As an American, there’s a decent chance that you come from one of the 50 states lacking in glitz and glamor. Perhaps you’re like me, born and raised in New Hampshire, where the biggest local legend is Adam Sandler. Which you’re perfectly fine with, but every now and then you find yourself wishing that your most thrilling celebrity encounter was just a tad bit juicier than your best friend having Adam Sandler’s old sink in her kitchen. Or maybe you’ve grown accustomed to college life, where the most exciting daily sightings are your favorite campus dog and that one cafe worker who has your sandwich order memorized. Whatever the case may be, if you’ve ever dreamt of being closer to the action– the red carpets, the movie premieres, the celebrities casually roaming city sidewalks– look no further than London. Whether you’re a pop culture connoisseur or you live under a rock, London has something for just about everyone (unless you have more useful interests, like history or art, in which case I invite you to read one of those instead).
Into the Oldies? London is home to many iconic rock-and-roll attractions from Bowie to the Beatles. If you’re into the classics, make sure you drop by the British Library to check out a plethora of Beatles relics. Paul McCartney has donated previously unseen photographs and handwritten lyrics to the library which they have put in a free-of-charge display. The lyrics include classic Beatles hits like “Hey Jude” and “Yesterday”. Nothing beats staring at an old piece of paper, nodding your head in silent approval, snapping a photo to send to your mom, and then promptly exiting the building. If this doesn’t sound appealing to you, take a trip to Abbey Road and recreate the cover of the aptly named “Abbey Road” album. Piss off the locals by stopping traffic to take a middle-of-the-street photoshoot before entering the Abbey Road Studios gift shop to pick up some Beatles merch. If this experience unlocks a new passion for recreating album covers, you’d better head on over to 23 Heddon Street. Made famous by David Bowie, this street is featured in the cover for his fifth album entitled “The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars”. If you go at the right time, there just might be a David Bowie pop up shop at the location. Pop Junkie? As my middle school’s formerly designated One Direction Girl, I’m highly qualified to inform you that London is a hub for ancient 1D history. It all started in this glorious city. About 10 miles away from your future home on Gower street lies Wembley Stadium, where Simon Cowell decreed that those five little lads would come together to form a band during the X Factor. While I can’t recommend making the journey over for this reason alone, if you ever find yourself at a Wembley concert, take a moment to appreciate that history was made there. Fear not, there are many more easily accessible One Direction landmarks in the city. 10 Downing Street? Oh, you mean the door One Direction danced in front of in the One Way or Another music video! Unfortunately, this door is blocked by a gate and men carrying the only firearms you’ll ever see in London, but if you peer through, it's almost as if you can still hear their melodic, pre-pubescent voices serenading you. To get the true One Direction experience, hop on an open-top bus tour of the city as seen in the One Thing music video. If you don’t recreate the music video while on board, you’re doing something wrong. Conveniently, One Direction hit many of the big tourist destinations in this video, like Trafalgar’s Square, the Millenium Bridge, and Parliament. You can experience 1D history while simultaneously crossing items off your London bucket list. If you find yourself missing those stars and stripes, try experiencing London from the perspective of a fellow American, Taylor Swift. In her 2019 track London Boy, Taylor offers an entire itinerary of her London must do’s while also declaring her love of British men, something many of us can resonate with. If you’re a swiftie, it would be criminal to leave London without hitting these spots. She sings, “I enjoy walking Camden market in the afternoon”, and so will you! Take a stroll through the market, perusing the endless stalls of food, clothes, and antiques while singing this line repeatedly. While you shop, delude yourself that you might just bump into Taylor and prepare a casual but witty introduction that will surely win her favor. Once you’ve picked up some knick knacks to commemorate your Tay day, take a quick tube ride over to Highgate, the next destination in London Boy. Hit up The Flask, a quintessentially British pub that Taylor has been spotted lunching at. Follow in Taylor’s high-heeled footsteps by ordering the fish and chips and a pint of London Pride beer, flinching everytime the door swings open because what if? Potterhead? If you’re a Harry Potter nerd, it goes without saying that London is the city for you. Roaming the streets of London, you’re bound to bump into some sort of Wizarding World attraction faster than you can say “wingardium leviosa”. If you’re interested in running into a brick wall in the name of Harry Potter, head over to King’s Cross station. At platforms four and five, which were used for filming, you’ll find a commemorative platform 9 ¾ photo op. Wait in line with fellow tourists to take a photo of yourself pretending to push a trolley through a magical wall. Allow yourself to recognize the absurdity of the situation but feel gleeful nonetheless. After your photo shoot, head into the gift shop to purchase a $40 stick of wood advertised as a wand. Forget about the animals, the London Zoo’s true claim to fame comes from the boy who lived. The scene from The Philosopher's Stone in which Harry chats with a boa constrictor and then makes the glass wall in its enclosure disappear was filmed in the zoo’s Reptile House. For a small fee, you too can attempt to befriend and release a ten-foot long reptilian at the snake enclosure. The possibilities don’t end here! For the truly dedicated potterheads, you can pay somewhere between $60 and $100 to tour the Warner Bros. Studio. A little over 20 miles away from Gower Street, this tour allows fans to view iconic sets, props, and costumes used while filming the series. But if you’re broke, don’t fret, there are plenty of filming locations free to visit around the city, like the Millenium bridge, Leadenhall Market, and Piccadilly Circus. Want to See the Stars? If you’d rather participate in pop culture moments as they’re happening rather than visit moments from the past, there are many opportunities to do so as long as you’re paying attention. From concerts to plays to pop ups, there’s always something big happening in the city. During my stay in the city, one of my favorite musicians, Rex Orange County, announced that he’d be having two merch pop up shops– one in New York City and one in London. For the first time in my life I could actually experience a moment like this for myself instead of bitterly watching online, thousands of miles away. However, you must be warned– pop up shops are not for the faint of heart. I waited in line for three excruciatingly slow hours in the pouring rain before I even saw the door. By the time I made it into the shop, I bore more resemblance to a drowned rat than the girl I was when I left the house. Still, it was all worth it when I was suddenly hugging one of my idols while violently shaking from adrenaline. Even if you can’t meet your favorite musicians, there are always big-name celebrities performing at Wembley Stadium (or as I like to call it, the birthplace of 1D). Perhaps you’re more into film and TV stars. West End shows frequently have prominent actors that you’ve likely seen on the big screen. When I saw that Kit Harrington of “Game of Thrones” fame would be starring in a production of the Shakespeare play “Henry V”, I knew what I had to do. Do I have any interest in Henry V? No. But I do have interest in Jon Snow. Admittedly, I fell asleep a couple of times throughout the show, but after making what I perceived as prolonged eye contact with Kit several times, I was invigorated. Feeling optimistic, myself and my fellow Game of Thrones fanatic decided to wait outside of the theater in hopes of catching a glimpse of the King in the North up close and personal. Within five minutes, the door swung open. There he stood in all of his five-foot-seven-inch glory. Before I knew it, we were telling Kit Harrington what massive fans we were and that we had named our hamster after him. Before we parted ways, we snapped a photo that was sure to make all of my mom’s Facebook friends green with envy. So, while you’re living in London, make sure you pay attention to what’s happening in the West End. You never know who you might see.
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