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London has loads of banging attractions, but avoiding tourists can be hellish. You already know all the big ones – the London Eye, the National Gallery, Kew Gardens – but why not check out some of London’s more under the radar attractions?
The Times has just revealed its ranking of London’s ‘most underrated’ tourist attractions, and the newspaper’s number one choice is quite... surprising.
According to the Times, the top underrated attraction in the capital is the Thames Barrier, which straddles the boroughs of Newham and Greenwich. One of the largest moveable flood barriers in the world, the Thames Barrier is made up of a fleet of 10 futuristic looking silver domes, making it quite a striking sight.
These domes are steel gates, each weighing 3,300 tonnes, and when they are hauled out of the water during their monthly tests they rise as high as a five-story building. The Times recommends heading to sites in Greenwich or near City airport to see one of the monthly tests for yourself. You can also go to the visitors centre near Woolwich which gives insight into the engineering of the barrier.
Chelsea Physic Garden, in west London, was named the second best underrated attraction by the paper. ‘The garden nurtures more than 5,000 species of edible and medicinal plants, including rare echiums and cocoa plants,’ wrote the Times. ‘Volunteers lead tours and interesting workshops cover everything from living medicine to kokedama, the Japanese art of growing plants in moss.’
In third place was the ‘world’s oldest hat shop’, Lock & Co hatters in Mayfair. If you want to check out some fancy and historical headgear, this would be the place to do it. According to the paper, Lock & Co once made a fedora for Oscar Wilde and even invented the bowler hat.
Want more? These are the 17 best alternative attractions in London. Plus, here are 12 timewarp places in London that time forgot, and what about London’s strangest museums?
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