Pretty City London - Central London edition

Pretty City London 1

Maddox Gallery (near Oxford St)

Pretty City London 2

Admiralty Arch (near Trafalgar Square) 

Wearing Lack of Colour Sunnydip straw hat | Mister Zimi dress | Bared Shoes Rooster in pink and rose gold

Pretty City London 3

Covent Garden's flower installations

Wearing: Ruby NZ Good Witch Tee | Uniqlo pleat skirt | Bared Shoes x Carla McRae Pintail sneakers | Strathberry nano tote in vanilla

Pretty City London 4

Oxford Circus

Wearing: Ivy Niu silk tee | Uniqlo pleat skirt | Bared Cormorant blush velvet heels | Strathberry nano tote in vanilla

Pretty City London 5

Liberty London

Pretty City London 6

Westminster Bridge

Pretty City London 7

Overlooking Big Ben

Wearing: Faithfull the Label Salt Spring maxi dress (via David Jones) | Strathberry nano tote in vanilla | Lack of Colour Sunnydip straw hat | Carin sunnies | Bared Cormorant blush velvet heels

Pretty City London 8

Picadilly Circus

Pretty City London 9

Sky Garden London

Wearing: Zara cami | Spell Designs Elle midi skirt

Pretty City London 10

Maddox Gallery (so beautiful isn't it!)

Pretty City London 11

Buckingham Palace

Pretty City London 12

City shopfronts

Pretty City London 13

Caviar House

Brighton Day Trip from London UK-26

Tower Bridge London 

Wearing: Faithfull the Label Oslo dress

I feel like with London, there's always a never-ending list of places to visit and things to see. For a city of such a size, it’s hard to know everything that’s happening so I thought I’d put together a quick guide to some places I loved visiting during my time here this year. This part will focus on all the places in central London, including the typical must-see tourist attractions, as well as other lesser known ‘sights’ nearby.

1. BIG BEN: Probably the most iconic landmark in London and hence an absolute must-see, regardless of whether it is your first time or fifth time there. The clock itself is huge - like seven metres in diameter / longer than your bedroom wall huge. A big tip though - this is probably the busiest place in London so if you want to get it to yourself, you either have to go super, super early or visit at the dead of night! Westminster bridge is worth a walk down - head to the London Eye if you haven't been on it. It's one of those touristy things everyone does (and I did too on my first trip to London).

2. TRAFALGAR SQUARE: Again, one of the many iconic places in London worth ticking off. It's bustling during the day and surrounded by museums, galleries and historic buildings including the National Gallery. A short walk from Trafalgar square will see you through Admiralty Arch and to St James's Park lake. The road that runs down from Admiralty Arch to St James's Park Lake reminds me a little of a mini Champs de Mars.

3. PICADILLY CIRCUS: A bus stop away from Trafalgar square is Picadilly Circus. The place is packed in the evenings when the billboards light up and the area turns into a mini Times Square. If you can, I definitely recommend visiting then - it's got a nice vibe and lots of restaurants and shops nearby. For those who love M&Ms, there is the popular M&M's World store - a 4 storey M&Ms packed shop.

4. COVENT GARDEN: I just love the feel of Covent Garden - it's gorgeous, full of boutique stores, a market and of course, these crazy beautiful flower installations. Put Covent Garden Chanel in your Google Maps and head straight there to see not one but three benches decorated so beautifully with flowers. Whilst you're there, check out the little stores nearby, pick up an ice-cream and enjoy the street performances for the better part of an afternoon.

5. OXFORD CIRCUS + LIBERTY LONDON: Hop off the tube at Oxford Circus station to step into shopper's paradise. This is my favourite starting point for shopping in London - you've got basically everything here a few streets away. I didn't do much shopping this time around but if you want to check out all your favourite British high street brands in one place, this is where you'll want to head. Make sure you pass by Carnaby St, Liberty London, & Other Stories, Selfridges (the building it's in is stunning) and up and down Regent St too. The shops on Oxford St run from Marble Arch tube station to almost Tottenham Court Road tube station.

6. MADDOX GALLERY: Quick stop over! Near the Regent St and Oxford St junction there is a contemporary art gallery called Maddox Gallery - it's currently filled with flowers out the front so do pop by and check it out and also the gallery out.

7. SKY GARDEN LONDON: Sky Garden London is an epic observation deck that's actually free entry compared to the Shard's observation deck which can cost up to $50AUD for an adult. I've wanted to visit Sky Garden London every time I was there but each time, I kept getting bounced back because I didn't know I had to book in advance. This time, I finally remembered. Here's the deal with Sky Garden - you have to get on their website on a Monday, three weeks in advance of the date you want to book. I'm not sure exactly what time the tickets are released, so it's hard to know when to check however what I do know is that they book out really, really fast. Once booked, you have to bring your ID to match the name on the ticket as tickets are not transferable.

8. BUCKINGHAM PALACE: If it's your first time in London, Buckingham Palace is one of those places you'll probably see. If you have time, it's lovely to visit the palace twice - once to see the changing of the guards ceremony and once to see it without the ceremony happening as this is when you can get up close to the gates.

9. TOWER BRIDGE: London's most famous bridge - take a walk along Thames River and view the bridge from afar.

10. EXTRA: Other places I recommend seeing in central London which I didn't have time to see this time around (but have visited in the past) are: St Paul's Cathedral (climb the dome if you're not scared of heights, enclosed spaces and narrow steep steps - warning!) + Borough Market (absolutely favourite food market and operating as usual! <3 Borough).