London, already a Summer feel in May

London, May 2026

So far this year, I've been lucky with recurrent layovers in London, my favorite european capital. And I've been lucky with the weather too.

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Buckingham Palace

I took the Piccadilly Line from Heathrow Airport to Hyde Park Corner. I wanted to see the Buckingham Palace first and then cross the St James Park. I'm not using my Oyster card anymore. I got mine in 2010 so it was a previous generation card with many restricted functions today... But you can add a Revolut card on the TfL Go app and use it as a contactless payment on all underground stations. The daily cap still applies as long as you use the same payment card all day long. So, absolutely no need to get another Oyster.

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St James Park

Whenever the sun shines in London, you can see Londoners being Londoners...

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Household Cavalry

Next place of interest was this gravel square, the Household Cavalry...

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London Eye

... and the London Eye with a clear blue sky!

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Big Ben

This was the first time I was seeing the Big Ben after the recent major renovation works. It looks beautiful!

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Miscellaneous

It was by chance that I spotted this tile "EXIT BREXIT HERE" on a low wall in the Westminster Pier. I thought it was funny.

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Trafalgar Square

Trafalgar Square is always an imponent sight to see in London.

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Fortnum & Mason

Fortnum's is an upmarket department store famous in London. It also has a tea shop like the Harrods. I took knowledge of Fortnum's while talking with a colleague the previous day.

The inside of the building in general and its two staircases, is really very impressive. 

I found this table very curious because it had on display several ceramic pieces of a very famous Portuguese ceramics factory: Bordalo Pinheiro.

When returning to the hotel I used the Elizabeth line for the first time. The fare is a little bit more expensive than the Underground's but it only took me 30 minutes from Tottenham Court Rd to Heathrow Terminals 2 & 3. It was worth it even because my daily transport expenses in London were capped at £16.30, having exceeded it by £8.60.