Here are some of my favorites spots to go skating in London:

Best for location

Somerset House
Open through January 23, 2011
Price: Adults £10.50-15, children £8.45-9.60
Web site

An extravagant outdoor ice-skating rink, the Somerset House rink is now in its 11th year. The stunning 18th-century courtyard at Somerset House is dramatically lit and over-shadowed by a vast Christmas tree, making it one of the most atmospheric spots for outdoor ice skating in London. On selected Friday and Saturday evenings, DJs provide a soundtrack for the icey moves and frosty nights.

Tower of London
Open through January 9, 2011
Price: Adults £10-12, children £7.50-8
Web site

If it’s impressive locations you’re after, then you can’t quite beat skating around the history steeped surroundings of the Tower of London. With Tower Bridge and the River Thames a snowballs throw away, you really will feel like a true tourist skating within the historic grounds.

The Natural History Museum
Open through January 9, 2011
Price: Adults: £13, children £8.50
Web site

Start or end your skating experience with a visit to the Natural History Museum, as the rink is a mere walk away in the magical east lawn. The Ice Rink at the Natural History Museum is complemented by their Christmas Fair, so there’s no shortage of things to do.

Best for views

London Eye Ice Rink
Open through January 5, 2011
Prices: For London Eye and Eye Skate, adults £28.45, children £17.00
Web site

For the first time ever, the London Eye will open its very own ice skating rink offering the opportunity to celebrate the festive season taking in the best views of London–both from the London Eye and from the Southbank’s first ice rink. After twisting and turning on the ice, warm up on a mulled Wine Flight on the London Eye or a Champagne Flight (which allows you to sip Pommery Champagne while enjoying the  breathtaking views from the London Eye). Happy Eye-skating!

Kew Gardens Ice Rink
Open November 29, 2010 – January 4
Price: £10, children £7.50
Web site

Forget springtime; winter is spectacular at Kew Gardens as Christmas lights and decorations adorn the trees and gardens and a large ice skating rink is constructed in front of the glass house. To get you into the spirit, there’s also festive evenings on December 13 and 14 when the shops stay open late and carol singing is on offer.

Best for all round Entertainment

Winter Wonderland
Hyde Park
Open through January 4, 2011
Price: Adults: £10, children from £8. Combination tickets which include entry to all the other attractions are also available.
Web site

Winter Wonderland, held annually in London’s famous Hyde Park, features an ice rink, toboggan slide, traditional German-style Christmas market, cafes and bars, Ferris wheel, carousel, helter-skelter, various fairground rides, Santa Claus and the Santa Express, a Zippo circus and more festive goodness than you can shake a stick at.

Westfield London
Westfield, Ariel Way, London, W12 7GF
Open through January 2
Price: Adults £9.50-10.50, children £6.50-7.50

Setting up shop under the glass roof of the Atrium in the huge Westfield mall, this skating rink could be the best way to unwind after a shopping spree. (Or perhaps you could just leave the little ones here while you head off to buy their presents.) There are offers at several Westfield eateries for skaters, too, if you feel like some food after your spin.

The post London: Ice Skating Rinks with Central Locations and Views appeared first on EuroCheapo's Budget Travel Blog.

Vintage dressing in the heartland of trendy London districts has been hot fashion property for quite some time now. Sadly as a result, “vintage” doesn’t always mean “cheap.” However, London is still bursting with secret little finds where one can find jaw droopingly beautiful clothes from yesteryear at reasonable rates.

Begin with a market rummage

From Whitechapel Market, where one can find colorful scarves and sparkly slippers to Portobello Market where there are several first-class vintage shops and stalls, a walk around London’s many markets is well worth your vintage mission. These markets are a good place to start with their decent sampling of high-quality stock, which has a high turnover (important, as it enhances the chances of stumbling on a great find).

Brick Lane is a vintage lovers paradise. Nearby Spitalfields Market, too, offers plenty of punk and vintage stalls along with over-smart designer shops. Camden Market (Tube: Camden Town), London’s traditional home of punks and punk-dom, is worth a visit, as it boasts plenty of vintage clothing stalls and shops.

Just north of Notting Hill tube, along Pembridge Road, there are several vintage shops. If you want real bargains (yes, they are still to be found in this area), you’ll have to make a return visit on a Saturday–it will be worth it. Head up Portobello Road to the market stalls under Westway. The stalls and shops further north and along Golborne Road are even cheaper, although the merchandise is unpredictable.

Here are some other places that boast vintage prices within a mortal’s league. Happy shopping!

Beyond Retro
112 Cheshire St, E2
Telephone: 020 7613 3636
Web site
Tube/Rail: Liverpool St.

Barnado’s
7 George St, W1
Telephone: 020 7935 2946
Web site
Tube/Rail: Marylebone
Hours: Mon-Sat 9.30 a.m.-5:30 a.m.

Marie Curie
318-320 St Paul’s Rd, N1
Telephone: 020 7226 0565
Tube/Rail: Highbury & Islington
Hours: Open Mon-Sat 9 a.m.-5:20 p.m.

TRAID SW2
2 Acre Lane, SW2
Telephone: 020 7326 4330
Web site
Tube/Rail: Brixton

I Dream Of Wires
68a Cheshire St, London E2 6EH
Telephone: 020 7739 4481
Web site
Tube/Rail: Shoreditch High Street

Radio Days, London
87 Lower Marsh, Waterloo
Telephone: 020 7928 0800
Web site
Tube/Rail: Waterloo

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If that’s not enough to entice you, you can now sample high-end English breakfast in grand, glam restaurants (transforming the first meal of the day into a fabulous event!) without paying a high-end price. After all,  breakfast—the kind typically served on a cheque table cloth by a charming waitress—shouldn’t cost you the price it would to own a farm and rear the contents yourself! The true appeal of English breakfast is that it is the perfect, satisfying, cheap treat.

London is ripe with traditional greasy spoons which open their doors each morning for serious plates-a-food. Here are a few of my favorite breakfast spots by locale:

East-End

Family-run east-end café E Pellicci (332 Bethnal Green Road, London E2 0AG) has fed gangsters (the Krays), artists (Gilbert & George), taxi drivers and families for over a century. A tiny time capsule of a ‘caff’ that has stood in the East End of London for 105 years, Pellicci’s has its own place in popular culture and is a social hub of the area. Sample the old fashioned English fried breakfast all day in the cozy, relaxed dining room. Breakfast here is amazingly affordable. Expect to spend: £5-8.

Northern Delight

For some decadence: a single artisanal Lincolnshire sausage, a slice of Old Spot bacon, a perfectly presented free-range poached egg, look no further than Gordon Ramsay’s York & Albany (127-129 Parkway, Camden Town NW1). A hotel-cum-restaurant-cum-local beer pub, the York & Albany is within walking distance of the London Zoo and Camden High Street. Less greasy than other breakfasts in town, the food here still satisfies. Expect to spend: £12.

South London

Tucked away on a quiet street, the Regency Café (17-19 Regency St, Pimlico SW1P) is an old-fashioned English restaurant typically full of working men in need of a hearty meal for the day. The proper British style ‘caff’, halfway between Westminster and Victoria, is also famed for a scene in the film “Layer Cake” in which Daniel Craig enjoys a special early morning feast with Freddie Hurst. Regency serves up everything you’d expect: big portions, good solid fresh-cooked food, and comforting English tea! Expect to spend: £4.

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