A week traveling solo in London

You may feel with all of London’s hustle and bustle, a trip by yourself would actually be more enjoyable with friends. But that doesn’t have to be the case. London is an ideal location for getting acquainted to a historic city while taking leisure time to do whatever it is you choose.

See the sights

Pick a handful of things you’d like to see and do and sprinkle those throughout your trip. Do one or two each day. London has lots to offer including the London Bridge, Westminster Abbey, Kensington Palace and the London Eye. Don’t overwhelm yourself.

Take a day trip

I left London for half a day to tour Windsor Castle.The train ride from Paddington Station to Windsor / Eton was ridiculously easy and takes between 30-40 minutes. You’ll need to buy a ticket for the Great Western Railway. There’s an office on one end of the station. If you get lucky, you might even get to see the Queen on your visit. My favorite part of touring the grounds was getting to see the State Apartments with their 30-plus foot ceilings and gold-edged decor.

When you’re done visiting the castle, the town of Windsor has a lot to offer with plenty of pubs, cafes, restaurants and a shopping center. Make a day of it!

Shop til you drop

Regent and Oxford Streets are a shopping mecca. Oxford Street offers a number of apparel and shoe stores. At Christmas time this area is decked out in lights, which makes the holiday shopping that much more enjoyable. If you head toward Regent Street you can  find pricier apparel and toys with designers like Karl Lagerfeld and Ralph Lauren. Close by is also Bond Street, one of the most expensive streets in the world. Shopping here is a haute couture dream.

Take a break at a cake shop

Hop into a cake shop or cafe and indulge. I made sure to do so on my trip because why not? Peggy Porschen Cakes has the best cupcake I’ve ever tasted (I got red velvet in case you’re wondering).

Other highly recommended cake shops include:

The Hummingbird Bakery

155a Wardour St, Soho, London W1F 8WG, UK

Crumbs and Doilies

1 Kingly St, Soho, London W1B 5PW, UK

Cutter and Squidge

20 Brewer St, Soho, London W1F 0SJ, UK

Primrose Bakery

69 Gloucester Avenue, London NW1 8LD

282a Kensington High Street, London W14 8NZ

Enjoy the Harry Potter Experience

Muggles, this is absolutely worth it. The tour of the Harry Potter studio lets Potter fans delve into the magical world of witchcraft and wizardry. Visit Diagon Alley, hop on the Hogwarts Express, see the real sets and costumes used in all of the Harry Potter films.  Two-thirds of the way through the tour, you can even stop at the cafe for a butterbeer. The self-guided tour can take up to three hours and ends at the gift shop with tons of cool HP memorabilia and knick-knacks you never knew you needed.

See a show

Get dressed up and see a broadway show. I enjoyed my last night in London at Her Majesty’s Theatre and saw Phantom of the Opera. This particular show has been playing in London since 1986 and has at least one show every night. I bought my ticket the day of, so booking in advance isn’t necessary.