Rainy Days in London

If you experience rainy days on your vacation while in London (because let’s be honest, that is pretty likely here in the UK), there are so many fantastic museums that you can go to that are couple friendly, free, and so fun! For me and my experience in London, a rainy day always meant the perfect day to go to one of London’s incredible museums.

Honestly, each one deserves their own post, but here is just a general one to give you ideas of where to go on a rainy day in London.

Here are some of my favorites:

The British Museum

The V&A (aka the Victoria and Albert Museum, my favorite)

Science Museum

Natural History Museum

The National Gallery (also my favorite)

The National Portrait Gallery

The British Museum is a London classic! It has tons of collections that are all fascinating! There you can see the Rosetta Stone and lots of other amazing things. It is a really big museum and can be a bit intimidating, so what I like to do is get the museum map and see the top 10 things they have listed in the map. This way, I get to see 10 key pieces in the museum and it takes me around most of the collections so I get a good review of the whole museum without getting exhausted and overwhelmed!

The V&A (Victoria and Albert Museum) is on Exhibition Road and is one of my favorite museums. It just has a great collection of art, sculpture, photographs, clothing and much, much more. It is one of the “smaller” museums and just has a great atmosphere and collection. It’s a great one to stop in for a little bit if you are near Hyde Park, Kensington Palace, or Harrods.

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The Natural History Museum and the Science Museum are also found on Exhibition Road. Although these museums are more geared towards children, they are also really fun and interesting for adults. The architecture of the Natural History Museum is astounding and the Science Museum has all kinds of fun, interactive things to see and do.

The National Gallery is located on Trafalgar Square, and the National Portrait Gallery is right behind the National Gallery. The National Gallery is one of my top 3 favorite museums of London. The art displayed in the gallery is just breathtaking! It is definitely a must-see and it’s in a great location! You walk out the front doors and there is Trafalgar Square! From there you can see all the way down to parliament and Big Ben.

I personally am not a huge fan of modern art, but if you are, head over to the Tate Modern, one of London’s most famous museums!

Also, a lesser well-known exhibit can be found at the British Library. There is a permanent exhibit that plays host to incredibly historic documents such as the Magna Carta, original writing of Jane Austen, original writing of Shakespeare, the Gutenberg Bible, original writing of Leonardo da Vinci and Galileo, original music scores by Handel, and much more.

Most of these museums, if not all, also have really nice cafes where you can enjoy your lunch.

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Be sure to head to at least one, if not all of these museums! They are a great place to go while on vacation with your partner when you find yourself in rainy London.

Relationship Tip: If you go to a museum for date night, make a little game of it. You can do a scavenger hunt together to find the key pieces of each collection!

Hyde Park Winter Wonderland

If you are in London around Christmas time, there is no way you can miss out on Winter Wonderland in Hyde Park.

Winter Wonderland is a magical event that gets put up in Hyde Park every year at the end of November. It brings the Christmas spirit to London and is such a fun place to go for a date! There are a variety of things you can do there: ice skating, go on rides, play games, drink beer or mulled wine, shop at all of the stalls, eat yummy food, listen to music, and more!

The Christmas Market stalls resemble a German Christmas market. They are always packed with interesting things to look at and shop for.

They even have a variety of shows you can book ahead to attend.

Winter Wonderland is not to be missed! It’s free to walk in, so head on over and enjoy! It’s a great opportunity for you and your partner to spend some sweet time together while on holiday!

When you are done at Winter Wonderland, be sure to head down Oxford Street and Harrods to see all of the lights and window displays!

Relationship Tip: When you are out on a date with your partner, allow yourselves time for good conversation. Dating is about spending quality time together and continuing to get to know each other.

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Spend a Day in Greewich

When in London, make time in your schedule for a day in Greenwich! It’s where I went on my first date with my now husband. I thought it was the perfect date, so I decided to write about it!

There are loads of things you can do in Greenwich. There is a museum, an observatory, a ship, a market and more! Whatever your interests are, you will find something fun to do in Greenwich!

Before you even get to Greenwich, there are a couple of different ways to get there from London that are an experience in themselves. You could go on a Thames River Cruise on the Transport for London River Cruise or the Thames River Services from Parliament all of the way up the Thames to Greenwich. Or you can take the underground to the Island Gardens station and walk through the underground Greenwich Foot Tunnel! I’ve gotten to Greenwich both ways and both are great fun! If it’s your first time in London, I would suggest a river cruise so you can do a bit of touring on the way!

You could begin your day in Greenwich at the National Maritime Museum and then make your way up to the Royal Observatory and the Prime Meridian, where East meets West. Up on the hill is a perfect place to have an afternoon picnic with an incredible view of London! 

 

After a picnic in the park, you could make your way down to the Cutty Sark and tour a really cool old ship. And we can’t forget the Queen’s House! After all of this, head on down to the Greenwich Market which would be a great way to end the day beautiful and historic Greenwich!

So many of these activities are free and all are so fun! They appeal to all sorts of interests and are really the perfect way to spend a day together in London.

Relationship Tip: When you have a day out together, it’s important for you to plan out your day so you have fun things to do, but also be willing to be flexible and go with the flow. A good balance of planned activities and spontaneity make for the perfect day together!

All images are personal images.