7 reasons to go to London this summer

Discover original London parks, activities and free events among the best venue of summer in London and the best places to walk in the Sun.

1. the Inside Scoop

Just next to the City Hall and at the edge of the River Thames, go to the Scoop, the London amphitheatre open pit where the summer program begins the retransmission of Wimbledon matches on a giant screen.

There are 1000 seats in the bleachers and the Scoop events are all free of charge, throughout the summer, all day and every evening because the programming starts in the morning: concerts of groups coming from worldwide, shows, dance and initiations plays, projections of recent films (and this year until the end of the month of September)...

Just to arrive early enough to have tickets: get the programming on the official website.

2 Hyde Park

Free concerts are lacking to the famous Hyde Park, during ten days in early July, thanks to the Hyde Park British Summer Time festival.

It should arrive here before "curfew", usually at 10:30 pm. During the day, North of this great emblematic Park in London, go to Speakers' Corner to take a lesson in rhetoric. Attend the tradition of venus speakers expose in public, their views on a variety of topics, controversial if possible.

This happens next to Marble Arch. If you comply with the law, you can even take the floor (in English).

3 Sumerset House

For free culture, London is a reference in Europe. Do not miss the Tudor from the National Gallery collection (it is advisable to arrive at 8 or 9: 00 in the morning for the opening of 10 h). Even on the Strand, there are free tours.

Enjoy the freshness of the fountains in the yard of the sumptuous Somerset House and do not hesitate to enter: much of the Museum is free.

Here in the courtyard, between 7 and 20 August, stands the Film4 Summer Screen, movie theater outdoors on a giant screen broadcasting the greatest Hollywood Classics (€23 per person).

4 Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park

You missed the Olympic Games of 2012? What never mind: London's Olympic Park, which is now called Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, is still there and awaits you for a picnic on the lawns or to admire the spectacle of acrobatic figures of the Velopark.

The Olympic Park is home to the ArcelorMittal Orbit Tower: 115 m in height, it is the highest sculpture throughout the United Kingdom. Climb to the top is not free, but you have nothing to spend to take picture. Count €5.60 for a swim in the Olympic pool. You need to book your meeting (between 7: 00 and 7:30 pm).

But several events with free access take place all summer in the Olympic Park, including the arrival of the Tour de France between July 5 and 7, with a giant screen for the retransmission, and if you like partying, the Great British Carnival colours and rhythms of Rio de Janeiro will take place July 27 in this park.

Stroll through the long gone from the park with more than 4000 trees. There are 4 routes marked on nearly 250 ha.

5 - Beautiful cemeteries

For a walk of a different kind but still free, the oldest of the Magnificent Seven Cemeteries of London, Kensal Green Cemetery (1832) is home to tens of thousands of graves on almost 30 ha of area.

These Victorian cemeteries with Gothic decor contain not only tombstones and mausoleums. They have become habitats for fauna and flora living. These are the lairs of many birds.

The easiest access from the centre of London, in addition to Kensal Green, is the Brompton cemetery South of Hyde Park. It is also one of the cemeteries of the most elegant that you have never visited. It serves regularly as a film set, and worry, the visit has nothing macabre. Many hikers roam its aisles each day.

Pay (€ 7 per adult, free for children up to 15 years, excluded labyrinth), but more consensual, the 25 ha of the gardens of Hampton Court welcome from 8 to 13 July, the Hampton Court Palace Flower Show (€25). It is the largest venue of its kind in the world.

6 day at the farm in the city center

With children or if you simply need nature, visit MudChute farm.

This London city farm is in the heart of East London, a barely credible place near the banks of the River Thames, free and accessible by metro.

Llamas, chickens, sheep, goats and cows are moving close to the skyscrapers of Canary Wharf. Pigs are especially worth a visit. They are rare, black, white or bicolored races for huge English the British Saddleback breed pigs.

This 13 hectare park is one of the largest urban farms in the world with a hundred animals, visible from 9 h to 16 h daily.

7 brunch, dinner or pub-crawl on the canal

As a couple or with friends, enjoy the pubs on the London canal: the Regent Canal.

Book a table on the terrace of the Dock Kitchen, one of the most prestigious restaurants in an authentic Victorian warehouse, where you will eat organic.

Go to the Tree Jam (Old Town, Clapham for brunch on Saturday, to the chic and trendy Rotunda Bar (Kings Place, King's Cross),) or at the popular restaurant Waterway bar, specialized in Mediterranean cuisine. But your Sunday Roast will be 100% traditional.

All these addresses offer views of the canal, one of the best places where to walk in London in the summer.

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5 beaches in Hawaii must-see

With 1200 km of coastline bathed in the waters of the Pacific ocean, Hawaii is home to some of the most famous beaches in the world. If they are not ordinarily deemed to be among the most "beautiful" of the planet, some Hawaiian beaches are certainly among the most amazing. Here are 5 beaches in Hawaii should not be missed under any circumstances during your stay.

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1. Na Pali Coast

Symbolic. Na Pali Coast, perhaps one of the most famous images of the American archipelago. It is here that are lined emblematic beaches of majestic green cliffs overlooking the ocean almost vertically. Walking by the Kalalau Trail, a difficult hike of 11 km, Na Pali Coast extends over more than 20 kilometres in a totally uninhabited part of the North of the island of Kauai. You can also get there by boat, kayak or by helicopter.

2 Punalu'u ' u Beach

Picturesque. Discover Punalu'u black sand ' u Beach South of Hawaii Volcanoes National Park. Lined with Palm trees, this beach out of the ordinary is also a good place to observe sea turtles and green turtles called honu, that say easy to approach. Take part in an excursion at sea for several hours to observe dolphins and whales off the coast. Nearby, is the second largest wetland of the island. So, if this is not the ideal beach for swimming, because the rocks, you will always have other possible activities.

3 Hanauma Bay Beach Park

Zoo. Nature reserve of the island of Oahu, Hanauma Bay is home to one of the most visited beaches in Hawaii and served as decor for many television series from the 1970s to the present day. It is one of the best places in the archipelago and the best island for diving with mask and snorkel: the richness of wildlife and underwater flora is exceptional. Here, the bathing conditions are ideal: the water is calm and the surf is forbidden. You should however consult information about jellyfish that are not uncommon in this small Bay.

4 Mokuleia Beach

Hollywood. The series Lost fans are familiar with this peaceful beach of the north shore of Oahu (North Shore Oahu). It is here that Oceanic Flight 815 crashed. Mokuleia Beach is in a part of the island a little away. However, there is a parking. It is a large beach where the waves can be enormous in winter and dangerous bathing. But it is what makes the North Shore surfing world temple.

5 Makena Beach State Park, Hawaii

Paradise. Makena Beach is one of the most romantic places in Maui and one of the largest beaches of the island. The ocean offers its most beautiful shades of blue on the southwest coast of Maui and the so-called Big Beach (Makena) is regarded as one of the best Hawaiian beaches for relaxing, swimming and diving without bottles

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