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How many Londoners have actually seen the capital’s most iconic landmarks? It turns out, not that many. We get it. Nobody wants to be sandwiched between a bunch of selfie stick-clutching tourists on their day off. But there is a reason why literally millions of people visit London every year – because our attractions are actually pretty damn good.
A survey of 1,000 adults from the capital revealed 78 percent of Londoners had not seen some of its most iconic sights. For shame.
According to the study by Specsavers, 14 percent of locals had never seen Big Ben in real life. Other places Londoners have never visited include Highgate Cemetery, Kensington Palace, Shakespeare’s Globe and even Camden. While 76 percent of respondents said they have seen many landmarks from afar, they’ve never queued up to take a look in more detail.
This begs the question, other than grabbing flat whites, drinking pints and eating at small plates restaurants, what are we doing all day? The study found that locals actually prefer to visit stuff on their doorsteps, with their favourite things about the city being the local pub, green parks and local food markets. That being said, why wouldn’t you want to revel at the magnificence of the Baroque architecture of St Paul’s Cathedral or chinscratchingly ponder the art in the Tate Modern?
Londoners, the city is your oyster. We say get out there and actually see it, just maybe not on a Saturday.
These are the 20 London landmarks locals have never seen:
- Highgate Cemetery
- Sky Garden
- Piccadilly Circus
- Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre
- HMS Belfast
- Kew Gardens
- The Millennium Dome
- The Cutty Sark
- The Gherkin
- The Tate Modern
- Notting Hill
- Kensington Palace
- Wembley Stadium
- The Shard
- The National Gallery
- Westminster Abbey
- Harrods
- Chinatown
- Camden Town
- St Paul’s Cathedral
These are the very best attractions in London.
Listen to Time Out’s brilliant new podcast ‘Love Thy Neighbourhood’: episode seven with Big Zuu in Oxford Circus is out now.
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