it will always be there, watching you. And waiting. Waiting for what, you may ask? You'll just have to wait and see.

LDN tees

Did you love your visit to London? Do you want to memorialise it in clothing form? Go get an 'I Love - or heart - London' t-shirt. That way, you can wear your memories. And when people see it, they'll ask you all about your trip. Maybe.

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Red Box

Another red London motif is the iconic red telephone box. Sadly a dying breed in this modern age of smartphones and texting, there are still a few dotted about the city. Before they die out completely, go pick up a keepsake. Then, put it somewhere so that the red phone box will live on forever. In your bedroom, or other room. Wherever you want it.

Union Jacks

Is there anything more English than the Union Jack? Probably, as it's actually the flag of the United Kingdom. Never mind that, go grab a flag, mug, or some Spice Girls-related memorabilia. Anything with a Union Jack, and display it proudly. No list of the best London souvenirs would be complete without it.

Harry Potter

The boy wizard who changed the lives of an entire generation. You'll find a sorting hat-load of Harry Potter memorabilia all over London, especially since the success of Harry Potter and the Cursed Child in the West End. Wands, sweets, hats, and more. Anything a muggle could want!

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Oyster Card

A staple of every Londoner's wallet, you'll probably pick up an Oyster Card so you can get about on the tubes and buses that take you across the city. Keep it, frame it, and display it for your friends and family to see. You went to London, and dared to travel too. And, when you want to come back, you'll be ready to hop on immediately.

Marmite. Yes, really

Whether you love it or hate it, marmite is the quintessential British spread. So, why not pick up a jar or two, put it somewhere prominent in the kitchen, and then never touch it again.

Coasters

Do you drink drinks? Do you ever put them on a table only for them to leave a ring stain no matter how hard you tried to avoid it? Then you, my friend, need a coaster. And why not get one that commemorates your trip to the big city of London? There are plenty of coaster options available to you, featuring many of the things we've already discussed. Want a big ben coaster? We're sure you'll find one.

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Holmes for your home

Of course, one reason many of you are travelling to our fair capital is because of the man himself, Mr. Sherlock Holmes. The legend himself prowled the streets of London, solving cases and getting up to other Sherlock-related hijinks. Given the recent Sherlock Rennaissance, expect to find a whole host of Sherlock bits and bobs. If you can get the hat, the magnifying glass, and the pipe, you win Sherlock bingo. Your prize? Looking awesome.

Royal Family things

Another big English export, the Royal Family draws a remarkable amount of tourism to London every year. Arguably the most famous royal family on the planet, millions tune in to watch their weddings. So, you can expect that there's a lot of Royal-themed memorabilia on offer to would-be collectors. Plates, cups, calendars, books, t-shirts, the list goes on. However you want to celebrate this oddball family, you'll find it in London. You can't leave London without one of the best souvenirs!

London keyrings

If you live in a house or flat, chances are you have keys. They're the things you use to get in, and keep people out. If you have multiple keys, you might be in the market for a keyring. Well, why not combine your love of keys and your love of London with a London-themed keyring? Whether you want one with a bus, Big Ben, or another landmark like the London Eye, you're sure to find one. Keep your keys safe, stylish, and flash them to all your friends. They will envy your keyring, and they will love it.

Image of Football, Soccer, Soccer Ball, Sphere,

Footie stuff

If you are a big fan of the actual football, the one where people hit the ball with their feet, then you're in luck. There are a number of large football clubs that call London home. You've got world-renowned clubs like Arsenal and Chelsea, and you'll find a lot of football shirts, training kits, mugs, posters, and much more at their respective stadium shops. Why not combine your shopping spree with a tour of the Emirates or Stamford Bridge? Or, there are lesser-known, but still great clubs, like West Ham, Crystal Palace, Brentford, QPR, the list goes on. Whichever team you like, player you follow, or kit you prefer, you're bound to find it in London.

And that's our list of the best London souvenirs! We hope you enjoy your memorabilia bounty, and display it for all to see. Are you wondering what else you can do while in the city? Why not check out London's best markets, art galleries, or museums?

Dom Bewley
Go City Travel Expert

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Shopping in December lets visitors enjoy the Christmas lights
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Your Complete Guide to London in December

If you thought London was a city solely for the summer months, think again. Because London in December sees the British capital at probably its most colorful of the year. Few can avoid getting in the Christmas spirit, before turning their attention to the south bank of the River Thames and the nation’s foremost fireworks display to bring in the New Year in style. With all that in mind, here’s your complete guide to what’s going on in London in December, so you don’t miss a thing. Shop till you drop Forget what you’ve seen in the movies, you’ll need to be lucky to encounter any snowfall in London at Christmas. With average December lows of 5°C, snowmen are more likely in February. But this takes nothing away from the Christmas atmosphere, which sweeps across the capital’s streets and storefronts from the end of November. From Abbey Road to Lambeth Palace, Carnaby Street to St Katharine Docks, London’s sidewalks are bright with an array of lights, adding a further attraction to the window displays of shops big and small. Not too far away, London’s largest Christmas tree – an annual gift from the Norwegian capital topping out at around 20 meters high – takes center stage in Trafalgar Square. Christmas markets occupy other well-known spaces, including Leicester Square and the riverbank in front of Tower Bridge and City Hall, where last minute gifts and traditional festive treats jostle for attention. Never one to rest on its laurels, as soon as the big day is over, the focus moves to the Boxing Day sales of December 26, which has been a date to circle in the diary long before the advent of Black Friday. Aim to get there before sun up for the very best deals. Enjoy the capital’s historic attractions in a new way Even if you’ve visited London before, December offers many new experiences at some of the city’s most famous sites. The UNESCO-enshrined Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew puts on a dazzling display of lights and colorful projected images every evening from dusk. Hyde Park becomes the location of a huge combined fun fair and Christmas market, perhaps best taken in from its dedicated observation wheel. Alternatively, you might prefer to cheer on the brave souls who take part in the Peter Pan Cup. A swimming competition in Hyde Park’s Serpentine Lake, it has taken place on Christmas Day since 1864 in one of the capital’s stranger traditions. If you prefer your water even colder, look no further than the temporary outdoor ice rinks that appear at many of London’s most-loved attractions during December. Kensington’s Natural History Museum, The Strand’s Somerset House and even Hampton Court Palace provide extraordinary backdrops to a quick spin on the ice followed by a warming mug of hot chocolate. Experience the UK’s top Christmas events Christmas in London sees Christopher Wren’s masterwork, St Paul’s Cathedral, and the thousand-year-old Westminster Abbey both present a series of traditional carol services which fill their august spaces with stunning vocals. The Royal Albert Hall has an equally impressive program of concerts, ranging from Christmas classics played by big bands to performances of Handel’s Messiah. Heading to a ballet performance is another popular London December tradition. Shows with winter themes such as The Nutcracker grace the stages of several major theaters, and are bound to bring back a sense of childhood glee. For an altogether less-serious evening out, it has to be a panto performance, filled with slap-stick comedy, audience participation and men dressed in drag. But don’t be misled by the brash colors and fairy-tale plots, there’s serious acting going on here, with everyone from Sir Ian McKellen (The Lord of the Rings’ Gandalf) to Hollywood ‘giant’ Mickey Rooney having taken to the pantomime stage. Oh no they didn’t – oh yes they did! But when it comes to events in London in December, few can compete with the capital’s annual New Year’s Eve fireworks display. Launched from barges on the Thames and the 32 pods of the London Eye, the display takes eight technicians a week to wire up the seven tons of explosives needed for the 10-minute show. Dazzling audiences since its inception in the year 2000, it can be enjoyed from various high points around the city, as well as the river bank and the comfort of sofas in well-heated bars just about everywhere. Eat, drink and be merry With 60-plus Michelin star restaurants at your fingertips, London’s food scene takes some beating. Even if your budget doesn’t quite stretch to beef aged for 90 days in Himalayan salt chambers and desserts decorated with 24-carat gold leaf, you’ll still find plenty of choice. Don’t get caught out though – many restaurants (and attractions) close their doors on Christmas Day to give their staff a well-earned rest. Even those that do open – and Chinatown is always a good bet – get booked up early and can be difficult to reach without London’s usual transportation options, which also cease for the day. Roast turkey has been the Christmas Day meal of choice since at least the time of Henry VIII, and will be served with ‘all the trimmings’. These include Brussel sprouts, honey-roasted parsnips, sage and onion stuffing, pigs in blankets (that’s sausages wrapped in bacon) and roasted potatoes. Traditionally made with suet, Christmas pudding is another must try, being loaded with dried fruits, spices and a liberal quantity of alcohol before being served with hot custard (crème anglais). You’ll find mince pies (which are nothing to do with ground beef) dusted in icing sugar and on display at pretty much every bakery, café and supermarket in the capital in December. Many Brits, Londoners included, then head out for a post-meal walk, which may involve a stop off at a local pub. Whether they’re open or not will largely depend on where you’re located – central London takes on the air of a ghost town on December 25. Those on popular walking routes are more likely to be open than those on streets like The Strand, although probably for no more than a few hours in the afternoon. Hotel bars are likely to remain open for longer. Save on London December attraction admission Admission to many of London’s top attractions and activities can be enjoyed at a reduced rate with Go City. Our Explorer Pass includes admission to a range of London attractions, while giving you the flexibility to do what you want, when you want, without having to make any decisions beforehand. If London’s December weather lets you down, there’s no need to rearrange the plans for your entire stay. In fact, with Go City you don’t need a plan at all.
Ian Packham
Friends exploring London together
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Things to do in Shoreditch London

If you’re wondering about the things to do in Shoreditch London, know this first. Shoreditch is many things, but probably not the things you think it is. Technically part of east London, it feels more like an area of central London, lying just north of the Square Mile and its financial institutions. Likewise, Shoreditch is often described as being edgy and creative, but this shouldn’t be mistaken for dirty or seedy. By day the neighborhood throngs with young professionals working in the office blocks around the Silicon Roundabout – the UK’s answer to Silicon Valley. By night, its triangle of main streets is alive with bars and restaurants, as well as spots to dance the night away and seek out a comfy hotel bed. Surprised? You shouldn’t be. Shoreditch has been an entertainment district since Shakespeare’s time. It was here – rather than the Globe – where his earliest and best-known plays were first performed – Romeo and Juliet, Henry V and Hamlet amongst them. Rub shoulders with market traders A couple of hundred meters south of Shoreditch, Old Spitalfields Market has been in operation since around 1666 – the year fire devastated much of central London. For centuries a wholesale market open only to traders, the early 2000s saw its redevelopment into a hub for the public. It’s Victorian era structures provide an atmospheric backdrop for seeking out everything from the latest fashions to street food. Open daily, the complex has a pop up vintage market every Thursday, a vinyl fair on Fridays and a mix of arts and crafts throughout the week. The backdrop of an otherwise ordinary terraced east London street is not necessarily where you’d expect the explosion of color that is Columbia Road Flower Market either. Each Sunday the narrow street becomes a jungle of plants, with connecting roads seeing a spillover of plants and café tables. Explore the Shoreditch of yesteryear Old Spitalfields Market isn’t the only attraction in Shoreditch to have undergone regeneration. Still known to many as the Geffryre Museum, but rebranded the Museum of the Home, this former almshouse on Kingsland Road explores home life from the year 1600 to the present day. Visitors are able to pass through rooms from multiple ages, including a drawing room from 1870 and a loft apartment from the late 1990s. The period gardens are a nice spot to escape the hubbub of Shoreditch High Street. Operating in a similar vein, Dennis Severs’ House has been dressed up into an approximation of a home of Huguenots in the 1700s. Protestants from France, the Huguenots are just one of a series of groups who have sought refuge in London’s cheaper neighborhoods alongside Jews and Bengali immigrants, creating one of the world’s most diverse cities in the process! Satisfy your hunger You only need to head as far as Brick Lane to experience this diversity in all of its aromatic glory. The heart of London’s Bangladeshi community, it has bilingual street signs and some of the best curry you’ll find in the capital. It has also become one of the top areas of the capital when it comes to street art, with works of graffiti spanning many buildings and side streets. For a whistle-stop tour of world cuisine, and a dose of fashion from independent stores with their finger on the pulse, make the short journey from Brick Lane across to Boxpark. Named after its formation out of converted shipping containers, its kitchens serve up everything from doughnuts to vegan-friendly dishes and Jamaican to South American cuisine. Take your pick of the bars Ask most people who know about the things to do in Shoreditch and they’re bound to tell you to hit the bars and nightspots of Shoreditch High Street and Old Street, where there is something for everyone. Traditional-style pubs line up alongside trendy cocktail bars and more than a few themed locales that will either have you jumping for joy or weeping into your craft brewed IPA. Hoxton Square is another destination to be aware of when it comes to all things wining and dining. Believed to be one of London’s oldest squares, it was laid out in 1683. Today most of its Victorian buildings contain a bar or restaurant whilst its lawns frequently host live events in the warmer months. Another Shoreditch structure that has reinvented itself over recent years is the Old Truman Brewery, which has become a home for creatives including fashion designers, DJs and artists. Its 10 acres of once derelict warehouse space has been put to good use with plenty of small shops and exhibition spaces in which to while away a pleasant hour or two. Delve into the art scene Spanning two stories of a former furniture warehouse, the Victoria Miro Gallery is one of the largest spaces in the neighborhood dedicated to contemporary art. With its back facing a canal basin, the gallery has represented two Turner Prize winners – Chris Ofili and Grayson Perry – amongst many other established and up-and-coming artists. Perhaps better known, the Whitechapel Gallery has been a public arts space since its unveiling in 1901. Nonetheless, its focus remains on contemporary art, having displayed Picasso’s Guernica in 1938 and hosting the first UK hanging of Rothko’s work in 1961. A further space to consider is the Flowers Gallery, whose 50 year history has led to the showing of over 900 exhibitions of painting, sculpture and photography. Discover London’s Shoreditch with Go City Shoreditch has always been known primarily as an entertainment district. The sheer volume of bars and restaurants means it continues to attract revelers from across London. But don’t think that there aren’t additional things to do in Shoreditch London. Visit London with Go City and you can get incredible savings on admission to many of the capital’s top attractions. Outside of Shoreditch this means savings on entering everywhere from the Tower of London to St Paul’s Cathedral.
Ian Packham
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London in June

June in London is known by its nine million residents for its blend of sunny skies, annual events and warm evenings outdoors. If you’re looking to get a sense of the British capital at its most animated, June is the month to visit. Not only do summer temperatures creep into every aspect of a visit to London during the month, but the city gets all dressed up in its finery for events of international significance – from the Wimbledon tennis championships to Trooping the Colour. Come with us, as we explore the very best of London in June. Soak up the June sun With the bright summer sun warming the streets of London from east to west and south to north, June is perhaps the perfect time to explore some of the city’s hidden green spaces. And that’s exactly what it’s possible to do during London’s Open Garden Squares Weekend at the start of the month. This very special weekend sees usually private spaces opening their gates to the public. Those taking part change from year to year, but have previously included City of London rooftops, a historic garden beside Shakespeare’s Globe accessed via London’s narrowest street and even the rarely-seen lawns of the Prime Minister’s office at 10 Downing Street. Situated among the ancient trees of a Royal Park, Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre does nights at the theater like nowhere else in the capital. Its alfresco nature ensures every performance is unique, whilst the company’s artistes are top talents who regularly end up touring shows first-opened just a few hundred meters from the lion habitat of ZSL London Zoo. Pomp and pageantry The massed ranks of the British army put on one of their best performances of the year at Trooping the Colour. Marking the official birthday of the reigning monarch, this June event has taken place since 1908, after King Edward VII got tired of celebrating his natural birthday in the November chill. Dressed in their famous red frock coats and bearskin hats, over 1000 soldiers troop the color – their regimental flag – to the tune of around 400 musicians. It all takes place under the watchful eye of the monarch on Horse Guards Parade. But The Mall provides the best vantage point for the public to watch, since it has the added benefit of lining the route taken by various members of the royal family to and from Buckingham Palace by horse-drawn carriages. If sport is more your métier, head to London towards the end of June for the Wimbledon Championships. Probably the world’s most prestigious sporting trophy, tickets for the show courts are fiercely fought over. However, it’s still possible to take in the atmosphere and look out for the greatest players of the generation with a ground pass. The start of festival season Meanwhile, the London Festival of Architecture spans the entire length of June. The world’s biggest festival of its kind aims to reveal the stories behind some of the city’s best-known structures. Syon Park’s classic car show aims to fulfil a similar role for all things petrol-powered, whilst June is also the start of Pride month. Many of London’s nightspots in Soho and the West End put on special events to get the LGBT+ community in the spirit of the rainbow flag. The spectacle of the Royal Ascot five-day horse race meeting should be the only excuse you need to step aboard a Hop-on Hop-off open-topped bus in nearby Windsor. As well as admiring Europe’s longest-occupied castle, you can take in sights including Eton College and Holy Trinity Church. Observe the longest day of the year Summer nights in London develop an atmosphere all of their own, and this is only ever heightened in the case on June 22, the date of the summer solstice. Various one-off events take place on the longest day of the year, from sunrise yoga sessions to solstice parties at the capital’s top bars and clubs. It’s best to check local press closer to the time for details. It’s in June that London’s rooftop bars also come into their own, with many providing drinkers with spectacular panoramas across the skyline by both day and by night. Admire the historic landmarks which line the banks of the Thames with a city cruise river pass. Between them, the likes of the Tower of London, Houses of Parliament and London Bridge boast over a thousand years of heritage no visitor should miss. The Sunday nearest the solstice is usually the date set for Father’s Day. Those keen to celebrate everything their dad has done for them with a restaurant meal should book early. Restaurant tables get filled quickly with families looking to enjoy dedicated menus put in place just for the day. Experience London’s wildlife havens For a totally different way to see the capital, head west to the pools and ponds which form the London Wetland Centre. Created out of unwanted Victorian reservoirs in the year 2000, this magical space is now visited by some 180 different species of bird, as well as otters and innumerable species of insect. June in London is a good time to plan a visit to attractions with outdoor elements such as Chiswick House and Kitchen Garden too. Finished in 1729, the house is a celebrated example of neo-Palladian architecture. The surrounding grounds are one of the earliest examples of the English landscape style to be still in existence. Alternatively, head back to banks of the Thames and challenge yourself to find your way through the maze at Hampton Court Palace. Its yew tree hedging has been foxing residents and guests since it was first planted in the 1690s. Ways to save on attraction admission The sky is pretty much the limit when it comes to things to do in London in June. The generally fine weather means few of London’s attractions are off limits, although this can soon have a detrimental effect on your wallet. You can save on London attraction admission with Go City. How does it work? Simply purchase a package and start to save! Go to the visitor attractions you had always wanted to explore without losing the flexibility that’s an important part of any vacation!
Ian Packham

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