Tourist Attractions

This was my fourth time visiting London, so I had already seen most of the main tourist attractions in the city centre, and didn't spend that much time concentrating on them. I think the most visited sites are Westminster Abbey, Palace of Westminster, Elizabeth Tower, more commonly referred to as Big Ben, and the London Eye ferris wheel, that is just across the river. They are all in a really small area, so you can easily hit all the spots on one go.

Even though the words tourist attractions, have a bad sound to it, there is a valid reason why they are so popular, often having hundreds of years of history behind them, being beautiful old buildings, and/or having amazing views. It's a bit of a two way street, the sights are often worth a visit, minus the thousands of other people visiting at the same time.

Even though I stray away from the crowds, I usually do check out the main attractions when travelling, but not intentionally trying to get to them. I somehow just wander around to see what looks beautiful and interesting, and thus, end up in a lot of touristy spots. If possible, I try to approach such sights from a different viewpoint, and different time, than most people would. I find I get a lot more out of a tourist attraction, if not many other tourists are present.

On this visit to London, I didn't feel the pressure of having to visit all the sights, because I had already seen quite a lot of them during my previous visits. Now I could enjoy the city more, from my own perspective, paying more attention to everything else that was interesting. I don't know if September is already off season in tourism on London, but I felt like it was more peaceful this time, than any other times I had visited. Maybe it was just that I was in a right mindset, and being at least a little bit familiar with the city, so I was more prepared for everything.

I didn't completely stray away from the main tourist attractions in the city centre, and quite enjoyed them during my very long walk on a Tuesday morning alone. It was very peaceful and I was just walking along the river Thames with my camera. I took a few pictures around Westminster, the Houses of Parliament and the church, Big Ben, and my favourite, the London Eye.

I bet most tourists are super disappointed when visiting London and seeing Big Ben under construction, but I found it actually really interesting because I've already seen it in all its glory before. It's cool though that they left the actual clock on show. I have to say London Eye is my favourite big landmark in London, even though I haven't been on it. It's something that just randomly pops up between the treetops and other buildings when you don't expect it to. I'm not even too keen on getting on it, it's pretty expensive and I can get pretty good (free) views from other places too, like from the city Facebook offices.

Shot with the Nikon D7200 and Sigma 50-100mm f/1.8.