Viator Travel Blog

The 2000-year-old city that is London is a living, breathing history book. While Samuel Johnson was right: “There is in London all that life can afford,” often what we locals like doing most is to haul up in the pub. Luckily, we need not choose between comfort and culture when looking for a watering hole around London town, because so many pubs are rich in historical and literary connotations. So get your pint and find a seat by the fire, underneath low beams on crooked floors, and get merry in the knowledge Dickens may well have sat in the very same spot.

In a city as rich in monuments and history as Moscow, you may be surprised to find you have to head underground for what is arguably the best attraction of all. The metropolitan public transport system of the Russian capital is one of the busiest in the world, carrying nine million weary commuters between home and work every day. But while doing so, the Moscow metro provides an experience worthy of a Tsar, along with some interesting history lessons told from the viewpoint of a proud empire. Sculptures, frescoes and intricate mosaics might be standard in this vast metro network, but rest assured you will be amazed over and over again as you travel from one spectacular station to the next.

“Are you looking for a restaurant?” I look around and find a little Chinese man smiling at me. You cannot stand on a San Francisco street looking uncertain for long before someone will offer their assistance (or alternatively, ask for some). The old man has found me on the curb outside the Buddhist temple in Chinatown, my hair and clothes now pungent with the smell of incense and burning paper. Or is it holy smoke? But yes, I confirm, I am indeed looking for a place to eat. He then asks if I am alone, and nods knowingly when I confirm this: “I came here alone once too, from Hong Kong. This city gives you wings.”