Relaxing in London

Relaxing in London requires know how. London can be frenetic and exhausting. Sometimes you just need quiet, calm and to rest your feet. We have some suggestions for you that don’t involve merely heading to the nearest cafe.

Coffee at a Pavement Cafe is the Ultimate Way of Relaxing in London

Relaxing in London at the Bar Italia, Frith Street. Soho Photo Duncan Cumming — Relaxing in London at the Bar Italia, Frith Street, Soho Photo Duncan Cumming

London is full of eccentrics and characters. Relaxing, for me, involves people watching. A perfect afternoon can be spent sitting outside on a Summer’s day at Bar Italia, Frith Street.

Inevitably, the shabby old man on the next table with a cockney accent will strike up a conversation and you will discover that he is a property magnate, or you will see fashion students strolling in neon netting.

Rasta rickshaw drivers with their vehicles draped in plastic flowers, blaring Bob Marley from tinny speakers, will trundle passed with their load of foreign tourists or “people from out of town”.

London rickshaw drivers provide colour and eccentricity.

Great pavement cafes for people watching can be found in Paternoster Square near St Paul’s, along Piccadilly and Jermyn Street and on the Portobello Road.

Re-energise by Sitting in the Park

London parks are perfect places to relax

London is home to famous parks where, on a nice day, you can sit on a bench with a picnic.

My favourite green spaces are:

Regents Park with its legendary rose garden
The Serpentine in Hyde Park for its ducks and outdoor cafe
Green Park next to The Ritz
St James’s Park with its fine views of The Mall and Buckingham Palace.
The Kyoto Garden in Holland Park
Richmond Park famed hunting ground of Henry VIII

If sitting in the park is your thing you may enjoy our posts on Queen Mary’s Rose Garden, Kew Gardens in Winter and Richmond Park

Read in a Cosy Nook in One of our Destination Book Stores

Dotted around town are a few destination landmark London bookshops. They are very bit as important as our major tourist attractions. Browsing through new titles in a cosy reading nook is one of the best ways of relaxing in London.

If you love bookshop try:

Hatchards which enjoys the patronage of our Royal family
Waterstones on Piccadilly which is the largest book seller in europe
Foyles originally our best known academic bookseller which now stocks a wide range of titles
Daunt which provides an unusual bibliophile experience in its striking galleried Edwardian store
London Review Bookshop with its 20,000 titles and fabulous cafe

Praying or Meditating in a Church is Another Method of Relaxing in London

St James's Roman Catholic Church in Marylebone. — St James’s Roman Catholic Church in Marylebone.

Are you looking for bench seating in a calm, cool atmosphere? Well pop into the nearest church. Churches are the perfect place for relaxing in London.

Even our larger churches which charge entry to tourists are free to worshippers. St Paul’s Cathedral, Westminster Cathedral and Westminster Abbey are the perfect place to relax, pray or meditate while looking at astonishing architecture and art.

Sit on a Gallery or a Museum Bench and Take in Some Culture

Most cultural destinations also provide some respite from the frenetic pace of London sight seeing. Go to a lunch time music recital, art gallery, or film showing.

The Royal Academy and the Tate have free public galleries and cafes.

If our major museums and cultural venues seem busy you could try their lesser known galleries that are tucked away on the higher floors.

Here are some other places to soak in some culture while taking it easy:

The BFI Southbank Mediatheque where you can watch 85,000 films for free
The Hayward Gallery, a world renowned contemporary art gallery at the South Bank Centre
A music recital at St Johns Smith Square

Pubs as the Perfect Places for Relaxing in London

Pubs in London are also known as “local’s for the very good reason that they are the best place to relax and meet local people….so check out the nearest pub to you.

Here are some of our more famous London pubs and you’ll find many more in the Evening Standards guide to The 50 best pubs in London.