London is a tourist attraction for multiple reasons. It’s a historical city, a city built through the ages, and one can see beautiful sights not only around London, but also near LSE, which is located in central London. For students who can’t afford a trip to Europe, London affords some enviable and beautiful sights. London is enough of an eye- catcher, so I decided to spend my holiday in visiting the various sights in and around London.

My first destination was Windsor castle. Also famously known as the castle where the Queen spends her weekends, I decided to take the First Great Western Train from London Paddington to travel to Windsor, hardly 45 mins away from the city centre. To just go into the history of the castle; it was built in the 11th century and has a distinguished history of being the home of most monarchs post Henry I. The castle also includes the 15th Century St. George’s Chapel, considered as one of the greatest achievements of English perpendicular gothic design.

A normal trip to the castle lasts around 2-3 hours, and the Long Walk, from which the most famous photos of the castle originate can take about 1-2 hours if one decides to take a walk, after the castle trip. The castle houses beautiful collections of paintings, crockery, dolls, clothes – leaving nothing more to be desired. The exhibition consists of a tour of the State apartments, Queen Mary’s dollhouse- a masterpiece in miniature and a tour of the Great Kitchen, which is exclusively on from 1 October 2014 – 31st December 2015. Free audio is available to everyone who visits the castle, which provides a detailed description of most artefacts of the castle including the background of its rich history.

In 1992, a major fire occurred, in which a large portion of the castle was burnt down. A huge part of the State apartment was burnt down, and it took nearly 36.5 million pounds to restore the State apartments to its original glory. But it is surprising to see how wonderfully the restoration has taken place, without a speck of fault.

The St. George’s Chapel is located right outside the castle, and houses the tombs of most of the Royal family, beginning from Charles I. The chapel gives a serene and peaceful feeling because of the colours adorning it, and it truly brought out the religious fervour in me.

Here are some photos of my trip, and I suggest everyone should give this castle a visit. See the castle’s opening times.

Apart from Windsor castle, there is also Kensington palace within London, which houses an exhibition dedicated to Diana, Princess of Wales and is also the current residence of Prince William and Kate Middleton. Kensington palace provides discounted tickets for students for winter entry from 2nd January – 13th February, with tickets as cheap as £6.20. So royalty and history savvy people – do make a go for it! Further information about Kensington palace.

I hope everyone enjoyed the holidays. I hope everyone is looking forward to the new term and a new stint with LSE 🙂