London Pass Review: My Choices and Recommendations

The London Pass is a service where you can make a onetime purchase of a pass and then go to an unlimited amount of places that accept the pas. This includes museums, historical monuments, and more. I was given a special type of London Pass by my university which gave me five places I could go out of the list and I could do it anytime over the entire semester (as opposed to an unlimited number of places over a limited time frame). I spent a lot of time choosing where to go and scanning the list and so I want to give you my honest reviews of the places I went and my top options for someone buying the pass.

The places I went were:

Hampton court Palace: This was a very interesting palace to see, but it took a long time to get there since I used a bus and a transfer I would not recommend to tourists. If you want to see it I would recommend paying for the train. This will still take almost a whole day.

Windsor Castle: Once again, a really interesting castle and you can view the changing of the guards. This is very far out from central London though, and while the London Pass does provide free transportation here it will take almost a whole day. Not recommended if you are on a really brief visit unless its something you really want to do.

Kew Gardens: A beautiful (and huge) garden necessary for any plant lover. You can either stretch this to most of the day or only pop in to see some famous sights (like the palm conservatory). Will take you outside central London but easy to get to by the tube.

Beefeater Gin Distillery: A little weird to find but overall highly recommended if even slightly interested in gin! A great museum and gin tasting that will only take two hours out of your day.

Movie at Curzon Theatre: There are several Curzon theatres you can use you pass at and I recommend getting in a movie. This is great for the evenings after everything else is closed and great for when you just want to relax and sit down.

The other places I would definitely recommend are:

Tower of London, Westminster Abbey, Kensington Palace, Churchill War Rooms, The Queen’s Gallery, The Courtauld Gallery, The Banqueting House, and Apsley House

These are all in central London and so very easy to find and quick to get to. They are also the type of places you “have to see”, especially, the Tower of London and Westminster Abbey, and you can either spend an hour just popping in or spend a good chunk of your time depending on how interested you are.

The Hop on Hop off London bus tour is also free with the London Pass and a great way to see and travel through the city.

I also recommend while you are in the Victoria and Albert Museum (and you WILL go to the V&A) to get your free cream tea with the pass.

I also recommend you get the app where you can see quickly the different offers; not only getting in places for free, but also extra things and free attractions (like audio guides and guide books.)

Overall, I think if you want to get the most out of your stay in London, I would recommend getting the London pass.  I think the three day pass is probably the best offer because at 85 pounds (~$120) you will be able to see all the attractions you want plus have some free time. Even if you just want to do a few things (Like Tower of London, Westminster Abbey, London Zoo, and the Bus Tour) you’ve already made up the price of the pass!

London Bubble Tea Ranking

Bubble Tea is one of the most beautiful foods in the world, at least in my opinion. Delicious and cold with the little surprise tapioca at the bottom! Since I love Bubble Tea so much I decided to go on a little quest to see what bubble tea in London is really the best based on recommendations and online rankings.

I have these places in no particular order and go over where you can find the shop, the prices, variety of flavors and more!

Cuppacha:

This brand has a few locations including Soho and Spitalfields. The prices of the drinks are a medium is  £3.55 and large is £3.85 plus 50p for extra toppings. But the first topping seems to be free because I wasn't charged for topping. You can choose level of ice and sugar. I didn’t have the best experience because mine was Sakura green tea with ai-yu jelly. This tea had no Sakura taste, and was a weak green tea. The jelly was tasteless. My friend though had peach oolong with boba, very good, and very sweet even though half sugar.

MooBoo

They have a few locations, including Camden, Soho, and near Bayswater tube station where I went. The pricing was a medium £3.50, £3.99 large. You can choose ice level and sweetness. There is a good range of toppings and a wide range of flavors. I had Taro which was very good, and there was a good chew to the boba.

Wasabi

This chain is well known for their sushi and are adding bubble tea at select locations. This makes this tea a lot easier to find than some of the smaller shops. Unfortunately, they are pre-made so no customization, no ice, and  limited flavors and toppings. I once had one that was luke warm so check the temperature with your hand before you buy. I had regular milk tea which was good and not too sweet or milky. I also had a lychee fruit tea with popping boba that was also nice. The boba also had a good chew.   At £2.95 takeaway its cheap; the price goes up to ~ £3.20 if eat in.

ChaTime

A few locations like 11 old Compton street in Soho, You can customize ice and sugar levels. The prices range depending on what cariety you get;  £2.95- £3.40 medium £3.45- £3.95 large plus 50p per topping. I had a Medium roasted milk tea  with boba for £3.70. Boba was cooked well, tea tastes good and fresh but, I found it to be too milky, and while I got half sweet it was plenty sweet. My main problem with this place is their different prices per drink.

Bubbleology

This is a popular and easy to find brand that has shops near South Kensington Station, Notting Hill Gate Station, and Soho. This is a “new to Bubble Tea” friendly place and very westernized where other places still are very focused on the Asian market. It is set up like a laboratory with the mixers in lab coats which is cute. A regular is £3.45 and a large £3.75. There fruit tea is good, their matcha latte was a little grainy but not too sweet or artificial tasting. A big negative was the boba was undercooked.

Biju

I think has more than one location, but I only know their 45 old Compton street, Soho shop. A regular is £3.45 large £3.95 plus 50 p. for extra topping after standard boba. (At least I was only charged £3.45 for fruit tea with boba.) Their peach tea is very delicious. They make all their tea fresh per order using little espresso looking machines so it tastes super fresh and all their fruit syrups are made with only real fruit. I also had a Thai milk tea which was also very nice. Their boba has a good chew and the drinks are not too sweet.

Best deal for medium: Wasabi

Best for large price : Bubbleology

Favorite for convenience and ease and price: wasabi: This is the place I go when I just want a quick bubble tea fix because they are so easy to find (There is one in the Hammersmith tube station which I use a lot). I just wish they had a wider range of flavors or you could customize.

Biju is my second most frequented because it has a really cute cafe, and has super high quality and fresh tea and a good range of flavors.

 Well, I hope my Bubble Tea mission helps you decide what Bubble Tea places to check out next time you are in London! This quest sure was fun for me (though I drank so much bubble tea!)

Event Review: London Symphony Orchestra

Through my school I was able to go to a few “cultural events” that I could choose. One of them was a trip to see the London symphony orchestra. The orchestra takes place in the Barbican center, which if you go to Barbican tube stop there will be large signs telling you which way to go. 

The area the symphony was in was three tiers, and when I first walked in I expected there to be many empty seats, but a large amount of people came in the last few minutes, and when the show started there were no empty seats in sight. This is probably partly because of the price; my ticket was only 12 pounds.The show itself was very enjoyable; there was also a chorus and two opera singers for a song. 

I have to say my experience wasn’t extraordinary, but some people seemed really excited about the conductor and the guest pianist so maybe they are big in the circuit. I just enjoy classical music casually so I have no idea if it was a good, excellent or whatever performance. Overall, if I lived in London these 12 pound tickets would be a good alternative to a weekend movie.